Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-20
Chief Brown Has a Plan for Max
ing Street Railways Pay Up.
BIG ROADS DON'TPAY EVEN A CENT
The Entire Revenue From Traction Lines
Now Is Only 5000.
ANO1HFR BRANCH TO WILLIAMSBURG

seems 10 nave IL gOou .ouuudtlou. "A num-
Der of attorneys interviewed on the subject
agree that unless provision is made in the
ordinance granting the right of way for a
tax or stipulated compensation, accepted by
the proper officers of the company over
their signatures, the city cannot thereafter
pass any ordinance for a license or taI
that will hold good IN law.
Chief Brown holds differently. and his
opinion is shared by Mayor Gourley, while
Controller Morrow, who drew up the street
car tax ordinance presented by MI. O'Don-
nell last Monday, declares that vehicle
license can be collected from street rail-
way on each car, the same as from
the private individual owning a
carriage. The Mayors ideas on the
subject are general, his belief being
that if the city can give franchise she can
afterward exact something in return, but
Chief Brown, who is himself a lawyer, is
positive that no trouble in passing an ordi-
nance, as a police regulation, requiring the
street railway companies to pay at least $50
a car per year can be met with, and he in
tends to present such an ordinance at the
next meeting of Councils.
Attorneys Say Tax Is Impossible.
Other attorneys maintain that the State
laws protect a corporation so far that if they
once get a city ordinance carrying their
charter into effect it becomes contract as
soon as signed by the officials of the city
and the corporation, and no additional i'm
post tax or compensation of any kind can
be imposed by the city without consent of the
corporation officials The argument generally
used by attorneys is, that if company in
poor circumstances should get right of
way and go into business under an ordinance
in which the company is required to pay
$50 year, circumstances might arise by
which the City Councils might desire to
shut the original company out To do this
it would only be necessary to impose an
additional tax which the company could
not pay, proceeding which no court of
equity would tolerate. The great princ-
pie underlying the whole question, they
say, is that perpetual contract signed and
sealed by both parties cannot be changed
without the consent of both, whether they
be private individuals or corporations, and
the ordinance of Councils in this case is a
contract.
The only way the city can compel street
railway company to pay anything, it seems,
unless contract therefor is made in the
ordinance. is by police regulation which
can be so arranged that any prosperous COM
pany would rather accept than fghtit, even
if sure the Court would sustain them in the
fight. Chief Browns ordinance presented
in Councils last year, but never returned
to Councils, was drawn on that line He
knew that the payment of a fee of $50 per
car; as provided by his bill, would be
largely optional with the companies, and
he knew also that he vas in position to
compel them to provide policemen at every
dangerous street and crossing in the city,
for the safety of life and property of the
public.
Brown Still Holds the Winning Card.
Consequently he drew his ordinance so
that in return for the fee the city would
furnish the crossing protection. Even this,
it is claimed, could be set aside by the rail-
way people, but it would place them in an
tagonistic position to the Public Safety
which could retaliate by max
ing it considerably more expensive for them
in the end.
Chief Brown saws the ordinance presented
by Mr.. O'Donnell can be made to answer
all purposes by some additions and changes
on the line indicated, but he prefers to
frame new ordinance as requested by the
resolution of Councils and it will be SINH
lar in most respects to the one presented
last year. He anticipates no opposition
either in its passage or carrying it into
effect by the railway companies.
There is another interesting feature of the
street car tax question and that is in the
fight Controller Morrow proposes to make
to collect back pay from number of them
All the street railways in the city except
The Wylie avenue, Fifth avenue and the
Duquesne had in the original ordinances
granting them rights of way as horse car
lines contracts under which they were to
pay the city so much per year. The Citi-
sens' line paid so much per car and so much
On the net profits each year, the income to
,he city thereby being 81, $50 in 1888, the
ast year they paid. The old Birmingham
inc had a similar agreement and their last
payment was 6, $50 in 1883.
street Cars Now Only Paw 5000 Year.
The West End Company had an agree
nent to paw 5000 year which has been
kept, their 5000 being the only
receipts of the city last year from street car
The old Oakland and East
Liberty line, now Pittsburg Traction, was
exempt from any tax by an act of Assembly,
md the old Wylie avenue line, now Cen
raj Traction, was exempt by an ordinance
because the road was paying little or moth
ng. The Transverse line had an agreement
10 pay S25 per car which was not to 60 into
ba 81
ev line was taxed at first S35 per car, but
ater the fee was reduced to sum propor-
tionate with the fee they paid in Allegheny
and in proportion to the amount of track in
his city as compared with Allegheny.
This reduced their fee considerably, but |
,ven this they refused to pay until, few |
years ago, the Controller brought suit and
he Supreme Court gave q Judgment in
avor of the citv for So, 200 Their fees for
,ne year were s5O5. The Manchester line
paid 5000 in 1887 and S345 in 1886 on their |
agreement
A few years ago the city passed general
ordinance regulating traction companies,
,ut prescribing no fees, tax or licenses, and
providing that all such companies must ac-
ept its provisions in writing over the Off
'ial signatures of the various corporations.
The Manchester, Birmingham, Citizens and
'Ieasant valley companies complied, and
hey now claim that by so doing they were
.bsolved from their original contracts to pay
nd have ever since refused to pay
nything. Controller Morrow thinks
nd he is supported by attorneys questioned
n regard to the point, that the position of
he companies is erroneous and he intends
o carry them into court to test it. As most
# the companies interested have greatly
increased their rolling stock as well as their
let profits, the amount to be recovered if
he city gets Judgment, after three or four
ears lapse, will be large