The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-03-17
SEATTLE
WILL RUN
CAR LINE
Women Voters Made a NUM-
ClpaI Experiment
Possible
(By Leased Wire.)

|
the first acts OF the new city admin-
istration, which goes into once next
week, will be to advertise for sale
$S000O0 in bonds for the construc-
ion OF a municipal street car line
Then viii begin the most extensive
experiment in public-owned surface
lines since Tom Johnsons attempt
at Cleveland
With the 100000 the city purposes
to construct and operate 13-miIe
trunk line fioI. Ballard, one Of it's
northern-most wards to the Rainier
! Valley in the south end, crossing the
central business district and inter-
secting all the existing lines OF the
Seattle Electric company, Boston
owned corporation.
To Use Old Companys Tracks
More strictly speaking the city
will not build the three miles
through the middle of town, but m
stead will join the old company and
use a section Of it's tracks by virtue.
Of a common user" clause in it's
| franchise. From the northern end
cf this section to Rainier Valley the
city win parelel the tracks of iheI
Seattle Renton & Southern, an in
dependent interurban line that has
given patrons and city officials much
trouble for several years. Through
much of the distance the city will
lay its tracks on the same streets
used BY the interurban, placing them
outside the existing tracks if the
company refuses to sell or make
agreem ant for joint use.
From the southern end of the joint
track to Ballard the city will buildI
an entirely new line through terri
tory noi now enjoying good street
car service. 1t will follow around q
hillside for three miles and will draw
all the patronage Of those living
above the line, for now those people
have to climb several blocks up a
typical Seattle hillside TO reach an
existing line 1t is eXpec ed that
this three miles Of line viii open up
to settlement large area, compara-
lively close in, that is now sparselyl
settled
Ten Miles of New Lines
10 construct the ten miles of don
lie track line il is estimated will COS
$4,000 mile Thirty cars viii De 4
operated over the line in the begin
ming, $240,000 being set aside for
their purchase This leaves $1l0-I
coo Of the bond issue to be used for
ineiden'als and to put the plant inl
operation.
This elaborate experiment in munic
| il ally owned car systems was made
possible for Seattle by series OIL
apparently unrelated events.
The completion Of the Cedar River
power plant gave the municipalitg
fourteen thousand electric horse-poT
er, much more than it will need s0l
/ its lighting system for years to come
and the output to increase the Quanti
| ty to twenty thousand horsepower By
the installation OF additional gener
ators.
Suffrage Helped the City
Then along came womens suffrage
A month ago he women voters join
ed with their husbands in a recall
election, retired Mayor Hiram Gill
and his open town policy and sub
stituted George w. Dilling, pledgedl
to a clean town and a businessllNel
administration
A week or two la;er some new
charter provisions went into effect
Under which modified commission
form of government with nine coln
cimen-at-large is provided for Seat
ties neighbor Tacoma has the full
pes Moines plan, but Seattle adopted
/ q halfway system
A week ago the legislature passed
a public utilities bin under whica he
j Seattle Electric company can be
forced to exchange transfers with the
proposed city line and make 0 aet
concessions. Reginald ii. Thomson,
city engineer. and George W. Cotter.
nl, a state senator and civil enSi
neer, were alert enough to see the
opportunity. An ordinance submit'
ting the bond plan was given to me
old council, many Of whose members
were candidates for the new council
Il was passed, and at the election
was carried by vote of almost two
to one.
The fares for the new line VIII be
4 cents and cents, and The profits
used for the extension OF the system
Later it is probable the fares will be
reduced