The Detroit times., 1911-08-21
JOHNSON REVEALS
TRACTION SECRETS
Magazine Article by Late Magnate
Gives Inside History Of Conditions
In Pingree's Time.

The history of the Detroit stree
car fight In the days of Mayor Pin
gree and the old Detroit Electric rail
way is reviewed in an article writer
by the late Tom l. Johnson and pub
lished in Hampton's Magazine fol
September, and facts are brought tc
light concerning the inside dealings II
connection with the roads that are
interesting to those who have follow
ed the street railway struggle In De
| troit.
| Johnson says: II was first impress
ed with the idea OF street railways
operating at a three-cent fare by see
ing what Hazen s. Pingree accom-
plished while he was mayor OF De
roit.
"He then goes on to describe con
ditions as they were In Detroit when
his brother and associates took ovei
the Citizens Street railway and tho
formation OF the Detroit Electric rail
| way. t
He states that he was In favor oi
granting the franchise for that line
to the Everett interests which were
after 1t on the best terms possible
This attitude on the part OF Johnson
puzzled Mayor Pingree and the latter
asked him to explain.
The incident is reported by John
son as follows;
Il said: The city needs additional
street railway facilities. 1t Is evident
that our company cannot get any CON
cessions, SO the new company ought
to have them. | want the grants
made on as fair basis as possible
because II will only be a question OF
time until my company will acquire
them. II you impose unfair condi
tions In the new grants, you will sim
ply put burdens on my back when
these lines come to be absorbed by
mine
This amused the mayor and he
called my attention to a provision In
the grant which said that IL the new
company should consolidate With OF
sell out to the old, the grant became
void. | replied that notwithstanding
that provision or any other they could
frame into words, nothing could pre-
vent us from acquiring the railroad.
This somewhat staggered Pingree and
he said: Mr.. Johnson, explain that to
me, won't your
"I will not consolidate wits the
new company nor make any attempt
to buy | answered, hut some day I
will have n friend of mine down in
New York or West Virginia or some
where else, whom I shall call Smith
for convenience. acquire the stock of
the railroad by purchase. And, Mr..
Mayor, IL you attempt to put In a pro-
vision to prevent my Smith or some
other Smith from doing this, you will
simply defeat your own ends. for rail-
road stocks to be useful must salable.'
1T gradually dawned on him that
he did not have much safety In his
safeguard provision, and then he said:
I have here clean sheet of paper.
You tell me how to write this grant
so that you can't get it.
II replied: There IL only one way.
Have the city own and operate its
three-cent line. Then I can't consoli-
date with IL. / can't purchase II. and
can't have Smith purchase IT."
The article goes on to pay a. high
tribute to Pingree as the forerunner
OF the present insurgent movement
The article also states that John
son had made an arrangement to give
the city the benefit of his share of the
profits In the deal that was made to
sell the railway system to the city
for S15,000,000 and tells how the city
was later humiliated after rejecting
the offer OF the company to find that
Il had been sold out to private inter-
ests for $25,000, 900.