The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-08-25
Oakland Street Rail,uuvs

NAKLAND is considering going into partner
~ ship with its ,street7car company. This
chamber of commerce, appealed to by the San
Francisco Oakland Terminal Railways to get i
out of it's difficulties both financial and operative
has drafted charter amendment which it /:
planned to submit to people for ratification at the
coming November election. This is said to be
the first time in the history of traction corpora
tons that a chamber of commerce has been called
in to pull such a system out of its troubles. Ac.
cording to the chambers report
The charter amendment provides for a resettlement
franchise which is sort of half brother to the "Kan
City idea" and the Chicago plan, but has, its
parents assert of the faults of its older kinfok,
Briefly, the Oakland chambers solution of the prob
lem is:
Grant a resettlement franchise of an nate
period condition that the city buy out the
TEN six months notice and may transfer it's right
so to buy to a third person firm or corporation.
Submission 10 the people for ratifying vote Of the
resettement franchise itself.
Appointment by the mayor Of advisory board of
to cooperate with the city council in drafting
the franchise ordinance
Division of the net profits between the city and the
company, the city to get not less than fftyfVe per
cent the company to be allowed six per cent its
valuation and proper amount for maintenance, opera
ton, taxes insurance and depreciation.
Conduct of the traction affairs by joint board
sistng of two one for the citv and for the
. pany an arbter to be cal ed in should they reach
impasse.
In the event of purchase by the city the price is to
be the valuation of the property fixed by the State
railroad commission at the time of granting the fran
chise plus the cost of all additions extensions and
beterments authorized by the board of
minus depreciation fixed by the same board and also
minus properties sold and abandoned; the city may
the outstanding obligations of the road, sub
ject the state constitution, up to the valuation
fixed by the State railroad commission the bonds then
to be secured by the city credit by lien a
fixed percentage of the gross earnings
The charter amendment first outlined, in.
tended to apply only to the affairs of the traction
company, but as the special committee of eleven ap.
pointed to unrave the tangle but further ntots in.
vesgations it decided to broaden the mendment
to permit any public utility to seek resettle-
ment franchise This done.
In the final draft of the amendment the committee
had the assistance of George X Weeks, president of
the San Francisco Oakland Terminal Railways; w. ].
Brobeck, their attorney and C. A. Beardsley counsel
for the stock and bond holders Weeks said after
the ameDdpent whipped into shape for submission
to the popular VOTE that he considered the plan the
best that had yet been evolved in the United States
for Strengthening out street difficulties.
In addition TO the principal provisions Of the plan
outlined above the charter amendment provides that
resettement franchises shall be let the highest
bidder fftyfve per cent of the annual profits TO
than onehalf Of per cent 1t is also provided
that no other street railway steam railroad shall use
the tracks Of the franchise grantee except express
permission of the city
1t is planned to submit the resettlement franchise
ordinance to the people for ratification the spring
election of 1917.