-07
- 9.
07-
d
190:
, in 1906
Harvar
9.
e. in
tion,
I, H
Prize
Men
el
©
aldwin P
bi
onora
*-*-
* ... 3 &
M
• * {
. . . . .
**
* - * IHe
d
winner
Awar
3LISH
- ?

#######Ė| iſ||||||||KJ） illuſ.llllllllllll！--r -| | | | | | | | | | |}{{L[L] №lliſliº
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr：NSIĘ∞∞∞， ， ， ， ∈ （№|×
ĒĶIĻIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-§§§\[\[|\{\}}!!!!!!!!!iſIIIIIIIIIIIII||I||I||I||I||I||I|[[#
it iſ ºl '!'.
. . r
IJAP
i-i-tilti-i-
; :
Ē
3
€.
B
B
È
2.
}}
Ēķ
È.
§§
§
UAERS PENIN5uuxtà AMOENA
T ... i ! . . . . . . . . iſ
jgyő
MIT T.
Rºy Gºº Oyº
Tºti.
sº º º ºs as sº a º ºs º ºs º ºsº º ſº º º º sº ºººº tºº º cº º ºs º ºs º ºs º ºsº
†ſ:

HE
4-4-3 ;
O O • -- . R 75'
William H. Baldwin Prize Essay * ! e'.
The
STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
Of
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
ſº
\,-
vo BY
wº-
A. E. PINANSKI, Harvard, '08
Winner of Baldwin Prize, offered by
National Municipal League in 1907-08,
Awarded Honorable Mention, in 1906-07
NEW YORK
MCGRAW PUBLISHING COMPANY
239 West 39th Street,
1908
CopyRIGHT, 1908,
by
MCGRAW PluſBLISHING COMPANY
NEW YORK
President ecretary Tressurer
Charles J. Bonaparte, Baltimore Clinton Rogers Woodruff, Philadelphia George Burnham, Jr., Philadelphia
National Municipal League
Office of the Secretary
795 North American Building
i21 South Broad St.
NML/MMK Philadelphia, April 18, 1908.
Mr. A. E. Pinanski,
loo Lawrence Street,
Roxbury, Mass.
Tear Sir: -
I take pleasure in advising you that you have been
awarded the Baldwin Prize offered by the National Municipal League
for the year 1908 for the essay entitled "The Relation of the
Municipality to the Transportation Service".

2 wery truly yours,
\
º:
|
s
%.
--s
º
7
§
}
{}
--§*
#
PREFACE
THE subject discussed in the following pages may seem too
broad for the limited space permitted by the terms of com-
petition; since a study of the Street Railway System of Metro-
politan Boston must necessarily deal not alone with the relation
of the Municipality of the City of Boston to its street railways,
but to some extent, with the relation of a dozen or more sub-
urban cities and towns, which lie also within the Metropoli-
tan area. - -
The municipal area of Boston, with a population of 600,000,
cannot be taken by itself, when the transportation problem
‘is considered. The true transportation area of Boston is made
up of a score of separate municipal units, containing altogether
well in excess of 1,200,000 persons. Its topographical peculiar-
ities are such that the problem involves bringing in, every morn-
ing, the suburban population along lines which may well be
likened to the ribs of a fan, and the distribution every night
of the same people along the same lines, but in the reverse
direction. Hence the congestion of street car traffic in the
downtown districts probably exceeds that of any city in the
country. This Metropolitan district, it seems, is the nearest ap-
proximation which has been reached, on this continent at least,
to the metropolis of the future, that is, a city closely built, and
during the daytime densely populated, this surrounded by a
semi-rural district, in which are the homes of those who work
in the city, but who pass their nights, and whose families pass
their lives, under the purer and healthier influences of the
country.
PREFACE
In this essay, the writer has dealt with the following sub-
divisions of the subject:-
1.
2.
i
Provisions regulating the granting of street railway
franchises.
Historical sketch of the development of the street rail-
Way system.
. Terms of existing franchise grants.
a. The perpetual-revocable franchise.
b. Money and other payments.
. The process of consolidation of street railway companies.
The finances of the street railway company.
Present condition of the street railway service.
Suggestions for improvement of service.
. Complete Bibliography.
THE STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
of
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
It seems hardly an exaggeration to say that not only is “the
whole civilized world at work on improved municipal trans-
portation, but every considerable town in both hemispheres
is acquiring experience of more or less general value in regard
to it, while at the same time seeking to learn the results of ex-
perience elsewhere.” This is more obviously true of material
and scientific appliances, viz., cars, motors, conductors and
track laying; but in its other and more abstruse aspects the
problem is of the utmost hygenic and governmental importance.
As a public agency, the electric street railway is now fast rev-
olutionizing the methods of urban life, spreading it over a
wider area and subjecting it to new influences; at the same time
entailing, in such matters as paving, sewerage and police, vastly
increased municipal expenditures. The benefits of the rapid
extension of a street railway system are never doubted, for
an enormous part of the population is enabled to make its
home in the more healthy and pleasant suburbs. It is also
established beyond question that these railways are “Natural
Monopolies’’ so far as competition with other lines of traffic
is concerned.” It would be hoping for too much to expect
natural monopolies so absolute not to make the most of their
opportunities to secure profits far in excess of those secured
in ordinary competitive business. The communities are to
blame if they tacitly allow the enjoyment of monopoly profits
by corporations which freely use the public streets. The people
will ride and must ride, whether they like or dislike the cor-
poration which provides the service. One might reasonably
1 Report of the Special Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature on “The
Relations Between Cities and Street Railway Companies.” February, 1898.
Page 10.
* E. W. Bemis : Municipal Monopolies. Page 508.
8 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
expect, therefore, when the relations between the people and
these companies are properly regulated, that corporate profits
would be as much less than those of the average competitive
enterprises as their risks and requirements in the way of ability
are inferior to those demanded by the latter.
In spite of the fact that the street railway is, in legislation
as well as in the popular mind, usually associated with the
steam railroad, the two are, in law as well as in mechanical
science, quite distinct. Both are comparatively recent out-
growths of the tramway, which first came into use in the Eng-
lish mining regions more than two centuries ago;' but, while
the railroad marked the use of steam power in a new direction,
and was a direct consequence of the discovery of that power,
the street railway was merely an obvious development of the
old tram applied to the omnibus route. As the modern munic-
ipalities expanded, the demand for better facilities in the matter
of urban transportation made itself more strongly felt. Nat-
urally, the street car and the tramway suggested themselves
as convenient agencies—the street car being nothing more nor
less than an improved omnibus, and the tramway a special
feature in the pavement of the public way. The street railway
for the transportation of passengers is, indeed, an American
invention; and the first successful horse-car line for that pur-
pose was laid in New York City in 1852, its engineer being
a Frenchman named Loubat.” The principal advantage of the
system claimed at the outset was economy in horse power, this
resulting obviously from the use of a permanent rail. The
saving of power by such use is, in fact, much greater than a
casual thinker would suppose, and accounts in part for the
smallness of the fares necessary to support a street railway;
but experience has shown other advantages of perhaps still
greater importance.
There is probably no locality in which a greater change has
been wrought by street railways than in Boston and its suburbs.
* “Tramways operated by horse-power were used in coal mines in England ;
and to some extent horses were there used on railways for passengers before
the steam-engine was perfected, but not on the streets.”—-Prentiss Cummings :
Street Railway System of Boston. Note. Page 287.
* A car drawn by horses was also run at One time over vacant land between
Harvard Square, Cambridge, and Union Square, Somerville, connecting with
the Fitchburg railroad. “This is doubtless what gave the cue to the pioneers
of street railway transportation in the vicinity of Boston.” Louis P. Hager :
History of the West End Street Railway. Page 14.
* Prentiss Cummings: Street Railway System of Boston. Page 287.
* Some engineers have estimated that one horse can haul as large a load
On a good road as 33 horses could haul on an average country road.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 9
At the time of the advent of street cars in 1856, Charlestown,
Roxbury, West Roxbury, Dorchester and Brighton were in-
dependent municipalities; and Cambridge was a small city
of 20,000 inhabitants. All the bridges leading into Boston
were then toll bridges, and most of the roads were turn-pikes
upon which tolls were charged. The only public means of
communication between any of these places and Boston were
the lines of coaches. Cambridge was then the largest of the
suburbs, and the best service at any time between Cambridge
and Boston was a coach every half-hour during the business
portion of the day. Even this service was irregular and un-
certain, the coaches often foundering in the muddy streets;
hence the patronage was precarious." It was in the main, im-
possible for men doing business in Boston to live outside the
city; and the amount of business which could be done either
in the city or suburbs was thus limited. It is not too much
to say that the street railway has wrought a complete revolu-
tion in the habits, conditions, and even civilization of the com-
munity. In short, it is the street railway that has made
Greater Boston possible.
The first street railway corporation to receive a charter
from the Massachusetts Legislature was the Dorchester and
Roxbury Company," for a horse railroad connecting Dorchester
and Roxbury;' but this line was not constructed until several
years later.” The first grant made by the Legislature for the
construction and operation of such a railroad in the public
highways was that in 1853, to the Metropolitan Railroad Com-
pany of Boston," and a similar charter was granted to the
Cambridge Street Railroad Company.’ The Metropolitan char-
ter granted at this time turned out to be defective, and no
action was taken under it until after it had been amended the
following year; but the Cambridge company was at once
1 In some cases coaches were run under a guaranty of a certain revenue.
Prentiss Cummings : Street Railway System of Boston. Page 287
* Philosophic writers, among them Macaulay, agree that railways and all
else that facilitates intercourse between man and man are efficient agents in
civilization.
* The incorporators were William D. Swan, Charles C. Holbrook and William
Hendry. Louis P. Hager : History of the West End Street Railway. Page 14.
Also Cummings : Page 287.
* Strangely enough this grant is not mentioned in the Special Report to the
Massachusetts Legislature in 1898.
* The duration of tuis corporation was extended by the Legislature, but on
October 1, 1864, its property and franchise passed into the hands of the
Metropolitan Railroad Company.
21 ºted by authority of Chapter 353 of the Acts of 1853, approved May
* By Chapter 383 of the Acts of 1853, approved May 25, 1853.
10 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
organized, and obtained in December 4, 1854, its first location
in Boston, on Cambridge, Chambers and Green streets. This
road encountered great opposition, particularly in Cambridge,
and in Cambridgeport, where it was obliged to build the streets
anew in order to get a firm foundation. In the latter place
its tracks were repeatedly torn up at night.' Capitalists felt
great distrust in the enterprise, claiming, not unnaturally, that
there was hardly enough business to support the coach line.”
The first street car in Boston was run, on March 26, 1856, from
Cambridgeport to Charles street, and shortly afterwards the
line was running regularly between Harvard and Bowdoin
Squares. The Cambridge railroad reported over a million
paying passengers in its first year; the Metropolitan railway,
over eight millions; and it at once became apparent to every-
body that there was a real demand for local transportation
facilities far in excess of popular expectations.
The success of the Metropolitan and Cambridge roads speed-
ily led to the construction of other street railways. The Mid-
dlesex Railroad Company was chartered on April 29, 1854,
and the first car ran into the city from Charlestown in 1857.
Public sentiment, at first, was most bitter against the intro-
duction of this road to supersede the old line of omnibuses;
but gradually it succumbed to the inevitable, and on April 30,
1858, the company was permitted to cross Charlestown Bridge
without payment of tolls, and a year later the same privilege
was accorded over the Malden Bridge.” The Broadway Rail-
road Company from South Boston was chartered in 1854, and
commenced running in 1858, but ten years later its name was
changed to the South Boston Railroad Company. In addition
to the above named companies, the Suffolk Railroad Company
was chartered in 1857 to construct lines in East Boston, and
in the city, to run from the East Boston Ferry through Han-
over Street to Scollay Square, and thence to the Metropolitan
tracks on Boylston Street.” The above were the principal lines
1 Mr. Prentiss Cummings in his book already referred to says: “When I
graduated from Harvard in 1864, there were no paved. Sidewalks in Cambridge
and no paved streets except pavement between the rails, and in the spring of
the vear the whole community habitually walked on the car tracks.”
2 The contractor who built the original tracks between Harvard Square,
Cambridge, and Bowdoin Square, Boston, and who took his pay in stock at par
at the rate of $30,000 per mile, became insolvent owing to the decline of
the stock to less than $50 per share.
8 Hager : History of the West End Railway. Page 17.
* Its incorporators were Charles J. F. Allen, Seth Adams and John P. Monks.
5 Its incorporators were Geo. H. Plummer, E. Atkins, E. F. Porter, D. L.
Webster, A. Fisk, and J. G. Webster.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 11
then operated in Boston, but most of them had several
branches' which were not of sufficient importance to require de-
tailed description, but with which they afterward consolidated.
In fact, there was at this time a most exaggerated idea of the
value of street railway franchises which resulted in something
like a mania on the subject. Many charters were obtained
which were never used, and many small roads were built long
in advance of any sufficient demand to justify their cost. The
four great lines which I have named—the Metropolitan, Mid-
dlesex, Cambridge and South Boston—grew rapidly, and made
many extensions within their proper territories, some because
they were needed, others merely to prevent the formation of
rival companies. There is no doubt that the running of cars
from all sources far into or through the city proper was in
the public interest, and there is also no doubt that the motive
for so doing was greed; and the methods employed to obtain
rights were simply piratical.” The roads built prior to 1860
were laid with light rails, in several cases of cast iron, and
over these rails cars drawn by horses were run at an average
speed of but little over six miles an hour.” Imperfect as this
form of transportation would be regarded to-day, it grew
steadily in favor with the public, and the roads soon paid good
dividends to their stockholders. The success of this new
method of passenger conveyance through the streets, became
so marked that other promoters quickly sought an entrance
into the new and profitable field of city transportation. “The
Legislature of Massachusetts and the city Council of Boston,
filled with the fallacious belief universally held at the time,
that the more competition there was in street transportation
the better off would the community be, freely granted rights
to all these new companies to occupy the city streets.’”
