The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-07-05

ted States. This untoward condition
is chiefly due TO the fact that the
principal franchises under which the
various street railway companies op-
crate have expired, and the city,
needing the cry of the radicals for
municipal ownership, would not re-
new their corporate privileges. Hence,
under these unstable circumstances,
the corporations could not see their
way clear to rehabilitate their run
down lines
The problem of serving the popu-
lation of Chicago has always been an
aggravating one, for the transpor-
tation system has been necessarily
laid ont and developed on what is
termed the "radiating plan" since
the city embraces a territory having
on one side a water front. In this
respect il is not unlike st. Louis,
Boston and Brooklyn. The shore
line Of Chicago is, however, much
longer than that of the cities just
cited. being about twenty-siX miles,
while the limits extend inward for a
distance Of ten miles. This great
area is divided by the confluence of
the two branches of the Chicago Riv-
or into three portions, commonly
known as the north, south and west
sides. with the heart of the business
district on the extreme northern part
of the south side. To this centre all
the various lines converge. This seq
regation Of the city has resulted in
numerous lines operated by a num-
ber Of companies; so that Chicago,
from its transportation viewpoint as
well as in some other things, is really
to be regarded as three cities instead
OF one, and as a consequence a pas
senger often finds that he cannot be
carried over the most direct route be-
tween the two point within the city
limits for a single fare.
The traction question has been a
political football for many years; the
citizens and the ccsapanies here
looked askance at each other, and
municipal ownership seemed to many
TO be the only hope; while the more
conservative believed there were
other and better solutions of the
problem.
This, in brief, was the status of
affairs when the City Council en-
plOyed Bion J. Arnold, the noted cleo
trical engineer, as the man best
suited for impartially investigating
the situation and recommending
measures for relief. Mr.. Arnold was
engaged to procure information and
n ch tnc
lating to the cost Of operation and
the earnings Of the companies, their
capitalization, their valuation and
cost, together with estimates of a
new system, and all other details of
a scientific and financial nature.
Among the most important recon-
mendations proposed by Mr.. Arnold
were the "one-city-one-fare" propo-
SAL with all divisional lines as far as
possible obliterated, so that passen-
ger could be carried over the most
direct route between two points for a
single fare. OF the three plans sub
mitted, the best one, though not the
easiest to execute, contemplated the
complete unifcation of ownership
route principle was strongly advo-
Gated which means that routes
through the business district should
be substituted for downtown termin-
ais, wherever possible, while outside
the business district better results
would follow by connecting the de-
tached lines and operating cars over
fn
scheme includes a system of subways
to accommodate the street car traffic
and relieve the street surface conges-
tion in the business district, with gal
leries for the accommodation of pres
ent and future underground utilities.
The plan calls for three north-and-
south subways from Fourteenth
street on the south to Indiana street
on the north. These are high-level
subways throughout, with no dips.
In combination with the above sys-
tenn there will be three or more low
level subways from the west side,
passing under the north-and-south
subways at right angles to them. and
extending to Michigan avenue. Should
may be extended under the lake front
district, now known as Grant Park.
These latter low-level subways would
require the use Of elevators or esca-
lators. Under this plan there will be
a surface system and eventually a
subway system connecting all the de-
pots and the entire system designed
TO accommodate the short-haul traffic
in the business distr.t.
This plan for a new, reorganized
and unified combined surface and
street railway system would COM
prise the lines of the City Railway
Company, the Union Traction. Com
pany, the Chicago General Railway
Company and the Chicago Consoli-
dated Traction Company within the
city limits and new lines necessary
TO properly connect the disconnected
parts of the system.