Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-11-12
FACTS
Not All on the
Surface.
Reasons For N. O. T.'s
Moving Slowly
-
And Rejecting Terms
In Franchise.
Majority of Council Not Yet
Satisfied With Details.

Council has not yet granted the n. o.
Z. Co. franchise to build line in
South Akron. All the members were
present at the special meeting Mon
day evening" excepting Mr.. Langdon,
but the required number of votes was
not obtained. Here's the vote: Ayes
Foster Hill, Jacobs, Rooms, Piske,
Rice, Sawyer, seidell, Sorrick and
Walker. Nays--Gauthier, Linehan,
Martin, Merz, Winum. A two-thirds
majority of all the members was re-
quired. Upon failure to obtain it the
matter was placed in the hands of the
Ordinance Committee ,and upon re-
quest of Mr.. Gauthier every Council
man will be furnished copy of the
franchise, so that by next Monday
night all will have had opportunity to
study the question thoroughly.
When the ordinance was presented
Monday evening DR.. Hill moved that
Council recess 20 minutes to give the
Ordinance Committee opportunity to
consider the franchise. This was done
and upon re-convening Mr.. Sawyer pre-
sented majority report of the COM
mittee in favor of granting the fran
chise. Mr.. Winum presented min
ority report. He said the committee
should have more time to consider the
ranchise-that the Commissioners had
spent weeks on it, and then expected
Council to railroad 1t through, after
considering it for 20 minutes. Messrs.
Sawyer and Jacobs struck out the Sec
tion to- which the company objected,
relating to it's being obliged to main
tain arc lights along the line, but Mr..
Winum was disposed to add more Sec
| tions rather than reduce the number.
In presenting the majority report, Nh
Sawyer stated that he was willing to
concede a point to the company in
asmuch as doing SO would conduce to
the benefit of the citizens oftSouth Ak
ron, who are eager to secure the lines.
1t might be said that the failure to
grant the franchise Monday night was
small victory for Commissioner Nc
Millen, who did not approve the ordi-
nance presented to the Council Mon
day night. He objected to it, because
he believed the passage would merely
represent a waste Of time, as the N. O..
L. Co. would not accept the franchise
with some of the conditions embodied.
The question is great deal broader
than it appears on the surface. If the
company accepted the franchise as it
was presented to Council Monday night
an expensive precedent would have
been established which would affect
the entire Everett-Moore system of
street railways. If it entered into a
written agreement. with Akron to light
streets along it's tracks, to carry po-
licemen, firemen and the engineer
corps Free other cities would make the
Same demands. Although the COM
pany is now carrying the. policemen
free it does not want to sign a con-
tract permanently obliglng itself to
maintain the practice. With reference
to the light question, the company fig
ures that during the 23-year life of
the franchise, tine expense of lighting
the single line in South Akron would
amount. to 5000. 1t is believed, how
ever, that as the result Of thorough
consideration the Council will drop
the section relating to lights.
Considered alone, that part of the
South Akron line referred to in the
franchise is not very big proposition.
Councilman Seidell, who goes to the
bottom of every question, has figured
that the line would require only about
80 ordinary rails, 450 ties and 1,SOO
spikes, and that IL men could build it
in two days, provided no heavy grad
ing had to be done. The cost would be
in the neighborhod Of $4,000. But,
when the company gets started on that
part of the line considered by Coun-
Gil it will likely carry out plan which
will involve the expenditure of $780,
OOO-the connecting of the s. Main st.
line with that now being operated on
the boulevard. The costliness of the
plan is due principally to the fact
that to secure a roadbed over part of
the route it would be necessary to
drive large number of spiles, as
much of the ground is marshy. The
plan also includes bridge across the
canal.
South Akron people want the line
great deal worse than the n. o. II.
does, and it will be built largely as the
result of compulsion on the part Of
the citizens, who claim, they will en-
force the contract the company entered
into prior to It's purchase of the Rapid
Transit lines. There is contract ex-
listing which obliges the company to
build the South Akron line.