The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-06-04

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Citizens Association on the
Subject of the Richmond
and Henrico Railway Fran
chise.
IN. George ". Mechanic! spoke las,
evening before large crowd OF i,lp-
teScatat!yl c!iiz=na vi me East End
Association. ON the luchmonu-H enrrco
itallWay franchise. lie spoke in part:
Chairman, Ladies and Gcnti.meI,-I
appni cato very much the invitation TO
speak botoEe tins Last End C!ti2.ns
association. 1t Is a sign OF / healthy
system when such organizations exist
and encouraging when d large number
OF ladies' aud gentlemen lend their
prtsencs apon It's sessions.
AS J came 10 this platform. rostrum
pr pulpit a gentleman said to me:
Touch on tho school question" I
rainh that question has DeeE touched
on tonight. and not. lightly could
moi ada TO tie punSent words wh.cn
have been spoken l VIII say t9at In
schools, as in business, We nasd good
morse sense. Sot OF The kind which the
little boy, when told ~ hts teacher to
make sentence containing the words
horse sens said: "Pi, ta.t his stabl
door open. and no amt seen his horse
sense"
Whatever concerns the people of
Richmond IS not foreign to ms. / nay.
bt-n asked 10 sneak on the subject Of
tine Richmond IIenrico Railway Com
Yany franchise. l ride in the stree;
Cars sometimes and | read the advsr-
tstments. saw the old company's
Service Thlks--Rsad the papers," and
read the papers day after day. and
saw their paid advertIse!n ants. and
being thinking man. | couldn't help
but think OF what they said, and TIE
more thought. the more I was con-
Ninotd Of IN Illogical position which
thcT held. as a gentleman said TO me
to-day, rhere Isn't an ounce OF logic
IN ali or their Advertisements. One
thing they claim. that they ought to
he allowed to pay dividends and max.
profits l agree with them. don't
want anyooay TO run a business oil a
losing basis. I believe in tho principle
of living and let 1--we. ] believe that
every employe ought TO zoe willing to
pay !W!ng wage ana that employees
should give an honest hours work for
the money that h receives. ] believe
that IL good. sound business policy.
\ portion Of Ire business OF the old
company quadrupLed-the value o. the
common stock has Increased from u
10 4s cents In the past few years. II
Ii said that some OF the men have re-
ce!ved individually as much as $500. 900
out OF ths!r investncn since IL went
out OF the hands OF the receivers.
The new company has invested
100000 in their enterprise know
one man In Richmond who has put into
1, $4,000 OF hard earned money. II
'e city Council didn't mean TO give
these people such extension OF fran
chse as enabled them TO live that
Council should never have granted the
first franchise, and II they have here
in Fulton q 3.00j-ho power cleo
tr!city and can use on their line only
6oo-horse power. why in reason and
good common sense does not the City
Council say: I'VE Will allow you the
right OF selling the remaining part Of
are willing to pay for 81. i wouldn't
he honest TO lead people into the In
restment OF their money and then bot
Ito them UP so that they couldn't earn
dividends on their investment | no
tlce another thing IN the papers: that
the old company says that onlA gas
plant - sufficient and test FOR Rich
mond. II there should be no compe-
cectr!c current. II the city owned
The electric plant this argument would
hold good. All the dollars ever made
NY the manufacture of gas goes to the
gas plant IS a public monopoly owned
by the people. and. or course, we
wouldn't want competition In our own
business. IL the city OF Richmond
owned the present railroad. It would
be an entirely different question. III
ownerships by corporations all the
money earned is at their disposal and
goes in their own pockets; than 1t Is d
horse OF different color. l would be
In favor. Il the city were in q posi-
lion, for them TO buy and own all of
our street railways and our electric
current, but inasmuch as one OF them
Is private corporation. ] insist that
1t IS wrong for 1t to be a monopoly
Private monopoly means public OPP
preston. They tell us that competi-
ton doesn't help. Competition may not
help where- the city owns the monop-
oily, but whcra individuals arc the
owners. competition is necessary to
advocate the best interest OF the pub
lie In Fredericksburg a widow woman
furnished electricity TO the city. The
Virginia Passenger and Railway Com
pany bought the water rights OF the
Ilappahanuock River and entered into
competition with this widow, with the
r.sult chat they put her out of bust
ness. II competition Is good in Fred
ericksburg, why isn't 1t good in Rich
mond? And. moreover. N you have in
this city only one street railway aud
ono company furnishing electricity,
who believes that company will be as
accommodating and reasonable in it's
rates as It would DO We're thsra Il com
peting company? We had originally
one company i'll Richmond. and We paid
straight scent fare. AS n result of
the Traction Company's appearance We
soon had tickets six for % cents. and
school and labor tickets at ~ cents
DO you know that the new company is
required to pay c=nts for every trans
fer issued 10 the old company? That
Is. In cases OF tranafers, thay haul the
passenger for nothing and give the
old company 70 cent in addition
DR.. Mcdaniel next spoke of the adj
vantages to the city OF the new VIA
duct erected by the new company and
OF the time saved in going rom one
section of the city to tMes other.
1t will be a sad day for this city
when We say We turned over any fran
chise to one company, giving them
monopoly and selling away the rights
and liberties of the people who shed
this best blood OF the South In the
defense OF that liberty. and that in the
morning Of the twentieth century that
We turn over our light and street rail-
way franchise to a company whose
president is a divorced man and dis
regards his marriage vows, and lives