The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1907-10-11
|BR|TT0N BRANDS
MuLLALLY's Plea
As A FALsEH00D
Says Power Company Is Not
Responsible for Poor
Trolley Service
ENGINES ALL RIGHT
United Railroads Using
Four Thousand Less
Horsepower
CONTRADICTS STORY
CONTRADICTs STORY
Hints at Trouble in the
United Railroads
Own Plants

'sThe trouble lies with the San Fran
cisco electric company from which we
purchase our power, of which TT is i'm
possible to procure sufficient guam
tfty. As soon their three gas en-
will be enabled to run 200 more ears
than the 300 we are running now. We
have plenty of ears and plenty of men
but lack the necessary pOwer.'-
Statement of Thornwell Mutually.
''That statement II false. Our three
engines are I'm excellent condition and
hnve been right along, to my knowI-
edge. Before the strike our engines
were then In the same condition as
they are now, and we have no plans
for increasing their number. The
United Railroads is taking 5000 to
1000 horsepower less now than it did
before the strike of the carmen was
calIed."-Statement of John A. Britton.
John A Britton, president of the San
Francisco electric company, yesterday
directly contradicted Thornwell Null
laIly, assistant to Patrick Calhoun,
president of the United Railroads, who
had declared before the joint commit
tee of the board of supervisors that to
insufficient power service on the part
of that company was due the inefficient
service given by the trolley company
and that the staggering aggregate of
fatalities reported to the supervisors
sprung from the same source.
Britton said that Mullally's statement
regarding the gas engines of his COM
pany was false. called attention to the
two power houses that the United
Railroads owns and said that the troll
ley company was taking from 5000 to
1000 horsepower less than before the
strike.
Mullallys testimony before the SUI
pervisors threw all the onus for the
lack of cars upon the power company
and declared that as soon as the gas
engines of that company were fixed
up 200 more trolley cars would be
added TO the 500 now In use, but that
until this source of power were made
remain inadequate, as 1t was impos-
sible to get more power from present
sources.
Britton says that the San Francisco
electric company has no plans for the
extension of it's plant. He was most
reticent and refused, he said, to argue
the question with the United Rail-
roads through the medium Of a news
paper, but he revealed basis facts re-
garding the alleged inability of the
trolley company to secure more power.
Mulla1lys statement that the cleo
tric company was at fault for the
shortage, as the cars and men were
available and only the power was lack
Britton. who said definitely that the
United Railroads was taking less
power by as Vuch as 1000 horsepower
than beforeIhe strike. Calling atten-
tion to the two power houses of the
trolley company in this connection,
Britton seemed to infer that an in
vestigation of conditions there would
reveal the source of the alleged power
famine, the blame for which Mullally
had cast upon Britton-s company.
To obviate the inconvenience and
danger of death which the public is
undergoing through lack Of cars, Null
lally sees only the building of a power
plant costing s2,50o,0oo and which
might take a year to complete.
On 1000 horsepower. according to
an employe of the trolley company,
from 40 to SO cars could be operated.
This would indicate that the present
shortage of 200 cars, with which the
United Railroads admits 1t could solve
the traffic situation, is due either to
it's inability to purchase the 1000
horsepower from the San Francisco
electric company or the inefIciency
of its own power houses, to which the
employees OF the trolley lines trace the
frequent periods of lack o. power on
all the lines.