The Seattle Republican. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1???-1915, 1911-03-03
lions Of the city?

lions Of the city?
Sentimentalism for time sounds and feels awfully
good but when you get down to hard headed business 1t
does to tinker's damn. In purchasing this
road the city would be called upon to expend in round
numbers an even million dollars and from which she
could possibly get any returns For time it would
be operated and then it would be sold to some company
1t utterly impossible for any city to operate street
car system any other kind of public service system IN
city like Seattle unless it has complete system With
the Renton Southern only bringing its passengers from
Taylors mill the end of the line and then having nc
provisions for transfer it would that the city had
donated million dollars to the residents Of the Rainier
Valley in order for them to ride to and from the city
five-cent fare The burden of taxation in Seattle is
already far too high and to add other taxations Of
local nature thereto, though of her citizens
would be benefited thereby would be class sectional
legislation and it is unfair for section OF the city to
expect all of the other sections to vote tax on them
seuves for an improvement that is only beneficial to the
section or locality.
There is hardly sensible person in Seattle that is
not willing and anxious to W R. Crawford OF the
Renton Southern line severely rebuked for the drastic
and arbitrary methods he has enforced against those de-
pendent on his line for transit to and from the city and
they would 90 out of their way administer that rebuke
but is foolhardy ask of them to burden themselves
with useless tax their property in order to rebuke
him. In opposing the bonds for the purchase OF this road
is not done to help any other company or IN the spirit
Of fighting municipal ownership but because it is not
business proposition Why advocate the city purchasing
something that you know will prove not only heavy
burden of taxation for its purchase price but likewise
heavy taxation operating expenses While the
Rainier Valley is very prosperous and thriving suburb
has not sufficient inhabitants to make that road profit
able for the city to operate.
The Seattle Republican an ardent advocate OF
the municipal ownership of the water and lighting plants
Of the city and it perhaps would advocate the municipal
ownership of street railway SYSTEM providing the propo
sition was gone at business principles, but as said
above the move to have the city take the Crawford
line selfish the part of the residents along the line
and done more for the sake of Furnishing the owners Of
the line for not totng fair than merorous PROPOSE
ton and unbusnesske to try to rope the whole city
into such a middle To get control Of that system 1t
would mean an almost endless amount of litigation on the
part of the city and the end though successful would not
Justify the trouble and expense of getting control OF it.
Yes of course the city council passed the ordinance
for the voters have opportunity to say whether
not they favored the purchasing of the road and for that
there are those inclined crtcise Them but every mem
Der Of the council that voted for that ordinance at
the time candidate succeed himself in the council and
to vote no meant the loss of every vote in the valley
What would you have done? Then again the members
of the council took the view that was not for them to
give final decision on the matter and since the initiative
and referendum theory had been adopted by the city it
was a matter for the voters themselves to decide
Seattle has about 100000 inhabitants and of that
number exceed 5000 would be directly benefited by
the purchase Of the road IN question: and yet the other
295 900 would have share the burden of the expense
the purchase price and the loss of operating the same
A wooden would see at moments glance that
such proposition is unfair and sided that it is
really ridiculous Rim Crawford out Of town if you will
but call the other fellows to pay for something
in which they hardly be said to be indirectly
Interested When that section into the city no
promise was made to it that the city would build a
street line to bring the residents thereof to the city
for five cents and you against those bonds you
will be betraying trust or promise Seattle has no
municipal street system and is not right for her to
start into the busineSs express of