Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-31

Smith.
DECoMTNG Mayor Mr.. Smith announced
- that. although Director Taylor had been
a most efficient public servant he would not
be retained in office.
After some delay he appointed a successor,
William S. Twining, but not until there was
a distinct understanding obtained from Mr.
Twining to the effect that he would not con-
Germ himself with operating agreements, but
would devote himself exclusively to the en-.
gineering features of the work, This meant
that Mr.. Twining entered office shorn of es.
sential powers, and that the people were left
without any recognized officer to protect their
interests and champion their cause A Tran
sit Director who does not direct transit as a
whole, in its economic as well as it's engi.
neering features, is no Transit Director at all
He is merely a construction engineer, and his
holding office under another name is in eff
feet a fraud on the people, in that it leads
them to believe that they have a servant
working in their interest when in fact they
are without representation.
Having thus brought the Department of City
Transit directly under his thumb, the Mayor
proceeded to get busy along other lines AL
though he had no authoritative professional
opinion to back him, although the contract
for the work had already been let at a price
most advantageous to the city, and although
he himself in public, had declared that the
work on Broad street would be pushed to a
speedy conclusion in accordance with the
Taylor plans, he issued orders to Director
Twining that the City Hall station should be
abandoned.
Mr.. Twining, who a been the consulting
engineer OF the department and in that ca
pacity had approved and sanctioned the City
Hall station, mildly protested. but acquiesced
and declared himself ready to obey orders.
But he found himself in a quandary, for as
an engineer he knew that four-track sub.
way could not get by City Hall unless by
going under it, owing to the deep bank vaults
at Broad and Chestnut streets. Finally, how
ever, after consideration, the scheme of split
ting the fourtrack subway at Ridge avenue
suggested itself 1t seemed a way out, al
though at best a makeshft
Accordingly, again under orders. Director
Twining announced the new plan to the pub.
lie. In view of the tremendous popular pro-
test. the Mayor then declared that the Twi-
ming plan was not necessarily his plan; that
the report merely preliminary, and that
the people should decide arter the full Twi.
ming report made public. The people. of
course. had already decided, but the Mayor
insists on ignoring that fact, and persists in
acting and talking as if transit were some
new and mysterious subject or which the com,
mnnty was I'm deep ignorance.
The fun Twining report was then made pub.
lie and discovered TO be essentially the same
as the preliminary report except that, instead
OF being brief in favor of transit, it was
impregnated with pessmism and spent pages
in looking for arguments why the city should
not have transit. It dwelt on the feasibility of
raising fares instead of lowering them, and
eontained number Of proposals calculated to
delay construction and confuse the situation.
This report. very naturally also fell fiat,
whereupon yesterday the Mayor, who seems TO
be about the only person In Philadelphia who
does not know that Philadelphia has already
decided on the kind Of rapid transit it intends
70 have announced with great gusto the ap-
polntment of commission. This commits
sion. We presume, is 70 consider whether or
not the people knew their own mind when
they voted for the Taylor plan. But it win
b noted that there is no intimation of the
epposntment to the commission OF any man
se1zed in the Taylor plan and an advocate Of
Il AZ. Taylor, for instance. who knows more
about the situation than any man in Phila-
as'phia Is not TO be member He probably
eopla nos Be II the Mayor appointed him,
~ SHOULD be after an his work, take part
ass pissl Bus Sc are o haFs .