The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-05-09
my line and the wilmington street rail-

dIU 5WILIIES 10 NOLIIIENE 1T PTOPOO~"
u track on Castle street. with the cleo
trio station Of the Wilmington Gasligh
Company, IL il should be deemed expe
dent to convert this into a car barn
or in case il should be decided to erect
a new car barn on the vacant lot De.
longing to the Wilmington Gasligh'
/ Company, fronting on Front street
then permission is asked to make tho
same connections as above mentioned
between the track on Front street and
the proposed building
I Alderman Bailey said there was a
general under consideration
regulating the erection of poles in the
city and as this application would come
under that ordinance, he would come
that action on the application be referr-
ed to a committee to be reported back
to the board.
Mr.. Hugh MacRae, president of the
Consolidated Railways. Light and Pow
er Company. asked for the privilege o.
being heard and it was granted. Mr..
MacRae said it would be seen from this
company's applics ton that the num-
Der of poles to be erected would so little
affect the streets. that it was hardly
worth considering. There would be
4OuI OIC " NC ICNNCN NA
street between Front street and the
river. and eight or ten on Princess
street between Ninth and Tenth streets.
He said 1T was impossible for his COM
pany to do what it wanted to do if it
could not erect the poles, as it was i'm
possible for his company to put its troll
ley underground. Over head trolleyS
are still the rule in most cities and only
cities with millions of inhabitants would
warrant an underground trolley sys-
tenn. There are very few cities in Amer
lea with underground trolleys and even
in New York and Brooklyn some of the
lines yet have overhead trolleys. Mr..
MacRae said he knew there was an ap-
plication before this board from the
Southern Bell Telephone and Tele-
graph Company for the privilege of run
ming it's wires underground. 1t was
very proper for them to u their wires
underground and it would be a good
thing for the city, as it would get rid
of any poles. He went on to say that
the Bell company's application should
be granted. but the conditions were diff
ferent with his company. He said he
may as well state the reason why his
company put in the application, and
this was the first definite statement
that he had made in this connection.
and that was that the Consolidated
Railways, Light and Power Company
was ready to build a trolley line from
Wilmington to Ocean View. They had
already bought the poles, machinery
and equipment for the trolley to the
ocean and would build it in sixty days,
but he may as we'll Sal now that if the
board proposed to delay the company
like it did the Sewer Company, by re-
ferring his company's application to a
committee to dilly daily over, it
would kill the scheme. The people
a the trolley line to the ocean and
his company was now ready to give il
to them this summer. and he urged the
board not to delay them-not a minute.
To refer it to a committee just meant
to murder 1T. He assured the board
that his company had always done 80
and was ready to obey any laws of the
city. and was ready to go to work next
week to build it's trolley to the aceaD
so people could get on the cars down
town and go through to Ocean View
He referred to the fact that at a pere
vious meeting of the board his company
had proposed to take passengers from
any point in the city to Wrightsville
beach at the same fare heretofore
charged from the Wilmington Seacoas,
railroad depot. This would save tho
street car fare heretofore paid to and
from the Seacoast railroad depot and
with a saving of SO, 900 to the people.
This. however. was a consideration
which his company was willing to give
up for the privilege it asks for.
Alderman Bailey insisted on his mo.
ton to refer the application to a com.
mittee and proposed that the committee
be appointed outside of the board of
aldermen. He said the committee could
get the necessary information, and ex-
anime into the matter right away. refer
it back to the board and it could be act
ed On without delay.
Mr.. A. B. Shedding, general manager
of the Consolidated Railways, Light
and Power Company. went forward
with a map. saying that the board could
get from 1t all the information that
could be had about the matter. He then
exhibited the map to the aldermen.
Alderman Sweeney, after looking al
the map, said he not only saw by it thar
the street railway would be laid on tho
streets named in the application but he
. n W. @hns - 1;~a NO. I1,l Ay,A ~ r4-.-
bell street TO Oakdale cemetery. He
said it was not worth while delaying
this matter by talking about a trolley
underground. and he would move that
the board grant the petition.
Mr.. MacRae added that if the board
did not see proper to grant the applica-
ton, his company may as we'll throw
away all it's equipment. He stated that
his company proposed to put in one of