New-York tribune., 1902-10-03
FOR FREE G RANT TO p. r. r.
A. 5. HEWITT SAYS CITY SHOULD NOT
SELL FRANCHISES.
Is c,rfEERED AND TERED-MAYoR AND
CONTROLLER SEEM TO FAVOR LABOR
ARBITRATION CLAUSE.

The public hearsug ON the franchise - 'he
I,enpsvlvania tunnel the acceptance OF which, a.
amended was rescindcd boy the Rapid TRANSIT
BOARD last week az the Office ~ the board y"sier-
day. was noteworthy Tor the assertion by AoiA"'
s Hewitt that h Was pr~posi"rous thai me iA''-
road should b- required 90 pay Tor the privilege
~ building thc tunnel since On ten years Il would
lccome a necessity lie said h' could only char
acterize money taken in that way blood money
when Mr. Hewitt began 10 speak. and at one
7ont IN his r,marks. Iecrs aud misses came from
that part of the room in which organized labor
adherents were believed 10 be They dio not dis
concert Mr. Hewitt interrupt hs words
Another feature az the hearing was the attitude
a. Controller Grout and Mayor Low. which indi-
Gated that they were in favor Of labor arbitration
clause tH tine franchise.
Alexander ~. orr president Of the board. pre-
sided. President William "a Baldwin. ir. 81 the
Long Island Railroad; John y Green fourth vice
president Of the Pennsy lvania Railroad, p R.
Thurber. Aldermen james. Peck and Goodma".
John -. Crimmus and l.. J. Callahan and an the
Commissioners. with the exception ~ 40 Tis X.
Jcsup. were present.
A protest against the granting 90 the franchise
read by Adoph Bloch a lawyer. representing
the owner of twenty-siN houses ou the southerly
side az Thirty -frst-st., between Eiehth and Ninth
lie maintained that before beginning the
construction Of the tunnel the railroad was legally
bound 10 acquire AN real estate and rights OF abut-
ting owners necessary Tor constructing or operat-
ing the tunnel These rights had been dsUeEarGed
IN drafting the franchise there being mo- provision
that the property owners should BE- compensated
for the rights taken from ,ncm. The owners asked
the Mayor and municipal authorities u provide
in granting the franchise that the rights of tho
property owners be amply protected. The corpora
uon would be- required Go acquire by private pur-
chase the property in question. aud ID no agree
meut as 20 th, price could bc reached. tu acquire
% by condemnation. The rutir, cost would prob
ably De- about NeoUrI or S6p,o"l
President orr called an, lawyers attention to the
provision u the franchis, which makes IA, railroad
responsible, for an damages caused L. property.
8 3. Ionnelly. ot thu Central Federated Union,
declared taat labor's demands were NOT ,Norbitaut
They asked Tor minimum rate of psy for the
workers. thc recognition OF the ElEht Hour law
and tho emp, ,y-meut of citizens.
Mr. Brown ~ the Central Federated Union. sug
gested that NJ the Pennsylvania Was not prepared
20 comply with the demands ot labor th, city build
the tunnel
Ar Hewitt read the resolutions passed by the
Chamber 90 Commerce al its meeting yesterday
IaVoring the tunnel They were. iu effect. that the
building o. Ia, tunnel would mean the expenditure
~ the railroad company cf N0ooous bon period OF
labor could NOT boz legally complied vftu and that
insisteuc, would moan the prevention OF the I'M
The burden q the builains Of ne tnpel could not
De- borne lN the city, Mr. Hewitt said But here
came ln tnt greatest corporation iu the United
states-a prosperous corporation. and one whose
prosperity did not depend on the tunnel and offered
10 build b Tor the city. Alter making tb, assertion
already mentioned he declared that tile city ought
20 reject an" offer of the corporation and civ. back
1 sae mS9s , 70 - nad y ler inc use OF land under
he closed 10y saving that m" labor question might
prevent the greatest boom the city had had
offered to f. The question would soon resolve itself
into having the price of labor regulated by Law.
Australia had been brought % the verge of bank
ruptcy by the regulation of the price Of labor by
law. ~ the demands ~ labor were granted he
would SAY, in All sincerity. the work would not go
on. A iairer and straighter proposition had never
from private corporation able command
the capital necessary e. undertake such an inn
mense work
Cheers followed Mt Hewitts remarks.
". II. Baldwin. ir, said that the insertion OF the
clauses asked Tor by organized labor would mean
the indefinite postponcment OF the work OF the tun-
mel construction.
John % Crimmins inrlore6 the representative OF
organized labor not 10 stop great public work
Controller asked whether n compromise
would not he feasible. Tie suggested thar n would
he legal 10 insert IN the extension claus, In the
franchise that IN case ot "a strike no extension DE
Eronted 20 the railroad company unless Ofer o.
arDltrate came from M, company. and asked n the
III ] would said Vice President
Green. We have brought that oam romise before
our board They refused 10 accept a.
Edward NJ shepard, counsel 10 tho commission.
said that any conditions as % extension of time
would be- legal
we must remembcr" said Mr. Grout that
civilization advances Arbitration must take tho
place OF strikes iu the future, and We are merely
rs "a not possible tO introduce this arbitration
clause into THE contracts Of the sub-contr.y 30
asked Mayor Low.
Mr. Green said that he could not say thar the
what they had alroadv. They had done their hest
20 make their position rIst~
Al this point The public hearing closed and the
commission went into executive session.