The Sentinel=record., 1912-11-28
FRANCHISE OF
 IN7ERURBAN
OCCASIONS VIGOROUS OPPOSE TON BEFORE COUNCIL COM
 MITTEE LAST NIGHT.
Sheriff Williams and McLaughIins are Foremost in Matter of Objecting
 to the Use of Grand Avenue.

Whether the franchise to be grant. ed the Little Rock and Hot Springs lnteruTban railroad shall extend far
 enough to give it right of way oves
 Grand avenue, was the subject of
 some very pointed and very opposite l expressions last night, in the coun-
 ell chamber before the ordinance com
 mittee of the city council, to whom the ordinance had been referred. The committee is composed of AL derman Reynolds, Rigsbee, and Shep- herd, but the latter named member was absent last night. No action was taken or indicated by the committee as to what report it would make on the ordinance, but it appears likely the committee will endeavor to effect compromise which will encourage the lnterurban, but will still keep Grand avenue open as a boulevard, free from any form of street railroad traffic.
 Attorney L. E Sawyer engaged by Sheriff Williams to oppose the fran chise, was the first speaker. He stat ed that they had a petition from al the property owners of Grand avenue and that none of them wanted the. railroad. while all opposed it. He believed they all agreed that such railroad would damage their property. He spoke of the noise, the danger, the dirt and dust and other menace oc- casioned by such traffice on resi- dence street He regarded the ave nue as one designated by the govern
 ment for grand boulevard, anG which should be kept as boulevard Attorney Sawyer (wIho is also coun- sel for the Hot Springs Street Rail road company, stated that in his op- position to the franchise he represent ed no other interest than that of MT Williams and the property owners. City Attorney Mclaughlin reviewed the situation, and declared frankly that he opposed any traffic line on Grand avenue. and that he would new
 CT consent to an electric line of any sort on the street. He believed that
 the people had a right to preserve this avenue just as It was given. He
 later referred to another route that
 the Interurban could take in getting
 into the city that he believed would
 serve as well.
 Sheriff Williams addressed few
 remarks in which he stated that if
 the Interurban was built on Grand avenue it would mean the confiscation of his home, for he would not live there any longer, and he believed If the railroad were built there it should
 be forced by the council to make some arrangement for the reimburse ment of whatever injury to property it did.
 Harry NJ. Wescott made short subscribed to the Interurban because he believed that it would help to de velop the city and the state, and that if anybody believed he was in the pro ject as a selfish investor, he could take over what stock he held for what it had cost him. He stated as a part owner of tne Valley Mill property. and as citizen here. he would favor the road. and believed it would do much for the advancement of Hot Springs just as 1t had done for every city in which the interurban traffic had been taken up.
 Attorney Louis Rhoton, of the In- terurban company, and also stock holder, stated the situation in brief, that in all the cities where interur- bans had been built they had advanc- ed the property they had abutted, and that he would enter into an agreement that if any instance could be shown where such line had injured or de preciated property. he would stand the expense of such an investigation