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Show o STREET CAR FRANCHISES. The Street Car company has asked the city council for an extension ot franchise, giving it the right of way on most of the main thoroughfares of the city. It also asks for permission permis-sion to carry freight between midnight mid-night and 6 a. m., and to carry mail and express matter at all times. The company also wants the time allowed them in the franchise of Aug. 4, 1905, for putting its electric wires underground under-ground extended one year. The life of the proposed franchise is 50 years frorm July 1, 1905, the date of the present franchise held by the company. com-pany. The demands of the company of course are large and free from restrictions, restric-tions, more favorable to it no doubt, than it expects to get. It is for the city council to amend it and insert 1 such safe guards as are necessary for the protection of the city. Some assurances should be given that the proposed extension of lines be .carried .car-ried out within a reasonable time. The former company which was bought out by the Harriman system had an exceedingly hard time in getting a time .extension to its franchise, fie cause the Mormon church then owned 16 per cent of the stock of the company, com-pany, the Anti-Mormon Tribune and the rest of the Anti-Mormon press raised the foolish "hicrach cry" and worked up some feeling against the comipany especially with such members mem-bers of the city council as the Tribune Trib-une controlled. ' Mr. Harriman and his associates have said they arc going to spend a few millions of dollars in extending and improving the strict car system. No hinderances should be placed in their way. They should be given a liberal franchise, but it should be provided pro-vided that the improvements shall be made within a reasonable time. Railroads all over the country arc curtailing their operations in the way of extensions of lines and the purchase pur-chase of equipments. Salt Lake has already begun to feel the effect of this policy. Work has been stopped on flic Short Line depot here and 500 or more men let out. This is a fact which the daily papers for some reason rea-son or another have carefully avoided mentioning. Mr. Harriman has also stopped railroad improvements which were being made in Omaha. Some people arc mican enough to say that it was done to punish the people of Omaha because of a tax dispute between be-tween Mr. Harriman's company and the city, which the courts decided in favor of the city. However, that may be as to Omaha. Mr. Harriman lias no reason to be sore at Salt Lake This city and this state have always treated him fairly and propose continuing con-tinuing to do so. Just why work on the new depot has been stopped ha3 not yet appeaned. In the meantime the Rio Grande Western people arc going right ahead with their new depot. de-pot. In this way they are gaining several points over the Short Line in the good graces of the public. It is hoped the difficulty as to wages and hours of labor between the street car company and its employes will be adjusted without a strike. The wages now paid are small and it is hard to imagine how a man with a family can exist on the small pittance he cams, BB especially in these times of alleged BB prosperity when living expenses are BB so high. At the same time it must be BB considered that the Salt Lake street HJ car system has been running for BB something like 20 ycacrs and has been 'H and is now a losing game. In all its BB history it paid only one divident, and BB that a very small one. This city cov- BB iers so much territory, sparccly popu- Bl latcd as compared with almost any BB city in the country, that street cars B arc operated under unusual difficul- BB BB |