New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-09
WANTS SUBWAYS QUICK
METZ TIRED OF HOT AIR.
Price of Connecting Road Franchise
CIT IN Half.

The Rapid Transit Commissions committee on
plans and contracts has decided to cut in two the
rates at first demanded from the New-York
connecting Railroad for franchise for a road
from Bushwick to Port Morris The original
terms We're for the company to pay cash bonus
OF S250OOO. $4,000 year for the first ten years
and 100000 for the next fifteen years The
committee has modified its demands and will in
a few days inform the company that it can have
its franchise for bonus OF s125OOO cash. $25,-
600 a year for the first ten years and $4,000 a
year for the following fifteen 1t is understood
that the company will accept the franchise on
these terms
The old question of building more subways at
once came up again yesterday. and Controller
Metz said: What want is the subways now
We don't want them twenty-five years from
now. In answer to a question by President
Orr, he said that the borrowing capacity of the
city would be only about $50, 600, 900 after next
July, under the new assessment, of which $780,.
100000 was contracted for already leaving only
S90,00000O or $4OOOO,OOO for all municipal i'm
provements. He said that if the city started to
build without mourning the full indebtedness at
the start, the enhancement of values along the
route might take care of the Indebtedness as ii
due, particularly of the outlying districts
delegation of property owners who favored
a 1st-ave subway against one in Sd and
Lexington aves. had a hearing before the Rapid
Transit Commission in the afternoon. Pres-
dent Orr said that the proper thing for the
people along 1st-ave. to do was to obtain the
consents. Then the only thing required for con-
structon would be a bidder Mr.. Mcdonald
said he could get company to build the sub
way and give $jO000O0 bond
If you do that you'll get your subway" said
Mr.. Metz
The board received a letter from the Manhat-
tan Transit Company. expressing a readiness 10
give bids for the proposed 3d-ave- subway as
soon as the board was prepared to receive them.
letter from Messrs. Boardman & Rives
counsel to the board. read in reference to
the coal conduit, connecting the PETERBOROUGH
poWerhouse with the West 5Sth-st. pier. Con-
troller Circuit, December %. 1903. called
attention to the fact that the city was reCeiV-
ing no compensation for the conduit and asked
II IT had been constructed under the authority
OF the Rapid Transit Commission. The opinion
says that the commission had given no author
lty Tor the construction of the conduit.
After the meeting Controller Metz declared
with emphasis again: We want the subways
and not twenty-five years from now I don't
care how we to get them but we've got 10
nave them and have them quick.
] m getting tired of all this hot air about
building subways at once with our money"
continued the controller. We haven't the
money to do it. and might as well come
down to business and acknowledge it, AS l
stated in the board meeting, have a financial
IeeWay Of about S3O,OoO,0OO. We might begin
the building of a subway two with that mar
gin. but manifestly could not go very far
with II. l am heartily in favor of COler's sug-
gesuon or a law which will eliminate docks and
water supply from the city's debt. These things
are self-sustaining. In fact, they produce a
large revenue. Under the present Law the more
we get OF these things the less money we can
raise for needed improvements. If we had all
we wanted of them we couldn't raise anv money
at all. That's about the way il works ont when
followed up logically"