New-York tribune., 1921-10-23
Bares Records of Secret
Conference With Shonts
and Boston Traction
Man to Aid sSInterests''
''Mayor Tried to
Fool Straphangers''
Cites Testimony to Show
Hylan Said the People
Would Stand for Raise

Henry II. Curran, Republican-coa
tion candidate for Mayor, added an
other count to his Indictment of Mayor
Hylan, to which the Mayor has so far
failed to plead, in his speeches last
night in Brooklyn and Coney Island.
This is count No. 8, and it charged that
Mayor Hylan secretly conferred with
representatives of the traction inter
ests and was planning to impose a
seven-cent fare on the public of New
York.
Mr.. Curran read from the records
the testimony sworn to by Mayor
Hylan himself and the late Theodore
P. Shonts, former president of the In
terborough Rapid Transit Company, be-
fore the Public Service Commission, to
support his charge.
"One of Mr.. Hylan's principal
troubles is his talk" said the coalition
candidate. 81 have shown you that
while he talked the public walked l
will show you now that while he talked
about a five-cent fare he was working
, for seven-cent fare. He did every
thing he could to boost the fare up to
seven cents and I challenge him to
deny it. You and | are for five-cent
fare and so is everybody in New York.
You and are going to fight for five
cent fare and we are going to keep it,
/ We are not going to be fooled by a
man who talks five cents and acts seven
cents"
Gave Shonts Testimony
Mr.. Curran then took up the sworn
testimony Of the conference in the
Ma or's Office at the City Hall in Au-
gust. 1918, among the Mayor, Mr.
Macrariand, CT boston, WHO repre-
scntcd the Hearst interests in New
England, and Mr.. Shonts. In the
course of that testimony Mr.. Shonts
swore that the Mayor made some COM
plimentary remarks about myself" and
assured him that if the plan suggested
went through it would not mean that
he [ Shonts) would lose his Job. Mr..
Curran's speech follows:
at has taken only one week to DEM
onstrate the kind of a campaign Mr..
Hylan is making to back up his demand
that you allow him to enjoy four years
more as Mayor of New York. / have
shown you eight different promises
that he made to us four years ago, and
have proved that he broke every one
of them Eight times he gave you his
word and eight times he broke his
word. He has deceived the school chill
dren, fooled the taxpayer and hood
wlnked the rent payer. Now I am
going to show you how he has tried to
fool the straphanger.
Remember that Mr. Hylan is not a
straphangel He travels about in his
limousine talking about the five-cent
! fare while you and | struggle for a
strap.
lone of Mr.. Hylan's principal
troubles is his talk. have shown you
that while he talked the public walked
| will show you now that while he
j talked about the tive-cent fare he was
working for a seven-cent fare. He did
everything he could to boost the fare
/ up to cents and | challenge him to
, deny it. You and | are for tive-cent
fare and so is everybody in New York.
! You and l are going to fight for five
cent fare and we are going to keep it..
We are not going to be fooled by a
man who talks cents and acts cents.
Tells of Fare Campaign
"Here is the story of the deal that
Mayor Hylan tried to work out with
MIR. Shonts. president of the Inter
borough Rapid Transit Company, to
saddle a seven-cent fare on the strap
hangers of New York | am going to
stick to the record in what say about
this. just as I have stuck to the record
in everything else.
"In 1918. the Interborough had be-
gun its campaign for an increased fare.
With characteristic sefshness, it was
casting about for some way to get more
money, regardless of the fact that it
had made contracts with the city as
suring us of the inviolability of the
ive-cent fare. Suddenly Mayor Hylan
appeared on the scene as the savior of
the traction interests. He and Mr..
Shonts began to confer together with
their lawyers and with Mr.. Granville
MacFarland, of Boston. According to
MIR. Shonts's testimony Mr.. Eylan held
out the promise Of the seven-cent fare
if the companies would consent to a
sort of trustee management. the trus-
CONTINUED on noat pase)
F,n,ner0r Charles Ohevs