New-York tribune., 1906-12-25
4 CHEEREUL CREDITOR.

The American people have a great and de-
served reputation for generosity. The ngures
which The New York World" prints showing
the total Indebtedness of New Yorks street rail-
way companies TO the city are published with
special appropriateness in this Christmas sea
son. The next best thing to cheerful giVer is a
cheerful creditor: often in the end he is the
same thing, and that will doubtless prove true
TO some extent in this instance. Already some
Of these debts have become uncollectible. not
because they are not legal claims, but because
the legal proof OF their validity has been lost.
The cheerful creditor will have TO write them
Off
Truly, s23,s75.293 is a considerable sum to
have owed TO you, even around Christmas
time The traction companies can afford to owe
the city an amount that would make up very
tidy national debt for some nice little. tight
little republic, where the simple life prevails
and there is a watchful eye kept on anything
IN seven figures. OF course, in this city we
do not pay any attention TO q picayune seven
figures 1t was, indeed, only with diff
ficulty that it was learned how much the trac-
ton companies owed the city. Everybody knew,
OF course that 1t was millons-the generosity
OF the city could he trusted for that-but Just
how many millions none of the citys thousands
OF employees could tell offhand The clty's claims
were a mass of dust and aging paper; some Of
them were lOuIlQ uuupcu III a DiS htap III u
corner OF a room.' They are OF all sorts
claims for taxes. streetcar licenses requirement.
charges. percentages on gross earnings due un-
der the franchise. The city has received very
little. according to The World" from the street
railway companies for years. Percentages on
earnings have not been paid IN some cases for
n decade, and no city official seems TO know
why. There are claims dating back to 1886.
Street repaving claims aggregate nearly $780,
600 IN Manhattan alone. The records Of these
cases have been so badly kept that their legal
proof In court is doubtful.
Now, why should we rage against the street
railway companies? OF course they don't like
to pay their taxes Nobody does. OF course,
they will raise some sort Of legal obstacle TO the
collection If every municipal claim, If the
claims are going TO be permitted TO languish IN
Ill their legal proof Is impossible. II is good
business to do so. The scandalOus neglect Of the
city authorities 70 collect taxes, repaving
charges, percentage dues and other claims
against the street railway companies puts pre-
MUM on the corporations refusal to pay their
debts. What is the Corporation Counsels Office
for any way. If 1t let's these cases accumulate
for ten or twenty years, and the debts of the
traction companies heap up until they aggre-
gate nearly s25.OOOo0O?
Corporation Counsel Ellison promises 10 pros
ecute the suits for the street railway claims with
vigor. but the negligence of his predecessors has
left him an almost hopeless task. Courts are
slow and the cases are old. The history of pre-
vious reform movements has shown brief, en-.
ergetic effort ending In the successful prosecu-
tlon Of a few claims and the advancement Of
few Others in the hands of referees, while the
mass has grown so fast that the settlements
effected did not decrease it. The law might
work no real injustice if the companies had to
settle all claims Of the city when presented, and
then sue the city for a return Of the money,
all or in part, If the claims were excessive or
unjust. The prosecution Of the suits In that
/ case would not be so laggard.