The Committe Meets L. L. Austin

Declarer That Road Will Not Make Saline

Will Make Satisfactory Transfers at Crossings- Will Accept Packard Street Entrance.

[From Tuesday's Argus.]

The committee of ten appointed at last night's citizens' meeting for the purpose of conferring with L. L. Austin, general manager of the proposed electric line from Toledo met that gentleman this morning at 9 o'clock in the council room. All members of the committee were present except Chas. E. Hiscock, J. D. Ryan and Frank Jones. Ex-Mayor Copeland was called to the chair and as soon as Mr. Austin entered the chairman stated to him the action of the citizens' meeting last night in voting to make the going to Saline a condition of any franchise for entrance to our city and the appointment of the committee to lay this action before him and ascertain his views on the matter and whether his corporation would comply with this vote of the citizens' meeting.

Mr. Austin, who came in only after he had been sent for although he had been previously informed of the meeting, said he hesitated about coming to the committee meeting at all. As he sat in the meeting last night and listened to the wilful misrepresentations, he said, of his statements made to the city council recently and the alleged relations of his people with the Hawks-Angus people, he doubted whether he ought to meet the committee at all. He said he and those back of him were willing and glad to discuss with Ann Arbor citizens anything that properly comes within the right of Ann Arbor to control, but he did not consider that the route outside the city was a matter Ann Arbor had any right to dictate. He considered the demand that they must run from Milan to Saline and from Saline into Ann Arbor an unreasonable demand. At any rate he would say that they would not come that way under any circumstances. He said their original intention was to go to Ypsilanti and that they had been induced to change that purpose by the importunities of Ann Arbor citizens as to the advantages to be gained by coming here instead. Their engineers had been over the route and the route by way of Saline and they had made up their minds, after spending several thousand dollars, that the Saline route was wholly impracticable. The hills to be encountered that way put it out of consideration and they would not go that way.

In answer to Mr. Mills he said that a line not touching Saline would connect a considerable territory on the south now paying tribute to Ypsilanti with Ann Arbor. This was shown by the deep concern of Ypsilanti to have the road come there, as well as by the common knowledge that people would go to the larger city which they could reach in the easiest way. Then most of the farmer and Saline trade would be brought here by way of the junction of this road with the Saline-Ypsilanti electric at a cost of probably 25 cents for the round trip, people could get here from Saline with but very little more trouble than was required to reach Ypsilanti. It will not be more than seven miles from Saline to Ann Arbor by this route. He said they would agree to make satisfactory arrangements for the transfer of passengers at this point.

In reply to questions of various members of the committee he said they would be willing to accept a franchise into the city up Packard street. They were not insistent upon the Fourth avenue route.

These statements apparently had considerable influence upon the conunittee but the committee has not yet formulated its report. Another citizens' meeting will be called for Friday evening.