Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-03-30
TROLLEY FRANCHISE
FINALLY PASSED
Attorney Emmers Offered City $1,000
for Similar Franchise But Offer
Not Accepted by Council.

The CITY Council met Tuesday night
in special session for the purpose OF
taking final action on the trolley fran
chise matter that has been under con-
sideration for a couple weeks. The
members were all present and Mayor
Caskey presided. G. E. Martin, attor-
ney for the capitalists backing the
street railway proposition, was also
present, together with other interest
= ed citizens.
Before the proceedings had gotten
fairly under way Attorney Howard
III. Emmert offered to present the
City of Martinsburg n thousand dol
lars in cash for a trolley franchise
similar to the one then before council.
This was a bomb thrown into the
camp. so to speak, and caused much
surprise and some CONSERVATION for
a while. But Councilman Cumiskey
seemed to be equal to the emergency
and he jumped up and, pounding the
table with his fist, holly denounced
the proposition of Mr.. Emmert. He
said that that was a pretty time to
come with an offer of that sort after
the councilmen had spent night after
night lately working on 8 trolley or
dinance to get it into such shape as
to be acceptable to the people OF Mar
tinsburg whose interests they We're
trying their best to protect, at he
same time not imposing such strin-
gent conditions in the ordinance as to
make it impossible for the trolley peo-
pie TO approve. He said he believed
that the cash proposition was only
made for the purpose OF killing the
franchise then before council, and
which was about to be adopted in the
confident belief that the men behind
1t fully intended to build the trolley
line in Martinsburg. He said it vasa't
a fair deal on the part of Mr.. Emniert
and the men behind his offer.
After some discussion on this I'M
expected phase of the trolley problem
but without taking any action on 1t,
council went into executive session
for final action on the franchise, 1t
having passed its first and second
readings at previous meetings. Then
the room was cleared and the town
fathers were left to themselves.
Following a general discussion of
the trolley matter a motion was made
to place the franchise in the hands of
City Attorney Williams in order that
he might compare it with the present
city charter to ascertain if, in it's var
ious provisions, it was drafted in &C
cordance with the same; and further
more to see il the wording of section
9 of the franchise gave the people
adequate service, etc. The motion
was lost.
Then section 9 of the franchise, on
motion, was amended 50 as to give
council power to determine just what
was meant by adequate service"
This has reference more particularly
to loops and the various sections of
the city the trolley road is TO ira
verse.
The question Of the third and final
reading of the trolley ordinance in It's
amended form then came up and it
CdIIitu ny d NOiC VI IlhtO " WV
Councilmen William Cumiskey, John
L. Oliver and Frank j. Trammell vot-
ing for it and Couacllmen Harry
Smith and VIM. S. Bert voting against
il.
The next step in the lire of trolley
progression is for the Board of Affairs
is to approve the ordinance, which,
in all probability, it will do at the
meeting Friday night when the board
and council will Jointly meet. So,
for all practical purposes the trolley
franchise, as presented by Attorney
G. E. Martin, has passed the City
Council.
Trolley People Mean Business.
The promoters OF the street railway
for Martinsburg mea business. They
have ninety days in which to accept
the ordinance granting them the fran
schise and during that time actual sur
yeys will be made and other prelimi-
nary matters attended to. 1t may be
stated in this connection that the line
OF the proposed road has already been
gone over from the Potomac to Win
chester and the whole situation as to
topography of the country, population
and other resources carefully studied,
all of which has been attended with
considerable expense before engi-
neers have made any actual surveys.
BY the provisions of the ordinance
the trolley people have one year from
the date of the passage of the ordi-
nance in which to begin actual con-
struction and two and a half years
from the same date to build the line.