Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-06-24

pier on the one hand and his ware.
house near the river front on the other
to connect both with this subway. the
permission was Instantly granted. but
coupled with an expense demand upon
him for something like a million dol
lars
Gorm1y could give Miss Haldane q
million dollars to play with: he would
not spend ten cents for bribery. He
saw instantly that the demand upon
him was a mere attempt to hold him
up To build the switch would cost
perhaps forty or fifty thousand dol
lars; the privilege might be worth as
much more; but inasmuch as no
streets were crossed. no overhead traf-
&c hindered, he was doubtful even as
to that. The road had been built by
private capital-subscrfbedb by the peo-
ple-on a public franchise. The in
terests Of the public were supposed to
be paramount A reasonable return
upon their investment was all that the
promoters had a right to expect.
Gorm1y had consulted his attorneys,
had appealed to the city council, and
had done everything that he could to
settle the matter short of publishing
the whole affair. He had failed abb
soluteIy everywhere. The members of
the transportation committee of the
board of aldermen were very sorry,
but they did not see what could be
done. A gentle hint that Gormly
might prefer to indemnify the alder
| men for their trouble in case they
should give him permission was met
with panied silence or explosive wrath.
1t was furthermore pointed out to him
| that the board had no power, the
| rights Of the people having been vest
| ed in the corporation for a ninety-nine
year period. 1t was too bad that the
innocent aldermen had allowed them
| selves to be placed In such an unfor-
tunate position; but so 1t wasIand
| there you were. There was no help
for the matter, and Gormly's only re-
source was to pay the money, unless
he wanted to unload his goods into
| truck wagons and vans and cart them
| all over the city. OF course he could
4 do this; but it would be much easier,
more profitable and more desirable in
| every way If he had the right to run
cars out on the pier alongside of the
vessels of his fleet and transport the
/ merchandise In bulk In that way
! He was in a very desperate situa-
| ton Here he was saddled with a
twenty-fve-year lease of one of the
most expensive piers in New York;
| here he had a great warehouse six
/ blocks or more away from the pier;
| here he had also vast store several
miles from the warehouse; here was
a railroad that practically connected
| all three, provided one or two little
spurs or switches could be built from
| pier to railroad, and from warehouse
to railroad. 1t was perhaps the one
4 - - T. - -
ness career not to have arranged mat
| ters before all this came to a climax
! The railroad people meant to make
him pay. They were resolved that
he should; he was equally determined
that he would not.
He was not alone in his position,
| however; for 1t was found on all sides
he discovered it by making quiet in
| quiries-that other shippers and
merchants seeking similar privileges
were being held up in the same way.
The road had proved enormously ex-
| pensive to build; the stock had been
| watered numerically. Contracts
which had been entered into for the
construction Of switches were found
| to be of little value; means were avail
able to break them and evade them,
| and the whole water front of New
York found itself practically helpless
in the grasp of this octopus of a corpo-
ration
There had been no clamor In the pa
pers over this matter; but there was
a tremendous undercurrent of resent
ment and dissatisfaction, and Gormly
thought he saw an opportunity of turn
| ing it to his own account To expose
/ the Ubiquitous methods of procedure
| of the Gotham Freight Traction COM
pany, to bring about its ruin or it's
downfall by depriving 1t of the fran
chise it was abusing, to safeguard the
| people in their rights in any further
| grants, was certainly an object suff1-
| GENTLY high and sufficiently vast to
attract the attention, and, should he
| succeed, to awaken the admiration of
any being. And Gormly himself with
| out losing sight of Miss Haldane be-
| gan to look at the possibilities from
high and noble point Of view, in which
| sefinterest took secondary position
| Therefore, late in November he
came boldly out in the open. and over
his own name vigorously attacked the
| Gotham Freight Traction company.
He did 1t in a unique way, too In
stead of the full page advertisement
| of Gormly's store which appeared
| simultaneously in all the great dai1ies,
/ there was presented one morning in
clear, direct, businesslike English
statement OF the whole situation ex-
actly as 1t was. There were no threats,
no menaces. no limitations of any fu-
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