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 'EC 22 1915 
 
 No. 143. 
 
 Board of 
 Estimate and Apportionment 
 
 CITY OF NEW^ YORK 
 
 SECOND REPORT BY THE 
 
 BUREAU OF FRANCHISES 
 
 Upon the application of the 
 
 MARCONI TELEGRAPH-CABLE 
 COMPANY, INC 
 
 for authority to lay, construct, maintain and operate conductors 
 under the streets and avenues of the City for the purpose 
 of conducting and maintaining a general tele- 
 graph business, with suggestions as to the 
 proposed form of contract. 
 
 .^fiH^ 
 
 jrrQncY] nC ^O , 
 
 y<<\ \TM< \ ^ _^ 
 
 ; \ I V 1-. i< s I T Y )i 
 
 JUNE 28. 1915 
 
 }
 
 M. B. BROWN PRINTING & BINDING CO., 
 
 37-41 Chambers Street. N. Y. 
 
 617B— 15— 15 '
 
 Board of Estimate and Apportionment, 
 
 The City of New York, 
 
 Bureau of Franchises, 
 
 Room 1307, Municipal Building, 
 
 June 28, 1915. 
 
 Hon. John Purroy Mitchel, Mayor, Chairman of the Board of Estimatt and Appor- 
 tionment: 
 Sir — At the meeting of the Board iield February 5, 1915, this Bureau reported 
 upon the application of the Marconi Telegraph-Cable Company, Inc., for the consent 
 of the Board to the laying, construction, maintenance and operation of such wires 
 as might be necessary for the purpose of conducting and maintaining a general tele- 
 graph business. With that report there was presented a form of contract which had 
 been drafted by the Bureau, but as the provisions of the same were not acceptable 
 to the Company, the matter was referred to the Corporation Counsel, with the re- 
 quest that he confer with counsel to the Company on the entire contract as sub- 
 mitted, and then advise the Board as to its power and authority in the premises. 
 
 As stated in the above-mentioned report of the Bureau, the Marconi Telegraph- 
 Cable Company, Inc., is a New York corporation which has accepted the Post Roads 
 Act of Congress. By virtue of its acceptance of this act, the Company claims to 
 have obtained certain privileges, including a limited power or authority to use the 
 various Post Roads located in the entire United States, subject only to regulation 
 by the local authorities of the various sections and to a reasonable charge for such 
 regulation and for the use of that portion of the post roads exclusively appropriated 
 by the Company. All of the streets and highways of the City of New York are, 
 by act of Congress, post roads of the United States. 
 
 For the purpose of ascertaining the status of the Company, the Corporation 
 Counsel was asked for his opinion on the subject, and under date of November 2, 
 191-1, he rendered the same, holding that 
 
 "The Marconi Telegraph-Cable Company, Inc., through its organization un- 
 der the Laws of the State of New York as a telegraph company and its acceptance 
 filed with the Postmaster General under Section 5268 of the United States Statutes, 
 was authorized to construct its lines and operate through the streets and avenues 
 of the City of New York." 
 
 In explanation of this authority, the opinion quotes extracts from the opinions 
 of the courts in various cases, including those rendered in New England Telegraph 
 Co. vs. Essex, 206 Fed. Rep., 926; Telegraph Co. vs. Texas, 105 U. S., 460; Western 
 Union Telegraph Co. vs. Massachusetts, 125 U. S., 530; St. Louis vs. Western Union 
 Telegraph Co., 148 U. S., 92; Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. vs. Philadelphia, 190 
 U. S., 160, and Western Union Telegraph Co. vs. Richmond, 224 U. S., 160. It
 
 A'as also stated in the Corporation Coiniscrs opinion that any hcense fee whicli might 
 be levied by the State of New York or The City of New York upon telegraphic 
 ■ nessages transmitted by the Comply from the State of New York to the State of 
 New Jersey would be void. As the applicant company was organized by the Marconi 
 Wireless Telegraph Company of America to act as its agent in the receipt and de- 
 livery of messages in the City of New York, received by or destined for transmis- 
 sion at the Wireless Company's stations located in New Brunswick and Belmar, 
 New Jersey, it can readily be seen that all its business will be of an interstate char- 
 acter and that the Com.pany cannot, therefore, be required to pay the City an annual 
 sum based on a percentage of its gross receipts. However, the Corporation Counsel 
 stated that the City liad the right to demand reasonable compensation for the use 
 of the streets by the Company. What this reasonable compensation should be it 
 was rather difficult to determine. After an examination of the court opinions cited 
 by the Corporation Counsel, of the previous grants that had been made to companies 
 which had accepted the Post Roads Act and of the statements as to the payments 
 which had been made by the various com.panies to the State Comptroller for the 
 "regulation" by the Board of Electrical Control prior to 1898, the conclusion was 
 reached that an annual charge of $2,500, if the Company were confined to the Bor- 
 ough of Manhattan, could not be considered other than reasonable. The Company, 
 however, objected strenuously to any charge except that which might be made by 
 the Subway Company for the use of its ducts and contended that the issue so raised 
 was a matter for legal determination. The Bureau therefore recommended that the 
 matter be referred to the Corporation Counsel, which was done. 
 