These early street railways required special legislation to
enable them to carry on their business, and the laws began
* Some of these branches were doubtless built in good faith, and some for
the express purpose of being sold at a profit. There have been several periods
in Boston, when it has been a regular industry to build roads to use the
tracks of the old companies and intentionally to become such a nuisance as
to lead to being purchased at a large price.
* It will give some idea of the extent to which this system was practiced, to
say that at the time of the general consolidation in 1887, the South Boston
road was actually running more miles upon the tracks of the Metropolitan
Company than upon its own ; and one of its lines, known as the “Blue Line,”
only ran a few rods on the South Boston tracks, but made a wide circuit
on the Metropolitan tracks through the business portion of the city.—Mr.
Henry M. Whitney.
* Rules, and Regulations for the Running of Street Cars, passed by the
Board of Aldermen of the City of Boston. 1869. Page 24.
* W. S. Allen : Development of Street Railways in Massachusetts. Page 4.
12 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
speedily to adapt themselves to the conditions. Each railway
was incorporated by special act of the Legislature, and each
charter granted certain privileges in the streets, and author-
ized the city authorities to impose various restrictions. It may
be well to note here the fact that the control of the streets
and highways in Massachusetts rests in the Legislature, and
that the courts have repeatedly held that when acting on
Questions concerning these, the aldermen are not acting as
municipal representatives but as direct servants of the Legis-
lature which has by statute delegated certain of its powers
to them.” These early street railway charters provide that
the mayor and aldermen shall determine in what streets the
company may lay its tracks, the distance from the sidewalk
at which the rails shall be laid, likewise the grade and the
gauge; and they contain, also, a provision that the mayor
and aldermen shall at all times have power to make such reg-
ulations as to the speed of the cars and mode of use of the
tracks as public safety and convenience may require.” The
company is given power to construct, maintain, and use such
tracks on the location granted by the municipal authorities;
subject, however, to a provision that the existence of the cor-
poration shall be limited to a period of fifty years from the
date of the passage of the act." In 1854, amendments were
made to the charters granted in 1853, one providing that at
any time after the expiration of one year from the opening
of the road for use, the mayor and aldermen, may, by a ma-
jority vote, determine that any of the tracks which the board
sees fit shall be discontinued, and thereupon the tracks of the
company shall forthwith be taken up and removed in con-
formity with the vote or order of the mayor and aldermen.
1 Report of the Secretary of the Special Legislative Committee on “The Re-
lations Between Cities and Street Railways.” Page 62.
2 Prince v. Crocker. 166 Mass., 347.
* In connection with this provision it is interesting to notice some of the
interesting rules, in the “rules and regulations,” passed by the Board of Alder-
men, in 1869 and 1879. Pages 24 and 87 respectively.
Section 1. “No car shall be drawn at a greater speed in the city proper
than 6 miles an hour.”
Section 10. “Whenever there shall occur a fall of snow of sufficient depth
to allow vehicles to pass over the same on runners, no snow plow shall be
allowed to pass over the Several tracks ; nor shall the respective corpora-
tions allow snow to be removed from their tracks without consent being first
obtained of the Superintendent of Streets with the approbation of the Com-
mittee on Paving. The consent for the removal of the snow for the opening
of the tracks being refused, the Several corporations are authorized to use
sufficient number of 8leighs to convey passengers requiring a transit, day by
day, until the cars can be used on the tracks.”
* W. S. Allen : Railway Franchises in Massachusetts. In “The Annals of
the American Academy of Political Science.” Volume 27, No. 1. Page 92.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 13
Another amendment provided that notice shall be given to
all abuttors, before a grant of location is made, and still
another that rates of fare within the city of Boston shall not
exceed five cents except with the consent of the mayor and
aldermen. From this time on, the section relating to the revo-
cation of locations was inserted in each new charter granted
to a street railway company.
All these charters require that the company shall maintain
and keep in repair such portion of the streets and bridges as
shall be occupied by its tracks. One charter, that incorporat-
ing the Dorchester Avenue Railroad Company, required it to
keep in repair the whole of the bed of any road in the town of
Dorchester in which it might lay tracks; but in the next year
this act was amended by the repeal of this clause, and the sub-
stitution of a proviso that only that part of the road occupied
by the tracks of the railway should be kept in repair.” The
earlier charters all provide for the purchase by the municipali-
ties of “all the franchises, property, rights and machinery of
the company at any time after the expiration of ten years
from the opening of any part of the road, by paying for these
rights such a sum as will reimburse to each person who may
be a stockholder therein par value of his stock, together with
a net profit of 10 per cent. per annum from the time of the
transfer of said stock to him on the books of the corporation,
deducting the dividends received by said stockholders
thereon.” It was early recognized that the use of the streets
for more than one set of tracks was infeasible” and as early
as 1857 a provision was inserted in one charter allowing this
road to run over the tracks of another, and in 1863 a general
law was passed governing the use of the tracks of one road
by another. By 1864, the spread of these street railways had
become so great throughout the commonwealth that an attempt
was made to unify the laws, and in that year a general act was
passed to govern them. In this general law, the feature of
a perpetual location, subject to revocation by the local authori-
ties, was retained, and the requirement as to the maintenance
*p
i Chapter 435, Acts of 1854. State House Ilibrary.
2 The amendment further defined that portion “to be the space between
the rails and so much on each side thereof as shall be within the perpendicu-
lar let fall from the extreme width of any car or carriage used thereon, being
the space, from which the public travel is excluded during the passing of said
car or carriages.”
* W. S. Allen : Railway Franchises in Massachusetts. I’age 92.
14 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
of the street was by this act made to cover the space within
the tracks and eighteen inches on each side. In this law .
the provisions existing in many of the original charters pro-
viding for eventual municipal ownership of the roads were
eliminated. But this general law was evidently not an entirely
satisfactory statute, for in the same year a commission was
appointed by authority of the Legislature to investigate the
whole subject of street railways. -
The commission made a report to the Legislature of 1865,
and submitted a bill, which, however, failed of becoming
a law.” This commission also recommended, that, in event
of the appointment of a Board of Railroad Commissioners,
a subject then under discussion, such board should have
the jurisdiction over the street railways as over steam
railroads. It was not until 1871 that a Board of Rail-
road Commissioners was established and given jurisdiction
over street railways, and at about the same time the entire
law in relation to them was codified. It was undoubtedly the
intention, in passing these general acts, to do away with the
necessity of asking the Legislature for the incorporation of
every road; but in spite of their existence a large number of
special charters have been granted from that time to this. A
few of these charters were perhaps necessary, because of some
peculiar local condition not covered by the terms of the general
law, or because of conditions which possibly did not exist at
the time of its passage; but in the great majority of cases
they were asked for because of the erroneous idea existing
in the community that such special charters carry with them
greater privileges than do those of the companies organized
under the general law.
In April 12, 1872, the Highland Street Railroad Company”
was chartered for the avowed purpose of competing with the
i Even at this early date it was recognized that the local authorities had
in many cases imposed unjust burdens upon the railways, and that the power
to revoke locations might be improperly used, so that the commission recom-
mended that extraordinary conditions must be shown to be based upon good
and sufficient reasons; that these reasons must be stated, and must he good
in law. It also recommended that there should be an appeal to the courts
from an order of revocation issued by the local authorities.—Report of Special
Committee on Street Railways. 1865.
* This statute, which has since that date been more or less amended to
meet changed conditions, especially as regards issues of stock and the introduc-
tion of electric power, remains the fundamental law of street railways, and
under Chap. 113 of , the Public Statutes, governs their organization, construc-
tion and operation at the present time.—Report of the Special Legislative Com-
mittee on Relations Between Cities and Street Railways. 1896. Éage 64.
3 The ...”.” Were chartered under the name of “Railroads” or
“Horse Railroads. n 187% an act of the Legislature provided that ne -
panies should be entitled “Street Railway c; p W COIn
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 15
Metropolitan Company in the business of its original line be-
tween Roxbury and the city proper,” and began active opera-
tion on the following October 22. In 1881, the Charles River
Street Railway Company was chartered to compete with the
Cambridge Railroad Company, on its original line over West
Boston Bridge. Of course, the main object of the promoters
of both roads was to make money, but they were much aided
both in obtaining capital and franchises by the popular feeling
against the two pioneer railways. The public had some real
grievances to redress in both cases; and the two old roads
were making money, which in the public mind was itself a
grievance. But the Highland railway was a great benefit to
the community in many ways. It was the best equipped of
the several street car lines in Boston, its cars being handsome
pieces of architecture,” and it exercised great care in selecting
polite and competent employees," and was the first to uniform
them.” This road is entitled to a large share of the credit
of the present park system of Boston, for it was almost wholly
due to its influence that Franklin Park was purchased and
laid out by the city; and the whole of Roxbury was benefited
and built up by its improved service. Its lines were, however,
never pecuniarily profitable, until long after the company had
passed out of existence. The Highland and Charles River
roads, were however, in a certain way, a public detriment.
Their very existence depended upon the business which they
could secure on the tracks of other companies, and they sought
to encroach wherever they could. Naturally, this excited much
bitter feeling, and the managements of the other railways de-
termined that the so called piratical roads should not do a
profitable business on their tracks." The result of all this, was
1 Hager : History of the West End Railway. Page 15.
2 Prentiss Cummings : Street Railway System of Boston. Page 296.
* The bodies of the cars were ornamented with the conventional plaid of
the Scotch Highlanders, in the center of which on either side was a panel
representing some historical scene or a portrait of some one of the Massachu-
setts governors for whom the cars were named.
4 “In return for which it paid liberal salaries and otherwise encouraged
those who held subordinate positions.—Its stockholders were the most wealthy
residents of the Back Bay district, among whom were many ladies.”—Louis P.
Hager : History of the West End Railway Co. Page 15.
5 Adopting for this purpose a gray cloth similar to that of the letter car-
riers’ uniforms.
6 It is a well-known habit of the public to take the forward of two cars
running near together, even if it be crowded ; and the Metropolitan and Cam-
bridge roads were at great pains so to arrange their time tables as to have
a car of theirs lead every car of other roads on their tracks; and the other
roads would keep shifting their time tables to prevent this. Employees had
almost partisan feeling, and there was a general practice of racing cars to
get in ahead ; and the car that was left behind would fall back and go as
slowly as possible so as to get passengers from the car in the rear.
16 - STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
serious injury to the service, in the way of blockades, acci-
dents, etc. As might be supposed, there was a continual clash-
ing of interests which promised to culminate in inextricable
chaos. Upon every hand were heard loud and just denuncia-
tions of the transportation facilities which these various sys-
tems afforded, and the means for remedying existing con-
ditions soon became a subject for the gravest consideration.
In 1879 petitions were started for an elevated railway, the pe-
titioners claiming that Boston was deficient in its transpor-
tation service; and they asked for chartered rights and privi-
leges in elevated railways through the streets of the city.’ The
petitioners were met by several classes of remonstrants, and
the attitude of the latter represents very well the attitude
of the public towards any new attempt to get additional street
railway franchises. One class consisted of property holders
along the lines of the proposed elevated railways, who rep-
resented that their property would be largely depreciated.
Another class consisted of the street or surface railway com-
panies already chartered and operated, who claimed that they
had rights in the streets under their charters which would be
greatly injured or ruined by the proposed legislation. And
then the city of Boston and the town of Brookline protested
against the use of the streets for such structures and convey-
ances. Finally, all the remonstrants agreed in asserting that
“no such public exigency existed as to justify the Legislature
in chartering such radical innovations upon the existing order
of things.”
In the fall of 1886, two new street railway companies were
formed under the general laws, namely, the West End and the
Suburban. The original incorporators started as a land com-
pany with the design of uniting Beacon Street, Boston, and
Beacon Street, Brookline, and widening the street in Brook-
line into a boulevard, and thus enhance the value of land
owned by them along the route. In order to make this mar-
ºport on Elevated Railways, to the Senate, by Hon N. H. Hawkes. 1879.
Page 2.
*Tá, idea of the Beacon Street improvement originated with Henry M.
Whitney of Brookline, who purchased or bonded large tracts of land along
the proposed avenue. His plans were so far matured while at his summer
home in Cohasset, that he made them known to certain other gentlemen in
Cohasset, who became associated with him. The original West End Land
Syndicate were Henry M. Whitney, A. P. Potter, Henry D. Hyde, B. T. Braman
and I. T. Burr. In addition to the above J. D. Braman, E. H. Baker, J. H.
French, G. D. Braman, M. F. Dickenson, Jr., Ch. U. Cotting, N. W. Jordan,
Elmer P. Howe, W. D. Forbes, and D. Braman, were among the original in-
corporators of the West End Street Railway Company.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 17
ketable, it was necessary to provide transportation facilities,
and at the outset, these two railways were incorporated simply
for that purpose. The Metropolitan company opposed the new
railway, regarding it as ‘‘another Highland,” but the advan-
tage of the new line was evident and irresistible. Strikes of
long duration upon several of the suburban lines threatened
the prosperity of the outlying districts, and added largely to
the inconvenience experienced in the city proper. Mature
deliberation by those who had the best interests of all con-
cerned at heart could devise but one plan which seemed at all
practicable, and that was consolidation. The two pioneer
roads, the Metropolitan and the Cambridge, had always been
friendly, and while these events were taking place, a plan to
consolidate the two companies was formed and the details
arranged. This alarmed the West End management, and they
suddenly formed the purpose of buying a controlling interest
in the stock of all the old roads, and uniting them. In a few
weeks they had acquired enough of the stock to be masters
of the situation; and shortly afterwards, in the face of a public
sentiment which had been educated to abhor monopolies and
trusts, they obtained from the General Court the necessary
legislation to bring about this general consolidation.” The
act, known as the “West End Bill,’’ passed in 1887, provided
that the new company might purchase the other roads, paying
for the same in its own preferred eight per cent. stock, pro-
viding, however, that the entire amount of preferred stock so
issued should not exceed the total existing capitalization of
the roads so purchased. This legislation naturally met with
opposition but on the whole was sustained by public sentiment,
for the intelligent part of the community was by this time
able to see that competition over the same tracks was not
in the public interest, and the stockholders of the old com-
panies knew that the existing rivalries were not only unprofit-
able, but actually imperiled the financial soundness of their
several properties. Mr. Calvin A. Richards, then at the head
of the Metropolitan Street Railway Company, showed his ap-
preciation of the consolidation scheme by being the first to
* L. P. Hager : History of the West End Railway Company. Page 21.
