New-York tribune., 1916-06-14
Thompson Committee =
Hear Cooley and Printers
Secretary To-day.
mitchell MAY SUE
B. R. T. FOR 100000
Investigators Declare That Land
Deals and OverchargeS
Brought Huge Profits.

The Thompson committee will revert
% taking wire-tapping testimony again
today.
Senator Thompson, chairman OF the
committee, has subp@naed acting Po-
Ice Commissioner Cooley and Peter }.
pro6v. secretary of the Allied Printing
Trades Council, to appear before the
,ommittee. and they are expected to
.n~ssb out the matter OF tapping the
.e,e,bone wires of the various labor
ONIONS Brady, who placed the matter
hefore District Attorney Swami yester-
asv wrote Senator Thompson, asking
bir, % subpoena Commissioner Cooley,
=, the end that tho latter might inform
the labor men what crimes the police
.xpeeted TO detect by tapping the labor
union wires. -,
eve would be glad to have him tell
ne what crimes the department has pre-
vented by listening on our wires
wrote Mr.. Brady. ave are anxious to
assist him il he will meet US on COM
mon ground, and hope you will grant
mr. request 10 meet you and the Police
commissioner tomorrow"
More b. r. T. Acts Shown.
The committee spent good part of
vs..erdav's session in trying to show
,brourb various witnesses that the
Brooklvn Rapid Transit Company had
illegally charged the city with the ex-
,snses Of interest, brokers fees, etc.
amounting 20 several hundred thousand
dollars. in connection with the financ-
ing Of the dual subway contracts. As
result Of disclosures IN this respect
Yesterday Mayor Mitchell may be asked
10 institute a suit against the Brooklyn
company for the recovery of 100000.
J. A. Slower, the Assistant Corpora
ton Counsel. who is representing the
city al the hearings, said that II the
facts are as appear 10 be the city was
entitled TO recover That amount. lie
said II was q matter the courts should q
eonstrue. He declared that the city
would probably bring suit
The alleged overcharge was put IN
the prior determinations" provided for
in the dual contracts. 1t is included IN
the 81 100000 interest charge made by
The New York Municipal Railway Cor
roration for floating the S4OOOO,OOO
raised BY that corporation TO finance
the construction of the B. +. rs share
of the new subways. Mr.. Stover con-
tended that under the dual contracts
the interest charge was limited 70 s
per cent, and that in charging the CITY
the 81 $50 900 item there was an excess
Of more than 100000.
Howard Abel. auditor Of the Brook
lvn Rapid Transit Company, was quesc
toned at length about the financing OF
the New York Municipal Railway Cor
poration. He verified chart OF the
companies composing the 3. K. t. or
subsidiary to IT, Senator Thompson de-
scribed him as auditor Of the nifty
seven varieties included in the &. X l.
Realty Values Soar Suddenly.
Senator Thompson was particularly
desirous of learning why real estate
rurcbased by subsidiaries OF the
r r.. T. prior to the signing OF the qua
contracts suddenly grew more VaIuaDl'
and was disposed of 10 the parent cor,
narration. which i'm turn used the real
e,tate in deals with the city for ease
ments. On one transaction, an ease
ment in South Brooklyn, the B. K
20, 81 600 900. despite the fact that the
Real estate expert Of the Public Service
Commission sworc that the property
was not worth more than 100000 pur-
chased outright. -
Already the city has begun SUIT Mt 70
recover between S4,OOO,00O and S6,ooO;
600 alleged to have been illegally al
lowed to the Interborough Rapid ran
sr Company under the prior deter
minations" clause in the dual contracts.
Another suit contemplated against @ the
R.P. T. would involve similar charges