The Price of a Streetcar Franchise

The house of delegates took up the extension of the franchise of the Madison street line. Dr. Mitten said he had about reached the point of resistance. He had come there in a conciliatory spirit, but he did not believe the council had as a body a right to do what would be unjust on the part of individuals. He had been intimated that he could not get the franchise unless he ceded the bridge. He had yielded that, and now they tried to impose upon him, after giving it up, to keep it in repair for five years, and perhaps rebuild it. Dr. Mitten called attention to the provision compelling the company to buy material in Seattle. He said no man in this city needed to be made a Seattle man by law. Yet it was not fair to place so many restrictions. No one was particularly onerous, but so many conditions made it very irksome and likely to jeopardize the sale of the bonds.