* This was the work of a few far-sighted men, who grasped the situation
at a glance, and solved the problem of transportation with a skill which has
never been equalled in a case where such great interests were involved, and
where public opinion, and in many cases the press, were antagonistic to its
purposes.
18 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
exchange his shares of Metropolitan, for the preferred stock
of the West End Company, on the basis proposed by the latter
to the various street railway companies.” The final consolida-
tion under the name of the West End Street Railway Company
took place November 11, 1887. There is no doubt that this
consolidation was a public benefit; although there was much
opposition to it at the time. Blockades at once ceased, and
for three or four years were of infrequent occurrence; and
while they happened again in spite of the most careful man-
agement, the cause was the insufficiency of the streets, and
was recognized as being something for which the railway was
not responsible.”
Owing to the narrow area which comprises the business dis-
trict of Boston, and the fact that all of the eight or nine hun-
dred cars, run daily by the company, passed through some part
of that district on every trip, coupled with the further fact
that the narrowest and most involved streets of the city are
within this same area, the problem of how the ever increasing
business of transportation should be handled remained for
many years the most perplexing. The problem was further
complicated by the position of the Common and Public Gar-
dens, and the fact that on One side they adjoin Beacon Hill,
which is impassable for street cars or heavy teams, thus
forcing through Boylston Street all street cars as well as
other teams and vehicles coming from a wide area on the
westerly and southerly side of the city. There is no doubt
1 The basis was as follows:–1% shares of West End preferred for each
share of Metropolitan, equivalent to increasing Metropolitan shares from 40,000
to 50,000. The exchange with , Cambridge Was equivalent to an increase of
from 19,500 (Par 100) to 29,000. (Par 50), with , South Boston, 15,000 to
18,750 ; with the Consolidated (Middlesex, and Highland) from i7,000 (Par
100) to 30,250 (Par 50). Hager; Page 22. g
* The Boston Transcript of November 13, 1887, said editorially : “There
will be grumblers and complaints in newspapers, and, intimations that there
is more loss than gain in the movement (i. e., consolidation). The principal
fact is that to abolish the blockade Will prove such a public benefaction that
it will outweigh all other considerations. This franchise is by far the most
important ever, granted by the State and City, and it is fortunate that it is
in good hands.”
The Financial Ela'aminer of November 19, 1889, took occasion to say: “A
notable circumstance of the Scheme was that it was about the first instance
in recent years of the employment of . Boston capital on an extensive scale at
home in the same ample and extensive manner in which it has been made
to build up vast interests abroad, as in the creation of great railway systems
ramified all over the Western Country and down in the heart of Mexico.
* The best evidence that, the consolidated road was better run in the public
interest than formerly, is the fact that the increase in its travel was beyond
precedent ; and, took place much faster than the , increase in population. The
number of paying passengers for the years 1886-1892 were as follows: 1886,
86,246,780; 1887, 91,898,219 ; 1888, , 97,037,919; 1889, 104,243,150 ; 1856,
114,853,081 :, 1891, 119,264,491 ; 1892, 126,210,781 and 1893, about 135,000,000.
1st and 3rd reports of West End Street Railway Company.
Also Prentiss Cummings : Page 295. -
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 19
that the Common is located in the worst possible place, so far
as interference with business is concerned, and this fact must
be taken into account in considering the street railway busi-
ness in Boston. One of the first things considered by the di-
rectors of the West End Company was the adoption of some
new motive power, in order to gain room on the streets by the
disuse of horses. All the old roads were operated by horse
power, and the West End Company required in 1887, nearly.
10,000 horses. The equipment of the road with electric power
was of equal importance with the consolidation into one com-
pany. It was begun in 1889 in a small way, almost experi-
mentally. This proved itself so practicable that in a few
years the whole system, excepting only a few minor lines, was
equipped for electricity. The first experiments were with
overhead wires, and also with a conduit system; but the
former was so much cheaper to construct and presented so
many advantages in operation that the conduit system was
abandoned, and the only construction to-day in use in the
State is overhead conductor. The most important result of
the spread of electricity as a motive power was undoubtedly
the increase in speed, which led directly to a great increase in
the area served within a given time.” The spread of population
due to this increased speed of transit has been very marked,
and many benefits accrue therefrom. Instead of being obliged
to reside within limited areas, where land is expensive and
rents consequently high, the population may spread out into
districts where land is of less value, and where each house
may stand detached from its neighbors. This spread of pop-
ulation over a larger area is also a great advantage to the
street railways; for, when people lived within limited urban
areas the majority of them were able to walk to and from
their work, but now the railways obtain a steady patronage
from those who desire to live outside of the heart of the cities
beyond walking distance, and must therefore use the cars at
1 W. S. Allen : Development of Street Railways in Mass. Page 6.
* “It may be assumed that one hour represents the limit to which people
are restricted as the time to be spent on the journey from house to work;
that is, the limit of the availability of the suburban district as a place of
residence. A street car drawn by horses moving at the rate of 8 miles an
hour, could serve an area of 200 sq. miles, within, which people might reach
the center of a district by one hour's travel. With electric power and the
speed of the cars reaching an average of 15 miles an hour the area which
can be served within an hour's journey from the central point reaches 700
sq. miles, or three and one-half times, as great as was the case when horses
wre employed.” Report of the Special Legislative Committee on Relations
Between Cities and Stret Railways. Page 65. - - -
20 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
least twice in each day. Another class which benefits by rapid
street car service is the land owner, who finds his fields com-
manding prices greatly in excess of any which could be ob-
tained for them for agricultural purposes.
By 1890, the congestion of street cars in the heart of Boston
had become so intolerable that it was necessary to devise some
plan for relieving the overcrowded streets of the central dis-
tricts. After careful study by a very able commission, an
elaborate report was made in 1892, which included a thorough
investigation of all that had been done both in the United
States and Europe. Acting on that report, the Legislature
of 1892, and the next two years (1893-94) passed acts author-
izing the city of Boston to construct a subway, immediately
under portions of Tremont and Boylston Streets. All the cars
traversing those streets were to be turned into it, and the
tracks on the surface were to be removed. The most impor-
tant of the modifications of the original law of 1871 was the
passage in 1894 of the so-called ‘‘anti-stock-watering laws.’’
These laws, which were made to apply to all of the public
service companies, were intended to prevent the issue of stock
without adequate payment for the same. They provided that
street railway companies must obtain the sanction of the Board
of Railroad Commissioners for any new issue of stock or bonds,
and that such issue should be made at a price fixed by the
board, but at not less than par. The practical working of
this law has been different from that intended by its authors.
It was difficult for the street railway companies to go before
the board and show the exact cost of needed extensions, and
request the authorization of stock issues to cover the cost.
The board, on the other hand, was naturally reluctant, after
being put in the position of guardian of the people’s rights,
to assume that the cost of the contemplated work was cor-
rectly stated. Moreover, changes might vary in marked de-
gree the cost of the work, during the progress of construction.
The practice, therefore, has grown up of the railways going
ahead and completing desired extensions, incurring a floating
debt for the work, and then, after completion of the work,
going to the board and asking for the authorization of an
.* The price fixed , was, to be determined by the actual market price of
existing shares and by other pertinent conditions.—Allen : In the Annals of
the American Academy of Political Science. Volume 27. No. 1. Page 94.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 21
issue of stocks or bonds for the payment of the debts so in-
curred." While these laws have without a doubt been of
distinct advantage in preventing the wholesale watering of
street railway stock at the hands of promoters, they have been
disadvantageous to the conduct of honestly managed enter-
prises. -
The successful introduction of electric traction in 1888, and
its rapid spread brought into existence an entirely new set
of problems, and in 1897 the law was found to be inadequate
in many of its provisions. It was felt that franchises were
too freely given in some places, that in others the conditions
imposed were too omerous, and that the rapid extension of
interurban roads demanded important changes in the law.
Among the people, a feeling had grown up that the new type
of street railway which was being so rapidly extended through-
out country roads and into small villages, should be compelled
in some way to pay taxes in excess of those already fixed by
law. On the other hand the railways felt that the right of
local boards of aldermen and selectmen to revoke at any time
a location in the streets was a menace to their property. The
Legislature of 1897, therefore, passed a resolution authorizing
the governor to appoint a committee of three persons, to be
known as the ‘‘committee on the relations of street railways to
municipalities,’’ to sit during the summer and report to the
Legislature of 1898 what changes, if any, were desirable in
the street railway law, especially as it concerned franchises
and taxation.” The committee found that the rapid develop-
ment and increasing importance of the street railway as a
public service agency had brought in a new class of questions.
The idea of regulating street railways through competition of
lines in private ownership, often using for considerable dis-
tances of necessity, the same tracks, has been abandoned. The
modern practice, as well as theory, is the consolidation of lines
in a given municipality under one ownership, that ownership
to be held to strict accountability as a recognized public
1 In many ways this practice has been expensive, and the condition of
the money market has often been such that companies have refrained from
making improvements which would have been undertaken had there been
power in the company to issue new shares in advance of the work.
* Governor Wolcott appointed as members of this committee Hon. Charles
Francis Adams, Hon. William W. Crape, and Hon. Elihu B. Hayes. They
immediately began the work of investigating the conditions as they existed
both in Europe and America, and heard the railway companies, the municipali-
ties and those citizens who had plans to offer any changes in the law.
22 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
agency." Through such a system it is believed the most eco-
nomical results, public as well as private, can be attained. On
the one side, a much longer carriage for the same fare is ob-
tained, and on the other, the avoidance of duplicate machinery
and organization. Single ownership of some sort, public or
private, may be accepted as a condition of the problem,-for
competition is eliminated from it.
The varied experience of the last forty years has already
developed, or is now developing, three distinct lines of treat-
ment of the relations between the street railway and the mu-
nicipality. The first is the natural outcome of the original
idea of private ownership of both track and vehicle; “the
improved omnibus, in other words, runs over a special pave-
ment, laid down by the omnibus company in the public way
for its exclusive use.” (The company owning and operating
the line is organized under a State charter, but holds its loca-
tion in the streets under a municipal permit, usually granted
for a fixed term of years, but in Massachusetts perpetual in
theory, though in point of fact revocable at any time. This
is complete private ownership, and it exists not only in America,
but is almost equally well known and recognized in Europe.
The second line of development is a recurrence to the original
principles of ownership; the street and its pavements belong
to the public, the vehicles that run upon the pavements to
private parties, whether individuals or corporations.” Having
laid, and owning, the pavement, the city concedes to a company
on such terms as may have been agreed upon, the exclusive
right to run vehicles for a greater or less period of time on
a specially prepared part of the pavement. In this case, the
vehicles and motive power only belong to the private company.
The third line of development is in the direction of full public
ownership—what is known as municipalization. The analogy
of the public water and public gas service is here followed, the
* “The fact has for some time been generally accepted that no effective
regulation of street railway fares or service can be accomplished either by
chartering many rival companies within the same municipal area, or by enacting
stringent laws against the consolidation of the several lines into a single system.
Consolidation makes possible a more systematic extension of the tracks, and
an earlier adoption of technical improvements.” E. R. Johnson : In Annals
of the American Academy of Political Science. Volume 29. No. 2. Page 31.
* Report of the Special Legislature Committee On the Relations Between
Cities and Street Railways. 1898. Page 13.
* No distinction of ownership or control is under this system recognized
between pavements, whether of wood, stone, concrete or iron, or a combination
Of two of those materials, or of all ; in any and every case the pavement
is laid down and cared for by the municipality, which thus in no way surren-
ders or compromises its control of its own streets.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON r 23
municipality running the omnibus as well as controlling the
street and owning the pavement. But whether, in the process
of development, the tendency is towards the adoption of one
or another of these three systems, it seems to be recognized
everywhere as a fundamental principle that the application
of the system is of distinctly municipal or local concernment,
the community as a whole having only a broad interest in the
principles involved. In other words, in Europe, as in America,
the use made of streets and thoroughfares, as well as their
care, is essentially a municipal matter. The town or city,
whether technically owning the public ways or not, is re-
sponsible for them, and under certain broad general regula-
tions, is free to control and regulate them in such a way as it
sees fit. The officers of the municipality were authorized to
permit the occupation of streets for tram or railway purposes
under provisions of law; but the control of the municipality
over them was subjected to the least possible interference. In
passing upon every question which may arise, this principle of
municipal street control also should be clearly kept in mind.
“That the street railway, like the thoroughfare it partially oc-
cupies, has in many instances outgrown municipal limits, and so
become an instrument of interurban travel and communication,
is apparent; and this fact also has to be recognized as introduc-
ing new elements into the problem; but the fundamental prin-
ciple of local control is thereby no more destroyed in the case
of the railway than in the case of the street itself.’”
So far as Massachusetts is concerned, it may not be out of
place here to say that a comparison of systems does not tend
to show, either as to practical working or results accomplished,
any grounds for serious criticism.” The law provides that “the
street railway companies chartered by the State shall secure
the streets for the location of their lines with such restrictions
as in the judgment of the selectmen or aldermen the public
interests may require.” The terms and conditions under which
street railways may be built are thus under the complete con-
* The use of the highway in Europe, as in Massachusetts, was at first an
innovation, and, as such, legal provision had to be made for it ; but when
that provision was made, either by general law or special enactment, it became
largely an extension of municipal, and not of State, functions and control.
* Report of Special Committee. 1898. Page 15.
* That the street railways of Massachusetts, have, as a whole, cost much
more than they could now be replaced for, is as indisputable as it has been
unavoidable, that in some cases they have been overcapitalized, through ques-
tionable processes of financiering, is more than probable ; but these, after all,
to a greater or less extent, are incidents inseparable from an unusually rapid
development along new lines and in untried fields.
