:UP IN COURT
'THREATOFP.R.T.
openly Declare uompany
ViiU4.lg"L i Juegiauivive
bins rass
yOULD CURB CITY POWERS
Buyers Argue Measures Are in
Direct vhmuu m j.uui
Agreement
HAUIUSBL-na. Mny 2D.
Lw -nhitadelnhla Hapld Transit Company.
v ueh R T Stotesbury, chairman of the
SJfrd of directors, nntl a lone array of at
h. J.v prcFcntcil before the Senate 1u
ffi.ry General Committee. In a public
C .rine here today, two main reasons why
iM''' ,,,,,, -hniilil rtnfcnt lhn fnnr
Ending transit measures sought by the city
''J Philadelphia as a means of koIvIiik the
Wnlt tangle
rrhe first was a local reason based on
h. rirument that the bills, particularly the
ltMht measures, are In direct violation of
ii 1907 agreement between the city and
It, Transit Company, and thercforo uncon
itltutlonal. .... .
f The second took the form of an open
threat that If tho blllt weie passed and the
Jll attempted to exerrli-o Its newly found
rowers the company and the underlying
traction Interests would begin a fight In the
Jourts which would tie up Indefinitely tho
ilty's transit development program
t When the opening hearing in the transit
R.,.ilnn was held hero n week ago the
transit company falted to put In an appear
' Mr. Stotesbury. In older In make tho
thief Plca Ior l" ""eli,"" uapiu rran
ilt Company at the transit hearing here
iiv. broke his rule of going to New York
kTery Tuesday for a conference with J.
nrnont Morgan
K The array of legal talent the Transit
Brnmoany sent to light Its battle was fur-
ther evidence of tho Importance It at
tached to ine iienriiiK. which was noui ny
th( Judiciary General Committee of the
Enale
' The I' It T nttneked the four pending
transit bills by which the city of Phlladel-
t,hla would gain broader powers In the
Rjiresent transit lease negotiations
F A new clement developed In the opposi
tion to tho bills when representatives of the
k Pennsylvania Street Hallway's Association,
II which comprises more than an per cent of
Ethe mileage of the State, appeared before
fi the committee to light the measure A. H.
VVHull represented tho association as nttor
ity. He was accompanied by Dr Henry M.
Stein, State Secretary
i Acting Chairman Dalx announced today
that the committee would be called together
hcn the morning of Juno 7. to take definite
action upon the pending measures. As the
legislature adjourns today until Juno (!,
'this date will be the caillcst that n commit
tee could be called together; in spite of the
'unavoidable delay the legislative leaders de
clared that there would be ample time to
ipasj. the measures before tho adjournment
,tf the session Senator Dalx would make
'no prediction ai to tho success or failure of
the bills
The representatives of the company pro
ceeded at once to the Senate caucus room,
but as the Senate was still In session it was
almost 3 o clock before Acting Chairman
Dalx called the hearing to order. Ila'llard
was called upon first
i He, In turn, called Mr Stotesbury, who
saldt
f "Six years ago I was asked to take
charge of the property of the Philadelphia
jBapId Transit Company The company was
being operated under the contract of ISO",
.which provided that the company should
M
fs.
i
Corn Exchange National Bank
Philadelphia
j
t
Chestnut at Second Street
fnrtiMj.it8 rWfl" Axed charges.
i .? I-1".? "reet ralwy companies, In
niSMmJli'11 Hr J"01" Provided for lm
SrSv!melJt8.uWlth th0 consent and the ap.
proval of the city of Philadelphia, and 6
nfi . .t,c.,lmuln,Ue dividends on Ha actu
ally paid In capital stock ; after which the
earnings tecelve ohe-half of the surplus
"Cndcr this contract the city had ex
pressly agreed that It would not exercise
any right to tako over any of the properties
making up the Hapld Transit system. After
ten years of operation under this contract
it now become necessary ns a result of the
c.ty s decision to construct additional trail-
on ii enmes to amend in some respcets the
telatlona between the parties, for npart
from any contracted rlRhtu In tho matter
It has been recognized by every one that the
citizens can be bent nn,i if i,a i,a... !..
lines are operated In conjunction with the
present system of the Philadelphia rtapld
Transit Company.
"With this object In view, the city of
Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Hapld
Transit Company have been negotiating an
operating contract and an amendment of the
1907 contract. In all of which negotiations
the fairness and necessity of providing for
the company's fixed charges as approved
under tho 1907 contract was recognized.
"While these negotiations were pending
there were Introduced Into the Legislature
tho bills now before this committee, with
the express object of relieving the city
from tho obligations of Its contract of
J907.
