The New York herald., 1922-10-18
Commissioner Issues Long
Statement Which Meets
Mayors RetOrt.
SEEKING WAY FOR ACTION
Administration, 1t Is Said, Is
Basing Deductions on False
Promises.

George McAneny, chairman OF the
Transit Commission, made public yes
terday a statement in which he re-
iterated the position maintained by
him in Mondays acriminous debate
before the Board of Estimate on the
subject OF new subway construction
He declared that the position taken
by Mayor Hylan and his board as
sociates means veto upon even a
start in new subway building for at
least four years"
Chairman McAneny added that "the
idea Of holding up work of this mag
nitude until political questions OF four
years hence have been decided would
be an outrageous imposition upon the
people of the city"
Mayor Hylan also countered with a
supplementary statement. He char
acterized Mr.. McAneny's declarations
as untrue unless. through the re-
election of Gov. Miller, Mr.. McAneny
may remain as chairman Of the Tran
sit Commission and refuses to permit
the engineers Of that body. who are
paid with city funds, to prepare the
necessary detailed plans for the adj
vertising Of construction contracts"
for the carrying out Of the projects
embodied in what is known as the
Hylap plan. The Mayor contends that
all the Transit Commission has to do
is to fall into line with the Board of
Estimate scheme and I'VE should be-
gin digging new subway routes within
six months from the time the Board
OF Estimate adopts my report and
pledges the money for construction"
statement by McAneny.
Mr.. McAneny said:
"The account OF yesterdays occur
renee in the Board of. Estimate might
we'll give the impression that the Tran
s;- Commission is maintaining one end
of a controversy and the board the
other and that the basis of their diff
ferences is in some way partisan. That
is not the fact.
From the date of its appointment the
commission has made every effort to
get the Board of Estimate to work with
it in those matters In which the joint
action of the two bodies Is necessary,
but it has been rebuffed and blocked at
every stage. with the result that the
building of new subway lines. as well as
the completion of the lines the commits
sion fund under way and unfinished,
has been seriously delayed.
Ihe Mayors plan for a new group
ing of lines under municipal operation
is built around his idea of recapturing
the city owned sections of the dual
subway No decision could be made
about the recapturable parts OF the In
terborough system until 1925. nor about
the r. r. T. lines until 1926, in each
case upon years notice to the operat-
ing company. That means .hat no de-
cision can be made in either case until
the present city administration has gone
out of Office and another takes its
place.
THE one thing certain is that the
building of new lines that will link
up with the existing city wide system
should be authorized and authorized at
once The city would retain complete
control of the question as to where
they should go and who should operate
them when they are finished. The
only immediate thing OF Importance is
to see that they do connect with re-
capturable lines of some sort.
The Transit Commission has been
pressing a five year pan or construction.
and in that plan the Brooklyn crcsstown
line is the principal link. Not day
should be lost In proceeding with the
preliminaries necessary before contracts
for the building OF that line can be
let. The other r. r. T. lines with which
ii would connect, as the commission
has laid II out. are all recapturable. and
under the terms OF contract No. (sec-
ton SD any additions or extensions
that may now be built would go with
them.
THE idea OF holding a work OF this
magnitude. or OF any of the other major
lines within the commissions plan, as,
for instance. those serving Washington
Heights, until political questions OF four
years hence have been decided would
be an outrageous imposition upon the
people Of the city"
Statement Made by Mayor.
Mayor Hyian's statement, in part. fol-
lows:
chairman McAneny tired TO create
the impression at the Board OF Esti-
mate hearing yesterday that the con-
struction or the subway routes proposed
in my plan could not be begun until
after the city recaptured the city owned
subways operated by the Interborough
and Il. r. T. This statement Is untrue
unless, through the reelection OF Gov.
Miller, Mr. McAneny may remain as
chairman of the state Transit Commis-
sion and refuses TO permit the engineers