Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-04-25
Application for Franchise.

TO the Mayor and Common Council OF the
city of Grand Rapids.
The undersigned hereby applies for a
franchise from the city of Grand Rapids for
the construction, maintenance and opera
Grand Rapids, and for the use of the streets
and bridges of said city for that purpose un-
der the conditions more particularly set forth
in a proposed ordinance presented here
with, and such notifications of such ordin-
ance as may hereafter be agreed upon be-
tween the parties and adopted and approved
by the mayor and common council of said
city.
WISCONSIN VALLEY ELECTRIC RAILWAY Co.
By GEO. A. WHITING, Pres
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING WIsCoNsIN
VALLEY ELECTRIC RAILWAY COMPANY To
CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE A
STREET RAILWAY IN THE City OF CRANE
RAPIDS, WISCONSIN.
The mayor and common council of the
city of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, do ordain
as follows:
Section /. That the right, authority, power
and permission be and hereby are granted
to Stevens Point & Grand Rapids Railway
Company, corporation organized under
chapter Sc of the Revised Statutes of Wis
consin and acts amendatory thereof and un-
der section 1862 of such revised statutes and
acts amendatory thereof, and to its sue
ceSSors and assigns, to construct, erect
maintain, rebuild, repair. enlarge, extend
and operate in, along, over and under the
highways. streets and bridges in said city OF
Grand Rapids, poles, posts, wires, condults
railway tracks and all other appurtenanceS
appliances and fixtures for the maintenance
and operation by electricity or other power
not creating nuisance of a street railway
with single track or with double track when
and where required, in said city of Grand
Rapids, and to connect the same with any
railway line or lines outside OF said city OF
Grand Rapids, and to operate such railway
and the cars of any such connecting line by
the power produced any plant or plants OF
right and privileges hereby granted and
conferred to be subject nevertheless to the
general provisions of law in force and APP
plicable thereto and to such reasonable
ways and bridges as the mayor and common
council of said city may from time to time
enact
Section 2. The poles, wires, rails and
other materials used in the building and
maintenance of said plant, and the railway
connected Herewith shall be OF standard
standard gauge of four feet and eight and
one-half inches and shall be so constructed
and operated as to obviate as far as pract-
cable any obstruction or hindrance to the
safe and proper use of streets and bridges
within said city, and provided further that
said grantee shall not unnecessarily impede
public travel on the highways and bridges
of said city during the construction, i'm
provement, repair and operation of said
railway system, and shall leave the same in
as good condition as they were at the date
of entry, and provided further that said
grantee. its successors and assigns, when
ever it desires to use any highway or bridge
of said city for any purpose herein au-
thoriZed, shall previous to the commence
ment of construction thereon give the street
commissioner or other similar officer of said
city one days notice of the same.
Section B. The word highway or street
where used in this ordinance shall be
deemed to include all streets, alleys and
bridges. and the word plant shall be deemed
to include tangible property OF every kind
and description, whether real or personal,
used in, about or in connection with the
operation of the street railway in said city
OF Grand Rapids.
Section l. Right, authority, power and
permission are hereby granted to said
grantee to use said street railway for the
transportation of passengers, parcels, bag
portion of said city of Grand Rapids to an
other, and points beyond, and to or from
connection with any railway system operat-
ing in territory surrounding the same and
within the state of Wisconsin, either in its
own cars or those of any connecting road.
Said grantee shall have power to fix the
price to be charged for the transportation of
passengers, parcels, baggage, express. mails
and freight provided that the charge for the
transportation of a passenger for continu-
Gus trip from one point to another within
the corporate limits of the city shall be five
cents except in case of cars specially char
tered. when chartered car rates shall be
paid.
Section 5. Said grantee, its successors
and assigns, is hereby authorized, en-
powered and permitted to build, erect and
maintain all necessary curves, switches,
and wires, and is hereby authorized, en-
powered and permitted to determine the
number of tracks to be laid and used and
kind and quality of the material to be used
in all construction except as herein limited,
and is also authorized, empowered and per-
mltted to designate from time to time the
number of cars to be used and the timeta-
bleS for the running of the same and to de-
Signate the number of employees to be used
in connection with the operation of said
railway, provided that the common council
harahU n
make reasonable regulations respecting the
speed of running and manner of stopping
the cars for the safety and convenience of
the public, and provided further that on all
graded streets where the grade shall be too
narrow for vehicles to pass on either side of
the railway cars, the common council shall
street the tracks shall be laid upon.
Section 6. If said grantee shall fail or
neglect to construct, maintain, complete and
equip and thereafter to operate the several
lines OF street railway which he may con-
struct hereunder, as provided in the forego-
ing sections and within the times and in the
herein provided, or shall fail or
neglect to equip or thereafter maintain or
operate such additional lines as may be con-
structed by him after the same shall have
been completed, the said grantee shall upon
the judicial determination of the same, for
felt all rights, privileges and franchises
hereby granted as to the line or lines which he
shall fail to operate and maintain, provided,
however, that if the construction of such
railway shall be restrained, prevented or
by Injunction or other legal pro-
ceedings, without collision on the part OF
the grantee named herein, said grantee shall
be entitled to reasonable time to complete
said road after the termination of such re-
And provided further that civil
connections, such as riots, strokes or in
vaslons, shall excuse said grantee so long
as they seriously interfere with the building
or operation of such lines, from building or
operating the same.
Section Z. In case no grade shall have
been established on any street along or
across which said railway is to be con-
after due application therefor by
the said grantee, the common council shall
within thirty days after the written notice
and city clerk of said city to establish such
grade cause the grade thereof to be estab-
llshed: and when said grantee shall have
constructed such street railway line or lines
upon the grade of street so established by
said common council, or in case said COM
mon council shall fail to establish such
grade after application and notice as afore-
said, 1t shall not thererfter be put to any
additional expense in conforming to any
change of grade.
Section s. Ii at any time after said rail-
way line or lines shall have been constructed
upon any street, it shall be necessary from
any cause to change or alter the grade OF
any such street, the common council shall
have power to alter or change the grade ac-
cord1ngly, but without any expense to said
grantee or any unnecessary delay or incon-
venience. Nor shall said grantee forfeit any
right or privilege under this franchise by
reason OF any failure to operate said rail-
way line or lines upon any such street dur
ing the time the same is being repaired or
conformed to such grade.
Section 8. Said city of Grand Rapids here
by reserves to itself, upon twenty-four
hours notice to sale grantee, the right to
take up and remove the rails and structure
of said railway line or lines whenever it
shall be necessary for the repair and i'm
provement of the streets, avenues or
upon which said line or lines
may be located, but shall never take up the
same in more than one place at one time, nor
for greater distance than one hundred
feet, and shall replace the same in good or
der when said repairs or improvements are
completed. which shall not be longer than
twenty-four hours at any one time, unless
with the consent the grantee herein. Pro-
vlded. however, that no such repairs so to
be made on the tracks or structures of said
grantee shall be made except under the su-
perylslon of some person authorized by
said grantee to take charge OF said repairs.
And provided further that no other per-
son. persons, corporation or corporations
shall be permitted to disturb the track or
tracks of said grantee without similar no.
tlce and under similar conditions and with
out having first obtained permission OF the
council; such person or per-
sons, corporation or corporations shall be
obliged to restore such track or tracks to
their former condition without expense to
said grantee, and such person or corpora
shall n