New-York tribune., 1918-03-15
Whitney Charges
Mayor Hylan With
"Untruthfulness''
Public Service Commis'
sioner Adds Impetus to
Brooklyn Transit Row

The standing controversy between
Mayor Hylan and the Public Service
Commission received a fresh impetus
yesterday when Commissioner Travis
H. Whitney, acting chairman of the
commission in the absence Of Chair
man Straus, sent a letter to the Mayor
taking him to task for making Gun
truthful" statements in regard to the
number of cars in use on the Brooklyn
Rapid Transit system. Commissioner
Whitney quoted the Mayor from The
Tribune af, March 13. when he said
that the B. r. T. now had thirty-two %
cars less in operation than it did in
1907, Notwithstanding that the popu-
lation has increased by hundreds of
thousands"
~ regret having to say to you, the
Mayor Of the city of New York" wrote
Mr.. Whitney, "that you ought to know
that this is not true, for you have
ridden in new steel cars. the existence
of which you ignore. You will recall
the car in which you quizzed the guard
on the method of opening the doors
and other matters; we'll, there are 500
Of these cars, acquired since 1913. You
persist in the repetition Of this state
ment when the facts have been given
you, and are independently easily as
certainable."
The Commissioner also quoted Mayor
Hylan as saying that public regula-
ton is admittedly failure" and that
the Public Service Commission had ac-
complished little or nothing in this
direction. The letter contnued:
CAS- to whether the commission has
done little or nothing to reduce the
rates for electricity, may | refresh
your recollection by saying that the
commission has caused a reduction in
the retail rate for electricity in Man
haitian and The Bronx from 10 cents
to cents per kilowatt hour. which
with other reductions, represents more
than 80 per cent reduction in such
rates?
"The commission has also caused a
reduction in the rates of the Brooklyn
Edison Company from II cents to s
cents per kilowatt hour, which, with
other reductions in the scale, made g
total reduction of over 25 per cent The
Flatbush Gas Company has also beer
ordered to reduce it's electric rates, but
the order is being contested
I'm the Borough of Queens the com
mittee caused a reduction in the elec
trio rates of about 20 per cent 1t may
therefore, be pertincntly asked whethe,
you regard these matters as neg
ligible."
Commissioner Whitney called atten
tlon to the fact that the commission
more than a month ago started an in
vcstigation into the quality and press
ure of gas furnished during this winter
and asked: "If you had carried ou
your threat to commander coal belong
ing to the gas companies, would ther,
have been either quality or quantity O.
gas furnished to the people? ?"
While the tive-cent fare still pre-
walls, the Commissioner pointed ou
that the extension of the B. r. T. ser
vice into Manhattan to Forty-secon,
Street and to Rector Street had save,
thousands of dollars to tens of thou
sands Of Brooklyn passengers who for
merly had to'pay a second fare II
conclusion he said:
"As to the question whether regula
ton has been a failure, this may be
very opportunc time for such discus
sion, but | must insist that there be
reasonable adherence to the facts, t.
the end that the principles involve,
! shall not be obscured."