"From our point of view, the unfairness
of these bills must be apparent when jou
consider Hint the city of Philadelphia. In ef
fect n partner under the 1907 contract with
the Philadelphia Hapld Transit Company.
Is now seeking through their Instru
mentality to alter the terms of that con
tract In order to give a competitive sys
tem the ue and benefit of the downtown
termlnnls nnd the surface feeder lines of
the Philadelphia Hapld Transit Company
either by condemning them outrlRht or
permitting their Joint use of the same
by the competltlor by means of through
loutlng or free transfers with tho conse
quent confiscation of the earnings that
the Phllnilelplil.1 Hapld Transit Company
has dexrlnped under the agreement ci.
tcred Into with the city ten years ngo.
"I leave It to the atlnrtiojs to discuss
the legal effect of the proposed legislation,
but I may be permitted to s.iv as n lay
man that 1 consider the breaking of ono
contract a poor foundation on which to
ouuet a new one."
William .V Trltikle former rotinsel for
the State Public Service Commission, who
was tetalned by the company to nrgue
uKHiniH me inns declared that under the
provisions of the State constitution the
Jurisdiction over municipal street railways
was logically vested In the local legislative
bodies nnd the pending bills would deprive
the local authorities of their rightful
powers, he argued, and would be in direct
violation of the Implied conditions of the
1907 contract.
"To pass these bills." ho asserted "would
be to regard this contract ns Germany did
her treaties with Hclglum as mere scraps
of paper."
He sounded a warning note nt the same
tlmo that should the city, attempt to exeiclse
its new powers of Eminent domain In the
event of the passage of the Ilecht bills, the
companies affected would carry their flght
on the constitutionality of the measures as
far as the Supreme Court of the United
States
"After all." Mr Trlnkle concluded, "these
bills, should jou pass them, and I take It
ou won't, you will have the entire transit
situation In Philadelphia tied tin with n,i.
less litigation for jeais to come. We want
to get somewhere, but If these measures
puss wc win get nownere.
Supporting nibs Ames Hallard. chief of
counsel of the Transit Company, were for
mer Judge James Gay Gordon. William N.
Trlnkle. of former Attorrey General John r.
Hell's olTlce, former general counsel of t: e
Stato Public Service I'ominisslon. nnd .Wil
liam Schaffer, of Harrlsburg, where he Is
legal representative of the PennsvKanla
Plant Corn
Plant Corn
Plant Corn
This country's greatest crop. Last year
we raised 2,593,000,000 bushels of corn.
The crop must be largely increased .this
year to help make up the shortage of wheat.
We wired State College latest dates for
planting. Agronomist Gardner wires this
reply: "Earliest maturing varieties Dent Corn
may be planted as late as June 10th; medium
varieties not later than June 1st."
It is not as heroic as going to the front,
but it is just as necessary to
Plant Corn
Plant Corn
Plant Corn
EVENING LEjOGEB-PHILADELPinA, TUESDAY, MAY 29, 1917
Ttallroad Company They went to Harris-rjur-r
In Mr Stotesbury'a private) car.
On Tuesday of last week Mayor Smith,
Transit Director Twlnlnrc, William Draper
hewls, the legal transit adviser of tho
Smith administration, and a delegation
from the United Huslness Men's Assocla-.
Hon appeared before the committee to urge
the passage of nil four measures.
The hearing was held nt the request of
the Transit Company, nnd although notices
of the meeting had been sent out In ad
vance, the company less thnn two hours be
fore tho hearing was scheduled to begin
made n request for another hearing at n
later date nt which to present Its Ride of
the case.
Tno action of the comnany In making
this eleventh-hour request was denounced
by Director Twining nnd Senator JJalx,
acting chairman of the committee, as n
move for delay. It was pointed out that
as the Legislature will adjourn within a
month the company might accomplish the
detent of the bills. If It succeeded In delay
ing the hearings long enough.
Senator Daix promptly checkmated the
move of the company however, by setting
today as the date for the hearing, al
though Hills Ames Hallard. chief counsel
for the company, had requested that a day
other than a Tuesday be set This request,
Mr. Hallard later explained, was to give
fc.'T Stotesbury, chairman of tho Hoard
of Directors of the company, an opportunity
to appear before the committee. Mr. Stotes
bury. who Is the Philadelphia representative
of the firm of J. P Morgan & Co-, goes
to New York every Tuesday to attend a
conference of that firm
Four bills are under consideration nt the
hearing. They are:
The nans bill, which would give the
Public Service Commission the right to
compel the Philadelphia Hapld Transit
Company to through-route trnlns between
the Frankford and the Darby "L" roads
over the tracks of the Market street high
speed line. Irrespective of whether the
city's system Is operated by tho P. It. T
Company or Independently
The Salus nlU which Includes the
through-routing feature of the Oans bill
nnd In addition would give the commission
the right to fix a Joint rate of fare nt Inter
sections of the city's nnd the company's
system In the event of Independent opera
tion. The Hecht eminent domain bill, which
i wuum Kf vt- int- in me i ikhi i" wtin uicr
the franchises of the Philadelphia Hapld
Transit Company and tho underlying com
panies; nnd
The Hecht constitutional amendment giv
ing the city the necessary borrowing power
to exercise' the eminent domain right pro
vided in the Hecht bill.
