New-York tribune., 1908-01-02
MAY LOSE FRANCHISES.
WESTCHESTER ROADS UP.
Estimate Board Angry Because OF
DeI0y an Construction worn.

Because Of dilatoriness in getting practical
construction work under way, the franchises
of the New York & Port Chester and the Ne"
York Westchester & Boston railway COM
nanies NAV be declared forfeited by the Board
of Estimate and Apportionment at It's next
meeting, on January 10 1t Is UNDERSTOOD 'h"'
the New York, New Haven 4 Hartlord oohi
pany owns the companies named on account u
its recent purchase of the Millbrook Company
a holding company
The Board of Estimate at a recent meeting
requested the New York, New Haven q Hart
ford Railroad Company to inform the city Oh
its relations with the first named companies
and also with reference it's intentions, call
ing attention at the same time to the 1acl thde
the franchise requirements had not been COM
piled with and that the franchises were tor-
feitable President Mellen of the New Haven
companv Yesterday called up Nelson p Lewis
over the telephone and informed him that ne
had sent the Board of Estimate and Appor-
tgonment a letter in compliance with its re-
quest for information, and that 1t would reach
the board Thursday.
In 1902 the New York & Port chester Ran
road Company and the New York Westches-
ter & Boston Railroad Company applied for
franchises for a six-track railway reachlhS
from the Harlem Ffver along the north shore
to the Connecticut line. The proposed routes
were nearly identical There was long mold
I'D of the applications in the Board of Alder
mon and if was not until there were charges
of fragrant corruption and bribery IN clfcuia-
tiop against the aldermen that action was
forced
R, that time the hackers of the New York.
WestchesteT & Boston seemed to have OBTAINED
tho "inside track" with the aldermen This
ulact IN
resent it before the aldermen, and his argu-
ments had a good deal ITO do with getting the
franchise through Not long after the granting
If this franchise the Port Chester also obtained
q franchise The Port Chester people were pos
itive that they were going to build their road
as soon as they obtained franchise, but as
soon AS they got it they sold out 10 the west
chester company
The Westchester company's franchise re-
ouirad construction work costing s1.00o,00O to
be done by January l, 1906. BY giving the
company the benefit of a liberal estimate on
construction and plant together the BOARD Oh
Estimate admitted that it had quallf1ed under
the requirements for the first year Early III
,on- q holding company called the MillbrOok
Comcanv took over both the Westchester and
the Port Chester companies The Millbrook COM
pany is understood to be owned by the Ne"
York, New Haven Hartford Railroad LII
tie in the shape of construction work has been
done in the last nine months.
A week CT two ago the Board of Estimate
nassed resolution, already stated, calling
on the New Haven company to explain its re-
IatiOns with the MillbroOk Company. The faii-
ure cf the interests in control of the franchise
10 do any considerable construction has blocked
a lot of Improvement work, such as streets and
President
fen was enioined from carrying forward GER
tain improvements until the railroad people
u,ere allowed TO do certain work. Mr Hal
fen said at a recent meeting of the Board or
Estimate that he would go ahead with the I'M
provements as he got the money
whether he went to Jail for 1t or not Chlef
Engineer Lewis of the Board of Estimate SAID
Yesterday that unless the railroad people went
ahead with the building of the road the Board
of Estimate undoubtedly would revoke the fran