The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-05
|Chicago's Spectacular Fight
Against Traction Com a11ies
Mr.. George G. Sykes n An Interesting Article Points
Out the Real lnwardness OF the Struggle FOR
Freedom From the Traction Trust.

reserve to the city, the right Of purchase
! t sone th,e not far distant! III the future.
| He wished the city. when making the
grant to be III full possession OF The
power to utilize the right Of purchase as
SOON as It should become available
Shortly after tho repeal Of the Allen Inv.
tie Council committee. headed by Alder
man Milton j /, Foreman began working
out constructive policy for the city. a
bill giving the city fun power to denI
with the situation ns II might see IT..
Including the power to municipalities. was
prepared and presented to tho LcBlsla-
ture Of 1901 with tho approval Of The
city Council. This bllltfniled Of pas
snge. Whenstho Legislature. met lt-1eo3.
however, public sent 'mcnt IN favor Q
enabling municipal legislnt innr hhdal crys-
I.talHcd to such M extent, that opposition
was futile. The Speaker. Of the. House.
who tried to kill tile bill under tho gnvel,
was literally driven from the chair BY
infuriatcd members, & and sought refuge
behind barred doors III his private room
IIc WINS allowed to resume the chair only
on the promise that he would give roll
calls IN tho future, and the municipal
ownership bill, known MS the Mueller
! blll, thcrcupon was passed BY both
houses and signed BY tho Governor.
Feeling Intense.
Public feeling +ng,.inst the ,e9nnpaan.iess
was naturally growing more u Intense ,nll
tho time. But the sltuations Wns snott vet
hopeless for them. They could a lave
secured q grant on fairly liberal ste r. |
But they hoped 10 do better. rhcy
thought tho outbt,rsts OF public feeling
which they we're witnessing were mere
passing storms that would clear away
and leave them again in control Of the
situation. In this respect, at least, Mr..
Ycrkcs must be credited with kccncr
Insight than his follow nnanclcrs In the
traction world After the repeal Of the
Alien law he Ind the pcrception4to realize
that the game as It had been, played was
up. He got his holdings together, ! and
III tho, summer of 1899 sold out napd left
for London. The purchasers were chiefly
| PHILADELPHIA and New York, onnanclers
With whom ho Ind previously been 1850
ella ted. These men appeared TO think
that the trouble in Chicago was chiefly
due to Mr.. Yerkes's PERSONAL unpopu-
arlty. They thought that with him out
,, OF the way tho franchise deal could still
be engineered all right. Their first move
vas to organize a new corporation, the
Chicago Union Traction Company, start
the printing press and put out. new securt-
ties to initiate still further q capitalization
already watcred to the limit These men
had not been in control long before they
discovered that they had been dipped
One OF their attorneys declared ;1in open
court that Mr.. Ycrkes had sold them, a
gold brick. It was discovered upon In
vcstigation that. III order to make q show
ing, dividends had been paid in the case
of some OF the smaller companies from
borrowed furds. Yerkes had retained
in small outlying companies still con-
trollcd by him operating rights Of great
value, which II was necessary for tho new
owners to get control Of Naturally, the
people OF Chicago we're not greatly iin-
pressed by the plea Of New York and
philadelphia fnanclers that they must
have franchise renewals on terms that
I would make goodSthc enormous amount
/ ufswltered securities theld by tholn.strhe
companies and the Council committee
mot to negotnte.3 When the city asked
that thecompancs. in ret,,rnEfor n twenty
year renewal grant 3relinquish all Chains
under the fnnety-nine-year act, Mcssrs.
Auerbach and Gown, representing tho
New York owners Of Union Traction
stock replied with a lortlly air that this
tons were broken off. However. the
City Railway Company, which was not
so excessively Rpitaized, and the
stock OF which was more largely held in
Chicago, inter Il time rcopencd negotin-
.t!ons. Representatives OF this company
co-operated with the Council committee
| In framing an ordinance providing for
d twcnty-year renewal grant and n COM
ploto waiver OF all claims under the ninety
nine-year act with "a stipulation that
after tho expiration Of thirteen years the
city might purchase the property Of the
company without any allowance what
cvcr for franchise values. This ordi-
! nance. while supported BY many public
spirited citizens, including Mayor 1farrl-
son. was combatcd from two sources.
The Union Traction owners realized That
III It should be passed and accent ecdd Py
the City Railway Company, they col1id
never get a better one. The City Rail-
way Company has stock outstanding ! 3
the. amount OF slS,oOO.O0O par value n
out any bonded Indebtedness. Its tan
eIble property y has been valued by n
competent engineer at s12,OA00oo, In or
der to prevent the City Railway Com
many from accepting tho ordinance, n
syndicate, headed by J. Perpont Morgan,
purchased at the rate of 500 per share
A controlling interest In tho City Railway.
In later negotiations with the city this
purchase was cited in support Of the
claim that the franchises now owned BY
tho City Railway Company are worth
| so. 100000. From the radical tHldeo.the
ordinance was attacked as being itoo
| favorable to the companyN.rA referen-
| dunn vote taken on the ordnance t|ateI'
when 1t was no longer 1.-Two Issue, and
| under circumstances peculiarly unfavolr
abln to it's adoption. was adverse by a
large majority.
Election of Dunno.
At the same election It which this
City Railway ordinance was voted down,
Judge Edward F. Dunno was chosen
Mayor on tho lssua Of immediate munich
pnl ownership. Early IN his admlnstra-
ton Mayor Dunno sent to the Council
n message ombodying alternative plans
one designated the "city Plan" tho
other the Contract Plan.fTrTle "city
plan" looked toward direct muniqlpa,Ii-
cation under tho Mueller Law The
"Contract Plan" was not All Immediate
municipal ownership! plan ct all, but was
described as the Short cut to municipal
ownership. While ..presentng. tho two
plans, Mayor Dunno gave his nnquall-
fed approval to the Contract Plan, A,
After the failure or the Council to act
upon either OF tho two plans he had pre-
yiously submitted, Mayor Dunno had pre-
sented third plan, which had been pend
/ rr,aa xuI1an thn frn prh ISo