The San Francisco call., 1906-11-15
EXTENDED SERVICE
FOR OAKLAND
Southern Pacific S Locals to
Reach Many More Parts
of Big Suburban City
FEELS COMPETITION

OAKLAND, Nov. 14.-Under cover oA
the greatest secrecy the Southern Pa
cific Company Is planning an extension
of it's local ferry train service In OAK
land ON a scale so comprehensive that
1T is said 1t will cover large section
of the city not reached by either the
Seventh-street or the Webster-street
service. As the story goes In business
circles the Hartman engineers have
settled upon Twentieth street as the
main route for a new local train sys-
tenn that will cross the city. BY con-
Meeting lines the main system will be
reached and an entirely new service
win be created.
Definite routes have been selected
by the company for the projected ex-
tensions. which include, as heretofore
published, the Webster street branch.
which will be changed to an electric
service and used as one of the outlets
for the proposed crosstown lines
Enough of the Southern Pacinc's
project has leaked out to indicate that
the scheme involves railroad enter
prise on a large scale. as large as any
of the existing ferry service lines.
Though the officials deny that any such
move is in the air, 1t is fact tnat
city officials have been quietly sounded
on the subject. The scheme has been
outlined in a general way and the best
information that can be obtained at
this time centers the plan at Four
teenth and Franklin streets.
From this present terminus OF the
Webster-street line and the Alameda
mole ferry service, the natural extern
sion would be north on franklin street
to the crosstown thoroughfare that ap-
pears to have been chosen by the
Southern Pacific for its new lines
that is. Twentieth street.
TO USE ELECTRICITY
No denial is made by the company
that 1t has been figuring and planning
and changing of the mole SER
vice from steam to electricity with
this on hand, the next step would be
to ascertain the public pulse on
scheme to run a crosstown road over
Twentieth street, for example, to gain
access to a large population which the
Key Route is rapidly reaching after.
In fact, the activity of the Key Route
In building up it's suburban passenger
traffic has not a little bearing upon
the Southern Pacific's plans. That the
Key Route intends to extend Its
Twenty-second street branch across
the north side of Lake Merritt into
East Oakland and through the eastern
foothills, skirting the rapidly growing
districts San Leandroward, is well
known in railroad circles. That the
same road will eventually reach to San
Jose is definite plan of the corpora
ton. The Southern Pacific has been
watching the gradual development of
the Key Route with no little interest
and concern. The fast. clean and we'll
lighted Key Route cars, and, for that
matter, its boats, have afforded a good
text for the Southern Pacific. The time
appears to be at hand when the South
ern Pacific Company will be compelled
to meet on broad lines this competition.
And the inference is fair that the COM
pany will endeavor closely to parallel
the Key Routes line.
To break into this territory the
Southern PACIFIC Company will be COM
PEELED to ask for a number of fran
chises. This phase of the situation
has been presented to some municipal
officials. How to break in at this time
is a problem the railroad officials will
have to solve. 1t Is said that all of
the preliminaries of the proposition
have been calculated and that the en-
tire scheme Is ready for public action.
Indeed, the story runs that the move
would have been made months ago had
not the fire and earthquake intervened.
DISASTER DELAYED WORK
The disaster turned the whole cur
rent of industrial activity into new
channels, and that the situations aris-
ing out of the April catastrophe have
caused a lull in the enterprise of the
Southern Pacific Company in develop
ing its suburban traffic on this side of
the bay is apparent.
1t is confidently asserted among some
of the business men who have become
apprised to slight extent OF the rail-
roads plans that by the first of the
new year there will have cropped out
assuring evidences that the company
intends to go after the new suburban
business that Is so rapidly Increasing
In Oakland and vicinity. Whether the
Southern Pacific officials will be ready
by that time Is a question which, how
ever, does not detract an iota from
the facts that the plans have been laid.
that the engineers recommendations as
TO route and the like have been placed
before the leading officials OF the COM
pany 1t is impossible. owing to the
extreme reticence of those officials, to
say in detail at this time just how far
the company has planned to go with its
project. Much depends upon the atti-
tude of the public and the municipal
Legislature, which would be called upon