The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-08-20
Mayors Opponent Claims That
Junction-ave. Line Grant Is
Franchise
MAKES COMPANY "GOING
CONCERN" HE DECLARES
Protests. Too, AT Failure to Slip
ulate Price City Will Pay
For Tracks

on has given the ID. u. r. new
ease Of life by granting franchise
hat changes the company from q de-
lnct organization into q going con.
ern, and that the administration has
ound the city to take over the juno
on-ave. line at the company's price,
brm the basis of another scathing
tack upon the present city admin
Btration by John Mcvicar, In a state
Aent given out by the municipal own
fship candidate for the Republican
omination for mayor. Wednesday
horning.
In making the statement. Mr.. Nc
|icar declared that the business
cumen displayed by the Marx ad-
Illustration would be poor credit
ven to q housewife, who, he said.
'ould at least want to know how
nuch she was going to pay for goods
efore she agreed to take them.
Mayor Marx" asserts Mr.. McVicar,
renewed the life OF the corporation
4 time when II was at the mercy
4 the city. II ever that situation
ONES about with me In the mayoralty
hair, / promise you that we will not
gree to buy ID. u. r. property at the
ompany's price. We will pay only
What the property Is worth and will
II. Let them sell that In Algiers
Ike the mayor OF Rome forced the
Roman companies to do in the street
ailway fight there"
As an indication OF what the com.
)any may be expected to name as the
lost of the new line. Mr., Mcvicar
pointed to the figures given in the
ially ordinance case. His statement
ollows:
'In the Hally ordinance case the
b. u. r. claimed $4,000 mile for
All OF It's railroad In Detroit. OF this
tmount $4,000 was charge for
overhead. necessary. II claimed. to
enable It to spend the balance of
t63,000
THE city OF Detroit is to be asked
TO pay this again on the Junction
1--we. line because there Is no proper
safeguard In the franchise.
This franchise makes the n u
R. going concern. Thereby II gives
he ID. u. r., while II Is constructing
these lines for the city. going con-
cern value. That Is why there Is q
rev valuation being made so hur-
feily Prof Bemis says that he Is
taking the d. u r. as going con-
Germ value on this account The old
appraisal committee called attention
Do this feature and pointed out that
after Nov. 10, 1909, deduction OF
Lmany millions OF dollars would be
POSSIBLE.
"why Is the city OF Detroit giving
[the d. U. r. this overhead Of $77,00u
"a mile, nearly SIS foot? The over
bead on municipal lighting plant. the
|asphalt plant, the city waterworks
system IL simply operating charges.
why was not the ID. U. X. asked
ITO bid on this work SO the city would
|know what II Is costing, instead OF
having q blanket order through q
franchise that SO far as costs were
concerned there was no limit placed
on the company or Its methods?
Y was that business common sense
ION the part OF the Marx administra.
tion? / speak Of It thus, because
Mayor Marx Is responsible, the mem
bers of the street railway commission
being appointed by him, and remain
ing commissioners only at his
pleasure.
b There is no special trick in con.
tstructing q street railway. unless 1t
|tbe such special trickery to enhance
1.-THE cost thereof as was shown by the
sd. u. r., and whose claims In the
lHally case were so positively stamped
Ij.ridiculous.' Any of our numerous
competent paving contractors could
1have built the Junction,ave. line. and
lshould have been given opportunity
Ito bid upon II In competition with
1 the ID. U. r., under specifications pre-
pared by the ID. p. W.. which should
! have figured what the city itself
could build II for. so that when the
contractors and the ID. u. r. bids
were opened, the ID. p. w. could ct
}6nce see whether the figures were at
lleast approximately correct.
( Even the good housekeeper. when
ordering q bill OF groceries to the ex
tent of a few dollars, wants to know
!. what the grocer charges for his pota'
toes. butter, eggs, Hour. ETC., instead
Of telling him to send the various
articles and his bill will be paid. re
CARELESS OF whether his charges are
exorbitant. How much more &c
should q genuine business admins
. tration for the city find out In the
way / have stated what the Junction
ave. line was to cost In its various
, parts. from the cheap construction II
unpaved streets to the more costly II
paved streets, instead OF giving
|. franchise to the d. u. r. to build Il
at Its own charge, especially In view
Of its claims in the Hally ordinance
case? ~
But this same recklessness ha,
; characterised the entire Marx admin
istFatieH, beginning with the failnri
to continue the grand service rem
dered Detroit by Frank II. Croul a
police commissioner. The result o.
that change Is before you. and have
no need to characterize II to intelli
gent and observant fellow-citizens.
An apologist for Mayor Marx say
my statement that he has given th'
ID. u. r. a new franchise Is clearl,
beside the facts. A grant to an In
dividual or private corporation OF TIT
/. right TO do. certain things In TN
Directs, to the exclusion Of similal
use to others. becomes q franchise
when that grant 10 accepted. Tn'
courts say so, and common sense
supports them. Such a grant for al
hour continued for "A hours Is
grant for q day, and continued fol
seven days 10 for q week, and TOT o.
weeks 10 for . year. and even Jer'
Hutchins has publicly stated that III
10 more and more of the opinion ina