Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-12-15

Members of the Board of Trade
decided last night 70 present 10 the
Board OF Works a protest against
the laying of tracks in Park place
and loop around the southern apex
of Military Park by the Public SER
vice Railway Company. If, after
hearing tho protest to be carried to
them next Thursday the members
o. tho Board OF Works see fit 70
grant the franchise asked for, it was
decided 10 carry the matter TO the
State Board of Public Utility Com
missioners.
The meeting was held in the rooms
o. the Down Town Club. About fifty
members we're present. 1t was shown
that at a meeting held in February
last year the board approved the
tracks in Park place. This happeued
when the reroutmg plan of the Pub
lie Service was presented to them.
Board of Works Commissioner
Charles 2. Giller brought the mat
ter up with a resolution protesting
against the proposed franchises He
characterized the proposed loop as
a death trap and said that me
Public Service Corporation had not
acted fairly in presenting It's re-
guests.
.iohn L. O'Tooie, representing the
company. retorted that Commissioner
ELLEN was unfair in his remarks.
AR. Gillen. he said, must be aware OF
the fact hat the Public Service Com
pany vas only seeking the additional
traekage that il might serve the pup
lie in a better manner.
Neither Il double OF single track
should be laid in Park place soatn
of Centre street" said Commissioner
GiIen. THE street is too narrow
for the accommodation Of car lines
and other vehicular traffic. MANY
business buildings now in process OF
erection, or proposed, will make TINS
a most important thoroushfare. II
the middle OF the street was nlled
with trolley tracks, there would De
no room for carriages. automoplles
or other vehicles.
Park place is thirty nine feet ide
from curb to curb. Trolley tracks
would take up seventeen feet OF th's
srace, leaving a space OF between
ten and eleven feet between the
tracks and curb. Double curves nee
essary 10 connect with the Centre
street tracks would make a DEATH
trap at that point. Then, south OF
this point, there would be four tracks
laid between the park and Academy
street People going To the Centre
Market or the postoffice would be
compelled to cross four tracks.
THE company. when ii asked fot
the terminal franchise, promised that
it would not ask for loops for twenty
years to come. as all the looping nee
essary could be done within the ter
minal building. Before completing
the structure the company breaks its
word and demands loop that they
themselves know can serve no good
purpose and can only be DEATH
trap"
In laying the case Of the Public
Service Corporation before the meet
ing Mr.. O'Toole said, in part; THE
Public Service is an industrial cor
Just as much as any manu-
Featuring concern. 1t deals in the
commodity of transportation. When
Il had five and a half million dollar
TO put into effect II laid
the plans before the Mayor and other
officials of the city and also before
this body. We did not ask for per-
petual franchises, but for tifty-year
franchises under the law.
Your committee on internal trade
H1Ial1S IGpbl ltal lGANA " NAAA7 bGHAN
after looking over the general scheme
and in that report spoke Of the
tracks on Park place and the pos
sible looping of the park. That re-
port was indorsed. We are not en-
deavoring 10 acquire new territory
BY anv means, but simply trying TO
handle traffic at a point where the
increase has demanded increased
facilities. There is no one III this
city any more vitality. concerned in
danger than the Public
Service Corporation. and its experts
are continually looking toward that
effect
George I. Reeve said that approval
Of the franchise asked Tor would mean
absolute cOnhscation OF thf streets by
the trolley company. Conditions
would be worse than they ever we're
al the corner of Market and Broad
streets. and there would be no room
whatever for pedestrians, he claimed.
Some confusion arose when the mo-
ton was put TO a vote. On the mo-
ton of Curtis r. Burnett, one of the
members of the committee, it was
finally decided 70 separate the two re
quests and vote on them separately.
But fifteen voted for the Park place
franchise. while thirty members voted
against IL. When the vote was called
for on the loop question, the vote was
so overwhelmingly opposed to il that
August V. Hamburg declared that a
count was entirely unnecessary.
Just before adjournment. MIR. Ham
burg extended his thanks TO the mem
bers Of the committee which waited
on Mayor Haussling to protest
against the new Centre Market con-
tract. and added that the thanks of
the members of the board were due TO
the mayor for his veto