 Negotiations With Coiitf'aiiy. 
 
 Mr. A. J. Baldwin, Attorney for the Corr.pany, began negotiations with Assistant 
 Corporation Counsel Rosensohn, to whom the matter was referred, and on March 
 2Sth, at the invitation of Mr. Rosensohn, representatives of this Bureau attended a 
 conference with Mr. Baldwin at his office. At this conference, in view of the attitude 
 of the Corporation Counsel the Company, by its attorney, agreed that it would pay 
 some compensation to the City, and by letter on April 13, offered an initial payment 
 of $1,000. and an annual rental based on the mileage of conductors used. This was 
 not in sufficiently definite form, and on April 22 Mr. Baldwin called with the President 
 of the Company, Mr. E. J. Nally. when the $5,000 initial payment was agreed to and 
 the Company offered to pay the City the annual sum of $100 per rr.ile of circuit used 
 by it in the city, with a minimum of $1,000 a year. As the Company, at present, 
 proposes to lease all its circuits, they will in all probability be metallic circuits. 
 
 Under date of May 3, the attorney, in answer to a communication of this Bureau, 
 submitted the form of contract drafted by this Bureau, amended in line with the 
 negotiations that had been carried on, so as to meet with his views, and the same was 
 thereupon submitted to the Corporation Counsel for his examination and approval, 
 after the Bureau had made one or two further amendments that, it was believed, 
 were required. On May 24 the Corporation Counsel approved the contract as finally 
 amended by the Bureau and the same was then transmitted to the Company for final 
 acceptance.
 
 Previous Exffrioicc Willi Cuiiifonics of 'litis Character. 
 In the very early consents applied for and granted by the City, no charges were 
 imposed on the companies obtaining the same. These consents, however, are ex- 
 tremely few in number, as the vast majority of the companies claimed to be privileged 
 to use the streets without the consent of the City, based on the wording of their 
 incorporation act as interpreted by the courts. 
 
 One of the first grants which imposed a charge was that made to a company which 
 had not accepted the Post Roads Act, viz., the Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph 
 Company, on December 13. 1881. This resolution provided that— 
 
 "For each street opened and used by the company, under this permission, for 
 the purpose of laying therein its lines of electrical conductors, it shall pay to the 
 City a sum equal to one cent for each lineal foot of such street occupied." (Ap- 
 proved Papers, Vol. 49, p. 406.) 
 
 Almost identical provisions were contained in the consents granted to the Western 
 Union Telegraph Company May 2, 1883 (Approved Papers, Vol. 51, p. 155), and 
 to the Commercial Cable Company, November 12, 1884 (Approved Papers, Vol. 52, 
 p. 461). The Western Union Telegraph Company is a New York corporation which 
 has accepted the Post Roads Act, while the Commercial Cable Company is a cable 
 company. It has been ascertained that the above three companies have never paid 
 anything to the City under the consents mentioned. 
 
 Coming to more recent years and after the enactment of the Greater New York 
 Charter of 1897, wc find tlie Board in 1911 considering the application of the Postal 
 Telegraph-Cable Company, a New York corporation which had accepted the Post 
 Roads Act. In this case the Bureau in its report to the Board under date of March 
 27, 1911, recommended that the Company be charged an initial sum of $10,000 to pay 
 the expense to the City of the examination of the application of the Company 
 and all work incidental thereto, and annual sums ranging from $5,000 to $7,500. In 
 this case the proposed use of the street was fixed and certain and the line was being 
 constructed to be used as a substitute for one which had to be abandoned because 
 of the improvement of Jamaica Bay and which it was agreed should be transferred 
 to the City when the new line was completed. However, the Company objected to 
 the payment of the sums proposed or to the payment of any money, and, the matter 
 having been referred to the Franchise Committee, the provision for payments was 
 elimin°ated after consultation with the Corporation Counsel. The contract as finally 
 entered into under date of February 27, 1912, merely requires the transfer to the 
 City of the conduits to be abandoned, in consideration of the consent to the 
 use of the "Conduit Lands" by the new hne. 
 
