The Detroit times., 1917-12-06
The ThOmpsOn-Hally
Franchise Crowd Isn't
Emphasizing This Point


The old Thompson-Hally franchise
crowd did just what we expected it to do
when the Detroit United Railway abro-
gated its day-to-day agreement and be-
gan charging a straight fve-cent fare.
= Ii tried to stage a comeback and, mo
mentarily, it looked as If it would attempt
il with the increase in the rate Of fare as
It's excuse.
The Free Press was part Of the
Thompson HalIy crowd in that bitterly
fought and well-remembered campaign
that made such strange political bedfel-
lows, and when the rates Of fare were
raised by the company on Sunday follow
ING It's snap notice hurled with defiance
at the mayor, that neWspaPcr had this to
say
Six years ago at the close of 1871 thc peoDle
of Detroit had before them wha' was known @s
the Thompsonlially aEr cuent under IS hich me
street car rate Of fare WAS fixed on a has., ot
eight tickets for a quarter until 1924, when me
franchise or the Pngree lines are 90 expire. ana
the city was 70 have the right 20 Acquire the
entire system ~ the termination oi the agree
ment 'fhg trrr farcsr- supported ff-i- .tt-tr-t--
mont ana used its best endeavoIs 90 .havr .t
accepted by thc voters. but certain interests,
political ami otherwise. brought about ir ~
gcctiOn.
There will be no need Of thrashins over ola
straw OF sA years ago, but it the thompson.
lIaily agreement had been accepted in tae c.te
tioa Jsnuar, %. 1912. instead % being rejected,
the people Of Deuoi would uot only have been
riding for cents ctcr since bur they would be-
riding AT that rate now and for six years 20
come The present deficit in receipts would
aft nltf rr 1rr
70 meet and 70 would meet t. presumably by
raising money % Side itself over The emergency
wh~h Barclay Parsons 81 klapp believe 90 b"
temporary altho tbe method thc company
would adopt would Ue iis concern and nor the
puhllos The eightfor a-quarter fare could not
have been raised.
When any one tells YOU that YOU were led
astray in rejecting the vague proposition which
the city refused TO accept two years ago and
which had no promise of any limitation OF fares
refer him back four years farther and ask hlr
whether he advocated The approval az th,
Thompson -Hally agreement thar would have pre-
vented all fare increases prior go 1925
The Free Press doesn't say anything
about the expense to the taxpayers that
would have fallen to them with the
Thompson-Hally franchise for paving,
the work to be done by the d. L. f. at the
city's expense, which would have included
a nice profit to the d. L. L. above actual
cost
Ist doesn't say anything about the law
suits against the D. u. r. which the city
would have dropped.
1t tdoesn't say anything about the secret
conferences or the lying ballot.
The Thompson-Haly franchise was de-
feated because the people of Detroit were
determined then that the D. u. r. will
never get another franchise. as they are
determined now, despite the fact that the
News has taken down the slogan against
any more ''on any terms"
The Free Press does not tell us that
what the people wanted from the d. u. r.
at the time of the Thompson-Hally pro-
position was SERVICE before cheaper
rate of fare, and that the Thompson-Hally
proposition did not provide the service
they wanted, nor even attempt it.
What the people want now is SERVICE
before a rate of fare that will not enable
the d. U. r. to give them service and the
object in retaining experts at an outlay
Of $4,000 of city money is to find out at
what fare the D. U. r. can give SERVICE
and operate at a reasonable profit.
The common council has been quick to
seize the strongest weapon we have at
hand to hold over the d. U. r. and that
is our full say in the matter of whether
the company can defy US and still have
the use of our streets for its enormous
interurban business and its freight busi-
ness
That club can be used with good effect,
but if the Thompson-Ha franchise had
been granted the d. U. r., WE WOULD
NOT HAVE 1T.
The Thompson-Hally crowd is not en-
phasizing that point.
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