New-York tribune., 1922-10-17
Rakes
Record
LIN Transit Fight
Takes Aggressive to Show
How Ex-Governor Aided
Sc Fares and Gave Com
fort to Special Interests
Nixon Interlude Recalled
Smith Got Upstate Fares
Raised and Winked at
Phone Lobby, He Says
From a stot, CORRESPONDENT.

BIINGHAMTON, N. Y, Oct. 16.-In
opening the second week Of his CAM
paign tour here tonight Governor
Miller took the aggressive. After max
ing detailed comparison Of the way
corporate special interests have been
treated under his administration and
under the Smith regime, the Governor
asserted that while the corporations
have received very short shrift during
the last two years the record proves
| that when Mr.. Smith was Governor
they were granted favors and increases
in rates all along the line.
| aHtIn his first utterance Mr.. Smith
raised the issue oil special interests,
which, he says, control the Republican
party, and which later he has specific
ally asserted dominate me-" said the
Governor.
II wish briefly to state the record
on this question, not for the purpose Of
charging my adversary with being con-
trolled by these special interests, but
for the purpose of seeing how they
Jared under him and under me.
He says first of all that the New
York traction interests came to him
asking for increased fare, and that he
referred them to the local tribunal of
the City of New York. Either he has
a. poor memory or he thinks the pub
nc mas 9 poor, memory. prefer to
cause am not going to charge him
with deliberate Misrepresentation. as
he is nightly charging me.
Interests Went to Smith
THE fact is that the traction inter-
sests did go to him. The fact ia that
ne sent q message to the Legislature
IN which he stated that the transit
situation IN New York had become in
tsolerable, and in which he said that
ii the Legislature would leave IL 10
him he would settle 1t. What d;d ha
propose? That it be referred back to
the citv administration No.
That it be referred to tr;h,,.Y
upon which the city administration was
to De represented? No. That il be
referred to tribunal to be appointed
by the city administration 81. He
asked that the Legislature emnower
him to create two state agencies where
there had before been but one. one nf
tneM 70 zeal with transit construction
the laying out of new routes, and the
other to possess the regulatory powers
including the power to regulate rates.
He appointed Mr.. Nixon to the lat
ter position" continued the Govern mr..
so far as the public knows. Mr
Nixon's sole activity during his incum-
hency of Office was centered in an al
tempt to increase the fares to eirht
cents. He said in report to fhe
Legislature that was the only solution
Of the problem. He said It repeatedly
In the daily dialogues that he had with
the Mayor Of the City of New York.
Meanwhile, the transit situation con-
tinued to drift from the intolerabIe
condition described by Governor Smith
to the still more intolerable condition
which existed upon January /, 1921.
The tracticn interests knocked at
the door of that commission at the out
set, demanding an eight-cent fare, and
said they could not give the people
service without an eight-cent fare.
"They were plainly told that the
commission had been set to the task Of
bringing about a permanent solution
of an intolerable condition, and that
any question Of fares would have to be
suspended unfit that solution had been
worked out. They were told that the
(Cantjnusd an raxt nsnsa