Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-08
QUINN SCORES
SERVICE BODY
Writes Letter to Public Serv-
ice Commission on
Jitney Ruling

c. +. Quinn, secretary treasurer OF
the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor.
has written an open letter to William
ID. B. Ainey. chairman of the Public
Service Commission. in which Mr..
Quinn takes the Commission to task
for taking to itself a power not law
restricting jitneys within the city.
The letter follows:
Harrisburg. Pa,
Sept. Z, 1917.
William d. B. Ainey. Chairman.
The Public Service Commission,
Harrisburg. Pennsylvania.
Allow me to thank you for your
reply to my recent letter in when
you say THE Public Service Company
sources of all the authorities when
the Public Service Commission has"
On looking up the Public Service
Company law. ii seems that the au-
late the jitneys must be based on the
phrase, "and also all persons engaged
for profit in the same kind of bus
mess" which constitutes lines eight
cen and nineteen of Article l, under
the head of Definitions"
The Public Service Company law
was passed in 1913. The jitneys had
not then, We believe, come into use
being the case. the regulation of Jtt-
ney traffic could not have been COM
pretended in the powers given to your
Commission. Again this view we take
of the limitation of the authority OF
the Commission seems to be supported
by the fact that the 1915 Legislature
passed an act authorizing each city
to regulate the jitneys; The latter
AN ACT
Authorizing Cities to Regulate
and License Certain Motor We
hicles.
That each city may Ngulate the
transportation of motor vehi-.
cles (not operated on tracks, or
passengers or property Tor pay,
within the limits of the city; or
from points in the city to points
beyond the limits of the city. In
such regulation the city may inn
pose reasonable license fees, make
regulations for the operation OF
vehicles, the rates to be charged
for transportation, and may des-
ignate certain streets upon which
such vehicles, if operated. must De
operated.
Now. Sir. il appears to the ordinary
mind. untinged by any sympathy for
street railway corporations, that,
when the people of a city have acted
upon the subject of jitney regulation
as the people of Harrisburg have done,
the Public Service Commission is talk
ing to itself power not lawfully
given to it. And not only this, but
such steps as your body is said to
contemplate toward the jitney, carries
with il an assumption of inverse &C
tion, not authorized by the law under
which it is empowered. Clearly, the
Commission was established to regu-
late certain corporations for the ben
eft of the public. but the course ii is
heralded as considering in the Jitney
case means to regulate the public for
the benefit of certain corporations.
We desire to enter our protest
against such action
We understand. through the press,
the officials of the Harrisburg Rail-
ways Company in reference to the Ar
mold report, the foreigner" who was
imported to help the incompetents
TO run their railway. We reser to
Mr. Arnold as a foreigner" because
when the late j. ]. Thorpe came here
to organize the employees of the COM
pany he was so dubbed by the cor
pcration. On the wings of rumor,
we have il that Mr.. ATnold has rec
commended that the company settle
the difficulty with its old employees
or a union maintaining basis. Wheth-
er this be true or not, you can do
the Harrisburg Railways Company n
service by seeing that this be done,
then much of its trouble will be over.
No matter what changes it may make
in its service, it cannot, successfully,
cajole an angry public
Very respectfully yours,
c. f. QUINN,
Secretary y-Treasurer Pennsylvania Fed
era tion of Labor.