 After this contract was entered into, the opinion of the United States Supreme 
 Court in Western Union Telegraph Company vs. Richmond, 224 U. S. 160, was 
 rendered. This opinion apparently is considered as conceding that municipalities 
 when dealing with companies which have accepted the Post Roads Act have more 
 powers and authority than was heretofore supposed. In any event, the next Post 
 Road companv considered by the Board-viz., the Stock Quotation Telegraph 
 Company-entered into a contract with the City on May 8, 1913, under which it 
 agreed to pay an initial sum of $10,000. and 3, 4 and 5 per cent, of its gross receipts
 
 during the term of its contract, with minimums of $4,300, $6,000 and $7,500. The 
 Stock Quotation Company, however, is engaged largely in the conduct of a local 
 business, while the present applicant intends to engage solely in an interstate 
 business. There is also some doubt as to whether the operations of the Stock 
 Quotations Company entitle it to any privileges under the Post Roads Act. 
 
 Under all the circumstances, I deem the present settlement of the question between 
 the City and the applicant Marconi Company to be favorable to the City and feel 
 justified in recommending its approval by the Board. 
 
 Proposed Form of Contract. 
 
 The main provisions of the proposed form of contract have already been 
 discussed in the previous report of this Bureau on the Company, under date of 
 January 30, so reference will be made only to the amendments to the same. 
 
 Section 1. This section is amended so as to permit the Company to operate in 
 the entire City, instead of merely in the Borough of Manhattan, and by including 
 the word "use" as to the wires which it will operate, is intended to refer to wires 
 which the Company may lease as well as to those which it may own and operate. 
 In view of the fact that the Company has now agreed to the payment to the 
 City of an annual sum, measured by the length of the condi'ctor used by it, there 
 did not appear to be any objection to increasing the territory in which it may 
 operate. It will be remembered that the Bureau recommended a flat sum when 
 it was proposed to confine it to the Borough of Manhattan. 
 
 Section 2. First. This section has been amended so as to prohibit the Company 
 from using the wires or conductors operated by it for a telephone, messenger or 
 signal business. As it has been held that the Post Roads .^ct confers no rights or 
 privileges on companies conducting a telephone, messenger or signal business, etc.. 
 the City has full power when authorizing the use of the streets for such a business 
 to compel the grantee to accept a franchise with all its incidents. The applicant 
 company does not desire a franchise, nor does it wish at present to engage in any 
 of the prohibited forms of business. The contract was drafted so that the Company 
 would be vested with no privileges in this connection, and should it ever desire to 
 extend its operations, it can then apply to the Board for permission to do so, when 
 the matter can be taken up and considered by itself. It will be seen, therefore, that 
 the only authority in the Company under the Post Roads .A.ct and the proposed 
 contract is the conduct of a telegraph business between various points by means 
 of Morse instruments or an improvement of the same. The operation of "pony" 
 wires connecting offices of the Company with offices of its subscribers is conceded 
 to be included in this authority. 
 
 Section 2. Third. This provision relates to the compensation which is to be paid 
 by the Company to the City. It provides that the sum of $5,000 be paid within thirty 
 days from the date upon which the contract is signed by the Mayor, in order to reim- 
 burse the City for the expense of examination of the application and all work in 
 connection therewith. The annual payment is to be $100 per mile for each and every 
 metallic circuit used or operated by the Company, with a minimum of $1,000. The 
 method of arriving at the total length of these circuits for the purpose of deter-
 
 mining what the Company is to pay to the City is specir.c<l in this provision. Should, 
 however, the Company be using leased wires, then it is required to certify to the 
 Comptroller the various offices which are the terminal points of the circuits used hy 
 it and the sum to be paid in that event is to be calculated and based upon the dis- 
 tances between such offices by the most direct route through the streets and avenues 
 of the City. As it is rarely possible for a company leasing wires to be either pos- 
 sessed of or obtain information as to the route followed by such wires between the 
 terminal points of the circuit, this was deemed to be the most effective method of 
 dealing with this question. 
 
 Section 2. Fifteenth. This provision refers to the termination of the contract m 
 case' of failure on the part of the Company to operate. It has been amended so that 
 ,t will not take effect or apply to the Company until after the commencement of Trans- 
 Atlantic service by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, with winch 
 the applicant will connect, and of which it will be the agent in New York City. As 
 the stations of the Wireless Company in New Jersey have been specially constructed 
 for operation with the corresponding stations situated at Canarvon and Towyn, 
 Wales, and as these Welsh stations have been taken over and are being operated by 
 the English Government, due to the war, this amendment appears to be but fair to 
 the Company, as until the end of the war and the release of the Welsh stafons, it 
 will not be able to conduct any operations. 
 
 Section 2 Sixteenth. This provision, relating to the annual report to be filed l)y 
 the Company with the Board, has been slightly modified in the 16th. 18th and 19th 
 items by requiring the Company to report its operations as a whole instead of con- 
 fining the report to New York City, and by the elimination of the 20th item, requirmg 
 the names of the countries and localities from and to which messages were received 
 and transmitted. It would seem, after discussion with the Company, that to comply 
 literally with the 20th item would be almost impossible, and as the information de- 
 sired can be obtained at any time from a rate book of the Company, which will 
 show its foreign connections, there is very little, if any, necessity for this require- 
 
 ment. . 
 
