New-York tribune., 1919-01-17
15-Cent SUBWAY
Fare Possihle
Says Shontss )
Likely to Come if Road !,
Taken Over and Run b.
City, l. r. t. Head Insists
Seven Gents Enough Now
Somebody Will Be Hanged
i'll This Town if Receives.
ship Is Forced" He Ayers

~S [NtcFS
New Workers may have to ma.
lo-cent fare for subway ride if n.
city administration forces the v,,as
borough Rapid Transit COMPANY ;,s.
bankruptcy and then takes control !.
its lines.
Theodore P. Shonts president of ~.
lnterborough, pronounced this war;r,
yesterday at a transit conferences i
the rooms of the New York Board !,
Trade, attended by Representatives a
about twenty chambers OF comme,,,
and similar organizations.
Predicting the effect OF mun;c;n.,
ownership on the rapid transit lines
Mr.. Shonts said:
Suppose that instead of fighting =.
we do, to keep expenses down to
point where we make personal enemies
out of personal friends, the part;e,
controlling the lines award contrac..
Tor political gains. l want to pred;o,
that If that time should ever come il
place of an Scent fare we will /.
lucky if we get out with a 15.co,,
fare
Road Busted" He Saws
Mr.. Shorts admitted that the citv
officials might be able to force q ~
ceivership.
The railroad is busted" he said
and it is only by the goodness ~
God and the grace OF our creditor,
that we live"
Mr. Craig, who seems to he Il.
spokesman of the Board of Estimate y
Mr.. shonts said, thinks they can ,st
some undue advantage on the Inte,
borough o. on the railway if they ran
dorce feceivership. But thev can,t
mat is impossible. They can't Sun.
pose-although We viii give evervhody
run for their moneySwe are no ss
gutter, but they-it is possible tb.,
they can force a receivershin IN tbe
PETERBOROUGH. But if the Interborougb
Isl forced into receivership il will bs
a calamity. And after the ca,sr;,S
has occurred, if the two great svstsms
OF Transportation in the citv Of New
lork-one of them has gone over the
dock-are forced over the dock. and
that extends through this state gen-ls.
men, do you realize there are 1
pllilon 32O million of securities renre.
sentlng the electric roads of tho stata
OF New York that are in jeopardy?
How 1t Will Work
"If receivership is forced who,
will it be? 1t will be a bondholdsrs,
receivership, won't it? And have
explained to you that there would he
over 200 millions of those bonds out
standing, maybe 220, at 6 per cent
That is. from twelve to thirteen mill.
IONS of dollars that the bondholders
VIII have to play with. And all they
have got to do next is to pay the
per cent on the guaranteed stock. 81.
100000, if the system is kept intact. as
it is to-day
"But then, what is the next step, as
Mr.. Craig says, of the Board of Esti-
mate? If we do bust them up and we
ta-ie them over to operate we will raise
fares. We will do the ver-- thing that
We say we won't let them do, because
we are going to bust them, hoping we
can get some advantage But if we
do bust them and if we do ret control
of the situation we will turn around
and raise the fares. so the public will
pay the same
Somebody Will Be. Hanged"
Now if that should happen, gentle
men, the public will not pay the same.
would IKE to swear that they won't.
lhey Will pay SO much more han the
same that somebody will be hanged in
TINS town when the people understand
It,, Look w1as happened TO the steam
railroads.
"Now what would happen in these
times If the Interboro should be forced
INTO recelvership? We had ferry to
Staten Island which used to make
money-2ha cents eare. The city took
1t over. You know the result-S70000Q
or So0O,000 year deficit That is a lit
tie one.
"Now, about this eight-cent business.
Seven cents will pay everything, as we
ESTIMATED. Seven cents will pay our
preferentials promptly, and we sug-
gested the eight cents because we
understood by hearsay that what the
wy WoHteu was return on It's lnFesG
ment. If they will stop at seven cents
we will be made whole and our credit
Will be reestablished The eight cents,
according to our best estimates. would
do this: The city's interest and sink
ing fund amounts to 1-3 per cent
year The city has with US 100000.
600. or will have when finished, snd
with the B. r. T. S150,000 06O, total d
S250.000,000 invested. For interest
sl3,5oO,ooo year is required
All Gone, Says Craig
"Nr. Craig says that $3.50 100000 j.
gone. | don't think he mems that J
don't think he realizes what ihs'
means, because these bonds are soldso
the public, just the same as our bonds
Now, the eight-cent fare we suppose,
OF course, they wanted to make thei!
investment safe-fguring on the Inter
borough alone. at the end of the sec
ond year would leave $500, 900 surplus
IN the treasury. In other words, count
ing now both systems, the $3.50, ,00o-o@
INV stment of the city. in place OF beias
buried so deep that the Controller says
1t is lost, would be self sustaining
R0x,. I'd Iv.c