24 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
trol of the local government boards. The State has in the
past usually granted the franchises in perpetuity, but the city
and town governments may at any time revoke the right and
concessions that have been allowed, if the companies give
adequate reason for such revocation by failing to observe
their obligations to the public. In this respect, they are
peculiar, almost anomalous; for, as a rule, both in this country
and in Europe, concessions have been granted private com-
panies for fixed periods of time only, during which the fran-
chise, or concession, is in the nature of a binding contract.'
In Massachusetts, the grants of location have, as a rule, been
of the simplest possible character, drawn in the most general
terms, and with a noticeable absence of technicalities, reserva-
tions and safeguards against contingencies. Yet, while by
these locations the local boards apparently granted the cor-
porations rights in perpetuity in the public ways, the law,
however, reserved to the boards the power to revoke such
rights at their discretion. In theory, such a franchise, is
to the last degree illogical. It can be compared only to a
lease, terminable at the will of the lessor and without pro-
vision for the compensation of the lessee. Such a system, if
suggested, might be pronounced impracticable, if not absurd.
It would be assumed that private capital would never embark
in ventures so lacking in the element of permanence and se-
curity.” Yet in Massachusetts, this has not proved to be the
case; and it cannot be said that the system has, for the half-
century it has been in use, worked otherwise than on the whole
satisfactorily. The Massachusetts franchise, with its terminable-
perpetuity feature, may be illogical,—it seems a contradiction of
terms, but it recognizes an ownership under limitations, and the
holder of the franchise works with the incentive of gain.”
The term franchise, wherever used, has been productive of
dissension, poor service, scandals and unhealthy political action.
There is probably no possible system productive of only good
* These contracts, especially in European cities, are almost infinite in Variety.
They run from periods of 14 to 100 years, and, like leases between private
parties, are framed so as to provide in advance for every contingency likely
to a rise.
* As a matter of fact, this power to revoke a franchise has hardly ever
been exercised. But the possession of it has doubtless enabled the towns
to secure better terms when negotiating with street railway companies.
* It is the familiar case of the free-holder as compared with the lease-holder ;
and human ingenuity does not seem as yet to have devised any tenure under
which men, much less corporations, will develop a business with the same degree
Of enterprise when they are working for the ultimate advantage of others as
When they are working for themselves.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 25
results and in no respect open to criticism. In fairness, how-
ever, it must be concluded that the Massachusetts franchise,
which might perhaps not improperly be termed a tenure during
good behavior, would in its practical results compare very
favorable with any. Certainly those results are as immeas-
urably as they are undeniably better than the results as yet
produced in Great Britain. While, therefore the tenure by
which the Massachusetts street railways now hold their loca-
tions is calculated to excite uneasiness in the minds of security
holders, yet that uneasiness is not without its compensating
advantages in management, so far as the public is concerned."
As yet no attempt at the municipalization of street railways
has been made in any country on a sufficiently large scale, and
for a long enough time to be of real significance. Glasgow and
Leeds, for instance, are the two European instances more fre-
quently referred to. From the statements often met with
in the press, and the assertions heard in discussion, it might
well be assumed that the experiments made in these cities
amounted to an indisputable and established success; whereas,
in point of fact, such is in no degree the case.” So far from
being a demonstrated success, it may, on the contrary, be
confidently asserted that nowhere, as yet, has the experiment
of municipalization of street railways been worked out to any
logical and ultimate results whatever, nor can it be so worked
out for at least a score of years to come. Even then, political
habits, social traditions, and material and economical condi-
tions vary so greatly, and enter to so large an extent into the
problem, that it will not be safe to infer that what may have
proved safe and practicable in one community is either prac-
ticable or safe in another. At the present time, the municipali-
Zation of street railways is not accepted as by any means in-
disputably desirable in Great Britain,” while in Germany it
* “The right of revocation has been fully sustained by the Supreme Court,
and universally recognized in practice. The existence of the right has proved
an effective means of securing to the people proper transportation facilities.”
* Those seeking further information on this subject are referred to a very
interesting, as well as instructive paper submitted to the special legislative
committee on the relations between cities and street railways, by Robert P.
Porter, Superintendent of the United States census of 1880. To be found in
Report of the Committee. Appendix E. P. 205.
* Mr. Porter says, “A dispassionate review of the facts indicates that the
Question of municipal or private ownership of tramways, is still a debatable
question, even in England. Certainly the data at the present time are entirely
insufficient to warrant the statement freely indulged in by the friends of
municipalization of great industrial undertakings. The magnitude of the in-
terests involved, and the infinite, array of data to be examined and sifted
before accurate judgment can be passed, may well cause the conservative, prac-
tical man to hesitate.”—P. 261 of the Report.
26 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
is regarded unfavorably. So far as Massachusetts is con-
cerned, grave difficulties of a practical as well as theoretical
character would present themselves, should a serious attempt
be made at the complete municipalization of street railways.
The public ownership of tracks in the streets is a simple mat-
ter. Each municipality might own those in its own streets,
or in a portion of its own streets, and a private company
could run vehicles over the tracks, whether belonging to itself
or to the public, in one or several cities and towns. It would
be merely a matter of arrangement and contract. Not so
with municipal operation. It is necessary in this connection
to observe that the larger individual street railway systems in
Massachusetts, are rarely, if indeed ever, confined to one city
or town. The largest of those systems, the West End—holds
franchises from and locations in no less than eleven different
towns and cities. Under these circumstances, complete mu-
nicipalization obviously becomes a different problem. It is
not supposable that one town or city could own, as well as
operate, not only tracks but the buildings and appliances in-
volved in the operation of tracks, in a number of adjacent
cities and towns.”
The special legislative committee of 1897, took two radical
steps in regard to taxation. Realizing the justice of the claims
of the municipalities as to their burdens, they proposed the
distribution of the State tax on street railways, according
to the mileage of track in each town or city, and not upon
the shares of stock held in each. Further, it presented a plan
for the commutation of the charges for care of the streets,
based upon the gross earnings of each company, relieving
them of the work on the streets. It was, of course, not pos-
sible to change existing contracts under which the roads were
operating, but an attempt was made to secure to the munici-
palities an individual control of the surface of the streets,
the railways commuting their obligations to care for the
streets into a money payment. As regards the tenure of
franchises the existence of perpetual revocable franchises was
seen by the special committee to be an anomaly, but they had
* For instance, complications could hardly fail to arise were the city of
Somerville to decide to municipalize its street railways, and operate them
as distinct in every respect from the system which served all the adjacent
cities and towns. On the other hand, it is scarcely probable that Somer-
ville would care to own lines in all those cities and towns, or, if she did,
that those cities and towns would regard the scheme with complacency.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 27
worked well under Massachusetts conditions, and in practice
but two attempts had been made to revoke franchises. In
both of these cases public opinion caused a speedy repeal of
the revocation order. The committee felt, however, that the
interests of the stockholders in street railways ought to be
protected against hasty action on the part of municipal au-
thorities, and they recommended giving the roads a right to
appeal to the Board of Railroad Commissioners, from any order
revoking a location, which might be made by the local au-
thorities.
In 1887, the West End Street Railway Company was
exempted from what continued for ten years, to be the danger
confronting all the other companies of the State, in case they
greatly offended public sentiment, namely, the right of the
city to revoke all locations in the streets. This right with
regard to the West End Street Railway Company was made
subject in 1887, to the Board of Railway Commissioners, as it
was in 1897, in the case of all the other railways in the State.
The Massachusetts system of street railway surface lines
has been developed under a law having these peculiar features;
(a) a revocable franchise, (b) an effective prohibition of stock
watering, and (c) an effective system of franchise taxes. We
have already dealt with the first. As for the second, it may
be said that the substantive prevention of stock watering has
been accomplished by means of the following provisions of the
law: (x) The original authorized capital must be fully paid
in, in cash at not less than par, before any certificate of stock
can be legally issued, before the company can be authorized
to do business, before the issue of any bonds can be authorized,
and before any increase of stock can be made. Furthermore,
until such payment, directors are made personally liable on
all debts and contracts of the company. This provision se-
cures the payment in cash substantially at par of the whole
original authorized capital. (y) The issue of all bonds and
of any increase of stock in excess of the original capital is
limited to such amount as the railroad commissioners shall,
after a public hearing, determine will realize the sum which
has been properly expended or will be reasonably required
by the corporation for corporate purposes. No stock can be
. . ." L. D. Brandeis : Experience of Massachusetts in Street Railways. Munic-
ipal Affairs. Volume 6. Page 722
28 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
issued at less than par. These provisions not only prohibit
stock dividends in any form, but actually prevent them. (Z)
No lease, consolidation or sale of any street railway can be
made without the approval by the railroad commissioners of
the terms thereof. Thus in 1897, the stockholders and directors
of the West End Railway Company and of the Boston Elevated
Railway Company' voted that the West End Company should
lease its system to the elevated for a period of 99 years, on
the basis of the payment as rental of 8 per cent. On both the
common and preferred stock of the West End Company. The
railroad commissioners, after a public hearing, refused to
approve the lease as voted. “This was an excellent instance
of the value of public control over corporations enjoying public
franchises.’” The parties, following the suggestions of the
board, subsequently executed a lease by which the term was
reduced to less than twenty-five years, and the dividend on
the West End common stock to 7 per cent. The average
dividend which had been paid upon the common stock for nine
years prior to the lease was 8 per cent., but the railroad com-
missioners refused to approve a rate higher than 7 per cent.
because, in the opinion of the board, the dividends paid by
the West End Company prior to that time had exceeded its
actual net earnings, making due allowance for depreciation.
The third feature of the Massachusetts street railway law
is that of an effective system of franchise taxes. Street rail-
way companies are required to pay, in addition to the ordinary
local taxes on real estate and machinery assessable to all
owners of property, a so-called franchise tax, which is assessed
upon the aggregate value of its capital stock, less the value
of the real estate and machinery locally taxed within the
Commonwealth. The rate of this tax is the same as that
assessed upon the franchises of other Massachusetts corpora-
tions not enjoying rights in the street. The amount collected
on this tax is paid to the municipality in which the tracks
of the street railway companies are located.” The tax is small;
but it is promptly paid. Provision was made in 1898 for the
1 In 1896, the demands from the suburban districts for more rapid transit,
caused the incorporation of the Boston Elevated Railway Company, which
immediately planned an elevated structure about seven miles in length, located
in the Streets.
2 Editorial comment in “Annals of the American Academy of Political
Science.” Volume 11. Page 142.
* If the tracks extend into more than One city or town, the tax is divided
among the several municipalities in proportion to the mileage of the main
track on the public highways in each municipality.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 29
payment of additional compensation for the use of the streets,
by the act which declared that “all operating companies pay-
ing dividends in excess of 8 per cent. shall pay to the State
as franchise tax an amount equal to the excess paid stock-
holders in dividends over 8 per cent., provided, however, that
no tax shall be payable if the aggregate dividends paid to the
corporation since its organization do not equal 6 per cent. upon
its capital stock.’” An act of 1898, also provided for a so-
called commutation tax; that is, a specific tax, varying in
amount from 1 to 3 per cent. of gross earnings per mile, in
commutation of the obligations previously existing to keep
streets in repair and cleared from snow. Payments are reg-
ularly made under this act.
In order to afford proper transportation facilities in Boston,
it is necessary that most of the important street railway lines
should reach the heart of the city. The streets available for
the railways are few and narrow. Prior to 1893, as has been
said, the congestion had become intolerable.” Real estate
values seemed to render the widening of streets or the con-
struction of new ones, or the building of an elevated road in
this region, a financial impossibility. Besides, the people would
not have permitted the disfigurement of that part of the city,
by the erection of an elevated structure. It was accordingly
determined to build a subway.” The West End Street Rail-
way Company, which owned most of the surface lines at this
time, was given the chance to provide and own this utility;
but it refused to do so, partly on the ground that, having but
revocable rights in the surface lines, the investment would
not be prudent. The city was thus obliged to build and own
the subway itself. For this purpose, the Boston Transit Com-
mission was created by the Legislature in 1894," and was au-
1 No payment has as yet been made under this act—I. D. Brandeis : Ex-
perience of Massachusetts in Street Railways. Municipal Affairs. Volume 6.
Page 726.
2 L. B. Brandeis' Experience of Mass. in Street Railways. Municipal
Affairs. Volume 6. Page 726
* This first subway was an experiment. “Croakers predicted that its cool,
damp depths would breed colds and pneumonia, that the public would respect-
fully decline to use it.” Woods and Eastman : The Boston Franchise Con-
test. Outlook. Vol. 82. Page 835.
* The commission was not required by the act to build a subway. Its first
duty was to study the problem, to consider the plans which had been pro-
posed, to seek new and better methods, if any could be found. and after
weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each proposition, to determine
whether it was expedient to build a subway within the limits defined by the
act.—Statement by Hon. Geo. G. Crocker, Chairman of the Commission. April
8, 1895. “To Boston belongs the honor of constructing the first municipal
subway in the United States.” W. Winslow : Municipal Subway. In Munici-
pal Affairs. Volume 5. Page 431.
30 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
thorized to build a subway along the Tremont Street route.
The act providing for its construction authorized leases to
operating companies for a period not exceeding fifty years.
The actual work of building the subway was begun on March
28, 1895, and the portion between Park Street and the entrance
at the Public Garden was opened for passengers on September
1, 1897, the remainder on September 31, 1898, the whole work
being done at a total cost of $4,350,000. When the experi-
ment was completed, it was a different matter. There was
then no question as to its success, and moreover, the tracks
had been ordered off Tremont Street, under which the main
section of the subway ran. With no alternative in view, the
West End Company agreed to lease the new subway from the
city.’ But the people realized that a lease of the subway for
the full term of fifty years would seriously impair the com-
munity’s control of its local transportation system. The sub-
way was nothing more nor less than a continuation of the
street, under the surface instead of above, to be sure, and
used by one kind of traffic instead of many, but still a street
and to be owned and controlled by the city like other streets.
