New-York tribune., 1910-02-17
NEW SUBW AY PLANS
mitchell TO BROKERS.
heal Estate Men Applaud the
assessment Scheme.

| John Purcoy Mitchell, president Of the
mates probable plans for the construc-
! ton of new subways
| The diners, all Of whom were vitally in"
| tarested in the question of adequate rapid
| transit facilities listened to Mr. Mitchell
| with the greatest attention and applauded
| him frequently and generously, perhaps
! most generously when he outlined the policy
| Of financing subway extensions into unde-
! veloped territory by means of assessments
! on ahutting property owners
| This plan for providing long suffering
! New Workers with outlets into the more
! Sparsely settled sections of The Bronx and
Kings Mr.. Mitchell based on the amend
ment to the rapid transit law making
, rapid transit improvements assessable. II
provides for fractional construction Of the
! extensions proposed, the contracts TO he
| made as the city has obtained the
consent of the property owners 10 be bene-
fled 10 assessments on their real estate
holdings for the purpose. Bonds are 70 be
issued. according TO the plan outlined. lot
secured by the citys credit, but as a.
rect lien OH the property benefited, the city
TO act as agent only. Fer the payment OF
iiAtNS buiitS IL ~ pibtOSSo ~ AOii'NN N''O
assessments i'll ten yearly instruments
The real estate business" began Mr..
Mitchell, is the most directly affected OF
all the businesses in the city by the policy
Of government. Without adequate tran
sit facilities the city's growth Il being
choked and the benefits of inc eased
population are being lost to New Jersey.
When l became member of the Board OF
Estimate l moved that committee OF
the board be appointed TO confer with the
Public Service Commission on plans for
immediate subway relief That commit
tee was appointed, and this afternoon it
was at work with the commission. Re-
suits are in sight.
of all the routes legalized and laid out
by the Public Service Commission four
are almost ready for the advertisement Of
contracts. These are: Cd The Broad
way-Lexington avenue route. with its eX-
tensions up Mott and Jerome avenues, in
The Bronx; (2) the Broadway-Lafayette
avenue Loop, in Brooklyn; 80 the Canal
street loop, and 90 the extensions of the
Fourth avenue route to Fort Hamilton and
Coney Island. Altogether these new lines
Will cost in the neighborhood of 1880 %.
The problem has passed beyonu the
question, DO We want them? The queS-
tion now *. How can VIC get them?
every man in the Board Of Estimate Is
pledged TO city construction, so far as
that Is possible The. first OF the year
the Controller estimated that the City's
margin of borrowing capacity amounted
to about $40. oe0, ,0oo out of this must
come expenditures for the many non
assesssblc improvements needed In the
coming year. Beyond this there is that
S41 000, 900 10 be released # the consti-
tutional amendment IS passed eNeinpting
from computation In the debt limit bonds
issued for self-surportins rapid transit I'm
Provements.
But that does not begin 10 meet the cost
OF the aborate subway system planned.
We must fall back the plan OF issuing
assessment bonds TO cover the cost of the
extensions Of the BToadway-Lexingfon ave
nue. route In The Bronx and the Fourth
avenue extensions il Brooklyn. I think
every line developing new territory should
be paid for by assessments the property
10 be benefited I. for one, do not want to
sec repetition OF the Washington Heights
development when the present subwar was
opened. where real estate values rose 100
and 1000 per cent In no time at all. without
dollar from the property owners going
into the city treasury for the vast benefits
conferred.
This plan OF financing new subWays by
assessments involves fractional construc
ton. and IS lawyer / can sec no valid
objection in the law TO contracts making
this possible. ] have heard Judge Gaynor--
and there is no better lawyer in the city of
New York than he--say that he could see
no legal objections to such contracts.
Il see no reason why ground should not
be broken on the Broadway Lexington ave
nue. route this summer and on all the other
routes mentioned no later than next fall.
Maybe in some cases we shall have TO per-
init construction BY private capital. The
Public Service Commission Is now consId-
ering the Seventh avenue extension pro-
posed by the lnterborough. There is no
doubt that this Is as greatly needed as the
other routes. IT would greatly simplify
the management of the entire system to
have II in the hands OF one company But
when we do. if We do, accept the offer Of
the Inierborough. We will exact an adc-
quate return to the city treasury for the
franchise privileges granted"
Mr Mitchell was emphatcally opposed TO
the construction of further elevated tracks
or to the taking over of the Steinway tun-
mel by the city, two conditions imposed in
the Interboroush subway proposal He
thought also that ii the water were
squeezed out OF the capitalization Of the
railroad corporations In tile city they would
be better able to pay Il sufficient return
for their franchise privileges.
DO you know said he, that the gas
and electric light public service corpora
tons In this city are capitalized at ap-
proxmately s3So.000 900. that s5S3,0O0,oo0 is
roughly the capitalization OF the railroad
companies and that the railways alone
have an income of $62, 100000? The total
revenue derived from these public service
corporations by the city to-day is only
10000 annually. Meanwhile there stand
uncolected s30,000,OoG In franchise taxes"
WHY don't you collect them?" yelled an
inspired diner.
Lawson Purdy, president of the Tax |
Board took up in his address to the diners
the issue of personal taxation. He began |
by saying that Mayor Gaynor's proposition |
was not TO abolish personal taxes. but to
abolish 1.-The New York remnant of the gen.
eraI property tax on personal property" |
Then he went into brief history of taxa |
ton in New York City, and continued:
In spite OF the futity and weakness of |
the personal property tax in this city, its |
cruelty is sometimes heartbreaking. | have |
seen 1920 taken from an income OF $l,oU, the |
sole support of the widow and the orphan |
Such things would not happen in savage |
and ought not to be permitted
for day in a So-called civilized city.
Our law is now elastic that no rich /
man need he liable for any personal tax. for
he can always profitably OWN more real
estate than he can pay fer III full ana |
La... Iahf