The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-07-08
DON'T SIDETRACK THE MAIN
ISSUE" URGES PRESIDENT
OF FEDERATION OF LABOR

sell the property at a fair and reason
able nrjce II is bound, and the sale
NAV he enforced I'm a court or chan
Gerry. II a man agrees, in writing, for
a consideration, to sell piece OF real
estate 10 another for a frair and rea-
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sonblc price, observation-disclosures
sonable price. that agreement is en-
forcible under we'll settled authorities.
The court fixes the price. That is the
principle on which section seven OF
this ordinance is drawn.
The people of Detroit ought to be
willing to leave to the judges OF their
own selection the matter of fixing the
price. Somebody has got TO do 1t ultl-
matelv IL you ever go TO municipal
ownership.
"On the other hand the high char
acter and ability of the men holding
those positions al the present time
ought 10 satisfy the ID. u. Z. that 1t
will get a square deal
But, il is objected, what about the
bondhoders9 Will they be bound by
this agreement 10 sell? They would
not be directly bound. but the answer
is that they will be forced to accede
to this arrangement, because other
wise their security would be broken
into fragments by the tearing up Of
the railway. Besides that, when a fair
and reasonable price is fixed by the
Judges. that price can be applied on
their mortgage and the balance OF the
mCrtbage enforced against the rail-
ways interburbn shrdluetoinshrdluoin
ways interurban roads covered by the
same mortgage, by the process OF
'marshalling securities, as IL is known
In chancery law. The chief answer,
however, the unanswerable answer is,
the bondhoders will be only too glad
TO take the price fixed by the court
because otherwise they would lose
practically everything.
But all the time, ii is we'll TO re-
member that this ordinance does not
compel the city to acquire the option
or 10 proceed to acquire the railway
by this method. II expressly leaves
Opcn all other methods"
Frank r. Hamburger, a manufacture
er. declared himself In favor OF the
ordinance and expressed the wish that
1t would be given more permanency
He said he was one of the 10000 to
vote against municipal ownership at
the last election. Mr.. Hamburger de-
clared the ordinance reached the goal
-three-cent fares-that the people
have long been striving for.
George William Moore was the one
municipal ownership advocate present
who professd to see some good in the
ordinance. He raised several vital OBJ
jections to section of the ordinance
and the mayors attorneys took note of
them. He declared that the Detroit
United Railway Co. is divided into
IL different corporations. owning por.
tions OF the system and that is diff
ferert mortgages are plastered on the
system He insisted that the ID. u r.
could not give good title to the prop.
erty. as the ordinance demands il
must.
You cannot force a title to prop
erty when over 20 other parties inter.
ested In the deal are not parties 70
your ordinance" he explained. Each
mortgage runs to a trustee and the
oondnolders are scattered all over the
lace or the globe. The trustees have
not power to release the property and
the mortgages have long time to
run.