New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-20
qUr LATEST TERMS.

IL took the McAneny committee
long time to make up its mind ofislnah!
rs 10 what we're precisely the right ana
reasonable terms for subway puiio'''7'
Il has taken only short time TO chahse
its mind completely on the SUBJECT
Fortunately. a newspaper does not nave
TO explain and justify the change Vi
mind and the abandonment OF pro-
cramme That is left to the committee
and It promises 70 keep its hands tuii
for a long time. perhaps without rea-
sen or Justice 1t may be that the COM
mittee felt n little overconident orig
ipally. believing that the lnterborouSh
company was at the citys mercy. II IL
thought that bluff was sale. II mas
had the not uncommon experience OF
having its bluff called.
The original terms were no doubt roo
harsh. Private capital cannot be at
tracted into performing a public service
by the opportunity of deferred and un-
certain profits. Many will question
whether the present terms are not, on
the other hand, too favorable. fronts
in the new terms have a preferential
position. They have the extraordinary
privilege Of coming in ahead of the III
tcrest on large part of the capital
that is 10 go into the enterprise.
The fact is. however, that the Inter
borough held the key TO any logical de-
velopment of rapid transit facilities in
Manhattan and The Bronx. Nothing
could serve the city so well as extern
sionS of the existing system. ana III
giving the company its o per cent cunu-
lative preference on the earnings of the
proposed subway system the city's rep
resentatives have recognized the COM
pany's advantage Of position. In cX-
planation Of the terms finally agreed 10
il will be urged that the Q per cent
preferential rate upon the company
estimated investment of Sl25,O0O,OOO
does not really mean larger earnings for
the company than were contemplated IN
the original McAneny report. BY that
plan the company would retain the earn
ings of the present subway and would
receive a preference TO the extent of q
per cent on the new capital of SIJ.0OO,-
OOO which it was TO put into the sys-
tenn. The present profits on the subway
amount 10 S4JO0000 above the interest
and sinking fund upon the companys
investment. That sum plus per cent
on the company's investment, present
and prospective. S125000,0OO does
amount TO somewhat more than the
preferential Q per cent on Sl2J,Wo,V~.
But the question is whether the COM
pany would have been able to continue
earning that profit of S4,500,Oo0 with
the relief from congestion provided
by additional lines. No doubt the COM
panv would have endeavorcd to do so
had il accepted the terms I'm the pro
pramme." and it would have been aided
by the complicated bookkeeping that
The. original McAneny plan would ell
tail.
This new plan. if the city accepts IT.
by pooling earnings puts an end to the
possibility of the city's getting the worst
of the bargain through any system Of
accounting oI vi NSllnluNihS NNihi"r
The company will. moreover. be re-
lieved from pressure TO retain those
profits TO which il has all along been
clinging so desperately for though not
guaranteed" they are assured. This
will he Of advantage TO the service.
Moreover. the city does obtain the only
logical and thoroughly satisfactory de-
velopment Of transit facilities attain
able in Manhattan. There are other ad-
yantages. but this one is immense and
outweighs them all. The securing Of
! this end is due to the persistent efforts
Of Chairman Wilcox Of the Public Ser
vice Commission and the cooperation Of
Mr. McAneny Whether the city is
asked 10 pay too much to induce the
/ Interborough company to make its NJ
most indispensable lines a part of the
system TO be built will he disputed as
/ long as the InterbOrough's lease lasts.
| What the Board Of Estimate and APP
pcrtionment will do with these latest
I terms cannot with certainty be pre-
dicted. The Mayors attack on the pro-
pCsal and the failure 10 hold yesterdays
meeting of the board as scheduled raise
doubts.