Its creation was of very particular benefit to the street rail-
way corporation, which could afford to pay, and in justice
ought to pay, adequate compensation for its use. This gen-
eration could not in good faith enter into any binding con-
fracts which might tie the hands of future generations and
prevent them from taking full advantage of their improved
situation. From this point of view, fifty years was far too
long a tenure. The Legislature listened to the men who said
so, and found their arguments convincing.” An amendatory
act was passed reducing the limit of any lease of the subway
to twenty years. Before the completion of the subway the
West End Company consented to take a lease of the subway
for twenty years from its completion, at a rental equal to 47%
per cent. Of the cost of construction—enough to pay the in-
terest on the city’s subway debt and provide a sinking fund
which will give the city a highly remunerative piece of prop-
* The company, was not only willing, and ready to take a lease, but it
emphatically insisted, upon a tenure of fifty years, the full limit allowed by
law, so radically had its point of view shifted. It was clear that the West
End Company, would, in Order to connect several of its surface lines and
ºn possession of the field, be obliged to take a lease of rights in the
Subway.
* The West End Company had not prepared itself at that time to combat
logic with more potent arguments. Woods and Eastman : Boston Franchise
Contest. . Outlook. Volume 82. Page 836. .
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 31
erty, debt free, in about thirty-one years, but in no event
was the rental to be less than five cents for every passage
of a car through the subway, an important declaration of the
broad principle of a toll system and a rental increasing with
a growing business.
In 1897 the promoters of the Boston Elevated Railway Com-
pany, having bought an old and impracticable charter' from
the original owners, secured from the Massachusetts Legisla-
ture, radical amendments thereto, which rendered the con-
struction of an elevated line financially possible by allowing
the elevated line to lease the West End system and use the
subway, and also secure the surplus earnings of the surface
lines. The amended charter enabled the company to acquire,
so far as the line should be built, within ten years from the
date of the act, a substantially permanent franchise in many
of the principal streets of a large part of the Boston Metro-
politan district. Street railway locations in Massachusetts,
with this single exception, are revocable at the will of the
State or municipal authorities; but the complete set of loca-
tions for elevated railways which these amendments granted
then were, if built upon, perpetual and irrevocable absolutely.
That was the vital point in the highly generous concessions
made by the Legislature.” The amended act also authorized
a lease of the West End Railway surface lines, together with
the subway; provided for an extension of the subway to con-
nect with the proposed elevated line to Cambridge, and for
a tunnel under the harbor to connect with the East Boston
surface lines. It contained also provisions protecting the
company for a period of twenty-five years from the date of
the act, from a compulsory reduction of the fares below 5
cents, or the imposition of any additional special taxes.” If
the locations thus granted to the Elevated Railway Company
1 The formation of the Boston Elevated Company was very interesting. It
came about in this way : The West End Company was making too much
money. It was dangerous to tempt a Suspicious public with too great a show
of declared dividends; so a group of not too scrupulous financiers made the
following plan :—Form a company ostensibly to build elevated roads, in Boston,
lease the West End, guarantee a comfortable dividend on its stock, and let the
rest of the earnings pay dividends on the stock of the new company. Mr. East-
man in his article says, “The proof of this is clear and direct. It is found
in the fact that the Boston Elevated Stock paid 4% per cent. dividends before
ever a mile of its elevated track was in Operation.”
* This was only possible and the Legislature yielded only because public
sentiment had not yet crystallized in Opposition. The company, on the other
hand, had at work the cleverest legislative counsel and lobbyists in the State.
* In June, 1898, when a few additional taxes were imposed upon street
railways in return for many privileges, such as were already enjoyed by the
West End Company, it was especially provided that these extra taxes should
not be paid by the latter company.
32 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
were all built upon, the Elevated Company would have a sub-
stantially complete and independent street railway system,
and Boston would necessarily lose, to a great extent, the
control which it now enjoys over its transportation lines. But
only that portion of the elevated has been built—about 6%
miles, which it was necessary to construct in order to prevent
the lapse of all charter rights. It is not probable that any
more will be built, for heavy land damages render the cost
of elevated lines in Boston so great that much additional con-
struction is a financial impossibility."
The important legislative act in the history of street trans-
portation in Boston is the latest act governing the Boston
Elevated Railway Company, Chapter 500 of the acts of the
year 1897. Some of the features of the act are of much in-
terest. First and foremost is the question of fares, always
a vital point of interest to the public at large. The act pro-
vides that the fare upon the road shall not exceed five cents,
and that this shall not be reduced for a term of 25 years, pro-
vided, however, that it may be reduced by the Board of Rail-
road Commissioners on condition that the reduced fares shall
not reduce the earnings of the company to a point where the
return on the cash capital of the company shall be not less
than 8 per cent. ; after taking out all charges, including a
reasonable amount for depreciation. It may be noted here
that the statutes give the Board of Railroad Commissioners
the power to order an appraisal of the property of any street
railway company, for the purpose of determining the value
of its property. This statute of 1897 governing the Boston
Elevated Company, goes further and provides a special method
for taxing this property. The statute, drawn in the form
of a contract, provides that for a term of 25 years, no other
taxes than those in force at the time shall be laid upon
the railway, but that as compensation for the privileges
granted, and for the use and occupation of the streets, the
company shall pay a tax of 79 per cent. on its gross income,
provided that the dividend on its shares does not exceed 6 per
cent. If the dividend should exceed 6 per cent. then there
must be an additional amount paid in taxes equal to the
--s
* Secretary of the Boston Elevated Railway Co., in interview.
* For the purpose of ascertaining what has been done, prior to the author-
ization of any increase of capital or bonds, or determination of the proper
charge for fares.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 33
excess above 6 per cent. The tax thus assessed on gross earn-
ings is to be distributed among the cities and towns in which
the railway operates, on the basis of the mileage of tracks
located in each municipality. The question of transfers, a very
important one, in a system of the character of the Boston
Company, is to be left in the hands of the Board of Railroad
Commissioners. The same act provides for a tunnel to con-
nect Boston proper with the island upon which East Boston
is situated. This tunnel, which has now been completed, was,
by the terms of the statute, to be built at the expense of the
city of Boston, but was to be leased to the Elevated Company
for a rental of 3% per cent, on the gross earnings of the entire
system. There was to be charged also a toll of one cent for
each passenger using the tunnel. The tolls and the rental
were expected to be sufficient to meet the interest and sinking
fund charges on the cost of the tunnel. It was provided that if
these combined payments should be in excess of these charges,
the railroad commissioners might reduce the tolls.
The construction of the Elevated Railway was undertaken
probably less with a view of promoting rapid transit than
for the purpose of capitalizing the surplus earnings of the
West End system, and of securing, in connection with a long
lease of the West End line, a control of the transportation
system of Boston and vicinity. This purpose was frustrated,
however, in spite of the exceptional privileges granted to the
elevated company, by the determined struggle of the people
to retain control of the transportation system—a struggle
in which they were supported by the railroad commissioners,
and aided by peculiar local conditions which soon made further
legislation necessary. The elevated trains pass for a distance
of 1.7 miles through the subway. No elevated line could by
reason of heavy land damages be built through the heart of
the city. The two ends of the elevated road must be con-
nected by some link through the heart of the city, and a sub-
way was the only feasible method. Before the elevated road
was in operation, it became evident that an additional subway
through the heart of the city would be required, because the
existing subway was insufficient to provide for the large and
increasing traffic. When a new parallel subway under Wash-
* Upon the opening of the elevated lines and their use of the subway, it
was found that the existing subway was not only insufficient, but by reason
of numerous curves, and because of other features ; was not well adapted for
the use Of elevated trains.
34 STREET RAILWAY systEM
ington Street was suggested, the elevated corporation saw
its opportunity. If it could in some way secure undisputed
and permanent possession of this new underground thorough-
fare, its control would be complete. The elevated company
would be self sufficient, with all the essentials at hand, and
in a position to dictate terms. In 1899 the company ingenu-
ously asked the Legislature for power to replace the Tremont
Street tracks, which had been ordered off. The excuse was
that public convenience required the change. In reality, such
a move would have brought back the tedious blockades and
would have defeated the whole purpose of the subway. More
than that, it would have made that subway no longer essential
to the company. A majority of the legislators, as usual, bent
pliantly to the wishes of their favorite corporation, but Govern-
or Wolcott was induced to force a referendum on the measure."
When all the returns were in and the votes counted, it was
found that notwithstanding the newspapers, notwithstanding
the solid influence of the ward bosses, the sense of the people
could be relied on. The company’s proposition was snowed
under by a vote of 51,585 to 26,354.
In 1900 the construction of the additional or Washington
Street subway was petitioned for. The Boston Elevated Rail-
way Company undertook to secure the right to build that sub-
way and also the Cambridge subway at its own expense, and
to own them practically in perpetuity, and also to secure an
extension of the lease of the existing subway for another term
of twenty years—that is until 1937. This effort of the Boston
Elevated Railway Company was vigorously opposed by the
people, on the ground that it led to a surrender by them
of their control of transportation in the Metropolitan district.
In the long struggle which followed, and which was conducted
throughout the Legislatures of 1900, 1901, and 1902, the Public
Franchise League, and the Associated Board of Trade took
* That last resort was granted by a small margin, and the men who fought
for it, and won their fight, dealt the death blow to the ambitions of the
Elevated Company ten and there. The newspapers almost as a body, were
lined up against them as well as the solid city machine, but they were men
who were confident that the voters of the city could tell the difference between
a good business proposition and a bad one when the facts were presented to
them clearly, and simply.
* That very night the company set a gang of men removing the offensive
poles on Tremont Street. The shadow of that referendum vote hung over them
in all their future fights, warned them back from extortionate demands, and
inspired the people to alertness and confidence.
* The arguments of the company were presented to the Committee on Metro-
')olitan Affairs, on April 4, 1900, by Herbert L. Harding.
* The men who comprised this league were the same men who had been
Opposing the elevated company from the time when the first subway was built.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 35
the leading part, on behalf of the people. In the name of the
latter organization, a bill was introduced in the Legislature
providing for the construction of the Washington Street sub-
way by the city, with a lease on the same terms as the former
one. But the mayor of the city was a stumbling block. He
was a Republican mayor in a Democratic city, anxious to make
a striking first year’s record by curbing the enormous debt
of the city. Naturally he looked askance at the proposed
increase for the construction of the subway. The mayor
granted a hearing to the league, which was attended by rep-
resentative men of the city, all strenuously opposed to the
plans of the Boston Elevated Company; but the mayor was
obdurate. The Elevated had loudly proclaimed that it would
never lease the tunnel on the same terms as the old one;
but there were those willing to step into the opportunity and
take such advantage of it.’
The winter of 1901 opened with the opposing forces in
statu quo. The Elevated Railroad, through the agency of the
unsuspicious Citizens’ Association, again presented its bill,’
and the Public Franchise League, in the name of the Associated
Board of Trade, presented its counterplan.” The subway,
which a year before, the Elevated had wished to build and own
forever, it was now willing to build and surrender to the city
free of cost at the end of fifty years. But it was just a year
too late. The people were now wide awake and in no mood
for compromise. They had begun to grasp the proper prin-
ciples of a public franchise transaction, and this offer failed
to include those principles. As compared with the Public
They were for the most part business and professional men of standing in
the community and of ability equal to that of the men they opposed. Among
them were Louis D. Brandeis, one of the acknowledged leaders of the Boston
Bar, who at all critical points acted as unpaid counsel for the league : Edward
A. Filene, head of a large retail business ; Lawrence. Minot, managing trustee
for large real estate interests ; B. F. Keith, proprietor of Kieth's Circuit of
theaters ; James R. Cartes and A. G. Webster, two of the most prominent
leaders in the commercial organizations of the city, and many others. The
league was also in close touch with settlement workers, and through them
with the trade unionists. Joseph B. Eastman, secretary of the league.
* The Committee on Metropolitan Affairs, which had the bills under con-
sideration, received the personal pledge of eight well-known business men that
a corporation with a paid-in capital of at least $1,000,000 would be organized
to take over the new subway at a rental of 47% on cost in case the elevated
company failed to take advantage of its option.
* Arguments for IElevated’s plan were presented to the committee particularly
by A. E. Pillsbury, attorney, on March 28, 1901. Mayor Hart also presented
his arguments in favor of the bill on March 4, 1901.
*The following are good sources of information —
Louis Brandeis : On the Washington Street Subway, and the Financial
Condition of the Elevated. May 8, 1902.
Dr. H. P. Bowditch : Report of Conference, with Mayor. Jan. 30, 1902.
Qbvious and serious objections to the Elevated's proposition, in Washington
Street Subway.”
May 28, 1901.
36 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
Franchise League proposition, it meant a net loss of $15,000,000
to the city at the end of the 50 years. Moreover, it still ignored
the essential principles—city ownership, short tenure, adequate
rental, and the referendum. The Legislature, however, looked
with warm approval on the Elevated’s new proposition, and
were disposed to consider objection to so magnanimous a con-
cession as almost impertinent. The Public Franchise League,
the Board of Trade, the trade unions, and the one newspaper
in Boston which consistently fought on the side of the public,
the Boston “Post,” stood together in the contest. In the
House, the Elevated's bill passed triumphantly.” When the
bill came before the Senate, Governor Crane announced that
under no consideration would he sign the bill unless it con-
tained a referendum clause, and perhaps not then. When the
the bill was passed, the veto message came quickly and de-
cisively.” The tide of public opinion set strongly with the
governor, and the legislators felt its influence. The veto was
triumphantly sustained, and the Elevated had been beaten.
