The Detroit times., 1915-10-22
East Side Meeting
Strongly Against
Purchase Plan
|WEADOCK AND
DALTON IN TILT
Formers Sarcasm Is
Highly Entertaining
to Audience

presented the arguments for the
street railway purchase plan and
Attorney Thomas L Dalton present
ed his own record en- municipal
ownership and his personal opinion
OF Prof. e. W. Bemis. the street
railway commissioners, the mayor
and a lot OF other folk, so many. in
fact. that he did not have much
time to discuss the purchase propo-
sition.
Most of the audience. and II was
a fairly representative east side
crowd, made up largely OF working
men. gave both sides careful a,tea-
ton and perfunctory applause exS
cept In the latter part Of the meet
| ing when Weadock went after"
Dalton, and then an amused chuckle
over Weadock's sarcasm grew 10
roars OF delight.
The crowd was not for Dalton.
| that was plain. And IL was Just az
plain from the talk OF the men
| among themselves before and after
the meeting they were not for the
purchase plan.
Too many kinks TO it," was one
good natured observation. and that
seemed to come nearer than any
thing else to expressing the opinion
OF the crowd. But how they did
enjoy that meeting and the tilt be-
tween the two speakers.
Attorney Weadock started OF by
briefly sketching the history OF
street railway affairs. declaring that
the d. L. II. had made no extern
sions to it's lines or additions to its
service except under compulsion in
% years He pointed out that %
per cent Of the property within the
nvemile circle is quarter OF a
mile or more from street car lines.
He recalled the decision or the city
for municipal ownership and for a
street railway commission 10 secure
II. referred 10 the appointment Of
the present commission and said
that this body was confronted by
three ways TO secure a street rail
way line for the city-condemna-
ton. the unity plan Or a purchase
plan.
The objections TO the condemna.
ton plan were outlined. being prin-
cipally that any one man on con-
domination jury could tie the whole
thing up. that taking the property
by force meant opposition and con-
sequent federal court delay for as
many years as the d. L. r could
make IL last, and that condemnation
provides for consequential damages,
which no other method OF acquiring
would entail. The tag ends OF fran
chises on all the main streets stood
in the way OF the unit plan, he
argued. and that brought him down
to the present plan. which he pre-
sented clearly and dispassionately,
ending his opening talk with this
statement:
II should like TO have Mr.. Dalton
tell us whether there Ia any objec-
ton to this plan that would not also
be raised to any plan his side might
| offer.'
And Mr.. Dalton bounded to the
center Of the room and yelled
BLANK check"
| Then he told how many years
no had been for municipal owner
ship, how few there were In tbs
game when he got In. how Pingret
fought for It. how he didn't like the
crowd that was for this proposition
how one Of the members OF thu
street railway commission had made
failure In the railroad business
(no name mentioned). how many
lawsuits lawson appealed from thu
circuit court when he was corporn
ton counsel, and how Prof. Bemii
never built a mile OF railway in hi'
life but had to hire practical build
ers to measure the rails and over
head wire. Then he related how
the street car commission had no
published the Bemis appraisal and
how the ID. U. r tried TO grab a
piece OF sidewalk belonging TO q
client OF his on the west side for a
curve II wanted TO build and then
appealed from the decision OF the
circuit court and tied the case up
for q year.
I'VE oppose this plan because We
are fearful. we who have labofed 50
long and faithfully in the vineyard.
that We are going TO get municipal
ownership in such dose that we
will get choked by IT," he declared
The circuit judges could not uu-
der their solemn oath say that the
value OF the ID. T. r. was less than
s25. 100000" was another statement
In the time given him for rebut-
tai. Weadock uncorked flow OF
sarcasm that made a hit with the
crowd. He sympathized with the
poor. misguided chaps on the street
railway commission having the WOO
pulled over their eyes by men as
incompetent as Bemis.
But when Il comes TO liking the
&mMnnm a. n