Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1901-02-06
THE STREET CAR FRANCHISE

THE STREET CAR FRANCHISE.
 After waiting and seeking in vain for the past two years or more for foreign capital to build an electric street ear line and lighting plant, the City Council Of Pine Bluff is now con frontea with two applications for a franchise and one of the encouraging features of it all is that the applica tion5 come from home capitalists.
 it will he remembered that over year ago the City Council granted q street car franchise ta one Keyser, a so-cal1ed promoter from Chicago but failing to comply with the condi tions of his charter the same was for feited by limitation some two weeks ago. Immediately thereafter the Bluff City Lumber Co. of this city, submit ted a verbal proposition to the mem bers of the Council in special session to the effect that if the Council would grant the Company the same fran chise that it had previously granted Kcyser that the Bluff City Lumber Co. would build the electric street railway and lighting plant. So much needed and desired ny Pine Bluff. We are told that . majority of the mem bers of the Council assured the Com. pany that this would be done, in pur- 2 :al, ;,1 trodueed at the meeting of the Coun cil Monday night to grant the lumber company the same franchise that had been previously granted Keyser.
 At this juncture another company of citizens, headed by Capt w ]. Galbraith, also made application. by the introduction of an ordinance for the same franchise The wording of aaeh ordinance is said to be inden- ticallE the same, and thus the Coun- cil is confronted with the dilemma of TWO sets of citizens applying for the same franchise.
 It is q matter of regrct to the peo- pie and the Council that the matter
 hoaId come ID in such al unfortu- nate shape for as between citizens of equal worth the Council does not like to discriminate
 But the cfranehisemustbe be granted to one or the other, and since this is so, the first to apply should be given first consideration. The Bluff City Lum- Der Co. were the first of our local cap italists to offer to build the enter prise They are exceptionally and amply equipped to do so. By reason of their immense mill in the western suburbs of the city, and their facili ties for cheap fuel, the Bluff City Lnm- ber Co. occupies an advantageous pc sition in supplying the service at the lowest possible price to the public.
 l}ut However that may be- it seems ta 8s tbat any apparent conflict in in terest between our local citizens could ba easily adjusted. \ street ear line and lighting plant is a big proposi ticn. II would require an expenditure of at least $1oo,ooo. MT j r. Ruthcr- ford. of the eompanyyesterday stated to the writer and authorized the Graphic to state that his company would willingly and gladly sell stock in the enterprise to all local citizens and capitalists who desire to sub scribe for same. It therefore seems to as that the proposition is large enoaeb for all who desire to get in on the ground floor. For the sake of the city it would be better fer all the par tics interested to consolidate their in tefsts into one company The city has seen enough of local antagonisms in local enterprises. It will be re- membered that less than a year ago there were at least three propositions at the same time to build an opera house. As result of the scramble