Patrick Collins, a candidate for the mayoralty, came out flatly
and emphatically for a city subway. He was triumphantly
elected, and it is his name which is associated with the subway
history of 1902, as that of Governor Crane is identified with
that of the year 1901. Weeks were spent in long, tedious dick-
ering over the terms of the bill and its exact wording; but in
the end the Elevated Railway Company was obliged to yield
substantially every point to the demands of the people, as
presented by the Public Franchise League. The company
finally assented to the passage of an act which provided for
the construction of one or more subways by the city, to be
leased to the Elevated Railway Company, for a term not ex-
ceeding twenty-five years, at a rental of 4% per cent., upon
its cost, and a referendum to the people. The result may be
ascribed immediately to the powerful influence of two cour-
* The newspapers apparently agreed with the philosophy of the proprietor of
one eminently respectable newspaper in the city who said, “The first duty of
a newspaper is, not to protect the public interests, but to pay dividends.”
Woods and Eastman : Boston Franchise Contest. Outlook. Vol. 82. Page 840.
* Some would have us believe that the Company “bribed the cheaper mem-
bers with jobs or otherwise, cajoled the friendly and threatened to ruin the
careers of the upright.
f i. The Governor’s chief reasons for his veto may be summarized briefly as
OII OWS :
(a) Municipal franchises should not be granted to private corporations
without the consent of the city in question. *
(b) Public rights should not be surrendered for an unusual term of years.
Each generation should be left free to choose its own course.
& Municipal Subways are not experiments : their success has been dem-
OnStrateCl.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 37
ageous public-spirited executives—Governor Crane and Mayor
Collins; but behind them was a still more potent force; namely,
the force of public opinion.
Boston has thus, it is believed, established conclusively the
policy of retaining control of its transportation system, and
also of securing co-operation for the use of its streets by
railway corporations. Boston will own all the subways, which
are the connecting links in both the elevated and surface
systems through the heart of the city. Without those sub-
ways, no practical elevated system is possible, and no surface
system could be successfully operated. So long as Boston
retains this ownership and the right to revoke surface loca-
tions, the city will compel the corporations to pay what may
seem, from time to time, adequate compensation for the use
of the streets. The whole trend of legislation in Massachu-
setts has been, as we have seen, to give the public and the
street railways a fair show, and to leave disputed questions to
the judgment of an expert tribunal, the Board of Railroad
Commissioners.” But even with this qualification the great
growth of this method of street transportation has raised ques-
tions ahead of legislation, and there are many problems still
to be solved. Taken all in all, there is little question but
what the conditions as they exist to-day in Massachusetts
come nearer to an equitable solution of the problems involved
than they do in any other State. There is no doubt a tendency
to overtax the street railway companies at the expense of the
people they serve, but this arises from the misconception of
the incidence of such taxes. The principle of a perpetual re-
vocable franchise seems absurd, but in practice it works ex-
ceedingly well. It holds the companies to good service under
penalty of revocation, and yet by the safeguards placed around
the revocation, it insures the investor reasonable security for
his money. The working of this apparently illogical form of
franchise is in practice far better than the popular one of
limited franchises. The problem of street transportation in
* “Thus far the strength of the commission idea, when fairly sustained by
law, has been demonstrated.” Bemis : Municipal Monopolies. Page 558. “Its
wise decisions have probably done more to establish electric railroading in
Massachusetts on a sound and profitable basis than any other single influence.”
Street Railway Journal. September, 1898.
* “Nothing is more disturbing to the systematic, logical development of a
System of Street transportation than a limited franchise. It is poor business
policy to put money into a street transportation plant which at the end of a
short term of years, may be rendered useless by a refusal to renew the grants
of location. Good business policy demands that a company possessing a fran-
38 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
the United States is of vital importance, and Massachusetts,
early in the field, has tried out many of the questions involved.
It would be folly to claim that Massachusetts has solved all
the complex problems presented by the rapid urban growth
of the past thirty years, and the still more rapid growth of
suburban localities, but there is no question, that in prac-
tice, Massachusetts methods have proven themselves sufficiently
flexible to meet the rapid growth of urban and interurban
street railway conditions.
Every street railway company is required to keep its books
and accounts in a uniform manner, upon the system prescribed
by the Board of Railroad Commissioners. The directors of
every company must annually, on or before the first Wednes-
day of November, transmit to said board a return of the doings
of the company for the year ending on the thirteenth day
of September proceeding. This report must be sworn to by
themselves and by the treasurer and the superintendent of
the company. Such report must contain full and complete
information upon the several items contained in the form pre-
scribed by the board. From these reports, and also the re-
ports of the Boston Elevated Railway Company to its stock-
holders, we learn that concerning the capitalization of the
properties owned and leased by this company the capital stock
of the West End Street Railway Company on September 30,
1907, was as follows: Preferred, $6,400,000; common, $10,109,-
250; making a total of $16,509,250. Of this capitalization the
preferred stock was the amount authorized by the Legislature.”
for the purchase of the horse railroads which made up the
West End system, and was considered only the value of these
properties. Of the common stock, $7,150,000 was paid in
cash at par, and the balance was sold under orders of the Rail-
road Commissioners for cash, at prices ranging from 45 to 80
chise for a street, railway system which expires in a short time, shall put aside
enough from its income to reimburse its stockholders for the money they have
ventured in this plan, so that they may be secured against loss at the expira-
tion of the franchise term. This naturally, prevents extension during the last
years of the life of the franchise * * *”
Report of the Special Legislature Committee on Relations between Cities
and Street Railway Companies. 1898. Page 110
* “A company which owns , a leased railway shall be responsible for the
completeness and Correctness of its annual return to the same extent as if the
railway were in its own possession. If a return is defective or appears to be
erroneous, the Said board shall notify the company to amend it within 15 days.
A Company which neglects to make a return, or to mend it when notified to
do so, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars for each day during which such neglect
COntinues.”
* Chapter 413. Acts of 1887.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 39
per cent. in excess of the par value, realizing a premium
of $1,696,656. Of the $13,300,000 par value of the stock of
the Boston Elevated Railway Company the first $10,000,000
was paid in cash at par, and the balance was sold under orders
of the railroad commissioners for cash, at a price 55 per cent.
in excess of the par value, realizing a premium of $1,815,000
above the par value. The present capitalization of the two
companies, therefore, represents an actual payment in cash of
$3,511,656 above the par value of the outstanding stock. The
amount of this cash premium has been invested in the prop-
erties now owned by the companies. So there is not only no
capital inflation of these properties, but much more has been
paid in than is represented by the par value of the stocks.
The dividends paid on the stocks and the interest paid on the
bonds of the two companies make an average return to the
capital invested of something less than 5.13 per cent. per
3I]]]|UIII] . -
Besides its ordinary taxes the company’s contribution to the
public during last fiscal year amounted to $489,547.94.” From
the summary of stockholders of record October 1, 1907, it ap-
pears that the total number is 3,438, holding 133,000 shares
of stock. Of these 3,009, holding 114,347 shares, live in Mas-
sachusetts. In other words, 86 per cent. of the stock is held
in Massachusetts. From the summary of the business done
1 The amount was made up as follows :
Tax for the use of Streets under Act of 1897 . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 123,275.92
Interest on cost of paving laid in streets by company. . . . . . 167,896.52
Cost of maintaining Street paving by Company . . . . . . . . . . 130,907.01
Amount of subway rental devoted to sinking fund . . . . . . . . 47,468.49
Moving snow removed from sidewalks and roofs. . . . . . . . . . 20,000.00
Total extraordinary payments to the public. . . . . . . . . . . $ 489,547.94
Add. taxes assessed on real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265,500.70
Add taxes assessed On capital Stock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578,198.06
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,333,246.70
Add balance of the Subway rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159,805.00
Also the rental Of East Boston tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,371.09
Grand total, which is nearly 11 per cent. of the gross
revenue of the company for the year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,544,422.79
* Tenth Annual Report of the Directors of the Boston Elevated Railway
Company. December 31, 1907. Page 6. tº
40 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
by the company for the year ending December 31, 1907, we
find a surplus of $33,278.89.'
For the past year the company reports the revenue miles
run by elevated passenger cars, surface passenger cars, and
United States mail cars to be 52,061,569. The revenue passen-
gers carried on elevated and surface cars numbered 271,084,-
815. The receipts from revenue passengers on the elevated
and surface cars were $13,546,779.20, making the average re-
ceipt per passenger 4.997 cents.”
Broadly stated, the Boston Elevated Railway system, as it
is called from its overhead lines, is at present the only one in
the world which, controlling all, or nearly all, the passenger
transportation lines in a large city, and uniting under one
management the service of subway lines, elevated lines, and
surface lines, undertakes to carry a passenger between any
two points on its system for a single five-cent fare.” The basic
idea upon which the Boston Elevated Railway Company was
projected was to supply a system of surface car lines in the
suburbs and for short distance riding in the center of the
1 Gross earnings from operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,952,966.00
Operating expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,647,145.28
Net earnings from owned and leased lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 4,305,820.72
Subway rental, interest on funded debt, dividends and
taxes (West End Co.), etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,633,518.22
* $ 1,672,302.50
Miscellaneous interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,201.72
$ 1,730,504.22
Interest on funded debt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $306,388.90
Taxes (Boston Elevated R'y Co.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318,189.42
Compensation Tax under Act of 1897 . . . . . . . . . 123,275.92
East Boston Tunel Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,371.09
Depreciation fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,000.00 899,225.33
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $831,278.89
Dividend, Feb. 15, 1907 (3%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.99,000.00
Dividend, Aug. 15, 1907 (3%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.99,000.00 798,000.00
Surplus for the year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 33,278.89
* The secretary of the company maintains that “if the free transfers, about
150,000,000 in number are taken into consideration, this figure becomes 3.4
cents.” In Interview.
* In New York, a person may go on the elevated for 5 miles for a single
fare ; but if his destination is 5 squares away from the station, he must, if
he would not lose any time, take a Surface car, and pay an independent street
car company, as much for the last 5 blocks as he has paid the elevated com-
pany for the same number of miles.—Harper's Weekly. April 12, 1902. Vol.
46, P. 462.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 41
city, supplemented by a system of overhead and underground
lines operated at high speed for long distance riding through
the congested district. The “L” as it is popularly called, is
intended primarily for through traffic. There is a direct line
between Dudley Street in Roxbury, and Sullivan Square in
Charlestown that, besides the through traffic, takes care of
one side of the congested district, while the Atlantic Avenue
‘‘loop” looks after the other side.” The elevated structure
is in itself interesting. It is staunch, and was so planned as
to disfigure the streets as little as such a structure may, while
its stations were designed to be attractive as well as con-
venient. Including the section in the subway, there are over
15 miles of track for the elevated cars. The electric current
which runs the trains is distributed by a third rail, a system
which has the advantage over steam, of being cleanly and
speedy. Not only is the entire equipment of the most modern
type, but it includes several important novel features, such
as the mechanism connected with each block signal which
automatically stops a train, if, for any reason, an attempt
were made to pass a signal indicating danger; the multiple-
unit system of control, which enables the motorman to control
all motors of the train; the side doors and so on. The subway
was not built for the elevated trains. When the time came
for the elevated trains to enter the subway, connections with
the elevated structure were effected by means of inclines so
located as not to interfere with any important public thorough-
fare, and at the same time to be of the utmost convenience
to the traveling public. Besides the main subway, there is
a branch subway, from the corner of Tremont and Boylston
Streets, to the opening where the underground tracks are
brought to the street level at the side of the Public Gardens,
but that is only used by surface cars.
The elevated road and the subway are the means of getting
rapid transit through the crowded portions of the city where
the streets are constantly crowded with teams and where only
a moderate rate of speed on the public thoroughfare is pos-
When the overhead system was first opened, the loop was run independ-
ently ; i. e. its trains went round and round a circuit from the subway to At-
lantic Ave. and back again, and a transfer was necessary in order to reach the
terminals. There was established in place of these circuit trains a service
which, starting at either terminal, goes around Atlantic Ave., and back through
the subway, or takes the reverse Course through the subway and back over
Atlantic Ave. Gen. Wm. A. Bancroft, Pres. of the “L” Co. In The “Suburban,”
Vol. I. No. 1. Dec. 1902. tº 3 * , , c
42 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
sible. The elevated, of which the subway is, to all events and
purposes, a part, connects two great distributing points of
Boston’s street traffic, namely, Sullivan Square and Dudley
Street. Here are located the great terminal stations; which
are in their way, quite remarkable. At both of these, surface
cars are brought to the elevated level by means of inclines,
so that passengers can step from one to the other merely by
crossing a platform. At Dudley Street the trolley system sep-
arates in two directions, and its cars pass up at either side
of the terminal station along two wide platforms, between
which the elevated tracks run, and then make a loop and re-
turn in the direction from which they come, without delay.
The arrangements at Sullivan Square are quite different. This
station is laid out like a steam railroad terminal. The “L’’
tracks run through the station, as at Dudley Street, but the
surface tracks are brought to ‘‘dead ends’’ on either side,
each having its own platform." In this connection, it is in-
teresting to note that the Park Street station of the subway
is said to rank third among the busy railroad stations of the
world, although one of the smallest in platform capacity,
having only 15,197 square feet of available surface.” The
number of tickets sold daily at this station is about 25,000,
and the maximum for any one day was 40,000. It is estimated
that as many people leave the station during the day of 18 hours
as enter it, so that it is safe to say that as many as 100,000
people are daily accommodated at this station.” In addition
to these stations there are many others, both in the city proper
and in the surrounding towns, which provide an almost per-
fect distribution of passenger traffic in every direction through
the Metropolitan district. At the principal elevated and sub-
way stations the transfers are called “bodily transfers,” that
is, they are effected without the use of checks.
The construction of the Boston Elevated Railway has been
carried out on a very broad and liberal basis, particularly in
regard to safety. The foundations were designed and built
* There are, altogether, ten surface car tracks under the great arched roof
of the Charlestown train shed, besides numerous tracks below at the . street
level. These terminal stations are two of the principal railroad stations of the
United States, even if they are only street railway stations. “More than 300,000
passengers a day use them from morning until hight, a greater volume of
traffic than, can be found in any Steam railroad terminal.” Pres. Dancroft, in
“Suburban.” Vol. I. No. 1. Dec., 1902. y
* Street Railway Review. Vol. 10. Page 129.
