Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-03-07
INTERURBAN ROADS.
ABERDEEN.SEATTLE Line WILL
CALL PUBLIC Meeting.
Opponents of Granting Public Roads
for Railways Should not Become
Careless. Meeting of Commits
SioncrS April 5, Should Be Attend
ed by All InteTe Sted.

A public meeting will be called
this week by the projectors of the
Aberdeen-SeattIe interurban railway
fer the purpose OF talking over the
plans Tor the road. Engineer Sam
mons will tell Of the work already
done and what is planned for the flu
ture. IN invitation will be extend
ed to the commercial boGics OF Ho-
quiam, Monte.ano Elm and Oahville
to attend the meeting. which will
probably be held in the city hall, and
it is hoped the meeting will be well
attended. as the projectors of this
line have nothing to conceal and de-
sire the good will and cooperation
of all residing or interested along
the line.
AS matters now stand, officially
concerning the application of the
Grays Harbor Interurban company
for franchise covering nearly every
road in the county, the hearing on
the application is simply postponed
until April ), at which time it be-
hooves those opposed to railways on
the public reads to get busy, should
the board decide the plans of the Sc
attic route unsatisfactory. In such
event there may be an effort to have
the wide open franchise granted, al
though the modified form of
franchise prepared by j. c. Hogan is.
unofficially. before the beard, and
there is. officially, before the COM
.missioners the protest against any
franchise over the roads from the
commercial organizations of the
county, and more than four hundred
taxpaying citizens OF the rural dis
tricts.
TO grant a franchise in the face
of such a protest would be, what
w J. Bryan would term. IAN embez-
element of power but the former ac-
tion OF a majority OF the board justi-
fies the assumption that they need
watching in this connection. If any
additional opinion on the unwisdom
of railways on public roads We're nee
essary, the following from the Port
land Oregonian is commended to the
careful persual of Commissioners Ar
land and Davis:
"Chehalis county citizens have af
forded a wholesome example for
other localities by declaring oppOsi-
tion to interurban car franchises on
public roads. In Aberdeen, last Sun
day, representatives of that city met
with others of Hoquiam, Elma and
Montesano to condemn such conces-
sions on taxpayers highways. Gov
ernor Hay last week uttered the
same warning in Aberdeen at the
good roads convention.
at would seem that no protest
against this misuse of public prop
erty would be needed, but experience
has proved that county commission
ers prone to grant railway franchises
on public highways. Frequently
there are so shortsighted that they
fail to forsee the complications that
some day are sure to follow the oc-
cupancy OF the avenues of public
traffic by railway companies. Wagon
roads in this Western country are
expensive to build and maintain;
well-improved ones are relatively
few; the country needs all its road
facilities for present and future use;
an interurban line on highway vir-
tually takes possession of it and
there is little possibility Of ever
oustting such line.
"Multnomah county has given
franchise to an electric railway on
the Linnton road and now finds that
the car company has squirmed out
of its agreement with the county as
to fares and as to maintenance and
improvement of the highway. Two
or three years ago the most vigorous
protests were needed to prevent the
county court from giving up the Sec
tiOn Line road to a railway that was
said to be aiming for Mount Hood.
Desirable interurban lines, those
backed with bona fide funds, do not
wish the gift of taxpayers avenues
for their tracks. They provide their
own right of way, and prefer to do
it. The protesting citizens of the
Chehalis county cities are looking in
to the future, when the public
will need all its avenues even more
than it does now. County officials,
and citizens who think they could
more easily sell out their land if a
railroad were occupying the public
Il oh hoa hn A Ahnrdnor,