New-York tribune., 1919-11-17
Objections to Municipal Ac.
quirement Of All Lines
Enumerated in Pamphlet
Favoring That Solution
Many New Laws Needed
Also an Amendment to Con-
stitution, According to
ID. F. Wilcox and Others

"
ship and operation Of the transit sys-
tens of New York City are cited in
pamphlet suggesting municipal owneY-
ship as the final solution Of the transit
problem. issued yesterday by Delos F.
Wilcox, former chief of the franchise
bureau Of the Public Service Commits
sion, and endorsed by thirty three
other signers. Mr.. Wicox's collabora-
tors included Lawson Purdy, Professor
Charles A. Beard, S. S. Goldwater,
George Foster Peabody, Herbert Croly,
Hamilton Holt and DR.. Stephen S.
Wise.
Legislative measures would have to
be enacted to overcome eight Of the
objections to municipal ownership. it Is
admitted by the men Issuing the state
ment. One, they say. would require
an amendment to the state constitu-
ton. Two other serious handicaps
cannot be overcome at all under pres
ent conditions. they say.
The first obstacle in the way Of the
city acquiring the subway, elevated,
bus and surface car lines, as cited in
the pamphlet, is the absence Of legal
authority to acquire and own the lines.
The Fowler bill, which passed the last
session of the Senate. but was defeated
in the Assembly, would have granted
this power of acquisition, it is claimed.
Difficulty in Drafting Law
"The real difficulty comes in the
drafting Of legislation prescribing the
methods Of acquisition, the ways of
paying for the property and the man
ner Of operating it, the pamphlet
adds.
The impracticability Of building
complete Independent competing mum
icipal transit system, or Of effectively
threatening to do so, cannot be over
come, Mr.. Wilcox comedies. 1t would be
possible, however, he says, for the city
to acquire fragment of the existing
transit lines, as, for example, the Third
Avenue Railway system, or one of the
rapid transit units, and on this basis
enter into competition with tho other
lines, afterward extending the frag
ment to make it formidable competi-
tor. The development Of municipal bus
lines, including the acquisition OF the
Fifth Avenue buses, he says, would
help the city strengthen its position.
There is no practicable way, in Mr..
Wilcox's opinion, of making the trac-
tion corporations turn over their prop
critics to the city at the price the city
might be prepared to pay for them. The
threat of competition and refusal to
grant any fare increases or other con-
cessions are proposed as possible means
of bringing the private companies to
terms in rcsettlement Of their rela-
tions with the city.
Inadequate Condemnation Law
The inadequacy of the present con-
demnation law and procedure, another
drawback conceded by the pamphleteers,
probably can be overcome. they declare,
by the formulation and adoption of leg
islation specially adapted to the con-
demnation of public utility properties.
Probably the most fundamental OBJ
stacle is said to be the constitutional
limitation on the city's purse. On this
point Mr.. Wilcox says:
This limitation can be removed by an
amendment to the constitution, either
raising the debt limit for all purposes
or raising it for the purpose of per-
mittng the issuance Of bonds for the
acquisition or construction of municipal
utilities or entirely excluding utility
bonds from the debt limit"
Legislation is also advocated to pave
the way to operating the lines and to
remove the dangers of political inter.
ference, the handicaps Of civil service
regulation and the possibility that mu-
nicipal transit employees would do
harm by combining for political and
personal ends. No specific laws are
suggested. but it is specified that "the
principals of organization, collective
bargaining, impartial Investigation Of
complaints and full publicity should be
woven into the plan"
Labor Leaders Register Protest
Two labor leaders who signed the
pamphlet, j. M. Budish and Abraham
Lefkowitz, registered their objections
to any statement in it calling for
the reduction of wages Of transit en-
ployees, or the lega! prohibition of
strikes.
The pamphlet includes & resume of
the causes declared to be working
against the success Of private owner
ship of transportation utilities. These
are given as the fixed 5-cent fare, in
creased length of ride, high wages
high cost OF materials, high cost Of
power, competition of motor vehicles,
expansion of investment in transit
facilities, taxes, paving requirements
and other franchise obligations; stand
ard OF service required, competition
among transit INES, diversity OF own
ership and operation, danger of
strikes and interrupted service, in
creasing traffic congestion, limited in
crease in revenues from increases In
rates, difficulties in the way Of sub
sidizlng private companies and the
popular prejudice against concessions
to public service corporations.
Would Work Either Way
ut will be found that many Of the
difficulties already enumerated as
standing in the way of successful pri-
vate ownership and operation will also
initiate against the success of public
ownership and operation,' the pam
phlet reads. Summing up. it says:
The legal and financial obstacles
that have been placed in the way of
the adoption of municipal ownership
and operation of public utilities ir
New York are great, but not insuper-
able. Most of them could be over
come with comparative ease If once
those who formulate and administer
legislation were heartily united In an
effort to promote the adoption Of mu.
nicipal ownership as a definite and
comprehensive policy.
"The present transit crisis is grave
menace to the city's future. We pro
pose the formulation and persistent
advocacy of a transit program hav-
ing. for its end the complete munici-