 Section 2. Seventeenth. This is a new provision which has been inserted to re- 
 quire the Company to furnish reports to the Comptroller as to the mileage of the 
 circuits used by it, in order that he may determine the sums which it should pay to 
 the City under the provisions of the contract. 
 
 Section 7 Eighteenth (Formerly Seventeenth). This provision, which relates to 
 the security fund to be deposited with the Comptroller, has been slightly modified so 
 that that fund shall also be security for the initial payment, or should tlie m.tial pay- 
 ment not be made, then the contract will not become operative. 
 
 Section 2. Twenty-second (Formerly Twenty-first). This provision has been 
 amended so that in defining "streets and avenues" it refers to lands under water as 
 well as to highways, parkways, etc. This amendment was requested by the Com- 
 pany and is inserted because of the fact that the circuits of the Company will neces- 
 sarily have to cross the Hudson River or the New York Bay to reach the stations in 
 
 New Jersey. . . 
 
 As heretofore stated, when the proposed form of contract transmitted herewith
 
 8 
 
 had been approved by the Corporation Counsel, it was sent to the Company for final 
 acceptance. The Company, while accepting the contract in the main, however, still 
 retained its objections to items 16, 17 and 19 of subdivision Sixteenth of section 2, 
 which are those items requiring it to report to the Board its receipts and expenses for 
 the year. I did not believe that these items should be eliminated by the Board, as the 
 Company is a public service corporation and should furnish reports as to its opera- 
 tions, including particulars of this character. 
 
 Further communication was therefore had with the attorney for the Company, 
 and he, under date of June 21, finally acceded to the retention of the above items. 
 
 It is suggested that if the proposed contract meet with the approval of the Board, 
 the same be spread on the minutes for 27 days and that a resolution be adopted fix- 
 ing Thursday, July 29, 1915, as the date for a public hearing thereon, notice of such 
 hearing to be published in "The Globe" and "Morning Telegraph," newspapers here- 
 tofore designated by the Mayor, and in the City Record, in accordance with the pro- 
 visions of Section 74 of the Greater New York Charter. Respectfully, 
 
 JOHN A. McCOLLUM, Acting Cliief of Bureau.
 
 Marconi Tf.legraph-Cable Company, Inc. 
 Proposed Form of Contract. 
 
 This Contract made, and executed in dui)licatc tliis day of 
 
 ,19 , by and between The City of New York (hereinafter called 
 the City), party of the first part, by the Mayor of said City, acting for and in the 
 name of said City, under and in pursuance of the authority of the Board of Estimate 
 and Apportionment of said City (hereinafter called the Board), and the Marconi 
 Telegraph-Cable Company, Inc.. a corporation formed under and pursuant to the 
 Laws of the State of New York (hereinafter called the Company), party of the 
 second part, witnesseth : 
 
 Whereas, The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, a corporation 
 formed under and pursuant to the Laws of the State of New Jersey, has constructed 
 and proposes to operate certain wireless receiving and transmitting stations at Belmar 
 and New Brunswick, in the State of New Jersey, and for the purpose of establishing 
 ofifices in the City of New York obtained the incorporation of and controls the 
 applicant Company, which is to act as its agent in the establishment of such offices 
 in the City of New York and to receive and deliver from such offices messages 
 intended for and received by wireless communication ; and 
 
 Whereas, The said applicant Company on or about June 22, 1914, tiled with the 
 Postmaster-General of the United States of .America a certificate of acceptance of 
 the restrictions and obligations imposed on telegraph companies by an Act of Con- 
 gress of the United States, approved July 24, 1866, entitled "An Act to aid in the con- 
 struction of telegraph lines and to secure to the government the use of the same for 
 postal, military and other purposes;" and 
 
 Whereas, The Company has now applied for authority to lay, construct, main- 
 tain and operate or use electric telegraph wires, with the necessary branches in con- 
 nection therewith, under and along the streets, avenues and public places within the 
 territory of the City of New York, according to the terms and conditions which the 
 Board may determine, for the purpose of conducting and maintaining a general tele- 
 graph business ; and 
 
 Whereas, The Corporation Counsel of the City has advised the Board that the 
 Company by its acceptance of the Post Roads Act obtained a right to use the City's 
 streets, subject to the right of the Board to regulate tlic use thereof and to demand rea- 
 sonable compensation therefor : 
 
 Now, Therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein 
 contained, the parties hereto do hereby covenant and agree as follows : 
 
 Section 1. Subject to the conditions and provisions herinafter set forth, the 
 City hereby consents to the construction, maintenance and operation or use by the 
 Company of suitable wires or other electrical conductors in the streets and avenues 
 within the City of New Y'ork, for the purpose of electrically connecting various tele- 
 graph offices to be established by it in the said City with each other, and with the 
 wireless stations of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, located 
 at Belmar and New Brunswick, in the State of New Jersey, or elsewhere, for the 
 purpose of doing a telegraph business between the ofifices of the said Company and 
 the offices of the said Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America.
 