* Electrically operated indicators, having the names of the routes, are in
use during the hours: of largest out-going traffic.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 43
to carry at least five times the weight which will probably
ever be placed upon them.” The elevated cars are much like
those used on the steam railroads. In addition to the usual
doors at each end, there are also doors in the center on each
side, which are opened and closed by a compressed air process,
operated by the conductors, at the end doors. The seats run
longitudinally just as in the cars now used on the surface
lines. On the platform at the end is a folding cab, which
may be entirely closed for the use of the motorman, or may
be open for the free use of the passengers in entering and
leaving. -
Several additional strides in the direction of an ideal rapid
system have been taken. A tunnel under Boston harbor now
connects East Boston (formerly dependent on slow-moving,
old-fashioned ferry boats) with the mainland. There is a
double track in the East Boston tunnel, and the section under
free water is something over half a mile long, with the upper
surface 60 feet below the mean high water and not less than
32 feet below the bottom of the present channel. The ex-
terior diameter of the tunnel is about two feet greater than
that of the tunnel under the Thames of London. In the near
future, the work of bringing Cambridge and Boston closer to-
gether in point of time, than they are at present, will be
brought about by the completion of a subway.” A further pro-
vision for the growth of the city, which has been acted upon
by the voters of Boston, is the tunneling of Washington Street.
The scheme embraced two separate underground railways,
one called a tunnel and the other a subway for distinction.
It is now expected by the Boston Transit Commission that
the new Washington Street subway" will be open for use before
the end of 1908. At the present writing (1908) the elevated,
1 G. A. Kimball, Chief Engineer, Boston Elevated R'y. In the New England
. Magazine. Volume 24. Page 467. -
2 Its interior dimensions are considerably greater than those of the St.
Clair tunnel at Port Huron, Mich., and the tunnel under the Hudson River
in N. Y. Pres. Bancroft in “Suburban.” Vol. I. NO. L. . 2.
3“With the completion of the tunnel, and the subway to Harvard Sq. Camb.,
there will have been accomplished in Boston by joint public and private means,
such improvement in facilities, for getting about in the world, as no city has
yet obtained certainly in so short a space of time. “St. Ry.” Journal, Sept.,
1898. Editorial, P. 505.
4 The features of the new Washington Street subway are as follows :
(a) Tracks almost perfectly straight through the entire course.
(b) Trains to travel under the East Boston tunnel, and under the Ames
Building. (The tallest building in the city.)
(c) Greatest depth from Washington Street level, 40 feet.
(d) Electric fans and air passages. The Boston Post. June 16, 1908.
44 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
through its connecting lines, reaches 12 cities and towns' and ar-
rangements have been made for bringing cars of outside com-
panies into Boston from distant places that the elevated
lines do not reach directly, such as Lowell, Worcester and
Needham.
No doubt it will be a surprise to many people to know
that the Boston Elevated Railway alone carries nearly one-
half as many people in a year as all the steam railroads in the
United States combined carry in the same length of time.’”
The elevated transports nearly a million passengers a day;
that does not mean, however, that it carries anywhere nearly
a million persons. A person is counted a passenger every time
he rides in one of the company’s cars, and, it is possible under
the system of free transfers that has been established, for one
single five-cent piece to make three passengers by riding over
the whole length of the line the transfers cover. About one-
quarter of all the traffic is carried on free transfers, and when
one stops to think that one fare will carry a person more
than 15 miles,” it is evident that the long distance passenger
at least, gets his full money’s worth. There are heavy days
and light days in street railroading, dependent partly on the
weather conditions, partly on the seasons of the year, and
partly on the necessities of city life. In the summer time
there is a great deal of pleasure riding in the open cars, while
in the winter there is, of course, none at all. On the other
hand, the volume of business travel drops off decidedly during
the midsummer months of the vacation season, and again in
the very cold and stormy months of winter. Business brings
many thousands of people into Boston six days in the week
who do not venture far enough away from home on the seventh
to be obliged to ride, and the difference between the traffic
on a pleasant Sunday, and that on a dull Sunday, is as three
to one. As the street railway company is required by city
ordinance to remove or care for all the snow that is removed
from those streets in the business district on which the cars
run, the handling of snow becomes a very important factor
with this system. The clearing of the tracks is a problem
* As follows: Boston, Camb., Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton,
Somerville, Arlington, Belmont, Brookline and Watertown.
* Pres. Bancroft. Suburban. Vol. I. Page 2.
* The longest ride for a single fare. from the end of the Maplewood line to
the end of the Dedham line about 18 miles. Mr. Sylvester Baxter in interview.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 45
which has to be faced every winter, and it becomes more and
more difficult as the lines are extended."
“In spite of remarks to the contrary (for there will always
be those persons who are too ready to attack public service
corporations), it must be admitted that the Boston Elevated
Railway Company to-day puts its great resources and facilities
at the service of the public in the most efficient way, and in
absolute good faith. The position which it now holds in
the community may be attributed in a large degree to the
high standard of its officials, who have endeavored to meet
all questions in a public-spirited way. The company has con-
tinued its liberal policy towards its employees in respect to
their wages, as well as in other matters.” It is only because
of this fact that we are able to say that the street railway
employees of the Boston Company compare favorably with
those of any other large city in the world, in matters of polite-
ness and efficiency," and some enthusiasts say that the standard
of the employees is unsurpassed in any other city. In con-
tinuing the policy of introducing semi-convertible cars to parts
of the urban and suburban system which will properly admit
of their use, the Boston Elevated Railway Company is continu-
ing the traditions of the Hub's leadership in street railroading.
These cars, involving the latest improvements in construction,
are characterized by an easy access arrangement, the opening
and closing of the doors by compressed air power under con-
trol of the motorman, folding cabs in which the motorman
operates the car free from the jostling and comments of the
passengers, and the most improved and modern system of
ventilation. Thus it seems that the city of Boston at the
present time has very little cause for complaint. The last
report of the Boston Elevated Company shows that 11 per
* The Company uses in its solution, 300 snow plows and 700 great sleds,
giving employment to thousands of extra men.
* “All honor, to the broad minded men, the men who are willing to give
as well as to receive, the men who will cheerfully laugh at their own blunders
and warn others against them. It is by these that progress is made in the
world.” Street Railway Journal. Vol. 14. Page 505.
* Compensation for learners during the year 1907, amounted to $27,670.18.
There was paid during the year the sum of $42,821.77 as a guaranteed minimum
wage for new or extra men. There was also paid as increased compensation to
long service men the sum of $66,630.36. There was paid in pensions, the sum
of $11,325.50. There was also paid in satisfactory service “money” in sums of
$15 to each of the employees deemed worthy thereof, the sum of $55,320.
Tenth Annual Report of the Boston Elevated Railway Co. Dec. 31, 1907. Page 7.
* The writer has been surprised by the lively interest which the employees
take in the affairs of toe company. From his own personal experience (and he
rides on the street car three times a day) he is able to say that it is possible
to talk intelligently to any employee of the company, and receive courteous and
Sensible answers. It is not uncommon to find drivers, who have knowledge of
Greek and Latin.
46 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
cent. of its net earnings are returned to the city in taxes and
other assessments. This is a better dividend to the municipal-
ity than is given by any of the municipally operated roads in
Europe, including Glasgow. The road gives good service, has
no water in its stock, pays dividends to its stockholders and
pays the city (which has none of the expense or trouble of
management) for the privilege of doing business, a million
and a half dollars a year.’’
The Legislature this year, as in the past, has for considera-
tion several bills connected with the Boston Company, which
purport to involve improvements. Chapter 573 of the Acts
of 1907 was accepted by the Board of Directors of the company
on July 11, 1907. This Act modifies Chapter 534 of the Acts
of 1902, and the contract with the Boston Transit Commission,
dated September 25, 1902, made in pursuance thereof, for the
use of the Washington Street tunnel and the subway, especially
for the use by surface cars provided for therein. By this
Act, authority for the building of such a subway ceases.
Under the Act, the Boston Transit Commission may construct
a tunnel or subway, to be known as the Riverbank Subway.
The company may have a lease of this subway for 25 years
from the beginning of the use thereof, at an annual rental
equal to 4% per cent. of the net cost thereof. By Chapter
497 of the Acts of 1907, accepted by the Board of Directors
July 11, 1907, by the Board of Aldermen of the city of Everett,
and approved by the mayor, and by the Board of Aldermen
of the city of Malden and by the mayor, the company is au-
thorized to construct an elevated railway from Sullivan Square,
Charlestown, in the city of Boston, through the cities of
Everett and Malden, to such point or points in the city of
Malden, southerly of Pleasant Street therein; as may be con-
venient for a terminus. Of the bills before the Legislature
this year, that which has attracted the most notice is one
which provides for the consolidation of the Boston Elevated
and the West End Street Railway, which carries with it the
right to issue unlimited capital stock, to acquire street rail-
ways anywhere and to carry baggage, express and freight. It
is on the right to acquire street railway companies and to
hold the stocks and bonds of these properties that one of the
principal objections to the measure comes. The bill has in-
curred the enmity of the Public Franchise League, which
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 47
asserts that the passage of it would allow the elevated to
dominate the trolley transportation of Eastern Massachusetts
without adequate regulation, and would “approve and per-
petuate the present inequalities in street railway fare in the
Metropolitan district,” and would make the elevated a holding
company, that is, engaging in the business of holding the
stock of other companies. In this respect, it may be said,
that it would doubtless be a justifiable improvement if the
service was made impartial in all parts of the Metropolitan
district. Such is not the case to-day, for those persons living
in the districts dependent upon the Boston and Northern
Street Railway Company, are required to pay eight-cent fares
in order to reach Boston proper. It seems that the best and
most equitable solution of this difficulty would be the “taking
over” of this company by the Boston Elevated, with the pro-
vision that the five-cent fare shall be extended to a reasonable
line. At the present writing, the legislators have been sud-
denly astonished by the withdrawal of the bill, by the com-
pany, with the statement by the president that “the company
does not consider that it is its duty at the present time to press
the bill against any substantial opposition.” One other rec-
ommendation of importance which has been made, is that the
present Boston Transit Commission be created a Metropolitan
Transit Commission, and so enable it to study the transit
problem of Boston as a Metropolitan one. This can easily be
done by act of Legislature, and will to a certain degree relieve
the overburdened Board of Railroad Commissioners of some
of their duties.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In this study I have used the following sources of in-
formation :-
A. Public Documents.
1. The Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners.
Annual Reports. 39 Volumes. 1870-1908.
. The Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners.
Report on The General Laws of Massachusetts Relating to
Railroads and Street Railway Companies. Boston. 1908.
. The Massacriusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners.
Digest of Reported Decisions, Precedents and General Prin-
ciples, Enunciated by The Board of Railroad Commission-
ers. Boston. 1905.
. The Boston Rapid Transit Commission.
Annual Reports. 11 Volumes. 1894-1905.
. The Boston Rapid Transit Commission.
Special Report to The Massachusetts Legislature. April
5, 1902. B. L. *6357.79."
. The Boston Rapid Transit Commission.
Statement of The Subway Commission. 1894. G. H. Eng.
865.1. B. L. *5650a.46.
. The Boston Rapid Transit Commission.
Report on The Boston Subway. 1895. B. L. *7654.30.
. The Boston Transit Commission.
Report on The Work of The Subway Commission. 1895.
B. L. 7656.69.
. The Boston Transit Commission.
Report on Legislation, Court Decisions, Contract for Sub-
Way, Lease of Tunnel. 1905.
10. The Boston Transit Commission.
Contract Between The City of Boston Acting by The Boston
Transit Commission and The West End Railway For The
Use of The Subway. B. L. 7654.32.
11. The Boston Transit Commission.
Plan for Subway in Washington Street. B. L. *7658.278.
Number Abbreviations :—
H.—Gore Hall Library. Cambridge.
B. L.-Boston Public Library.
S. H.-State House Library. Boston.
50
STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
The Boston Rapid Transit Commission.
Plans. B. L. *Cab. 23.17.5.
The Royal Commission of London Traffic.
Report on London Traffic. London. 1905.
The Electric Railway Test Commission.
Report to The President of The Louisiana Purchase Expo-
Sition. New York. 1906.
The Massachusetts Legislature.
Report of The Committee on Relations Between Street Rail-
ways and Municipal Corporations. 1898. House Document
No. 475. G. H. Econ. 3332.3. -
The Massachusetts Legislature.
Report of The Joint Special Committee on Railroad and
Street Railway Laws. 1906.
The Massachusetts Legislature.
Report on Subway Legislation, Tremont Street Subway,
and The Charter of The Boston Elevated Railway Company.
B. L. 5650a.49.
The Massachusetts Legislature.
An Act to Incorporate The Boston Elevated Railway Com-
pany and to Promote Rapid Transit in Boston and Its
Vicinity. B. L. *7658.225.
The Massachusetts Illegislature.
Acts and Resolves. 1894. Chapter 548.
Acts and Resolves. 1897. Chapter 500.
Acts and Resolves. 1906. Chapters 463-516.
Acts and Resolves. 1907. Chapters 277, 318, 402.
The Massachusetts Legislature. .
Lease of The West End Street Railway Company to The
Boston Elevated Railway Company. B. L. 7650.41.
The City of Boston.
The Charters and Locations of the Several Street Railways
in Boston. 1869, 1879. 3 Volumes. B. L. *6340a.17.
The City of Boston.
Report of The City Surveyor for 1892. Map of Boston
Showing Street Railways.
The City of Boston. -
Report of Conference with The Mayor. Shall Boston Build
and Control The Washington Street Subway? B. L. 7654.31.
The Metropolitan Railway Company.
Annual Reports. 5 Volumes. 1861, 1866. 1870-1872.
The West End Railway Company.
Annual Reports. 10 Volumes. 1887-1897. B. L. *7657.29.
The Boston Elevated Railway Company. -
Annual Reports. 10 Volumes. 1898-1908. B. L. *7658,170.
G. H. ECOn. 2862.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 51
27. The United States Census,
Report on Street Railway Business in The United States,
at The Eleventh Census. 3 Volumes. 1890. G. H. 20.12.
