New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-19
Special Counsel at Two
Cent Transfer Hearing
Charges Trickery
"Should Go to Albany
Declares Third Avenue Com.
pany Is Wasting Time of
the Commission

( the street railway companies for per
mission to charge cents for transfers
opened yesterday before the Public
Service Commission. While the petit
ton of the Third Avenue Railroad
Company was taken up first, the pres
ence Of large array of lawyers for
other surface line corporations indl-
Gated that the companies had mustered
their forces for hard drive.
That it will be hard drive for the
companies was made apparent at the
start by the lawyers for the city, who
fired n,ercless broadsides at the gem
eral proposition of increasing fares at
this critical time, and denounced the
petitions of the corporations as unwsr.
ranted and without reason. Corpora
ton Counsel Hardy, under instructions
from Mayor Mitchell, and Ernest E.
Baldwin, special counsel for the city,
with host of assistants. lined up for
a strong opposition. Mr.. Baldwin lost
no time in outlining the city's case. 1t
rested on two1ain points. ne said.
In the first place. he challenged the
jurisdiction of the commission TO grant
the relief asked, and, secondly, he
challenged the competency and ade-
quacy of the petition OF the Third Ave-
nue. company. On these two grounds
he finally asked that the application
be thrown out. The commission de-
MED the request on the first point and
reserved opinion on the second point.
Would Remove Chairman
The hearing opened with a protest
| against Oscar s. Straus, chairman of
| the Public Service Commission, sitting
! in that capacity at the hearings The
protest was made by Cornelius NJ.
/ Sheehan. representing the Allied
Boards of Trades and Taxpayers Pro-
tectiye Association of Brooklyn, who
contended that the chairman had a pc
cuniary interest in the case and might
/ be biassed in handing down his deci-
! sion. He pointed out that Mr. Straus
was a director in the New York Life
| Insurance Company, which owns ST.
/ 1872. 062 of bonds and stock in the Third
Avenue company. He contended that
| the value of this stock might be mate
rally increased by any increase in
fares.
/ Mr.. Straus admitted he was a direc-
| tor in the insurance company, but de-
clared he was not a member of the
/ finance board of the company, and did
not know whether it owned any rail
way stock or not. He said he was in
no way interested. The Sheehan pro-
test was shelved.
Alfred A. Cook, counsel for the Third
Avenue company, pointed out at length
the financial illness of the company
and the reasons for it's application for
relief. He quoted freely from the COM
pany's books and statistics to show a
decrease in receipts and an ever-climb-
ing increase in expenses during the last
two or three years. He declared that
the company would now be in bankrupt
cy if it hadn't been for q good con-
tract for steel rails made over year
ago.
Merely Seeking Fair Return"
He said that two cents extra charge
for transfers might not be sufficient TO
save the company from the bankruptcy
court, and that he might again have TO
come TO the commission with another
that the company was not asking big
dividends on stocks, but was merely
seeking a fair and decent return on its
investment.
"The pendulum of the clock has
swung one way for many years." he
said, land must swing back The Pub
lie Service Commission must recognize
that the carrier has reached a point
where it must have plain, simple JUS
tice."
Replying to Mr.. Cooks argument, Mr..
Baldwin charged that the company ex-
perts had been playing with figures,
taking the revenues of one year and
the operating expenses of another. He
declared the figures presented by the
company. showing decrease in reve-
nue. in l9l5-16. were unfair. because a
large part of the loss in receipts during
that period was due TO strike cosdi-
tions, in which the public was in no way
interested. Ii was brought out also
that the line of buses run by the Fifth
Avenue Coach Company. under special
permit, 20 the Billy Sunday Tabernacle
had cut into the Third Avenue COM
pany's profits. The coach company
fled a request with the commission
yesterday for permission 10 run the
buses along upper Broadway for an
other month.
SHOULD Look to Legislature"
Mr.. Baldwin. while not conceding that
the company had not received Justice"
declared that if it was seeking for more
justice it should look TO the Legislature
and not to the Public Service Commits
sion.
"The city's interest is the interest Of
the people" said Mr.. Baldwin. at
must be apparent to everybody that an
increase Of two cents in fares will be
serious imposition. II the railroad is
entitled to relief it is 10 to them to find
the power vested in the Public Service
Commission to grant such relief. If
any such power can be found in Section
80 of the public service law. il must be
shown that the rates are not alone in
sufficient, but unjust and unreasonable
as well Even If the commission has
the power, it should not grant the
petition.
The hearings will be continued at
l0:30 a. m. to-day.