New-York tribune., 1922-10-22

which the buses are still rtianing.
That stay, however. is temporary III
character. Part Of the argument Pre-
sented TO the court was that if it were
granted the Commission would proceed
at ence to ascertain the facts gpon
which Its c0r1iarates Of cussys.n e1ce
and necessity might be grated tn the
bus owners, In case the Board of Esii-
mate does It's part IN granting the pre-
iiminary franchises. The Commission
naturally does not prorose ]. q grant It's
certificates without complete inforraa-
tion of the present J.tuation That ine
formation If is proceeding to get. Some
Of the developments of yesterday were
ss surprising to 1t as hey could have
been to the Mayor, but because tho
Mayor ia discounted by the disclosures
made the Commission cannot halt its
inquiry.
Corrccss Mayors Statements
"The Mayor makes several state
ments, thoroughly mendacious, that I
am bound to correct in passing. lie
says the commission has made no at-
tempt to investigate the overcrowdcd
condition or long heudway of the pri-'
vately operated subway trains. The
commission has conducted inquiries
into subway and other rapid transit
operation, covering months OF time, in
the course of which the companies
were subjected to the most searching
investigation Of thtir affairs they have
ever known. Not only subordinates, bat
the Interhorough directors themselves,
were brought before the commissions
bar. As a result of them train service,
both upon the InterborouGh and the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit. was increased
to the utmost degree that their present
rush-hour track capacity, car equip
ment and financial condition will stand.
'As result of successive orders, the
Interborough service since May / has
been increased from 2,7T3 to 3,133
trains day, q gain of $50, or more
than 10 per cent. The company's re-
ports for July show an addition of
44,182,736 car seat miles over the July
preceding, or more than million and
g half cnr seat miles day. The in
creases in the Brooklyn Rapid Transit
service have been of corresponding i'm
portance. III order further to increase
service, the companies have been re-
quired to order between them more
than 400 new steel cars.
''The Mayor also says that neither
the commission nor its counsel made
any attempt to investigate or TO cor |
rect the financial ''manipulations of the
traction ring"-this in the face of the
fact that within a month Q reorganize-
ton Of the 1nterborough and Manhao-
tan properties along lines upon which
the commission insisted has put out Of
business the Interborough's ancient
holding company, with its $114,000,0o0
of much manipulated securities, dis
solved the twenty-year-old lease of the
elevated lines to the Inter
borough, under which s4,200,o0o has
been paid annually upon Manhattan
stock, whether earned or not; cut the
Manhattan dividend from a fixed per
cent to n maximum of 3 in the first
year, and that only If earned; reduced
any future Interborough dividends
from the 20 per cent sort paid four
years ago TO maximum of Z, cut out
all Interborough dividends Of any de-
scription for five years ahead, and re-
train service and new equipment that
in the old days would have gone into
private pockets.
"Whatever the traction ring may
mean to the Mayor, think that il may
safely be said that these exactions and
other concessions, forced for the bene-
fit Of the fare paying public, can very
greatly please such a ring or any one
connected with it.
.'sThe Mayor does not omit his daily
statement that, under the commissions
plan for the unifcation of the transit
subway, elevated and surface
under the fve-cent fare, several hun
dred millions OF city funds would be
paid the operating companies for Junk.
1t has been explained frequently and
patiently to the Mayor that the COM
MISSIONS plan does not propose the
spending Of a dollar Of city funds for
any such purpose, and he is, of course,
perfectly well aware that that Is true.
~ shall certainly continue where
necessary to correct the. Mayor. Very
clearly the latest turn given the situa-
tion Is getting further under his skin,
and am prepared for more notes Of
pain
Major La Guardia In his statement
says that every member Of the Board
of Estimate save the Comptroller voted
for the 100000 Concourse appropria-
tion, and that Henry Fl. Curran, Re-
publican, President Of the Borough OF
Manhattan, voted for it, on the grounds
Of public necessity.
At the hearing on Friday It was