 10 
 
 Section 2. The consent hereby given is subject to the following conditions and 
 regulations, which shall be complied with by the Company : 
 
 First — No wires or conductors laid, maintained or operated by the Company in 
 the City, or any portion thereof, shall be used for the transmission of messenger call 
 signals, telephonic conversations or for any other purpose than the transmission of 
 messages by telegraph as contemplated by the Post Roads Act of Congress of the 
 United States as interpreted by the Courts. 
 
 Second — The privilege of laying its wires underground and using the conduits in 
 the City streets, herein consented to by the City, shall continue for the period of 
 fifteen (IS) years from the date of the signing of this contract by the Mayor, when 
 the same and this contract shall cease and determine without any action or proceeding. 
 
 Third — The Company shall pay to the City for the expense of the examination 
 of the application and all work in connection therewith, for the facilities afforded to 
 it, and for local governmental supervision, the following sums of money: 
 
 1. 1 he sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) in cash within thirty (30) days after 
 
 the date upon which this contract is signed by the Mayor. 
 
 2. An annual sum which shall be equal to one hundred dollars ($100) per mile for 
 
 each and every metallic circuit used or operated by the Company in the City, 
 but which sum shall not be less than one thousand dollars ($1,(K)0). 
 
 The metallic circuits referred to above and wherever used in this contract shall be 
 deemed to and shall include each and every two (2) wires between the same points 
 used or operated by the Company, whether owned by it or otherwise. In arriving at 
 the mileage in use or operated by the Company, the different circuits used or operated 
 by it shall not be treated as separate items, but the total mileage of such circuits, when 
 added together, shall be the basis for the payment to be made by the Company. The 
 length of the various circuits used or operated shall be certified by the Company under 
 oath to the Comptroller, as hereinafter provided, but should the Company, for any 
 reason, not have sufficient data to enable it to furnish such information, then and in 
 that event it shall certify under oath to the Comptroller, as hereinafter provided, the 
 various offices of whatever description connected by the circuits in use by it, and the 
 mileage upon which it shall make the annual payments shall be calculated and based 
 upon the distances between such offices by the most direct route through the streets 
 and avenues of the City. Should the mileage at any time exceed an exact number of 
 miles, then and in that event the annual payment to be made by the Company for the 
 excess over such exact number of miles shall be upon the basis of twenty-five dollars 
 ($25) for each quarter of a mile {H mile) or fraction thereof. 
 
 The annual payments shall commence from the date on which this contract is 
 signed by the Mayor. 
 
 All annual payments as above shall be paid into the treasury of the City on Feb- 
 ruary 1 of each year, and shall be for the amount due to December 31 next preceding ; 
 provided, that the first annual payment shall be only for that proportion of the first 
 annual sum as the time between the date upon which this contract is signed by tlie 
 Mayor and December 31 following shall bear to the whole of one year. 
 
 Any and all payments to be made by the terms of this contract to the City by the 
 Company shall not be considered in any manner in the nature of a tax, but such pay-
 
 11 
 
 ments shall be made in adidtion to any and all taxes of whatsoever kind or description 
 now or hereafter required to be paid by any ordinance of the City, or resolution of 
 the Board, or any law of the Slate of New York. 
 
 Fourth-The annual payments shall continue throughout the whole term of this 
 contract, notwithstanding any clause in any statute or in the charter of any other 
 company providing for payment for similar rights, facilities, franchises or supervision 
 at a different rate, and no assignment, lease or sublease of the rights or privileges, the 
 exercise of which is herein consented to or of the facilities for the exerc.se of the 
 same or of anv part thereof, shall be valid or effectual for any purpose, unless the said 
 assi.'nment lease or sublease shall contain a covenant on the part of the assignee or 
 lessee that the same is subject to all the conditions of this contract; and that the 
 assignee or lessee assumes and will be bound by all of said conditions, and especially 
 said conditions as to payments, anything in any statute or in the charter of such 
 assignee or lessee to the contrary notwithstanding, and that the said assignee or 
 lessee waives anv more favorable conditions created by such statute or its charter, and 
 that it will not claim by reason thereof, or otherwise, exemption from liability to per- 
 form each and all of the conditions of this contract. 
 
