The Detroit times., 1915-10-09
Times Reporter De-
tends Comments on
Lawyers Speech
ADMITS ONE
MISQUOTATION
Didn't Credit Speaker
With Alleged wild"
Statement

George William Moore, IN COM
munication to The Times. published
Friday, takes me to task for crit.
licking some statements which he
made In the Goldberg school meet
ing. Wednesday evening, and for
misquoting him.
| I reiterate that Mr.. Moore's state.
ment that the proposed settlement
plan places a mortgage OF 311.000.'
900 on all the property in the city
of Detroit Is of doubtful accuracy.
Mr.. Moore's explanatory statement,
in his letter, Is strictly accurate. The
city does assume and agree to pay
81 900, 900 OF ID. u. r. mortgages,
and II does leave the remaining
mortgages with the d. u. X. prop
erty as security. But that Is not
what Mr.. Moore said, Wednesday
evening, and II IL not the meaning
| which anyone not thoroughly IA
miliar with the plan would take
| from Mr.. Moore's statement.
The city Is "mortgaged" for sew
eral millions OF dollars for schools.
The bonds have been sold, and the
city is paying interest on them. But
the city is not "mortgaged" for
S125,00O for voting machines, al
| though this bond issue was author
ICED by the Board of Estimates, and
the bonding power OF the city Is
tied up to that extent In like
manner, the city would not be
"mortgaged for sl1,0o0.O00" in this
settlemeHt.-Th ese-beHds- would
not be issued unless the city failed
to pay the principal OF the d. U.
r. bonds thus secured. The city
merely pledged itself to pay the
| 81 900 900 which falls due June /,
1916 land the commission hopes to
| pay part OF this out OF earnings.
without issuing more than 100000
In bonds) and a portion OF the gen
eral mortgage bonds due Jan. l,
1892 (Which the commission also
hopes TO pay ont Of earnings. with
out issuing city bonds).
| In other words, the city merely
agrees to give a mortgage in a GER
tain contingency, that contingency
being its inability to pay for the
road out of earnings. when the spe-
officially named bonds become due.
Mr.. Moore says that ! misquoted
him by saying that IL the circuit
Judges fix the price at s10,0O0.00O
after the city has pledged itself for
sl1 900 900, he thought the city
would be out or pocket $1.000,000.
whereas he said that the city would
be out OF pocket $l4.o00,000. l ad-
nit that l mispuoted Mr.. Moore on
this point. My notes contained his
statement that the city would be
out $4,000. 900, but when l came to
write the story. the statement
seemed so preposterous that |
| thought I must have misunderstood
| Mr.. Moore. Thinking IT over care
fully. I could not imagine how even
an opponent OF the purchase plan,
| careless as some OF its antagonists
are in their handling Of figures,
| could have made such an egregious
statement. But Mr.. Moore. In his
communication. explains that he
did mean II!
Mr.. Moore ought to know better.
II he has studied tho contract. he
knows that the d. Y. r. agrees to
give a clear title to the city. wheth-
or the price is Sl0.000,o0o, or all
that the ID. u. r. hopes II will be-.
n the price is only slO.0o0.0oo. he
knows that the bondholders cannot
| look to the city to recoup them;
neither can they attach the prop
erty. As Mr.. Moore admits, they
| must look to the d. u. r., the own
or Of valuable interurban proper
ties. When Mr.. Moore says that
the n. U. r. is bankrupt, and In
fers that II cannot pay its obliga-
lions. ne uses that word in pc
culiar sense. The d. u. r. ID not
| in the hands Of receiver; II is pay.
Ing its-bills; -it In not threatened
with bankruptcy proceedings. True.
II Is unable to borrow money for
extensions. But person or cor
poration who has already borrowed
to the extent of his powers is not
necessarily bankrupt.
did quote Mr.. Moore a. saying
| that there IL danger that tie d.
U. r. will get 60-year franchise
That is what appeared on my notes.
and that II what ! understood him
to say. I may have been mistaken;
I may have misunderstood Mr.
Moore. b. I do not think did.
Others who were present recall Mr..
Moore's statement a. I gave II.
Now ~ to the bonds. Mr.. Moore
carefully refrained from distinguish.
ing between various d. u. r. bond
issues when no said that d. u. r.
bonds are selling as low AZ 20. He
still refrains from telling what
issue Is selling at 70. There are
several d. u. r. bond issues. His
statement may be accurate. for
cannot. ind quotations on all the
d. U. r. bonds In any Of the daily
Wpers. The same FL tEus of the
Detroit. Jackson Z Chicago bonds,