Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-13
TRANSIT BILLS
REPORTED OUT
mil Be Placed on Second
Reading in Senate
Tomorrow
MAYOR SMITH HOPEFUL

..otors Augustus f. DalNi JT' ana owen
-,,rs both Of Philadelphia, reported
Philadelphia transit bills in the
at Harrisburg, today. They will
second reading tomorrow.
vt assurances from bo:n Senator Nc
-, and Senator Ware that they would
.,unort the transit legislation asked by the
' ,.e' Nayor Smith and his transit advisers
eV' .oradent that three of the four bills
ho passed before the Legislature ad-
Surns on June Ss'
r.o one thing which might upset the
.,, legislative program is the fact that
~. two weeks remain uefore the Legis-
,snire adjourns'
,ho administration Is ready to con-
Vepp Vepte all efforts on the Salus bill and
e..,nIt the Hecht measures to go down TO
g.saat II necessary. The Cans through
ee.sn. eeles hin will be dropped at once in any
iOus .o, since all of its provisions are en-
s.S,sd in the Salus bill.
ANOTHER DELAY IN WORK
~. beglnning Of work on tho subway
,.irsry loop and on the Broad street sub
a, between South and stiles streets Is
,.sssotened with another postponement be-
.rso nj the enormous Increase in the cost
SIobor and materials since the bids for the
VIZ were opened several months ago.
This fact became known today as a
,,sct result of the favorable action Of
~ senate Judiciary General Committee in
.aoorting favoraby the transit legislation
I,sht by the city. Until this legislation
os acted upon the Public Service Com
v"Ission refused to grant the certificates of
nnblln convenience for the construction
Irork and until the certificates were
II -
sontracts although bids were opened part
~ FEBRUARY and part in March.
with the issuance of the necessary certih-
.ata now apparently a matter of several
wseks the contractors who submitted the
law bids for the work are considering the
necessity Of requesting the transit depart
vsnt 10 relieve them from their contracts
an the grounds that it would be impossible
10 do the work now at the figure named
IN the original bids.
McNICHOL is FRANK
Senator McNichol whose firm, the Key.
stone Construction Company, was.low bidder
an four of the six contracts at a total fig.
ure for the four of nearly 100000
frankly admitted the truth of this and ex.
plained the difficulties now confronting the
contractors.
"It would be virtually impossible" h,
said, ITO get the subcontractors to carry
out their part of the work now at tn,
original figures, and so, of course, we will
be simply up against it. AS a result o.
the changed conditions, and the fact tina
the awarding of the contracts has been helC
up for months I do not believe that an!
court in the land would hold us to ou
original bids. Just what course will b.
followed has not been determined yet"
The total of the six contracts for which
bids have been opened is approximate,
,l5,O0O,OO0. What 1t would cost the city It
award these now in view Of the increa SEE
price the Transit Department is unwll
ing an estimate, and it is likely that tn
work will be postponed until conditions
have again become more nearly normal, II
case the request Of the contractors to re
leve them is granted.
Director Twining said today that h
would wait until the bills in the Legislator
are passed before proceeding any further II
the draft of the new lease which Council
have directed him to prepare. The passag
OF the bills, he explained, would make
possible to draft far better lease tha
could be drawn without the bills.
Strong indication that the Transit Com
pany is still willing to continue the nego
tons over the lease. in spite of the actlo
Of Councils last week in rejecting the com
panys lease offer, was given last night b.
r. stotesbury, chairman of the boar
or directors of the company, in an addres
before the United Business Mems Asso
ciatlon at the Bingham Hotel.
MIR. Stotesbury, as If with the intention G
gaining the confidence of every man befor
him, asked them to look squarely at hin
Look me in the face" he said, land wi
look at you Then, perhaps, we will under
stand each other. l don't see any reaso
why this transit question cannot be settled
have the stockholders of the company
consider, but | also have the interests
all the people of the city of Philadelphia {
consider. l would not feel right in takin
away from the city what belongs to |
When l went into the company / tried
DO what was right. We have given yo
good service. The stockholders of the con
pany have put from $40, 900 900 to $40, 900
700 into the concern and they are entitle
TO something Gentlemen. we have nothin
to sell but transportation. The whole thin
Is purely business proposition, and it
my earnest desire to do the fair thing /
every one. l want to be fair to the cit
and to the stockholderss
In the light Of the Mayors decided
pessimstic attitude on the transit stu
ton, expressed in a statement Monday,
the effect that If the transit legslatiC
pending at Harrisburg were not passed Il
city would be without hope, Mr.. Stote
ourYs address was considered as most 81