 Fiftb-The rights and privileges, the exercise of which is herein consented to or 
 the facilities for the exercise of the same, shall not be assigned, either in whole or 
 h. part or leased or sublet in any manner, nor shall the title thereto, or right, interest 
 or property therein, pass to or vest in any other person or corporation whatsoever, 
 either bv the act of the Company or by operation of law, whether under the provisions 
 of the statutes relating to the consolidation or merger of corporations or otherwise, 
 without the consent of the City, acting by the Board, evidenced by an instrument under 
 seal anything herein contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding, 
 and the' granting, giving or waiving of any one or more of such consents shall not 
 render unnecessary any subsequent consent or consents. 
 
 Sixth-The Company shall construct, maintain and operate its electric system 
 subject to the supervision and control of all the authorities of the City who have 
 jurisdiction in such matters, as provided by the Charter of the City, and in strict com- 
 pliance with all laws or ordinances or departmental rules and regulations now m 
 force, or which may be adopted, affecting companies operating electrical conductors 
 
 in the City. , ^., 
 
 No construction or repair of said electrical system shall be commenced until 
 written permits have been obtained from the proper City officials. In any permit 
 so issued such officials may impose such conditions, as a condition of the granting 
 of the same, as are necessary for the purpose of protecting any structures in the 
 streets and avenues and the proper restoration of the surface of such streets and 
 avenues over which such officials have jurisdiction, and the Company shall comply 
 
 with such conditions. , „ , ■ , . 
 
 Upon completion of any work of construction, the Company shall furnish to 
 the President of the Borough a plan of such character as he may direct, showing 
 accurately and distinctly the location, si.e and type of constructiou and complete 
 dimensions of the structures erected, installed or constructed under this contract, 
 and the location and dimensions of all substructures encountered during the progress
 
 12 
 
 of the work; the depth below the street surface of the new structures and of the 
 substructures encountered must be shown, also their location with reference to the 
 nearest curbline and the nearest curbline intersection. 
 
 The electrical and other equipment to be installed by this Company, whether the 
 same be under streets and avenues, in any Department of the City or in private 
 property, shall be constructed and maintained subject to the approval and under the 
 supervision and control of the Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. 
 
 Seventh — The plant, conduits, wires, conductors, connections, instruments and 
 all appurtenances thereto, shall be constructed, maintained and operated in the latest 
 approved manner and with the most modern and improved appliances, and it is 
 hereby agreed that the Board may require the Company to improve or add to its 
 plant, conduits, wires, conductors, connections, instruments and appurtenances, from 
 time to time, as such additions or improvements are determined by the Board, after 
 hearing, to be reasonable and necessary. Upon failure on the part of the Company 
 to comply with the directions of the Board within a reasonable time, this consent 
 and contract shall cease and determine. 
 
 Eighth — .\11 cables and wires of the Company laid pursuant to this contract shall 
 be placed in ducts, conduits or subways (referred to in this paragraph as "subways"). 
 Such subways shall be leased from the company or companies having control thereof 
 under the provisions of law, or from the City, should it succeed to the rights of such 
 company or companies. If the City shall construct or acquire subways for electrical 
 conductors of the character or tension of those used by the Company or similar com- 
 panies, the Company hereby agrees to lay its wires and conductors in such subways, 
 and the City agrees to lease to the Company such space as may be necessary and 
 available for the operation of the system herein referred to. 
 
 No cables or wires shall be strung above the surface of the streets and avenues 
 by the Company. 
 
 Ninth — It is a condition of this contract that the Company shall bear the entire 
 expense of all work undertaken liy it in the territory referred to herein. 
 
 Tenth — The Company shall file with the Board on the first day of February in 
 each year a map of plan upon which shall be plainly and separately indicated the 
 number of wires which were in use by the Company on December 31 preceding and 
 the streets in which the same are located, and also those which were put in use during 
 the year preceding that date. It shall also file with the Department of Water Supply, 
 Gas and Electricity, on or before the tenth day of each month, a map or plan of the 
 locations in which wires have been placed by it during the preceding month. 
 
 Eleventh — The wires of the Company shall be employed for no other purpose 
 than those explicitly set fortli herein and the Company binds itself not to lay, use, 
 lease or operate wires for illegal purposes or to illegal places. 
 
 Twelfth— The Company shall assume all liability to persons or property by reason 
 of the construction or operation of the system referred to in this contract, and it is a 
 condition of this contract that the City shall assume no liability whatsoever to either 
 persons or property on account of the same, and the Company hereby agrees to repay 
 to the City any damage which the City shall be compelled to pay by reason of any 
 acts or defaults of the Company.
 
 13 
 
 Thirteenth— Nothing in this contract shall he deemed to affect in any way the 
 right of the City to grant to any individual or other corporation its consent to the 
 exercise of a franchise or to grant a franchise right or privilege upon the same or 
 other terms and conditions in the territory referred to in this contract, or any part 
 thereof. 
 
