Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-02-07
CITIZENS APPROVE
TERMINAL SCHEME
200 Declare in Favor of Im=
prOyement at Board of
Works Hearing.
M'CARTER GIVES OUTLINE
OF PUBLIC SERVICE PLAN
Will Not interfere With City
Subway Project, He
Declares.

For the second time within twenty
four hours. the plans Of the Public
Service Corporation to build troll
ley terminal at Park place We're in
dorsed at public meeting held last
saight by the Board of Works. More
than 200 persons attended and heard
Thomas n. McCarter, president of
the corporation, give the details of
The plans. as he did at a meeting Of
the Board of Trade on Wednesday
might.
The consensus of opinion was that
tne Legislature should pass laws
permitting the Public Service to
build elevated structures over the
streets which must necessarily be
bridged and to tunnel from Wash
iugton street down Cedar street and
under Military Park to the terminal.
Aside from the franchise to put the
plan into operation. the only thing
the Public Service asks, declared Mr..
McCarter, is the Strengthening Of
Front street by the city. After he
had finished explaining the details OF
the plans with the aid of stereoptlcon
views he invited question.
Dr. William Hanrahan asked why
Il would not be possible to build
subway running a mile in the four
points of the compass from Broad
and Market streets at even less cosc
than the proposed terminal. Mr.. Nc
Garter answered that he believed the
plan of keeping the cars on the sur
face. with the exception of the tunnel
from Washington street, was q bet
ter one for the present. He reiterat-
ed his assertion that the terminal
plan was the result of careful study
By experts.
As soon as we can secure permits
sion to build subways," he said, 'or
have the city build them and let US
rent them, we shall only be too glad
to take that question UP.
Length of Franchise.
DR.. Hanrahan then wanted to know
what period of time the Public Serv-
ice would ask to have the desired
franchise run. For a moment or two
Mr. McCarter lost his calm bearing
maintained during the meeting.
THE civil law OF the State limits
the franchises of surface roads to
fifty years." said Mr.. McCarter with
some heat. 1 do not expect to get
any further consideration. 1 have
not thought of the short subway
Franchise, but I will be reasonable
and expect the city to be reasonable.
we have not gone into the details
OF the refunding aspect of the plan.
II the subway was TO extend from
city line to city line it would be-
come a vital matter, but l want
every citizen present to get out Of his
head the idea that n project Of this
kind can be financed with only a
short term to run insofar as the
franchises are concerned If the sub
way franchise is to be a short-life
franchise / will not nor nobody else
will build them. That has been the
trouble in this State, the investment
of capital has been stagnated by
short-term franchises.
ct am not arguing in favor Of the
d-fashioned method of giving franz
chises in perpetuity. but simply from
an economical standpoint. What
man or body of men would think of
financing u proposition that within
ten years would come TO a close with
out even the interest on the sinking
fund and capital invested being
earned? / believe that the Public
Service Corporation and the city Off
Gals will find a common ground on
which the question of the length of
time Of franchises may be settled.
Why, in ten or twenty years the
property would become junk such as
st would not pay to take out of the
ground Under the present rate
making conditions your earning ca
pacity is held down to such an extent
that time must be had to allow the
Investment of such an amount Of
money
Siegfried Lesehziner, real estate
opera tor, announced himself as who'll
Iy N favor of the plan and added he
had years ago predicted such a thing
would be necessary to solve the traffic
proc lem. James NJ. Reilly. secretary
If the Board of Trade. told how that
body lad acted on the plan and urged
that similar resolution be passed.