The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-03
.LIT|CAT TION HINTE
 BY TAXI LANYER
CIoe And City Attorneys Are Given List Of Drivers To
 Cut Before Action

Plainly the jitney question is get ting on the nerves of the city com missioners. Tuesday morning repre- sentatives of former jitney men who aver their clients want to ooperate a taxicab service, came before the board to learn what had become of their application for permission to do business, submitted a week ago, when further consideration was promised.
 An impression grew during the dis cussion that followed that the com mission had hoped that further con- sideration" would be literally trans lated into nothing doing."
 Ralph Quinn and w. F. Spencer. attorneys for the jitney men towards the close of the settlement ordinance fight, the later developments, and now for the jitney men as a taXicab organization, told the commissioners that the 40 former jitney men want ed to operate a taXicab company, had organized one and intended to live up to the law and aid the city in enforcing the law against jitneys.
 A covert threat of impending lit- igation was indicated when MT. Spen- cer asked the commission for polnt DIanK yes or no lO lue4r dpp4L- cation for a license.
 Commissioner Cloe caught the point and was evidently nettled. He said he had seen the list of the men who were enrolled in the company and to some of them no licenses would be issued, that the men of the group had fought against the city in the Jttney matter and now. despite a four to enc vote of the people, were still trying to insist on operating forbidden business Mir. Cloe said that though the proposed taxi operators were to live within the law there was noth- ing to prevent their receiving calls at regular intervals to designated points and so, while within the law, flatly flout it by continuing to op- crate what would be in the last an alysis a fragrant though Hneheck- able, violation of the provision of the ordinance, which designates a jit- ney as a vehicle that maintains a schedule ever designated route.
 "We have no subterfuge," Mir Quinn said the company is going to cooperate with the city in enforc- ing the law"
 We will welcome you if you do that MT. Cloe said, but right now some of the old jitney men are con tinuing to run, to carry passengers and collect fares, but we find 1t diff ficult tG catch them."
 Commissioner Harrison said he dis liked the thought of granting the privilege to do business to the new company, when the Whitman and Jenkins organizations have invested thousands of dollars in regulation taXicabs, and then to see men with jitney equipment and less investment cut in with pYfce campaign at jitney rates, as such action would be unfair to the regular companies.
 Commissioner Dickson said he would not mind if the companies let the public ride free, that the matter of charges. as long as they stayed under the maximum limit provided by law was no concern of anyone save those operating the business. ' Frankly, I'm in favor of giving them a trial" President McLendon
 "The people voted out the jitneys, {" Commissioner Harrison interjected. If l can get it in my mind that these people want to and will do a legal business, charge regular fares like taXis, I would be more favorable to them, but I do not want to see jitneys operating under taxicab li- censes, and that would not be In con formity with the ordinance or the election"
 But how can we fix the charges that way?" asked MT. Quinn. "If these men of the several taxicab companies met and fixed the price among them selves the law would hold them to be an unlawful combination.p
 The commission handed the sub ject to MT. Cloe, as it is in his de- partment, and the commissioner and attorneys will endeavor to prune the list of objectiC nables. The matter will come up again at the next meet ing.