The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-06-04
HIRSHFIELD IN
HOT ATTACK ON
TRACTION FRAUD
Writes Letter to His
Friend, Hylan

Hylan city administration, who was
appointed to his present 10-year job
just before Al Smiths man Friday,
Jimmy Walker, became mayor, is try
ing to revive the political corpse of
Hylanism. Little Davie, between jobs
of sending strike picSets to Jail on
trumped-up charges Of Tammany's
policemen INDUCES in literary excur-
sions by writing letters to his former
chief.
Both Hylan and Hirshfield are grad
yates of the Tammany machine. Their
only mistake was that they imagined
themselves greater than the machine.
From the dizzy heights Of their ex-
allied offices they lost all sense of
political perspective and imagined
they could with impunity defy their
creator, Tammany Hall.
Get the BUNS Rush
When Tammany made deal with
the traction barons and tried to in
duce Mayor Hylan and his administra-
ton to aid Governor AL Smith in a
plot to raise the car fare of the mill
lions of city workers who have TO
travel in the subways, the mayor
kicked over the traces and refused to
be a party to the swindle.
Hylan's fight against Tammany was
not because he is the servant of the
common people," he loves to talk
about, but because he and his boss,
William Randolph Hearst, who really
forced Tammany to accept Hylan,
were the political agents of the land
sharks, the suburban subdivision real
estate agents who were opposed to
higher fares because it would make IL
more difficult for them to sell their
"model homes for workmen," to the
slaves Of the city.
A bitter fight ensued in which the
traction interests defeated the real es-
tate interests. Politically it meant
the defeat of Hylan by Walker.
Revive the Traction Fight
The traction fight has recently been
revived, obviously for political effect
upon the fortunes of the boss of Tam
many, Governor AL Smith. One of the
staunch Tammanyites, Mr.. Samuel
Untermeyer, investigator extraordin-
airy, has had charge Of the investiga-
ton and Magistrate Hirshfield hastens
to assure the public that the so-called
discoveries Of Untermeyer were I'M
earthed by him during his term of
office.
Casting about for the best means of
placing himself and his pal, 'Red
Mike" Hylan again before the public,
Magistrate Hirshfield writes a letter
to Hylan praising the work of the
latter's administration and, incident
ally, berating the Interborough,
Untermeyer, Smith, Tammany and
Walker, which follows:
Enormous Dividend
"New York, June 1, 1927.
"Hon. John It. Hylan,
0 East doth Street,
New York, New York.
my dear Judge:
According to the press of to-
day, Mr.. Samuel Untermeyer just
discovered that the Interborough
Rapid Transit Company had be-
tween the years 1915 and 1919 paid
out subway dividends aggregating
1S71s96, or within 121z %, twice as
much as the PETERBOROUGH Com
pany's total investment.
Figures Are Old Ones
Nearly eight years ago, when
the subway corporations made APP
phcation for an increased fare, as
Commissioner Of Accounts, l fur
nished these figures to the Board
Of Estimate and Apportionment,
and the same were made public at
that time in the course of the pub
lie hearings held by the Board Of
Estimate and Apportionment under
your presidency, as Mayor. 1t was
in that investigation that we found
that the law firm Guggenheimer,
Untermeyer and Marshall received
from the marlborough Rapid Tran
sit Company $25,318.72 as counsel
fee in the now famous Admiral
Realty Company law suit, said to
have been cooked up for the pur-
pose of having the courts pass upon
the legality of subway contract No.
3; the contract under which the
/. r. T. received the city built sub
ways and the city thus far received
nothing in return.
Untermyer Was Bondholder.
81 also remember that according
to our records, Mr.. Samuel INTER
myer, his son, his nephew, and his
law partner owned an aggregate of
$4,000 worth Of Interborough
bonds and that the estate of the
late Andrew Friedman, Of which
Mr.. Untermyer was executor, own
ed S93S.091 worth Of Interborough
bonds.
Washing Dirty Sinners.
at occurred to me that while
this traction investigation is now