The sun., 1919-10-16
INJUNCTION HALTS
FARE INCREASES
Traction Situation to Be Taken
Up in Series of Nixon
Conferences.
COMMISSION POwERLEss
Operators and Owners Of Va
rious Systems to Seek Way
Out of Difficulties.


in making permanent the injunction
against the Public Service Commission
and the receivers of the Manhattan and
Queens Traction Company forbidding
them to take any action to increase
fares on these lines has had the effect
of throwing the whole traction situation
u,) to the series of conferences which
Public Service Commissioner Nixon will
oIen Monday with the representatives
of all the lines and groups Of lines in
the city.
The application of the company has
been closed before the commission in
obedience to the court order and no
further similar proceedings will be in
augurated Judge Finch made the in
junction permanent on the "unequivo-
cable" determination of the Court OF
Appeals that the commission has not
the power in such cases. An appeal Is
not expected to be fruitful.
There remained but one loophole in
Judge Finchs decision through which
the proceedings may be continued
toward increased fares, and it is through
this loophole that Commissioner Nixon
will start work on Monday. Yesterday
he adjourned without date his formal
conference on the condition of the trac-
ton systems in general and announced
the series of informal conferences for
next week.
The course left open by Judge Finchs
decision was his admission that the
Board of Estimate, upon being convinced
that an increased fare was needed, itseil
might raise the fares. Despite the de-
termination of the present Administra-
ton to stick to the cent fare Commits
sioner Nixon is not unhopeful of results.
Commissioner Nixon has more than
limited that the traction people now real
ize this and that the conferences be-
ginning Monday may be expected 10
develop not only reasons for an IN
creased fare, which cannot be galnsald,
but also concessions in other respects
by the companies which may permit the
Board of Estimate to come to an agree
ment with them, at the same time
saving the face of Mayor Hylan.
Not only will the operators and man
ayers of the various systems be called
to the round table. but the owners OF
and investors in the securities of the
various underlying and leased lines will
be compelled TO come in and tell OF
the advantages and disadvantages ac-
cruing to them under the present state
of affairs. The New York Railways
as the system apparently facing the
most imminent disaster. will be the first
| to come before the conference.
Meanwhile, the unscrambling of the
surface lines is to continue. Henry L.
Stimson, counsel to Receiver Hedges, adj
mitted yesterday that he is preparing to
ask Judge Mayer for the severance OF
the Fourth and Madison avenue line
from the New York Railways system, eff
fecting the discontinuance of all cross
town transfers with this most impor-
| tant of the north and south trunk lines
on the East Side.
| The Fourth and Madison avenue line
! is owned by the New York and Harlem,
a New York Central subsidiary, and &C
| corling to Mr.. Stimson, no rent has been
paid TO 1t since Mr.. Hedges became re-
ceiver, despite the fact that the annual
payment of 100000 was then in ar
rears.
The Madison avenue line. according
/ to Mr.. Stimson, had to bear a heavy
burden of free transfers from the cross
| town lines at Twenty-third street and
Thirty-fourth street and lesser burden
| from the Fourteenth street line. These
| crosstown lines. Mr.. Stimson says, are
| the only surface lines in the city now
| paying their own way. A heavy bur-
| den, he says, has also been imposed
upon the Fourth and Madison avenue
| line by its forced extension into Brook
| Ign over the Williamsburg Bridge.
| No steps have been taken, so far as
could be learned yesterday, looking to
! the forfeiture of the franchises and
rights of those crosstown companies,
which have abandoned service within
The last month or six weeks. The initia-
tive In these cases, according to officials
at the Public Service Commission, lies
with the city where the franchises are
municipal and with the Attorney-Gen-
eral where the charters were granted
by the Legislature many years ago to
| the horse car lines.