The San Francisco call., 1908-10-26
United Railroads and
Rights in Streets

Editor Call-Sir: There is a feeling
among a large class of our people that
our streets have been sold, given away
and stolen by the United Railroads
company, and that something should be
done about it,
The trouble is that, as one of the pa
pers aptly put it: 1T is the united
many"
There are many of us with enough
of the American spirit in us to bitterly
resent the insolent way the corporation
is treating this city, and yet who hesitate
at the question of municipal owner
ship, but feel the streets should be
got back for the people.
| believe the following plan would
obtain the support of a majority Of
our people, and take the liberty to see
IL you will put it before them.
In the first place let the supervisors
request subscriptions to a fund of not
less than 100000 to hire a sufficiently
strong battery of lawyers to success
fully push the question whether the
railroad has any franchise at all to a
large number of our streets and carry
1t to the supreme court in Washington.
l feel very sure they will pan out as
the street railroad did in Cleveland,
and as the Southern Pacific did in Oak
land when they tried to keep out the
Western Pacific; that is. they did not
have any franchise themselves.
This subscription should be from all
the people in small amounts and make
it plain that no large sums are wanted
from a few.
ears between two fixed points, and
am confident the supreme court will
hold that the duty devolves on the
railroad to run cars between these
points. They evidently think the same
thing by the way they are running
that horse car on the outer tracks.
If the Polk street is part of the SUIT
ter they are not running the cars ac
cording to their former plan, and it
ought to void their charter
The Hayes street the same way, also
First street and many other places.
The lawyers, if they look close
enough, will find as many loopholes
as some of these people are now finding
in our present courts.
7 say let us get back our streets at
any cost and retain the whole width of
them as well as we do now in part, let
US lay tracks and give the right to
run cars over them under certain con-
ditions, the right to be revoked at the
VIII of the people if the service is
not good, in which case the city would
have to pay a certain fixed sum for
the equipment before they could offer
1t to others.
There being few poor innocent
stock holders in the United Railroads
company, they should have the first
chance. If they were not willing to
take it and give us proper service there
are plenty who would.
/ say again let us unite on the plan
of first getting back our streets, then
it is time enough to see how we will
operate them.
We should fix our charter so the next
board of supervisors can not part with
what belongs to all the people.
In regard to the lower part of Mar.
ket street, when the United Railroads
had the unutterable cheek to tell the
people they would operate the Mail
dock route If we would give them the
outer tracks, had I been one of the s,r-
pervisors / should have at once moved
that the proper law officers be instruct
ed to take steps to have that franchise
forfeited. That would have been the
proper answer.
Even the Chronicle thinks we shall
soon need a subway under Market
street. Let the supervisors put it to =
vote. Shall the city build it and CON
meet the Geary street line with it. then
as fast as possible. connect some cross
town tracks with it? Say, down Seventh
to the depot. out Polk, thence out Lar
kin: and there are plenty of other places
if the people are not foolish enough to
vote that Egan franchise and give away
the balance of the town to a few.
In the little town OF Vancouver. n