28. The United States Bureau of Census. 1905.
Report on Street and Electrical Railways. G. H. Econ.
8219.00.16.
29. Map of The Electric Railways in Massachusetts.
Public Documents. 1899. Volume 5.
30. Map of The Boston Elevated Railway.
B. L. Map. 1015.36.
B. Monographs.
1. Allen, W. S.
The Development of Street Railways in Massachusetts.
Boston. 1900. G. H. Econ. 3332.3.15.
2. Bates, S. W.
The Proposed Highland Railroad. Boston. 1872. G. H.
Con. 3303.
3. Bemis, E. W. -
Municipal Monopolies. Pages 505-586. G. H. VI. 10053.
4. Boynton, E. C.
American Electric Railway Practice. New York. 1907.
5. Brandeis, Louis D.
The Washington Street Subway and The Financial Condi-
tion of The Elevated Railway Company. “Before the Com-
mittee on Metropolitan Affairs.” April 26, 1902. Pamphlet.
B. L. 5659a.103.
6. Burdett, E. W.
Relations Between Street Railways and Municipal Corpora-
tions. BOSton. 1897. G. H. Econ. 3332.3.5.
7. Child, L. M. -
Shall The Metropolis of New England Have An Elevated
Railway ? Boston. 1898. B. L. *8035.7.
8. Clark, E. E.
The Boston Horse and Street Railway Guide. Boston.
1886. G. H. Dir. 210.
9. Crocker, G. G. -
From The Stage Coach to The Railroad Train and The
Street Car. 1900. G. H. Eng. 819.00.3.
10. Cummings, Prentiss.
The Street Railway System of Boston. Boston. 1894.
G. H. 17312.32. B. L. 3652.69.
11. Elder, Samuel J.
Free Transfers. Should They Be Made Universal? G. H.
Econ. 3303. .
52
STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Fairchild, C. B.
Street Railways. Their Construction, Operation, and
Maintenance. New York. 1892.
Fowler, F. M.
Review of The Management of The Metropolitan Railway
from 1860-1865. B. L. No. 3 in *767814. No. 4 in 767814.
Fowler, F. M.
The Metropolitan Railway. “Missive.” Boston. 1861.
B. L. in #7678.14.
Galloupe, F. E.
Rapid Transit and Elevated Railways. 1886. G. H. Eng.
838.86. B. L. 8019.140.
Grant, E. B. -
Boston Street Railways; Their Condition and Prospects.
BOSton. 1856. B. L. 4015.1.
Griggs, D. L.
A Few Facts Concerning The Tremont Street Tracks.
Pamphlet. Boston. 1898. B. L. 7658.228.
Hager, Louis P.
The History of The West End Railway Company. Boston.
1892. B. L. 8014.139.
Harding, II. L.
The Washington Street Subway. Pamphlet. Boston. 1900.
G. H. Econ. 3303.
Hart, Thomas N.
Against Municipal Ownership of The Subway. “Before The
Committee on Metropolitan Affairs.” Boston. 1901. B. L.
9352.5744.
Hawkes, N. M.
Report to The Senate, for The Committee on Street Rail-
ways. Boston. 1879. B. L. *8035.7.
Maltbie, M. R. *.
Rapid Transit Subways in Metropolitan Cities. 1905. G. H.
Soc. 4681.15.
Matthews, Nathan, Jr.
Address, “Before The Committee on Transit.” Boston,
April 5, 1894. B. L. 6357.49.
Meigs, J. V.
The Meigs Railway. Boston. 1894. G. H. Eng. 838.87.
Meigs, J. V.
True Rapid Transit. How It May Be Achieved. Boston.
1894. B. L. 5652.31.
Meigs, J. V.
Rapid Transit Made Plain. Boston. 1894. B. L. No. in
5652.30. .
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 53
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
Merrill, Moody.
Elevated Railways. BOSton. 1880. B. L. 5650a.56.
Pillsbury, A. E.
Argument in Behalf of The Boston Elevated Railway, “Be-
fore The Committee on Metropolitan Affairs.” April 14,
1902.
Pillsbury, A. E.
The Washington Street Subway, “Before The Committee
On Metropolitan Aſſairs.” March 28, 1901. D. L. 5650a.53.
Powers, Charles E.
Shall The Metropolis of New England Have An Elevated
Railway ? B. L. No. 4 in *8035.7.
Spalding, Henry Curtis.
Local Transportation at Boston. Boston. 1891. G. H.
Econ. 3332.313. B. L. 5654.28.
Sullivan, P. F.
Comparison of Street Railway Conditions and Methods in
Europe and The United States. Boston. 1897. G. H.
ECOn. 3303.
An Onymous.
Safety of Overhead Electric Wires. March, 1899. G. H.
Eng. 4975.2.
C. Review Articles.
1.
Adams, A. D.
Expansion in Massachusetts. In “The Scientific American.”
89:199. September 19, 1903.
. Allen, W. S.
The Street Railway Franchises in Massachusetts. In “The
Annals of The American Academy of Political Science.”
27:91-110. January, 1906.
. Bancroft, General William A.
Rapid Transit for Cambridge. In “The Suburban.” Vol-
ume I. No. 1. G. H. ECOn. 3303.
. Baxter, Sylvester.
Street Railway Consolidation. In “The Annals of The
American Academy of Political Science.” 11:119. January,
1898.
. Bell, Louis.
The Rapid Transit Situation in Boston. In “The Electrical
Review.” 39:369. September 28, 1908.
. Brandeis, LOuis D.
The Experience of Massachusetts in Street Railways. In
“Municipal Affairs.” 6:721-9. 1902-1903.
. Curtis, C. E.
Street Railways and Their Relation to The Public. In
“The Yale Review.” 6:17.
54
STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
8. Frank, J.
Rapid Transit in Great Cities. In “The Cosmopolitan.”
12:175. In “The Institute.” 125:1.
9. Hotchkiss, W. E.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Chicago Traction; A Study in Political Evolution. In “The
Annals of The American Academy of Political Science.”
28: 27-46. November, 1906.
Hungerford, E.
The Street Railway Business of “Beating.” The Companies.
In “Harper’s Weekly.” 51:1340-2.
Johnson, E. R. -
Public Regulation of Street Railway Transportation. In
“The Annals of The American Academy of Political
Science.” 29: 31-47. March, 1907.
Kimball, G. A.
The Boston Elevated Railway. In “The New England
Magazine.” 24:455-68.
Macassey, Lynden.
Transportation Facilities and Street Railway Traffic in Lon-
don. In “The Annals of The American Academy of Political
Science.” 27: 66-71. January, 1907.
Moses, E. C.
The Elevated Railway and Civic Beauty. In “The World
To-day.” 12:160-9.
Norris, H. H. -
Interurban Electric Railways. In “The World To-day.”
8:608. June, 1905.
Parsons, Frank.
Glasgow’s Great Record. In “The Arena.” 22:461-471
1904.
Parsons, W. Barclay.
Rapid Transit in Great Cities. In “The Scientific American
Supplement.” 60:24830-1.
Robbins, H.
Municipal Control of Street Railways in Boston. In “The
Reader.” 4: 624-32. November, 1904.
Robbins, H.
Street Railway Companies of Glasgow and Boston. In
“The American Journal of Sociology.” 10:789-813. In “The
Review of Reviews.” 32: 106. July, 1905.
Rowe, L. S.
Relation of The Cities and Towns to The Street Railways.
In “The Annals of The American Academy of Political
Science.” 12:103.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 55
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
Rowe, L. S.
Municipal Ownership and Operation of Street Hailways in
Germany. In “The Annals of The American Academy of
Political Science.” 27:37-65. January, 1906.
Stewart, J. A. -
The Boston Elevated Railway. In “The Scientific Ameri-
can.” 52:21599-660. Nov. 2, 1901. w -
Stewart, J. A. -
The New Street Railway Tunnel Under The Boston Harbor.
In “The Scientific American.” 84:185-6. March 23, 1901.
Varney, G. J.
The Greatest Subway System in the World. In “The
National Magazine.” 12:272. July, 1900.
Winslow, W.
The Municipal Subway. In “Municipal Affairs.” 5:427–32.
Woods, R. A., and Eastman, J. B.
The Street Franchise Contest in Boston. In “The Outlook.”
82: 835-41. April 14, 1906.
BOSton’s Solution of The Transportation Problem.
In “Harper’s Weekly.” 46: 462-3. April 12, 1902.
Completion of The East Boston Tunnel.
In “The Scientific American.” 92:44-46.
Municipal Rapid Transit.
In “The Outlook.” 61: 98.
Rapid Transit in Cities.
In “Scribner's Magazine,” 11:567.
Rapid Transit Subways in Metropolitan Cities.
In “Municipal Affairs.” 4:458.
Rapid Transit in Boston.
In “The Annals of The American Academy of Political
Science.” 11: 278.
Street Railway Conditions and Financial Results, in Metro-
politan Boston.
In “Street Railway Journal.” 14:471-492. 1898. B. L.
*40.11.237.14.
Street Railways and Their Relation to The Public.
In “Municipal Affairs.” 1:396-7. 1897.
Boston Elevated Railway.
In “The Street Railway Journal.” March, 1901.
The Boston Elevated Railway.
In “The Electrical Review.” July 6, 1901.
The Boston Elevated Railway.
In “The Electrical Review.” September 28, 1901.
The Boston Elevated Road.
In “The Railroad Gazette.” 30: 291. April 22, 1898. *
!
*
56 STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
39. The BOSton Elevated ROad.
In “The Railroad Gazette.” 22:472. July 2, 1897.
40. The BOSton Subway.
In “The Street Railway Journal.” 14:493-500. B. L.
*40.11.237.14.
41. The East BOSton Tunnel.
In “The Engineer.” Volume 92. No. 2382.196-197. B. L.
*40.10.219.92.
42. The East Boston Tunnel.
In “The City Record.” 3:205. April 5, 1900.
43. The Elevated Structure of The Elevated Railway.
In “The Engineering Record.” 41:245. March 17, 1900.
44. The Municipal Subway.
In “Municipal Affairs.” 4:219–20.
45. The Opening of The Boston Subway.
In “Harper's Weekly.” 41:934. September, 1897.
46. The Situation. Of Street Railways in Boston.
In “The Street Railway Journal.” 14:268. May, 1898.
47. The Street Railway Conditions and Financial Results in
Metropolitan BOSton.
In “The Street Railway Journal.” 14:471. September, 1898.
48. The System of The Boston Elevated Railway.
In “The Street Railway Review.”
10: 121. March 15, 1900.
10:185. April 15, 1900.
10:246. May 15, 1900.
49. The Transit Situation in Boston.
In “The Electrical Review.” 31: 274. December 8, 1897.
D. Newspaper Discussions.
1. The Boston Transcript.
1896—October 10.
2. The Boston Transcript.
1897—July 1, September 7, 9, 10, 15, October 10, Novem-
ber 23, December 18.
The BOSton Globe.
1897—September 3, November 22, December 30.
The BOSton Daily Advertiser.
1897—May 17.
The Boston Herald.
1897—May 10.
3. The BOSton Globe.
1898—April 12, February 15, December 22.
The Boston Herald.
1898—January 19.
4. The Boston Transcript.
1899—May 30, October 19, December 7, 8.
OF METROPOLITAN BOSTON 57
5. The Boston Globe.
1900--April 23.
6. The Boston Journal.
1901—June 10.
7. The Boston Transcript.
1902–August 20.
8. The Boston Transcript.
1903—January 20, April 2, December 9.
The BOSton Globe. -
1903—April 2.
9. The Boston Transcript.
1905—February 11.
The Boston Herald.
1905—June 20.
10. The BOSton Journal.
1907–December 20.
11. The Boston Herald.
1908—January 20.
The Boston Journal.
1908—January 26.
The Boston Record.
1908—January 29.
The BOSton POSt.
1908—January 16.
The Boston Transcript.
1908—January 16.
The Boston Traveler.
1908—January 16.
The BOSton Traveler.
1908—February 10.
The BOSton POSt.
1908—February 10.
The Boston POSt.
1908—February 13.
E. Interviews and Communications with the Following Persons:
1. Allen, Walter S.
Secretary of The Special Committee of The Massachusetts
Legislature, appointed to investigate The Relations between
Cities and Street Railway Companies. 1897.
2. Bancroft, General William A.
President of The Boston Elevated Railway Company. 101
Milk St., Boston. -
3. Baxter, Sylvester.
Secretary of the Metropolitan Improvements Commission.
20 Beacon St., Boston.
58
STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
. Beal, B. Leighton.
Secretary of the Boston Transit Commission. 15 Beacon
St., Boston.
. Brandeis, Louis D.
Attorney at Law. 161 Devonshire St., Boston.
. Burdett, Everett W.
Attorney at Law. 84 State St., Boston.
. Eastman, Joseph.
Secretary of the Public Franchise League. 96 Equitable
Building, Boston. -
. Hart, Thomas N.
Ex-Mayor of Boston. 298 Commonwealth Ave., Boston.
. Kimball, George A.
Chief Engineer of the Boston Elevated Railway Company.
101 Milk St., Boston.
Mann, Charles E.
Clerk of the Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commis-
Sioners. 20 Beacon St., Boston.
Matthews, Nathan.
Ex-Mayor of Boston. Chairman of the Boston Finance
Commission. 1134 Tremont Building, Boston.
Pillsbury, A. E.
Attorney at Law. 6 Beacon St., Boston.
Prendergast, D. L.
Secretary of the Boston Elevated Railway Company. 101
Milk St., Boston.
Tracy, F. B.
Editor of the Magazine Department of the Boston Tran-
script. 1324 Washington St., Boston.
Whitney, Henry M.
Former President of the West End Street Railway Com-
pany. 45 Milk St., Boston.
Woods, Robert A.
Superintendent of the South End House.
20 Union Park St., Boston. -
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE
MAR 3 0 2006
OF MICHIGAN
||||
lili
3 9015 06

. . . .33%
;4, º
.*.*... ?
: :"...º.
%
:
#
;
§
ºf
•
.#
&