New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-15
Recommendations TO Save
City Systems Will BE
Filed Either Saturday
or Early Next Week
Abolition of Extra
Fares One Object
Believed Plans Will Favor
Elimination of All but
subways in 20 Years

'"PoS"'s icI inc complete feOr-
ganization of the subway. elevated and
surface systems, together with a CON
structlve program for their rchabilita
tlor and development on scale com
mensurate with the city's expected
growth N the next twenty years, are to
be announced by the new Transit Com
mission either next Saturday afternoon
or early next week. 1t will be the first
public move taken by the commission
since it was appointed by Governor
Miller last spring to rescue the city's
transportation lines from bankruptcv
and receiverships.
unihcation of lines now under re-
ceivership which are broken up so that
pas engers have to pay two and three
fares for travel between certain points
the casting off of excessive burdens
carried by some of the systems-as
for instance, the Interborough's obliga
tion to pay the Manhattan Company
(elevatedl per cent on 100000 600
worth of stock-and gradual extern
sion of the one-fare system throughou
the greater city, it was learned by The
Tribune yesterday, are some Of the
cardinal principles to be laid down bv
the commission. '-rt..'
Worked Five Months on Report
George McAneny, Leroy T. Harkness
and Major General John F. Organ, the
members of the commission. have been
at work OH a program for the last five
months. None Of them yesterday would
discuss their report, although it was
learned definitely that the report is
about completed
In the opinion of traction experts
the commissions preliminary survey.
with it's suggestions for relieving the
congestion due to insufficient lines
and to the Virtual suspension since
l9l4 on all new work except that pre-
yiously contracted For, will be the most
important move ever taken toward civ
ing the city adequate traction facilities.
1t is understood that recent threat
OF creditors to throw the Interborough
into a receivership along with the
b. K. I. and the New York City Rail
ways Company has had some influence
IN Fastening the commissions an
ncuncement of its program. The ad-
vent of another receivership, with it's
entanglements and Federal court iuris-
diction, it was held, would tend to
make the unscrambling of the already
complicated traction situation more
difficult AS it is, the commission be-
ileves that the present receiverships
must be removed before any smooth
working unified system can be put in
operation throughout the city.
Chief Features of Report
The chief features to be discussed
in the commissions Forthcoming re-
port will be:
A survey of the financial status of all
the lines, with facts relating to their
physical valuation and their deprecia-
tion owing to lack of maintenance
funds during recent years; and q
statement of the companies dividend
and bonus paying transactions in past
years with a view of establishing
whether the companies have appor-
toned sufficient of their profits to
maintenance.
An analysis Of what are known as
the city and the subway lines in
March, 1913, for forty-nine years.
which establishes the five-cent fare
SO far as the subways are concerned.
Under the law the commission has
extraordinary power to modify or even
annul contracts between the city and
the companies, whether the city agrees
to such change or not. This, is one
of the points on which the Corporation
Counsel, on. behalf of the city, based
the contention that the present srac-
ton law is unconstitutional.
The laying down of the principle
q n man inc rot MI
cial obligations not essentials of their
own system. This will have some bear
ing on the Interborough' lease of the
Manhattan Company's elevated lines.
The lnterborough has a 999 year lease
on the Manhatan entered into on Jan
uary l, 1908, for which it pays 7 per
cent on S60,000000 worth of stock. The
assets of the Manhattan are said to be
chiefly in the company's dividend earn
ings from the Interborough, which
(ContInucd on page thrse)