Arizona republican., 1905-10-06
DUNBAR FRANCHISE
The Board of Supervisors
Repeal 1t
This Does Not Necessarily Mean That
Grand Avenue Shall Not Have a
Street Railway.

The board Of supervisors yes
terday took adverse action in the
matter of the laying Of a street
car track on Grand avenue. The
Dunbar franchise. under which the
street car company was proceeding was
not only declared forfeited, but the or
der Of the board on February %, 1893,
was repealed. Notice Of this action was
served on Superintendent s. H. Nit
chell by Deputy Sheriff Cunningham
Immediately afterward.
Il was the theory Of the board that
the franchise had been forfeited by the
failure Of the grantee or his assigns to
build three miles of track within two
years of the granting Of the franchise
On the other hand. it was contended
by the company that more than three
miles Of track had been laid since the
date OF the franchise. Most Of that
track is now within the city limits.
though it was not at the time Of con-
strUction and prior to February %,
1895. There is an apparent incOnsist-
ency in the wording of the franchise.
which authorizes the laying of tracks
on any road in the county outside the
city limits within a radius Of forty
miles. and it is on such roads without
the city limits that the track should
have been constructed within the two
year limit. But immedia teIv following
this provision there is another: PRO
vided tnat said railway may be within
the corporate limits Of Phoenix When
the attention Of Assistant District At
tOrney Billiard was called to this pro-
vision he denounced it as a joker. but
without meaning, and which would not
be regarded in court.
!,
the street car track VIII not be laid on
Grand avenue. There was no official
expression by the board of supervisors.
but it was more or les authoratatively
stated that the board would not oppose
the construction Of the track on the
north side. if the company would make
application for a right Of way there
That. by the way is the place where
General Manager Heap. in an interview
with The Republican yesterday, said
was where it was proposed to place the
track. He would rather nave it there
than in the middle Of the road. Tho
supervisors viii impose some unim-
pOrtant conditions before granting the
right of way. one of them will be
that the poles shall be at such a safe
distance from the track that passeng gers
viii not be in danger Of injury. Such
other conditions as the board is likely
to suggest have already been covered
by Mr.. Heap in his interview.
SO the action of the board is not
half as hostile as it seems. The main
and in fact the only object in repeating
the franchise and ordering the over
seers of the various roads in the coun-
~. within forty miles of the corpora te
limits of the city, to tear up sucn. tracks
and tear down such poles as may here
after be put up or put down. was to
get rid of the blanket franchise.
But the company is the owner Of an
other right Of way on Grand avenue
of which very few people, and perhaps
not even the members Of the board Of
supervisors are aware. All Of that
tract of land traversed by Grand aver
lie was formerly the property Of the late
Colonel William Christy and Josiah
Harbert They plated it, it was prop
erly dedicated and along with it the
which became the prop
erty Of the county. But Messrs. Christy
and Harbert reserved to themselves the
right forever to erect telephone poles,
telegraph poles, construct street rail-
way lines. etc, on the thOrOug1fare.
That right was afterward transferred
TO NJ. II. Sherman, who is still in pos
session OF it.
Il is probable that if the company
should try to exercise that right a law