The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-19
FIGHT ISFORECAST
 OVER UTNEY LAW
 AT POLLS AUG. 28

]
 mission and temporarily enjoincd by
 the titney owners,
 Tt means further the unrestricted operation of the jitneys, with no pos sible chance to amend, alter, change,
 add to or take from the law they themselves drew for themselves to operate under except by a vote of the people and any rate of fare can be charged.
 Fruits Of Agreement.
 Il the jitney owners ordinance is defeated at the election, it means Gas soon as the jitney injunction case court in November), a better regu- lated street railway system; better. | faster and regular schedules; more cars in operation, operation of two men cars instead of one man ears, cars with separate entrances for white and colored, enforcement of the Jim Crow law, paving of many avenues and streets which are sorely in need of paving, a contract for street lighting, reduction in cost of street lights placement of street lights wherever needed, and a reduc- tion in stret car fares saving to the people around $2,000 daily, and, to an absolute certainty, the maintain ing of property values throughout the city and particularly in the out lying suburban residential sections"
 In concluding paragraphs the state ment condemns the jitney as the pirate of municipal transportation-- destructive in it's nature and opera tions'
 "DestructioR of a substantial per manent. certain mode of transporta- tion by way of the street railway is inevitable if the jitney owners are allowed to operate under laws drawn by and for them selves.
 We call upon you-to protect Bir- mingham in this election.
 George Lewis Bailes, chairman; O, H. Horton, secretary; John w. Altman, A. W. Bell, J. H. Berry, J. L. BusbX, F. B. Butler, Herbert Cibb, R. C. Gladden., Frank M. Dixon, J. T. Doster, D. Lee Edmundson, Dr. E. T. Fields, Al Fleming, Harry K. Gray, J, c. de Holt, Clyde Holroyd, Reid Lawson, W. B. Leedy, IT,, E. J. Lothe, Robert R. Moore, Ralph A. Root, pr. s. E. Seay, Cabe~H. Smith. Flank w. Smith and George w. Yancey.
 Jitney Ownes' Statement.
 In the iitney ownes' statement, issued through c. C. Johnson, busi- ness agent, purpose of the election is given as submission of a jitney regu- IHLlOn OGQludnGe TOT the one WHICH the owners seek to have repealed. The settlement ordinance Is styled an or dinance not regulating the jitneys but obliterating jltney service in competition with the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company"
 Enforcement of this ordinance, S41-C, has been duly prohibited by injunction granted by a justice of tke supreme court of the state, await ing the action of the entire court in November" the Johnson statement says.
 Tn tho meantime the voters of Bir- mingham will be given opportunity by the election of August 2S to say which ordnance they prefer"
 Features of the ordinance adopted by the city are then denounceI, eS, pecially that regarding restriction of titney operation, prohibiting them from running on a highway within TWO blocks of a Birmingham Railway Tight and Power company track or upon highway on which the com pAny has a track for distance more than five blocks through the entire round trip.
 "Ehe contracting parties in this transaction certainly did not treat the public interests as the main con- sideration," the statement claims. Tt is admitted by the city commits sion that the jitneys do 20 per cent of the transportation business orig mating and ending in the city of Birmingham. Think of that for moment. Does it not mean that 20 per cent of the people of Birming- ham prefer jitney service to that ex- tent? How and why did this service arise? The public demanded it and got it."
 CritlcizeS Separation Method.
 n fs1 ba settlement ordinance relates to the separation of the races in the cars There is no real separation in the scheme. In some cars there is a separate entrance for whites in one part and negroes in another part thereof and a thin removable board indicating such separation. It is a purely make-shift affair. Under ex- isting laws adopted by this commits sion, there have. been 12 jitney cars running owned and operated ex- clusively by negroes for transpor- tation exclusively of negroes This is real separation and the jitneys are the only way to get it."
 Street light service agreed to should have been given long ago. the statement says. Plans for paw ing and parking streets are also dis cussed, being criticized as short sighted d
 Tn conclusion. 1t should be stated that there are other prohibitory reg ulattons in the settlement ordinance, namely:
 Each jitney owner shall execute bond securing fund of s10.O00 for each five-seated car and extra for additional seats. Furthermore. each iitney car shall pay license tax of S100 a year for each five seated jitney car and $2O for each extra seat These additional obliga- tions are merely for the purpose of trsuring death of the jitneys and not their regulation.
 "Citizens of Birmingham, men and women, are you prepared to go to tho polls on Tuesday, August 2S. and vote mo- thereby killing the proposed popular ordinance and thereby making the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company the sole master of the transportation situation? If not, vote yes.'"
 Plans for the election are pro- gtessing steadily according to L, E. Gray sec; ,tary. Of the election commission.
 tnONnIInI nNInTn nHEE-