City Council Wrestles a 50-Year Streetcar Franchise Into Shape

NEW STREET CAR FRANCHISE. Council Committee Adopts Percentage Clause for Second Street.

The joint railroad committee of the city council held another meeting at the city hall yesterday afternoon to further consider the ordinance granting to the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company a fifty years' franchise, and after being in session for nearly two hours decided to materially change the provisions relating to the percentage of the gross earnings of the road to be paid by the company to the city in lieu of lighting the streets and the $25 license paid per year on each car.

The amendment to the ordinance was presented by Alderman Clise, and proposes that the company shall from the year 1900 to 1905 pay the city one-half of 1 per cent. of its gross earnings; from 1905 to 1910, 1 per cent.; from 1910 to 1915, 1½ per cent.; from 1915 to 1920, 2 per cent.; from 1920 to 1925, 2½ per cent.; from 1925 to 1930, 3 per cent., and from 1930 to the conclusion of the franchise, 4 per cent.

The motion was adopted after much argument and after several others had been suggested and defeated.

The members of the committee present were: Aldermen Sweeney, Compton, Lovejoy, Clise and Miller, and Delegates James, Hurd, Little, Voigt and Gleason.

Delegate Little tried to get the committee to adopt a resolution compelling the company to pay 1 per cent. when the gross earnings were $100,000 and an additional 1 per cent. for every $25,000 increase, 10 per cent. to be the limit. He argued that his resolution was fair both to the city and to the company. If the company was unable in after years to increase its receipts it would not be burdened, and if the earnings did increase then the city was deserving of a good percentage.

Hurd said he was not opposed to the sliding scale suggested by Mr. Little, but believed that the city should not have to wait until the gross receipts were $100,000. For instance, he said, the company might make it a point not to have its earnings exceed $99,999, and as a result the city would derive no benefit. Little's resolution failed to receive the endorsement of the other members of the committee and Clise introduced his resolution, saying:

'The city council must look after not only the city of Seattle but the interests of its citizens. The citizens demand the best possible service, quick time, good cars, and the easiest possible way of getting from one portion of the city to another. A complete system of transfers would meet with more general approval by the citizens than any other feature, and to accomplish these demands of the citizens the city itself can yield something.'

Mr. Clise's resolution was received favorably, and after being discussed at length, was adopted, and the committee adjourned.