Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-25
Potter Shafts Hit
Many in Transit ROJU

nv
Ssr present conditions and present con-
yn,,rtlonal limitations is financially impos
me- OF realization
sp Ths attack on the lease was led by Colo
potter. one of the city's representatives
~ ,he p r. T. directorate
W. n.rhe thittg we desire most" Colonel Pot
=. declared. "is free transfers, abolition Of
" sSchange rate and a fiat scent fare
w ~. were led TO believe that we would have
w., IN 1907 1t has been preached for
..ara that the exchange rate is iniquitous
yd'tbat any contract that does not give us
sat 5-cent fare on surface lines is unfair.
sIX-TRIP TICKETS
,sur. Ballard drew two contracts The
"a IN 1907 was such as to make people be-
unvo they would be entitled to six-trip
,f.rsts The people relied on the terms of
W., contract and thought they were part
sers with the company.
ssrbe same man drew the proposed lease
,,d publishes statements in support of it,
~ made a mistake before and he has made
some mistakes In this.
.Mr TAYLOR Thought we should have a
eve-cent fare on surface and high-speed
,,lres with transfers without further cost
rs thinks the proposed contract means
that
Al Immediately assimilating contracts. Be-
fore any one had chance TO go over this
wi,h my ideas exactly | have come to
,he conclusion that the Taylor system is
.ebanReable from time to time, subject to
the will of Mr.. Taylor.
'Taylor in 1914 wrote an argument
,gainst the present proposed lease. Taylor
branded exchange tickets as an cnormlty.
nut when in a position responsible for hav-
Ing this matter corrected he never made
,nplication for relief from the Public Ser
vice Commission.
HITS STOTESBURY
'Mr. Stotesbury is not an expert nor is
Tavlor an expert on transit. l knew him
when he was in the real estate business
ror cost figures we must come down to
snglneers Those men are Twinng. for the
ety, and Drumm, for the =. r. T.
"Only the engineers figures can he con-
adhered and you can't move Twining.
stotesbury says we must have sX-cent flat
fares or eight-cent exchanges He is the
man who runs It
Colonel Potter then gave his reasons for
believing the plan is not reasonable.
81 defy any man not a lawyer to be sure
Of the meaning of the fare clause" Colonel
Potter said, 81 don't wa t a controversy
IN the courts. for there seems no reason
for such technical wording. We can't
tell where we are at when we read the
contract
"The offer is made upon the ground that
agree if it could be shown the company
had done this over a series of years. but
this is not the case The average is > per
cent because there was only one dividend
and that was a per cent one. Other
years show that the company suffered de-
hciencies and | believe that at any time
but the present there would be a lowering
Of profits.
"The company wishes to safeguard itself
from any loss Mr.. Stotesbury says that
the company will need it. Mr.. Ballard's
business. as a lawyer for the company, is
to get this lease through.
THE ONLY FINE THING
"Just let me call your attention TO this
clause In consideration of the abolition
of exchange tickets the city will release
the company from the payment of taxes on
dividends and from street repairs That
would average $4,000 a year. or total
of 41,467,000 in fifty years
"Chlren under three years are carried
free and that's the only free thing about it.
IL the net earnings are not sufficient the
company can put on any exchange it feels
like
They say they can't take it out, because
they need it. They get out S4l,00O,0O0 anu
fix exchanges as they please so as to give
them certain per cent
United Gas Improvement Company stock
sells at about $50 on a per cent basis.
The people are assured of an income based
up,L years of steady gain. The Rapid
Transit Companys stock is selling at 20,
and yet we are told II is on a 8 per cent
basis. DO those people who deal in p. r. T.
think it's on a five per cent basis? Evil
IDENTIFY not. You have got to MAKE 1t up TO
them.
"Mr. Taylor says the city deficit will
reach the maximum figure of $500, 600, -
Colonel Potter continued. Everybody else,
nfi nf hn frp N a n
whom /, myself, have heard, admit that
The maximum deficit will be S5,OO0,00O a
year. Under the present lease this can be
met only by a thirty-cent increase in the
tax rate and such would be Tuinous to the
business prestige of Philadelphia, but
Taylor says the increase in realty vaua-
tons would be so great that it would offset
this.
JABS AT TAYLOR
II had Controller Walton make me a
statement showing what actually hap
pened in the six Philadelphia wards fol-
lowing the construction of the Market
street elevated. The statement shows that
realty values increased there in the amount
OF S4647,326. This will yield the city
annually $i60,000 in tax returns, but what
happened to this money! 1t was expended
IN sewers, water pipe, street paving and
police protection, made necessary by this
very realty development, and instead of a
great surplus last year you had to increase
The tax rate"
Colonel Potter then took another jab al
former Director Taylor. when the peo-
pie" he said, approved the Taylor sys-
tenn, if they ever did approve it, they ex-
pected to get everything for one five-cent
fare, but don't see how they could approve
the Taylor plan when ii changes from day
10 day in the mind of Mr.. Taylor. The peo'
pie expected, l said to get everything for
fve-cent fare. We have fought all these
Years for that one thing. In the lease we
DO get a fiat five-cent fare, but II has a
string to it, and we now have to be asked tc
pay S4l,000 900 for the string"
BALLARD'S OFFER
Chairman Gaffney, of the Finance Com
mttee, received from Mr.. Ballard a formal
statement of the change in the fare clause
Of the proposed lease which the traction
company is willing TO make in the event
y.at the city will agree to equip the new
high-speed lines before leasing them. Tran
NJ Director Twining called the Ballard
proposal a concession that is not con-
eession" Mr.. Ballard's offer was:
II the contract shall be amended SO
That the city Is to furnish the equipment
as Wen as construct the rapid transit
facilities, the company will assume the
interest and sinking fund charges on
ponds issued by the city to cover cost Oh