New-York tribune., 1910-10-21
NO BIDS FOR SUBWAY
PRIVATE Capital Refuses to Build
irI-Borough System.
STEERS EXPLAINS POSITION
ms Firm Won't Agree to Plan to
Put City and Company Bonds
on a Parity.

Ihe cal for private capital TO build the
new subway found no resnonse fror, CON
tractors. and when the time 70 s,,r,,,+ t,6s
expired at noon yesterday not a single Of
fer had been received hv the P,,blic Service
Commission for the cons+ructior o,,,inr,.,,
snd operation OF the pronosAa +-ihoroueb
system under the private CAPITAL form Of
| contract
Bids for the construction of +ba nan e,,b-
way in sections with municinaI funds will
De received until noon on October q and
Il Is expected that q large number of Of
rers VIII be made, as about two hundred
contractors bought blank forms Of the con-
tracts 70 bid on.
Although the commission a,5 MT exnAo+
many offers. it believed that one would
come from the Bradley-Cafrnev-St
SSholoate' which had indicated its inten-
non TO bid Instead Of bidding. however.
tAe Bradley Garfney Steers Company.
through Henry Steers. its president. sent
letter 10 the commission which explained
why the syndicate was not attracted by
the proposition. Mr.. Steers wrote:
We regret that we are unable to submit
TO you to-day bid in accordance with
your invitation for the building Of the
Broadway-LeXingtOn avenue subway by
private capital The proposed contract sub
mitted TO bidders is so different from the
proposition which We submitted TO you
that we do not see how private capital can
accept the terms you offer. Our PROPOSE
ton as submitted called for a first lien
upon al income for the purpose Of making
payments Of interest and amortization upon
Private capital invested before anything
SHOULD be set aside for interest or amorti1a-
ton OF city moneys employed.
- The proposed plan gives no such prefer
enoe TO private capital. and, as we outlined
10 you at the time of the public hearing
upon the proposed contract. We believe that
this change, so fundamental, is the differ
ence between the success and failure Of the
plan
IN a statement issued in reply TO the let
ter OF Mr.. Steers Chairman Wilcox ex-
planned that the commission had accepted
most of the suggestions made by the syn
dicate and had modified the terms of the
contract, but could not permit the bonds
for 81, 900. 600 issued by the city for the con-
struction of the subway loop and the
Fourth avenue subway 10 be relegated 10
the position Of a second mortgage. thereby
giving preference 10 the bonds issued by
the syndicate.
Mr. Wilcox described the objections made
by g representative Of the syndicate and
the manner in which the commission tried
TO accede 10 them in the best interest Of
the city. He said:
In the light OF the information gained at
the public hearing, and after conference
with the transit committee OF the Board
Of Estimate and ApportiOnment, consisting
OF the Mayor. the Controller andhthe Presi-
dent Of the Board Of Aldermen, the com
mission modified the form Of contract IN
order TO provide that real estate should
be acquired by the city 1t also modified
the contract cutting out the hve-year term
and making the term for the operation of
the sO-caIIed munictpauy maintained rail-
road the same as that for the whole line.
It modified the provision in regard to order
of payments SO as 10 put city bonds and
company bonds on parity; that IS, the
payments on either class Of bonds was not
10 be given preference over the other.
This is as far as the commission thought
Il proper 10 90 with due regard to the safe
guarding OF the public interests. over
81, 600 600 worth Of bonds have been author
iZed for the construction of the loop lines
and the Fourth avenue subway, and the
commission did not consider il proper 10
make these bonds practically second mort
gage bonds.