 Fourteenth— If the Company shall fail to maintain its structures and equipment 
 as herein provided in good condition throughout the whole term of this contract, the 
 Board may give notice to the Company, specifying any default on the part of the 
 Company, and requiring the Company to remedy the same within a reasonahle time, 
 and upon failure of the Company to remedy such default within a reasonable time, the 
 Company shall, for each day thereafter during which the default or defect remains pay 
 to the City the sum of one hundred dollar? C$100J as fixed or liquidated damages, or 
 the Board, in case such structures or equipment which may affect the surface of the 
 streets shall not be put in good condition within a reasonalde time after notice by the 
 Board as aforesaid, shall have the right to make all needed repairs at the expense of 
 the Company, in which case the Company shall pay to the City the amount of the cost 
 of such repairs, with legal interest thereon, all of which sums may be deducted from 
 the fund hereinafter provided for. 
 
 Fifteenth— If for a period of three consecutive months after the commencement 
 of its transatlantic service by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America 
 the system of the Company shall not be operated, or if the same shall not be operated 
 for a period of six months out of any consecutive twelve months, the Board may 
 revoke its consent and declare this contract terminated without further proceedings 
 at law or in equity. 
 
 Sixteenth-The Company shall submit to the Board a report, not later than 
 February 1 of each year for the year ending December 31 next preceding, and at any 
 other time upon request of the Board, which shall state: 
 
 1. The amount of stock issued for cash ; for property. 
 
 2. TTie amount paid in as by last report. 
 
 3. The total amount of capital stock paid in. 
 
 4. The funded debt by last report. 
 
 5. The total amount of funded debt. 
 
 6. The floating debt as by last report. 
 
 7. The total amount of floating debt. 
 
 8. The total amount of funded and floating debt. 
 
 9. The average rate per annum of interest on funded debt. 
 
 10 Statement of dividends paid during the year, and the rate of same. 
 
 11. The names of the directors and officers elected at the last meeting of the 
 
 corporation held for such purpose. 
 
 12. The name or names of the shareholder or shareholders holding a majority 
 
 of the stock of the said corporation. 
 
 13. Location, value and amount paid for real estate owned by the Company as 
 
 by last report. 
 
 14. Location, value and amount paid for real estate now owned by the Company.
 
 14 
 
 15. Number and location of offices of the Company in the City and the offices 
 
 and companies to which the same are connected. 
 
 16. Total receipts of the Company. 
 
 17. Proportion of receipts retained by the Company as compensation for its serv- 
 
 ices; the amount of such proportion and the rate per word of such propor- 
 tion with respect to the messages received and transmitted by it. 
 
 18. Amounts paid iiy the Company for damage to persons or property on account 
 
 of construction and operation. 
 
 19. Total expenses for operation, including salaries. 
 
 — and such other information in regard to the business of the Company as may be re- 
 quired by the Board. 
 
 The Company shall also file annually with the above report a certified copy of its 
 then existing contract or contracts wilh the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of 
 America and its affiliated companies. 
 
 Seventeenth. The Company shall, on or before February 1 of each year, 
 make a verified report to the Comptroller of the total mileage of metallic circuits in 
 use or operation by it in the City on December 31 preceding, and the location of the 
 various offices, of whatever description, connected by the same, or should it not have 
 sufficient data to enable it to furnish a statement of the mileage of such metallic cir- 
 cuits, then the Company shall, on February 1, furnish to the Comptroller a verified 
 report of the various offices of whatever description connected by the circuits in use 
 by it on December 31 next preceding. The Company shall also in the same manner 
 furnish such other information as the Comptroller may require. The Comptroller 
 shall have access to all books of the Company, for the purpose of ascertaining the cor- 
 rectness of its report, and may examine its officers under oath. _ 
 
 Eighteenth— This consent is upon the express condition that the Company, within 
 thirty (30) days after the signing of this contract by the Mayor, and before anything 
 is done in the construction or operation of its system, shall deposit with the Comp- 
 troller of the City the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), either in money or 
 securities, to be approved by him, which fund shall be security for the performance 
 by the Company of all of the terms and conditions of this contract, and each and 
 every one thereof. In the event of default in the payment of the annual charge or 
 other payments herein required the City shall collect the same, with interest, from the 
 said fund after ten (10) days' notice to the Company. 
 
 In case of failure of the Company to comply with the terms of this contract 
 relating to the filing of annual statements, the installation or maintenance of its struct- 
 ures and equipment, or its neglect or refusal to comply with any demand or direction 
 of the Board or other municipal officials, made pursuant to the terms of this con- 
 tract, or under the authority of any laws, ordinances or departmental regulations now 
 or hereafter in force, in such case and in any of these events the Company, except 
 as herein otherwise provided, shall pay to the City a penalty of fifty dollars ($50) for 
 each violation. 
 
