The San Francisco call., 1908-07-21
Competition Clause Insisted on
in Outer Track Permit
Granted u. r. K.
Money Payment for Franchise
Waived, With Right Retained
TO Revoke at Will
Action of Majority Members
Puts Responsibility for Horse
cars Squarely on Company

By the decisive vote of II to 8 the
board of supervisors refused yester-
day to give the United Railroads the
exclusive right to operate electric cars
in lower Market street. The board
granted permit to run trolley cars
on the outer tracks from Sansome
street to- the ferry, but with the pro-
viso that the corporation first agree in
writing to allow a municipality owned
line to use those rails. The permit
was made revocable at will. It is un-
derstood that the United Railroads
will refuse to avail itself of the priv
ilege, choosing rather TO use the horse
obtain a Market street outlet to the
ferry. The resolution covering the sub
ject was passed by the following vote:
Aye-Bancroft, Booth, Connolly, Dan
coma, Giannini Jennings, Johnston,
McLeran, Murdock, Murphy, Payot
and Rixford-12.
No-Pollok, McAllister, Comte-3.
Absent-Center, Hooks, Broderick.
The franchise was approved with the
safeguarding attached after a motion
had been defeated, the purport of which
was to grant the permit with no stip-
nlation protecting the rights of the
city. This motion received the affirm
ative votes of only Pollok, McAllister
and Comte.
PERMIT Is REyOCABLE
u
first makes the permit "revocabIe at
however, that before such privilege
shall be exercised said Sut-
ter street railroad company shall file
with the board of supervisors a stip-
ulation in writing agreeing to grant
a right of way for a municipality owned
street railroad over said tracks"
The franchise was sought in the
name of the Sutter street company.
which has become a part of the United
Railroads in all but name. The mat
ter came before the supervisors in the
form of an elaborate petition from TIE
commercial interests of the city.
BY their action yesterday the super
visors have drawn the issue in a clear
cut manner. They waived the condi-
tion which had been previously insisted
upon that the company pay the city
81 900 a month for the permit and left
only such restriction as would enable
the city to retain for itself the use
of it's streets. A refusal on the part
of the United Railroads to accept the
permit as offered would naturally in
dicate that the sole purpose of the COM
pany in refraining from the use of the
outer tracks for the Sutter trolley cars
was desire to maintain a monopoly
in lower Market street.
REBUKES COMMERCIAL BODIES
Representatives of local commercial
bodies were present at yesterdays
meeting of the board and it was to
them that Supervisor Connolly ad-
dressed some pointed remarks. He said:
"It is hard thing for the supervis-
ors to have to sit here and refuse the
United Railroads privilege that the
representatives of civic and commercial
bodies are clamoring for them to grant.
| The railroad officials know they can
sit easily at their desks and depend
upon the leading citizens to come here
seeking their privileges for them while
they laugh in their sleeves.
The exclusive privilege to operate
electric cars on all the tracks of lower
Market street is one, 1 believe, well
worth $1,0O0,000. We supervisors are
the trustees of the citizens of San
Francisco in the ownership of it's
streets and that trust we must admin
lister for them"