Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-06-30

Legislation which the jltney operators
believe will ultimately drive them out
OF business was passed this afternoon by
both branches of Councils. Despite the
pleas sent by two iitney organizations and
that of Common Councilman William r..
Horn, Of the 23d Ward. both branches OF
Councils passed the jitney ordinances as
originally framed with the exception Of
some alteration In the routes. The bill be-
comes operative 10 days after being signed
by the Mayor
The fee OF $50 and the bond of $500 re-
main.
There is some modification in the scent
zones which are provided for as follows;
Scent fare from City Hall to League
Island a scent fare from City Hall to
olney avenue, and the same rate from
City Hall to SD and Diamond streets. and
from Delaware avenue to the County Line
on Market street
The iitncy men who crowded the gallery
In the lower chamber declare that the or
dinance would put them out of business,
fnasmuch as taNicabs are allowed to
charge almost 50 times as much to carry
passengers the same distances.
Communications were received from the
Jitney Auto Service and from the Indl
vldusl Drivers Association protesting
against the conditions of the ordinance.
which they declared onerous.
AS soon as Robert Smith. who presided,
ordered the bill read, Mr., Horn jumped to
his feet There is no reason for the
$500 bond" he declared. "The jitney is
the poor mans bus. When a man owns
his auto or drives taxicab he Is not
bonded, and we shouldn't throttle the
poor mans conveyance"
There were no other speeches on the
bill and It was passed by vote of 54
to IL.
In Select Council the measure was
passed by a vote OF 36 TO s. Louis Hutt
OF the 18th Ward, introduced the amend
ment which provided for the route mem
toned above.
There was no debate. Those who op-
posed the bill we're William Huston, 36th
Ward; Sheldon Potter, POD Ward; D. s.
Greenwood, 37th Ward G.. D. Davis, 24th
Ward, and Edwin Boileau, S2d Ward.
p. R. It's WISHES OBSERVED.
The stringent regulation of the jitneys
N Is said, was requested by the Rapid
TFansit Company. which declared that
there had been an alarming decrease in
ftA business since the jltneys became
POPULAR.
( "We will Immediately organize for Il
campaign to obtain Mayor Blankenburg's
veto" said G. S. Winner. president Of
the Jitney Auto Service Company, after
the passage Of the bill, ut is not law
of regulation but of elimination. We will
make II political issue in the fall cam
paign. The methods used were simply
knockout methods aimed to put the jit-
neys out OF business, We have much
confidence In City Solicitor Ryan and
believe that he win consider the ordi-
nance unconstitutional and will advise
the Mayor 10 veto II on those grounds"
STEAM ROLLER METHODS"
such steam-roller methods will not
60" declared Richard Costello, president
OF the Philadelphia Jitney Association,
emphatically. THE bill will be made the
political issue of the coming campaign
We have hundreds of thousands of citi-
zens behind the movement The ordinance
would put the jitneys out of business and
the people viii not stand for that.
zone of the first steps to be taken will
be to bring every possible pressure TO bear
on Mayor Blankenburg 10 veto the ordi-
nance The jitney men hope that he will
do so.
II believe the action today was largely
the result Of the division between the fit
ney men themselves II ali had consoll- |
dated into one organization the ordinance
would not have passed"
Crowds OF jltney men who attended the |
sessions declared that the ordinance was |
passed entirely through the influence of |
The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. |
Many offieials and employees of the com
1any We're In the galleries, they said and |
seemed as interested spectators as the |
itney owners. The jitney men openly as
iert that the Rapid Transit Company will
Tot run them out OF business II they can
Prevent It.