Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-27
TWINING ISSUES
TRANSIT REPLY
Comments on A. Merritt
Taylor's Position With
Regard to Exchanges
FALSE" SAYS Mr.. TAYLOR

A statement on the transit situation
made by Director Twining. Of the Cit!
Transit Department. to-day, follows:
have read Mr.. Taylor's statement Of
yesterday. / do not desire, nor do I in
tend, TO get into a controversy with the
eN-Director with reference to his previous
attitude on transit questions, or the re.
iected Taylor lease bat feel 1t my
duty. in order that the public may see
Mr. Taylor's present position in its true
light to state the plain facts in connec-
ton with Mr. Taylor's scheme for the
abolition of exchange tickets which Mr.
'''' .'r yesterday attempted to repudiate.
On December 90. 1915, a lease prepared
by Mr. Taylor was presented to Councils.
This lease Mr. Taylor declared eminent
~ fair" Article N%NlI of that lease
provided as follows:
In consideration of the abolition of
exchange tickets as provided in Article
NNNI, the city will relieve the lessee
U. r. T. Company for the term Of this
contract 0ifty years. from the payment
of taxes on dividends of its leased and
. subsidiary lines as the same are inn
posed by their respective charters and
also during the same period from the
payments otherwise due under Section
10 of the 1907 contract, being a pay
ment in lieu of renewals and repairs to
street pRvements. removal of snow and
car license fees
Payments due the city in respect TO
dividend tax and under, Section 10 of
the 1907 contract shall be apportiOned
to the date of the abolition of exchange
tickets outside the delivery district
These abatements would, Mr.. Taylor
admits, have amounted to approximately
S42,OOO,O00 during the term of the lease
(hfty years).
Mr. Taylor is still advocating the fair
ness of the rejected lease.
His attpmDt. therefore. to pSCaDe
sponsibilty for one of its most objec.
tionable features by directing attention
TO his attitude on the same subject in
March of 1914 is plain attempt TO fool
the people.
This is Of course, in line with Mr.
Taylor's general plan to divert public at
tention from the fundamental advantages
of the present proposal by constantly re-
peating his criticism of the phraseology
OF the lease, which the authors have re
peatedly expressed themselves as intend
ing to clarity whatever necessary to ex-
press their exact intention
Another statement by Mr. Taylor,
which Is absurd in view of Mr.. Taylor s
own proposal in the rejected lease, is his
assertion that under the present proposal
the division of the contingency and cer-
tain other funds between the city and
company at the termination of the lease
will give the p. r. T. stockholders SO
per share,
BY what mathematical jugglery Mr..
Taylor arrives at this figure | do not
know. What | do wish to point out is
that under the Taylor lease, to enable
The city to receive it's full interest and
sinking fund charges the fares would
have had to be so high as to pay per
cent dividend to the company's stock
holders.
In other words, to give the city wha,
1t will receive under the present lease,
the car riders would have had to pay
during the term of the Taylor lease $50
per share on the conpany's capital stock
In excess of the per cent guaranteed
dividend.
The balance of Mr.. Taylors state
ment is merely a repetition of previous
assertions on his part which have been
fully answered by Doctor Lewis.
A. Merritt Taylor. replying to Mr. Twin
ings statement, said:
This is just an example of Fifth War
methods introduced into the Transit Depart
ment II is false and misleading. My state
ment of yesterday was a complete answe
to it's falsity."