The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-04-10
SOME JOKERS
POINTED OUT
Hammond Business Men
Call Attention to Weak
ness of Franchise.

If the franchise which the Gary and
Interurban Electric Railway company is
seeking in Hammond is granted, the
people OF this city may not be sur
prised to see carloads of coal. train
loads of dynamite, carloads of castings.
carloads of poultry in crates, and in
fact every kind of freight. except live
stock, carried through the residence
and business sections of the city
This is the discovery that was made
by a group Of business men who took
the trouble to secure one of the fran
chises, which the board of public works
is now said to approve, and to make a
study of it's provisions.
One of them said this morning: TT
yould be nothing short of an outrage
80 pass such a franchise. It is fun Of
knotholes and jokers and would give
the people of Hammond as much troub-
le as this same company has caused the
people of Gary"
Discriminate In Cities.
Even the Gary and Interurbans Gary
franchise, as loosely drawn as 1t was.
did not presume to contain a provision
that would make the line an electric
freight road. The provision to which
the Hammond business men take ex-
ception is as follows:
Section 10. The grantee is hereby
granted the right 10 carry passengers,
mail, express packages. fowl in crate
or basket and such other property as
can be conveniently loaded and handled
on its cars. excluding live horses, ut is
not prohibited from carrying dead ones
to some rendering plant) cattle. and
swine or any other character of live
stock. or fertilizers of any kind"
This Is the joker that the Hammond
business men who have investigated the
matter think would make it possible
for the Gary and Interurban company
TO make a freight road of the streets
of Hammond
But that is not the only Joker" that
has been discovered. The franchise pre-
tends to make provision by which ali
other interurban lines which desire to
enter the city and pass through may
do so. This is the way that provision
reads.
Opposed TO Open Door.
Section u. In the event that any
railroad operated by electricity (The
Gary and Interurban line does not limit
itself % electricity. Its franchise reads
electricity with an overhead system. or
any mechanical or electrical motive
power other than what is known as n
third rail- system, steam generated
by coal, and mot operated In comDetf-
tiOn for interurban traffic with said
EranteeD, desires the right to enter
within the central point within said
city over the lines of said grantee. the
grantee shall. by agreement, etc. allow
the said other railroad to use the
grantees tracks for such purposes for
a fare Of not to exceed 2k cents per
passenger. Who is to determine what
lines are competitors Of the grantee
The investigators of this franchise
point out how ridiculous is this pro-
vision. No one knows where the cen
tral point within said city is and tbere
IS no provision whatever for road
that might want to run through the
CITY OF Hammond over the lines of the
Gary and Interurban
Operate; That Is All.
One of the weakest provisions of the !
franchise. according to these business
men. is that providing for the $4,000 |
bond which is to liquidate damages in
the event the road does not fulnu the
provisions of its franchise.
As the franchise states. said bond
to be conditioned that the grantee will
nave its line in operation in the city
of Hammond--within six months from
tNc usItS u the approval Dy the mayor
etc"
All the company has to do is just
what it did in Gary; get the line in
operation. 1t can leave the street un-
paved In the middle of its tracks. inst
as Broadway Is today. or it can ignore
any Of the provisions of the franchise.
just SO the road is in operation. For
months, after taking advantage Of ex
tensions of time, the Gary and Inter
urban line in Gary was in operation.
but that was about all that could be
said of it,
The people raved and stormed and
demanded that Broadway. their beauti-
ful street. should be paved but the
Gary and Interurban officials only
smiled and let them rave until they
tired of their opposition
Rails Too Light
Several other defects, such as per
mission to use rails 20 pounds to the
yard when 80 pounds is the approved
weight. the weight that was used by |
the Hammond, Whiting and East Chi