The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-04-19


Jitney regulation without doubt will
city hall this week.
What is going to happen is hard even
to guess at this time, for the prelimi-
nary skirmishes have so muddied the
waters that it is hard for an observer
now to form an opinion of what lies
at the bottom to be produced when the
situation clears up.
George Ward favors regulation. James
Weatherly does not A. o. Lane Is in
clined to agree with Weatherly.
There's the situation. The split be-
tween Ward and Weatherly on the jitney
question came with some surprise The
two commissioners have been doing adj
mirable team work to all outward APP
pearances ever since Mr.. Ward took Of
flee over a year ago. How serious is
the present difference or what is going
to come out Of IL at this time cannot
be told.
Popular Side
Mr.. Weatherly, without doubt, is at
this time on the popular side AS to
whether or not he will be in the course
of a week or two, however, there is
reason to doubt. There is every indica-
ton that public sentiment is now un-
dergoing a gradual change in regard to
the jitney situation. 1t seems entirely
probable that reasonable regulation-and
nothing else is proposed-wil be COM
pletely indorsed by public sentiment
within a short time.
| As to whether or not the convictions
| or reasons of Judge Lane and Mr..
Weatherly for their respective positions
| on the question are such that they may
| be liable to change, no one can say
but it seems probable. II so, fair and
Just regulation of the jitney is to be eX
pected within the next week or two.
There are two reasons for the popular
| ity of the genus jitney as found alive
and prospecting on the streets of Bir-
mingham today. One is it's undoubted
ability to fill a place heretofore empty
and render a real service to the citizens
the other is the unpopuarity of the
street car corporation. When the facts
are faced, there can be no denying that
much of the jltneys popularity comes
| from the street cars unpopularity: there
| are hundreds whose enthusiasm for the
| iitney grows because they know 1t is
| putting a kink' in the street car COM
pany.
Reasons For Regulation
| Likewise there are two reasons for
regulating the jitney. One is to protect
and aid the aiing street car corporation;
the other is to protect and aid the pub
lie and place the jitney on a basis with
| every other legitimate business trans
| acted within the city.
Those favoring real and fair regula-
ton of the jtney should forget about the
popularity of the jitney. or the prayed
| for protection and unpopularity of the
street car company. They should realize
| that the jitney question must be APP
preached from the other end. that jitney
/ regulation must be developed-if it can
| be developed--in the terms of public
| service.
Why should the man who runs a and
10-cent store in competition with the big
| department store be made to pay city
| license in proportion to the business he
/ does if jitney which operates In COM
petition to the great street car corpora
ton is not made to do the same thing
| When the Kelley interests sometime
ago made their memorable fight before
4 the city commission for street railway
| franchise, they were charged for a fran
chise provisions were put in that fran
chise to make the proposed company pay
to the city part of its gross receipts
and in other ways put it's operations UNI
der the complete control of the city gov
eminent. James Weatherly led the ac-
tivities on the part of the city. Now
because the real difference is that the
Kelleys proposed to run vehicle as a
common carrier on steel rails and the
operator of a jitney proposed to run a
vehicle as a common carrier on rubber
| tires, why should such regulations be
placed on the one and not proportion;
regulations be placed on the other?
Basis of Government
| The basis of all government is -
| lection of the interests of the covert d..
There can be no doubt but that the
danger and evils of the jitney system