The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-12-16
CITY HELPLESS
TO DEAL With
TRACTION MESS
Chicago's Hands Tied,
Says Merriam

Not until the City of Chicago re-
gains home rule" in traction affairs,
that was wrested from it by the state
utilities commission, can solution Of
the city's; transportation muddle be
attained, is the opinion of Prof.
Charles e. Merriam, head Of the politi-
cal science department of the Univer-
slty Of Chicago and former city al
derman. Merriam has made a study
Of Chicago TRACTION problems for many
years and is Icbnsidered an authority
on the subject.t
Helpless Before Interests.
The city is helpless to bring about
unif1cation and coordination of the
transportation services when it is op-
posed by the transportation corpora.
tons and the state utilities commits
sion, he told a, representative Of The
DAILY WORKER, and it is senseless
to consider any plans until the city
irst has the power of carrying out
program.
Lacks Two Powers.
Two powers are necessary, he said
for the city, the power to issue stock
certificates SO that the city can pur-
chase the present transportation ia
cilities and finance the purchase, and
the power of establishing and enforc-
ing standards of rates and service
AT present the city is denied either
of these powers, he pointed out.
Favors Municipal Ownership.
Merriam favors municipal control Of
the traction systems. This is the
only way in which unifcation can be
accomplished, he said, it being i'm
possible to force the present con-
trolling corporations to come to any
agreement that would be favorable to
the city's interests.
Four Interests.
There are four interests" to be
reckoned with in the situation, he
pointed out. the Blair interests, who
control the north and northwest sur
face lines: the Busby interests, who
control the south surfaces lines, OPP
Grating together by joint agreement;
the Samuel insult interests. who con-
troll the elevated lines, and the Hertz
interests. who control the bus system.
Would Cost 500, 100000.
For the city to take over the trans
portation facilities would entail cost
estimated at about 100000, 900, when
all necessary improvements and ex-
tensions were made, Merriam said.
At present the city possesses $45,OOO,-
900 in it's transportation fund, CLEANED
from franchise taxes and other trans
portation revenue. This means the
city would have to issue stock certif-
Gates for the balance, but the state
has ruled that if the certificates are
issued they must be considered a part
of the municipal debt, and not a sepa.
rate item. This provokes an impos.
sible situation, Merriam pointed out.
The public viii demand public own
ership sooner or later, he declared. He
predicted that if the proposed fran
chise for the surface lines is referred
to the people it would be oyerwhelm-
ingly voted down.
Some Questions.
Some questions raised on the issue,
he said, include: Should a franchise
be given the companies, and if so, for
how long? Should We have municipal
ownership, and how will it be at
tanned? What form should it be, pub
lie ownership and public management,
or public ownership and private man
agement?
Merriam believes that transporta-
ton is so closely allied to Chicago's
growth and development, ana that
rates and service affect the people
so directly, that there is no doubt
that public ownership will be decided
upon.
But the stumbling block to this is
the lack of power by the city to take
over the transportation system, he
pointed out.