In addition to the security which might
be required by the Board of the contractor for construction and
operation, the Act provided that the city should have a first lien
upon the equipment of the road to be furnished by the contractor, and
at the termination of the lease the city had the privilege of
purchasing such equipment from the contractor.
(_f_) The city was to furnish the right of way to the contractor free
from all claims of abutting property owners. The road was to be the
absolute property of the city and to be deemed a part of the public
streets and highways. The equipment of the road was to be exempt from
taxation.
(_g_) The Board was authorized to include in the contract for
construction provisions in detail for the supervision of the city,
through the Board, over the operation of the road under the lease.
One of the most attractive--and, in fact, indispensable features of
the scheme--was that the work of construction, instead of being
subject to the conflicting control of various departments of the City
Government, with their frequent changes in personnel, was under the
exclusive supervision and control of the Rapid Transit Board, a
conservative and continuous body composed of the two principal
officers of the City Government, and five merchants of the very
highest standing in the community.
Provided capitalists could be found to undertake such an extensive
work under the exacting provisions, the scheme was an admirable one
from the taxpayers' point of view.
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