 The procedure for the imposition and collection of the penalties in this contract 
 shall be as follows : 
 
 The Board, on complaint made, shall give notice to the Company, directing its
 
 15 
 
 President or olhcr offica- to appear before t1,e Board on a certain day not less than 
 ten (10) days after the date of such notice, to show cause why the Company should 
 not be penahzed in accordance with the provisions of this contract. If the Company 
 fails to make an appearance, or after a hearing appears in the judgment of the Board 
 to be in fault, said Board shall forthwith impose the prescribed penalty, or where the 
 amount of the penalty is not prescribed herein, such amount as appears to the Board 
 to be just, and without legal procedure, direct the Comptroller to withdraw the amount 
 of such penalty from the security fund deposited with him. In case of any drafts 
 made upon the security fund the Company shall, upon ten (10) days' notice in writ- 
 ing pay to the City a sum suflicient to restore said security fund to the ongmal 
 amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000), and in default thereof this contract shall be 
 cancelled and annulled at the option of the Board, acting in behalf of the City. No 
 action or proceeding or right under the provisions of this contract shall afifect any 
 other legal rights, remedies or causes of action belonging to the City. 
 
 Nineteenth-In case of any violation or breach or failure to comply with any of 
 the provisions herein contained, this contract may be forfeited by a suit brought by 
 the Corporation Counsel, on notice of ten (10) days to the Company, or at the option 
 of the Board, bv resolution of said Board. Provided, however, that such action by 
 the Board shall not be taken until the Board shall give notice to the Company, served 
 in the same manner as a summons in an action in the Supreme Court, to appear before 
 it on a certain day not less than ten (10) days after the date of such notice, to show 
 cause why such resolution declaring the contract forfeited should not be adopted. In 
 case the Company fails to appear action may be taken by the Board forthwith. 
 
 Twentieth-If at any time the powers of the Board or any other of the authori- 
 ties herein mentioned, or intended to be mentioned, shall be transferred by law to any 
 other board, authority, officer or officers, then and in such case such other board, 
 authority, officer or officers shall have all the powers, rights and duties herein reserved 
 to or prescribed for the Board or other authorities, officer or officers. 
 
 Twenty-first— The words "notice" or "direction" wherever used in this contract 
 ..hall be deemed to mean a written notice or direction. Every such notice or direction 
 to be served upon the Company shall, except as otherwise in this contract provided, be 
 delivered at such office in the City as shall have been designated by the Company, or 
 if no such office shall have been designated, or if such designation shall have for any 
 reason become inoperative, shall be mailed in the City, postage prepaid, addressed to 
 the Company at the City. Delivery or mailing of such notice or direction as and when 
 above provided shall be equivalent to direct personal notice or -direction and shall be 
 deemed to have been given at the time of delivery or mailing. 
 
 Tweiity-second-The words "streets and avenues" or "streets or avenues" wherever 
 used in this contract shall be deemed to mean streets, avenues, highways, parkways, drive- 
 ways, concourses, boulevards, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, public places, lands under 
 water or any other property to which the City has title or over which the public has 
 an easement, included within the limits of the territory in which the Company is to 
 operate under this contract. 
 
 Twenty-third-The grant of this consent is subject to whatever right, title or 
 interest the owners of abutting property or others may have, if any, in and to the
 
 000 531 211 
 
 16 
 
 streets and avenues of the territory in wliich tine Company is authorized to operate 
 by this contract. 
 
 Section 3. Nothing in this contract shall be construed as in any way limiting the 
 present or future jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission under the laws of the 
 State of New York. 
 
 Section 4. This contract is subject to the Constitution and Laws of the United 
 States of America and the rules and regulations which have been and may be adopted 
 in pursuance thereof. 
 
 Section 5. The Company promises, covenants and agrees on its part and behalf 
 to conform to and abide by and perform all the terms, conditions and requirements 
 in this contract fixed and contained. 
 
 In witness whereof the party of the first part, by its Mayor, thereunto duly 
 authorized by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of said City, has caused the 
 corporate name of said City to be hereunto signed and the corporate seal of said 
 City to be hereunto affixed ; and the part of the second part, by its officers, thereunto 
 duly authorized, has caused its corporate name to be hereunto signed and its corporate 
 seal to be hereunto affixed, the day and year first above written. 
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 
 
 By , Mayor. 
 
 (Corporate seal.) 
 
 Attest : , City Clerk. 
 
 MARCONI TELEGRAPH-CABLE COMPANY, INC., 
 By President. 
 
 (Seal.) 
 
 Attest : Secretary. 
 
 (Here add acknowledgements.)