New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-30
WRIT FOR F0RNES.
Transportation League Forces Fight
for Connecting Railroad.

Counsel for the Transportation Reform
| League of Brooklyn yesterday served oil
| Charles V. Fornes. president of the Board OF
Aldermen. Justice Dickey's order granting a
| peremptory writ of mandamus compelling the
| aldermen to take immediate action on the fran
| chise application of the New York Connecting
Railroad. L. Latin Kellogg went at once to
! Justice Almet F. jerks. of the Appellate Dv-
sion in Brooklyn. and obtained stay pending
appeal.
THE stay is not a permanent one" said j.
Edward Swanstrom. president of the league, u
a Tribune reporter last night. 1T will, however,
give the aldermen chance to submit affidavits
in their defence. The business of
Brooklyn bound to get that franchise
through in one shape another If the alder
men will not do the right thing Will get
1t from the Board of Estimate and Apportion-
ment ny passing the Elsberg bill curtailing the
powers of the aldermen. They can take their
choice of methods l think the bill is going to
pass anyway matter what is done by the
aldermen with the franchise"
William c. RedfleId ex-Commissioner of Pub
lie Works in Brooklyn, said with reference to
the statement he made at Albany on Tuesday
about a demand for $4,000 before franchise
could be obtained from the aldermen in 1905:
The hod-up in connection with the ap-
plication of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit for
franchise for strip of land $50 feet in length
connecting the Futon-st. tracks with a space
under the elevated tracks at Tillary-st. In
Brooklyn. The company has small yard at
this point. and when the borough officials asked
for better bridge service the company said
that If il had place to store empty cars between
rush hours it would be bile to improve the
bridge service When suggested that they
obtain a franchise for the connection at Hillary
st. they demurred on the ground that the alder
men would obstruCt them and that 1t would be
an expensive undertaking. President Swanstrom
told them that the borough officials would back
them up in their application. | appeared before
the committee and asked that action he taken
at once on a franchise that meant a partial
lief to the congestion problem the bridge.
The company was willing 10 pay $4,000 year
for the space needed. and 1t looked like good
thing for the city well the company. No
one objected to the franchise, and assumed
that it would be passed at early day. 1t
up for hearing in August. 1903. and still is in the
committee. Several attempts have been made
to get the committee to take action, to no pur-
pose. prominent member of the board told
me that the franchise could be got through by
the payment of $4,000 1 have every reason to
believe that my friend told me the truth
Vice-President Calderwood of the Brooklyn
Rapid Transit Company said that Mr. Redfeld's
narrative was correct. The company wanted
the franchise and would have paid good rental
but couldn't get the aldermen to do anything
What about the $4,000 you are reported to
have been asked to give for the franchise? % he
asked.
I can't say anything about an affair of that
kind said Mr.. Calderwood.