The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-07-16
PARSONS PLAN
FOR use WHEN
CITY GETSLINES
Secretary Hayden Explains Pur-
pose of Street Railway
Board
MORE TRACKS UNDER
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP
Experts Employed 10 show City
Way Out of Its Present
Dilemma

Final action on the petition II the
street railway commission for $4,000
With which 10 pay for tile Parsons
diagnosis OF Detroits street railway
needs. viii be- taken az a conference
etween members OF the commission
and the council committees on ways
and means and public utilities at
[ III 40 O'Clock Thursday morning
Under the terms or the charter
amendment creating the street rail
way commission the council is bound
10 furnish 100000 ON demand OF the
commission OF this amount $4,000
has already been contracted for the
Bemis appraisal and for The running
expenses OF the comm ission
There is a great deal OF misunder.
standings OF the purpose OK rne com.
mission ia proyiuing for the Parsons
diagnosis and applying for me S32 1000
uecC ssary 10 pay for IT," said Jay c.
, Hayden. secretary on the commission
today
The act creating this commission
provides that the city shall on de
mand, furnish 100000 for the use OF
the commission This does not. how
ever. limit the amount which the city
may grant but simply provides that II
shall give that much
Now as the purpose ot the work
20 be done BY Mr. Parsons This com
mission vas formed for the purpose
OF obtaining municipal ownership 81
street railway lines as soon as possi-
BILE What we want Mr. Parsons 70
DO is 70 obtain for MS information
which shall enable us 10 give better
tt.h 5ar 2 a
lines
In 1893 the street railways OF De-
troit carried $4,000 900 riders In 1918
they carried 25000O.000 an increase
OF more than 400 per cent In that
time but / 8 per cent of additional
trackage was laid TO take care of this
Increase AS a result We have our
present-day down town congestion
mr. Parsons, a recognized expert
on such matters VII study conditions
as he sees them here and viii present
not one but a series OF plans by
which this congestion can be relieved,
either by means OF subways addition
al surface lines or re-routing of the
lines We now have
1--WE are not bound 70 use any one
plan. but We may use a combination
OF the plans and they Will be drawn
up in such a way that they may be
adopted as II is found necessary TO do
so because OF increased traffic require
ments
Mr. Parsons work Is 70 be done
simply for the purpose OF enabling
this commission to obtain information
which will enable IL 10 take immediate
steps toward relieving present onerous
conditions as soon as the lines come
into the hands Of the city"
Andrew Sangster. Of Washington.
r c., arrived in Detroit yesterday 70
take mp his end az the work OF pre-
pairing the Penis appraisal IN a
statement issued Tuesday. Mr. Sang
ster made Il plain that HIS work will
consist merely OF preparing the neces-
sary data contained In the books OF
the n T. r He stated that he had
nothing to do with franchise values
or other intangible assets OF the com.
pany
The important part OF our work. >
he said "wi be 10 obtain from the
records the exact Unit costs These
will he Of considerable value 20 Mr.
BUrch and Mr. Bemis in estimating
the total value OF the system We VIII
discover from the vouchers the
amounts paid for each unit Of the sys
TEN and II is MP TO the engineers TO
figure depreciation and present val
ues"
Mr. Sangster viii have under him
eight expert accountants some OF
whom are already here He stated
that he expected 70 take three months
for hts examination Of the y T. r.
looks
1T viii be hard work 70 finish Il In
that time" he said
Charles p Burch resident engineer
In charge or the Remis appraisal re-
ported 70 the commission that he has
20 men AZ work under him az present
He says that satisfactory progress Is
being made and that he expects 20
complete the work within the contract
time limit.