New-York tribune., 1910-12-21
'P. s. c. ACCEPTS ;.
|NTERBOROUGHn-AN
Tells Estimate Board II Will Pre-.
pare Contracts, with Changes,
if Assured of Approval.
FIGHT IN BOARD CERTAIN
Mitchell and Prendergast Insist
on Independent System-Con-
troller Attacks Com.
missions Work.

tIOuef AtL6Ck8 OOm.
missions Work.
Following the transmission TO the
Board of Estimate yesterday OF a COM
from Chairman Wilcox thai
the Public Service Commission was pre-
pared to accept the latest proposition Of
the Interborough Rapid Transit Com
pany for more subways. provided cer-
tain features not now satisfactory can
be properly adjusted Controller Prem
dergast and President Mitchell OF the
Board OF Aldermen came out fatty
against IL. Mayor Gaynor said he was
not prepared to make any comment last
night.
Both the Controller and President
Mitchell stand on the proposition that the
city's money should be expended for an
independent subway system In a state
ment the Controller asks il it Ia to be
understood that the labor and expense
involved in preparing the plans for the
triborough system was simply part OF a
tactical move to force concessions from
the Interborough.
'If so,'' he says, 81 consider 1t cx-
pensive gambling
He said there must have been some
powerful reason to lead the commission
to abandon the negotiations with the
Intsrborough for extensions to its pres
ent system with its own money
President Mitchell declared that the
letter of the commission, which was ap-
proved by q unanimous vote OF that
body, would appear to be an attempt 10
get the Board of Estimate to assume the
primary responsibility OF fixing the
transit policy of the city. which under
the law belongs to the Public Services
Commission
Mitchell Sticks to Principles.
He went on TO say he thought ths
commission ought to tell the Board OF
Estimate what the suggested nlodifcs-,
tions were to be and how they bore on
the principles believed in by some mem
bers of the board. Reiterating that he
still believed in the principles of build
ing indesendent subways with the citys
money. President Mitchell declared that
on that basis he was ready to vote
against the proposition as presented by
the commission at the meeting of this
board tomorrow
It Is believed that the Board OF EST
mate will seek more specific information
from the Public Service Commission De
fore taking any vote on the Interborough
proposition When it comes to a vote
It is a question of how the Borough
Presidents will stand. Controller Prem
dergast with three votes and President
Mitchell of the Board of Aldermen, with
the same number of votes. may be count
ed in opposition
All the utterauces of Mayor Gaynor
UP to date would make it seem easy to
infer that he. with his three votes. would
vote for the proposition Originally
President McAneny was extremely dubi-
Gus about the wisdom of building the tri-
borough system as an independent prop
ostiOn, but it was understood that he
had come around to the view of the
Controller and the President of the
Board of Aldermen
With definite proposition such as ths
Interborough has made IL is thought
that he might vote in it's favor. He has
two votes. President Steers of Brooklyn
also has two votes. and Presidents Mil
Ter, Cromwell and GesSer ono each, MAX
ing sixteen in ALL If Presidents CTom-
we'll and Miller should vote against ths
Interborough proposition it would Gre
ate a tie in the Board of Estimate,
even il all the other members save
Messrs. Prendergast and Mitchell voted
for it.
Proposition General, Says Wilcox
Necessarily the proposition is general
in it's character said Chairman WILCOX
last night "and there are many points.
some of which are important, not re-
ferred to in the proposal itself In max
ing the exception at the beginning Of
the commissions letter regarding certain
details, the commission did not care To
be forecIosed from dealing differently. II
it should appear best, concerning some
of the conditions. Some factors I'm the
proposal which are not fully developed
at this time can be properly solved after
the main question has been decided
THE commission at this time did not
think it necessary 10 go into all the vsri-
GUS phases of the proposal. but thought
it best to transmit the offer OF the Inter
borough company direct TO the Board OF
Estimate, with the commissions general
in order TO ascertain
how that body regards the proposition
as submitted
Chairman WILCOX went on to say that
the commission firmly believed in the
proposition of the Interborough as a
whole. and that if the Board OF Estimate
and Apportionment shared the views OF
the commission the work OF preparing
the formal contracts could be begun
without delay. If the proposition. as a
whole. did not meet with the approval
of the Board of Estimate and Appor-
tionment. however, il would be futile To
go ahead with any more negotiations ON
the basis of that proposition
Chairman WILCOX expressed his salts
faction that the Interborough had finally
agreed to certain things that had been
the subject of negotiations by the COM
mission for many months, chiefly In