Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-02
TRANSIT PACT
! MAYORS HANDS
4posed New Lease of
High-Speed System to
4: P. R. T. Ready
y PUT IN LEGAL FORM
City Solicitor and Councils Must
Pass on PROPOSE
tion

The proposed new lease of the city's rapi,
transit system TO the Philadelphia Rapit
transit Company was submitted to Mayo
smith this afternoon by Transit Directo
Tw1ning and William Draper Lewis. tn,
\ Mayors legal adviser on transit. after
Z long series of conferences between Twinine
Z ana Lewis for the city and A. L. Drum
consulting engineer for the p. r. T. Com
( pany.
The Mayor will refer the lease as sub
mittsd to City Solicitor Connolly, with in
structions to put It in legal form. Ther
u VIII have to be submitted to Council:
Tor consideration and approval
The lease cannot be acted noon by
Councils until they conclude their vacation
ana meet in September.
The lease is supposed to represent the
hArmonised and reconciled ideas OF the
Mayor and E T. Stotesbury, of the p. r T
beard, regarding fair agreement between
the city and the traction interests for the
companys operation of the high-speed
transit system as soon as II Is completed
Ever since the city and the P. r. T.
Company failed to agree on the first pro-
posed lease, submitted by the company,
there have been conferences participated
IN by representatives of the city and the
company. 1t was understood that the lease
Twining was to draw as a result Of these
conferences was to represent the harmon
ixed ideas Of both sides.
Twining and Draper for the city and
A. L. Drum for the company have con-
ferred several times and the Mayor and
=. T. Stotesbury, the real chief OF the
p. r. T., also have discussed the terms Of
the lease
The lease submitted today is only a
rough draft. but It is in substance an agree
ment between the Mayor and the P. r. T..
which only requires formulation into legal
4 - vtfap "a hr1f q COuncils
The Mayor, Director Twining, Mr.. Drum
and Chairman Gaffney, of Councils Finance
Committee, are said to have conferred over
certain items OF the agreement this morn
ing, just an hour or so before the final
rough draft was submitted to the Mayor.
The terms of the agreement will not be
made public until the lease is presented to
Councils.
Indications that the completion Of the
draft does not necessarily mean the set
tlenent OF the entire transit question were
given by Director Twining.
The director was asked when the lease
would be ready for Councils ana he replied
that would be hard to tell. He was then
asked when he intended to take his vaca-
tion.
well" he replied. II intended to go
this week. but now have given up hope Of
going this month"
Mr.. Lewis, who has been assisting in
framing the legal parts Of the lease. will
return to Maine, where he is spending the
summer. either tomorrow or Saturday. Mr..
Lewis said he expected to return, however,
IN \ week
II is not known how long 1t will be before
Mayor Smith will be ready to indicate his
views on the lease.
The Mayor had intended going to At
lantic City tonight, but finally decided to
remain until tomorrow night
incidentally. number of political con-
ferences are scheduled for Atlantic City
over the weekend. In view of the fact
that the Mayor now has a draft of the tran
sit lease these conferences may be de-
cidedly important