Year: 1875

AN OPEN CONSPIRACY TO DEFEAT IT-wHAT


DISAPPOINTED PROJECTORS MEAN TO DO.


The Commissioners of Rapid Transit after having dis
posed of the camor Of the projectors of the depressed
scheme by the opinion of their counsel who say that
after the contracts they have made they cannot adopt
any other than elevated plan, entered again upon
their labors yesterday free of all embarrassmens They
discussed the best elements of elevated structure
with Mr.. Navarro and Mr.. Alexander. of the Gilbert
plan. Mr.. Gardner demanded another hearing yestcr
day, but informed by Commissioner Brown that to
hear him and his associates would only be waste Of
time as the decision of the counsel OF the COM
mission precluded all possibility of their road being
built Mr.. Morris announced yesterday to the writer
that the refusal OF the commission adopt his plan
would defeat rapid transit and went so far to say
that 'they" (neaning himself and his associates
Messrs Gardner and Smith, would deliberately go to
work and all their power defeat the of
the commissions abors, and to prevent elevated
road from being built eve shall go every capitalist
whom the Commissioners induce TO build elevated
road said Mr. Morris further, yesterday, and by rep
resenting them the facts (meanng the alleged supe-
riority Of depressed elevated sructure shal
ALLEVIATE them from the scheme make them throw 1t
overheard and adopt We shall fight them at
every step, shall undermine the ground on which
they rest and the upshot of all this will be that they
VIII nave 10 De 10 10 tner work
again and to adopt the depressed plan"


Already last week the favorers of the depressed
plan endeavored to influence the Commissioners by
the statement that all financial hackers of rapid
transit enterprises were in favor of the depressed
plan, and would build no other. The Commissioners
investigated this and found untrue. Yesterday Mr.
Morris made the following explicit statement TO the
writer, and gave it force by using well known and
strong names


'sT6e Commissioners of Rapid Transit cannot author
ize any company but the New York Elevated to build
elevated road in the Third avenue without OBJ
tanning the consent OF the property owners and the
time for dong this has elapsed The only company
that now build an elevated road in the Third av
enue is the New York Elevated Railroad and tell you
that they will not do II. Mr.. David Dows Mr.. Tracy
and Mr.. w. l. Scott, who are the principal cap


as'S I'M IN '1Ss PRESEASON company and m Court
sured that they will not under any circumstances
build any other than depressed road the Third
avenue, and that if the Commissioners authorize
elevated they will not have anything do with to
Such Mr.. Morris statements given as nearly as
can be word for word he uttered t. and as its truth
would imply probable failure of the Commissioners
work 1t was deemed important to investigate it,


ANOTHER STATEMENT.


Messrs Dows and Tracy not found, but Mr..
Scott who is President of the Erie and Pttsburg road
and OF the directors Of the Lake Shore at the
office of the New York Elevated Railroad Company.
Mr. Scott has represented the company before the
Commissioners and IS more especially authorized
to speak for hessrs Dows and Tracy. The statement
of Mr. Morris given above repeated to him and
he asked If 1t was true He replied that il
not that Mr.. Morris had called upon him and asked
bis permission to quote him saying that he would
not build. thing but depressed road but that he
had told him (Morris) that he must not quote him in
that manner He said any such thing nor any
thing that could be interpreted meaning it. He knew
that Mr.. Morris had told the Commissioners the
things but the only truth these statements that
he had said he would rather have the option of building
either depressed elevated road than to be
fined 10 either. con the contrary" SAID Mr.. Scott
1--WE shall build just such road be it what 1t may


THE COMMISSIONERS SHALL DIRECT.


/ said this to the Commissioners on Saturday. This
is also the view of Mr.. Dows and Mr. Tracy, whom |
represent We have perfect confidence in the wisdom
the commission, and have doubt that the elevated
plan to be promulgated next Monday will be satisac
tory to us ALL and shall build the road on the Third
avenue as speedily as it is possible"


SO much for Messrs. Dows, Tracy and Scott. As to
Mr.. Courtright, the President he ad:-Mr Morris
statement made Of whole cloth, and, on the con-
trary that If he had the choice to-day between de-
pressed or elevated road in the Third avenue he
would


THE LATTER.


depressed road would deter people from riding by
the smoke and the noxious gases which it would bring
with IT,


Mr.. Gardner is quoted as having said that he would
60 before the Commissioners to be appointed by the
Supreme Court IN the property object and
there squelch elevated railroads the Third avenue
forever by his arguments.