Cañon City record., 1907-07-18
THE COUNCIL CONSIDERS
RAILWAY 2IR0BI,EMS
Mr., Heath Is Anxious to Have Ills Fl
Willing II 1t May Be Returned Wi
will Consider II Again Thursday

At a meeting Of the City Council on
Monday night Frank D. Heath, presi-
dent OF the Canon City & Royal Gorge
Railway company. asked that the
street railway franchise held in es-
crow by the city be surrendered to
him and that he be permitted to pro-
ceed with the construction OF the en-
terprise in accordance with its pro-
visions.
The franchise. which was granted
to Mr.. Heath on the 2lst OF January,
1907, was voluntarily assigned by him
to the city shortly thereafter to be
hSld in trust pending settlement OF
/She liabilities and accounts OF F. 8.
Granger and his associates who had
contracted debts to the amount OF
approximately $4,000 in an attempt
to build and equip an electric line
<Srom Soda Point to the top OF the
hyal Gorge which they were unable
to meet Mr.. Heath purchased the
Granger interests and promised to
pay on the Indebtedness OF his pre-
decessor as soon as he could get
company organized to take Ut the
construction OF the road.
In his petition to the council Mon
day night for a release of the fran
chise Mr.. Heath said that while he
had made the promise to pay on the
Granger accounts in good faith he
had been unable to redeem It.
That PROMISE" declared Mr. Heath.
has been a loadstone about my neck
in promoting the enterprise. | have
worked hard for several months and
have spent a large amount of money
In an effort to find capitalists liberal
enough to take up the proposition on
that basis. but have failed, as | think
any of you would have failed under
like conditions. It Is through no
fault of mine that the creditors or
the old company have not been paid
and II could promote the enterprise
in such a way as to cancel the In
debtedness | would be only too glad
TO do SO. but that is impossible In
view OF the financial stringency now
existing In the money markets of the
country. Having made proposition
<to pay the creditors of the Granger
company and been rejected II seems
to me to be right and equitable that
the council now turn the FRANCHISE
over to me and allow the work OF
$huiiding the road to 20 on as per-
Ated under IT'S terms"
M. Heath said that he had secured
the necessary capital TO give the peo-
pie of Canon City and surrounding
communities an electric railway sys-
TEN. with a branch line to the top OF
the Royal Gorge. The company would
be capitalized at $3.50 900 and that the
bonds had all been contracted for and
that cash would be paid for every
thing entering into the construction
OF the road. Bonds would be sold as
fast as required and the money used
in carrying the plans of the company
into execution.
Il have had considerable difficulty.
said Mr.. Heath, "in inducing the COM
pany to agree to build n street rail-
way system in Canon City and only
succeeded by tacking II on as n con-
dition TO the Royal Gorge division.
The company has been anxious to
drop this end of the proposition all
along. but have insisted that II also
be built and II has been at last agreed
to. The line to the top OF the Royal
Gorge Is going to be built at all
hazard. that having been fully decided
upon. in fact, the contract for It's con-
struction and equipment has been
awarded and work will begin next
Monday morning with large force
81 men. The contract is in the hands
Of the w q. Ross Construction COM
pany OF Chicago and will be pushed
to completion as rapidly rs possible"