The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-30
MORGAN BUS DEAL
TANNED THROUGH
WITHOUT PROTEST
Scheme Will Cost Bus
Rider 500 More

Olvany, Grover Whalen and Mayor
Walker have succeeded in stilling all
opposition to their bus scheme The
Board of Estimate has granted a
nice juicy charter to The Equitable
Coach Company for operation of
crosstown buses in Manhattan and
Brooklyn. At the same time the
Bronx franchise went to the Surface
| Transportation Company.
Spokesman for the mayor hail this
as a great victory and the stage is
all set for Walkers triumphant tour
abroad during which the nifty mayor
will call on the king of England.
Significant in the maneuvering
which preceding the final vote was
the switch made by Borough Presi-
dent James ]. Byrne. Right along,
ever since Tammany Hall has been
engineering this deal, Byrne opposed
the granting of the Brooklyn fran
chise to the Equitable clique. As
/ Byrne is a Brooklyn man, and for
many other reasons, he favored the
| granting of the franchise to the
Coney Island and Gravesend Bus
Corporation, a subsidiary of the B.
NJ. T., and the Brooklyn City Rail-
road Company. Byrne's opposition
to the Brooklyn deal has blockaded
the passage of the bill for some time
past.
! Another one of those eleventh hour
Walker deals was put over to jam
the deal through. 1t is said that
Olvanysgot Byrne on the telephone
few hours before the hearing and
warned him that unless Byrne voted
for the Equitable franchise that he
would order Walker into Brooklyn to
campaign against Cooey, the Brook
Ign political chief, at the next cleo
ton.
In addition to this it is rumored
that consideration changed hands
and the stage was all set for the
vote. Following the Olvany-Byrne
telephone conversation Walker had
talk with Byrne for publicity pur-
poses and the conversation was made
to look like another victory"
William Wooden, chairman of
Walkers Reception Committee, is
very much interested in the Equita-
! bic Coach Company. The coach COM
pany is under contract to buy its
buses from the American Car and
Foundry Corporation Wooden is one
of the big shots of this concern and
has enormous holdings in its stock.
The American Car Corporation is one
of the Morgan subsidiaries. It is af-
filiated with General Electric.
That the car contract is a big one
was admitted yesterday when Off
Gals of the Equitable Coach Com
pany said that they have an order
in for 700 buses of the latest type.
The contract involves over $4,000
900.
How effective the Tammany steam
roller has smoothed out all opposi-
ton to its bus scheme was evidenced
by the fact that Julius Miller. Man
haitian borough president, who has
been holding out in favor of the New
York Railways Corporation, a sub
sidiary Of the Fifth Avenue Coach
Company, was won over to the Euui-
table idea. Miller is president of the
Fifth Avenue Coach Company. Deals
and counter-deals marked the bus
scheme since its inception some eigh-
teen months ago.
High handed political tactics char
acterized the taking of the vote on
the franchise resolution. Skipping
several items in the procedure Walk
err suddenly announced, "The chair
moves the adoption of No. IA. The
clerk will call the roll"
The roll was called instantly. All
members of the Board voted for the
resolution. Walker then said, "The
president of the Board of Aldermen
moves the adoption of No. 80, so far
as it refers to the Surface Trans
portation Corporation" This was
passed by a similar vote.
No one in the room, except those
vitality interested, realized just what
was taking place, so speedy was the
action. When an opponent to the
Walker bill, Herman A. Bayern, arose
to object, Walker ordered a police
man to silence him.
Stewart Browne, president of the