The Detroit times., 1911-04-05
CITY CONTROL
SURE TO COME
Mayor Whitlock Gives Out Statement
Urging Valuation as First Step
In Street Car Problem.

that the street car problem will never
be settled satisfactorily until the city
has public ownership, but urging that
the valuation question be taken up at
once and disposed OF, Mayor Whit
lock has given out public statement
dealing with the question In detail.
He says his administration Is pledg-
ed to three-cent fares and this prom
Use must be kept. but the fare PROPOSE
ton should be held over until an an
alysis is made OF the receipts and ex-
penditures. Then the problem must
go TO the people for solution.
Mayor Whitlock's statement says In
part:
THE people have been SO used to
having nothing from their public ser
vice corporations, not even public Ser
vice, that some of them are. almost
pathetically grateful for the slightest
consideration.
The traction magnate knows that
the era OF extravagant and irrespon-
sible explorations OF public IRAN
chises. watered stock, profits Tor pro-
moters through inflated bond Issues,
and all that, is over. and that We ale
now entering upon that period In
which corporations enjoying under IL
cense or franchise q monopoly or the
profits OF public necessities are TO be
regulated by the public. In an effort
to have them operated not for private
profit alone, but really, and ct last.
for public service.
1.-The traction magnate knows, too,
that the day Is past when man Will
have to pay more for street car ride
than Il Is worth; that Is to say, he
knows that the time has come when
street car service must be provided
ut cost. Now, when | have said cost.
| hasten to add that cost, OF course,
implies reasonable return upon the
actual investment, but it does not in
clude an inflated and unearned profit.
THAT is To say. 1t Is proposed by
this system to compel the working
man who rides downtown on street
car at 6 o'clock In the morning TO pay
the taxes OF the man who rides down
town In a limousine at 10 o'clock In
the morning. or course, passengers
on street cars ought TO pay their
taxes. but they ought to pay them at
the court house, not on the street car,
TO the treasrer, not To the conductor.
and surely they ought not 10 be made
to pay their own taxes and then be
made to pay somebody else's taxes,
too.
"The members of the council have
studied and read on this subject, many
of them have gone To other cities TO
see what was being done there, and
thus far | think they have treated the
whole subject In a most intelligent,
unselflsh, non-partisan way. Their
conclusion Is that under the present
laws the businesslike thing to do Is TO
find out just what 1t costs to carry
passenger and then TO fix the fare at
that point, allowing. OF course, for
interest and taxes, for the betterment
and extension of lines and for a rea-
sonable return upon actual invest
ments. This Is the meaning OF the de-
mand for 3-cent fare, for II Is believed
: that an analysis OF the problem will
show that all this can be done at that
rate.
= These discussions will not proceed
far until the question OF valuation Is
reached. That Is the key 10 the whole
problem. And 1t seems to me that we
might as well attack that problem at
once ard dispose OF II. The task is
one of no small difficulty, but II has to
be performed, and 1t should be under
taken Immediately. IL will take weeks
OF earnest study and patient, drudging
toll. But when 1t is done, when we
have the value OF the investment al
ready made and OF the investment
necessary to rehabilltate the lines and
provide the service that is required.
with the analysis of receipts and ex-
penditures that We now have, we will
know just what Ii costs 10 carry
passenger, and then we can find
whether 1t Is not possible still further
TO decrease this cost by operating
cars In a manner perhaps differing
from that now employed, by doing
away with parallel lines or p2es that
seem to duplicate others, per@aps by
having more cars run In the early
morning and evening when many peo-
pie are riding, the hours when he
cars are overcrowded and the rush Is
on. This is the way to 3-cent fares.
Every obstacle possible will, OF
course, be thrown In the way. There
will be criticism and innuendo and
mis-statement. Efforts will be made IN
behalf, not of the people but OF politi-
cal interests and ambitions, and those
privileged interests that are I'm LEAGUE
with them and are served by them.
Attempts will be made to divide those
whom the people have chosen to rep
resent them In this matter: attempts
VIII be made TO divide the people
themselves. Personal ambitions, In
terests, Jealousies, all those human
elements that complicate any prob
lem under consideration by a large
number of men. will be made the most
Of But hope that in this hour every
body concerned--and everybody I'm
town is commemorative rise to the
best and highest that Is in him and
will put away every personal. selfish
consideration and give his noblest eff
forts to settling this vexed question
He who does his best will best serve
his town and his time and in that