BRIDGE ACCIDENT AVERTED
MAHANOY CITY. Pa.. May 29. An nc
cldent was narrowl) averted this momlim
which Involved the lives of nt least ISO
passengers on the State-wide Hxpress
running between Pittsburgh and Haston,
Pa., on account of n defective bridge at
Kohlnoor Junction A six-mule team draw
ing a load of heavy timber to the Oxford
washery was crossing' a bridge covering the
Lehigh Valley tincks. when the abutment
gave way, suspending the load of timber
above the Hacks nnd Imperiling the lives
of the passengers on the rushing train
The operator at Kohlnoor Junction. James
M. Hlley, with rare presence of mind, Im
mediately flashed the danger signal and
stopped the express. A w recking crew from
the powerhouse at Glrardvillc hoisted the
wagon with Its contents to a place of
safety nnd allowed the train to proceed
after more than an hour's delay.
T
Will Build Military Honda
Three hundred miles of Government mili
tary roads will be built undci supervision
of William H Council, consulting engineer,
who on Friday will leave his present of
flco of chief of tho Hureau of Hlghwavs.
The roadway Is to be built "In Jlgtlmc." Mr.
Cnnnell said, at thirty-two of the camps
planned tr house the new army of 500,000
SENATE RAISES SALARY
OF STATE LAW MAKERS
Mechanicians of Mnchine Suc
ceed in Obtaining Enough Votes
to Add $1000 to Pay
till n 3laO Corrt ponrf e n I
HAHHISUUHa. May 29.
Uy stretching n point or two nnd per
mitting a couple of Senators to change their
minds once they had voted, mechanicians
of the organization's mnchine In the Sen
ate last night obtained a bare majority for
the Hclchenbacker bill, boosting the pay of
Senators nnd Hcpresentntlves from $1500
per session to $2600
Humsher and McKeo voted "no" when
their names were called. When It was
found that two votes were needed, the call
went out and Homsher and McKce switched
to the aye column Ilackett, of North
ampton, was the only Democrat to vote for
it. Warner, Hlndman nnd Tompkins did
not vole The result announced was 26
to 13
The Senate passed the new game code
with amendments that were rejected In the
House. This will result In the bill going to
a conference committee, unless the House
concurs In the changes.
Bishop McFaul Takes Asbury Residence
ASHCHY IttK, N J, Max 21 Asbury
Park will be the seat dm lug the coming
summer of the Trenton diocese of the Un
man Catholic Church. Hlshop James A.
McFaul. of Trenton, has taken a cnt.ige in
the North Asbury section for his nrcupincy
during the warm season, nccordlng to an
nouncement here today.
'DRY' FORCES IN STATE
URGE PROHIBITION BILL
Senate Committee Asked to Re
port Favorably Resolution for
Constitutional Amendment
HAnntsnuRci. May 29.
Rtate-vvlde prohibition ns n war measure
was nrgued before the Law nnd Order Com
mittee of the Senate today. Senatoi1 Ray
mond 14, Smith, of Crawford, asked that the
committee report favorably r Joint resolu
tion providing for n "bone dry1 consti
tutional amendment, which he has Intro
duced In the Legislature.
Others who spoke In favor of the amend
ment, which has been In committee since
Its nppearance In the Senate on February
6 last, wero John II. Harris nnd William
M. Lykcns
Senator Smith displayed n bulky petition
Indorsing his measure, which he said bore
70,000 signatures of Pennsjlvanlans.
Harris said every county In the Stnte
was being organized nnd It was proposed
to enrry the light to the polls, as well as to
the Legislature Ho nigued that t "would
be good politics" for the Leg1''. ' i a to al
low the amendment to con ' ' fnro the
voters of tho Slate. Should pass this
Legislature It would also hav, pass the
next before It could be vot. ipon at the
polls
Senator Snyder spoke In favor of an
other resolution, of which he Is the author.
In which the provision Is made that the
Legislature appeal to the Pi evident and
I'ongie.ss to forbid the ue of grain for
the making of beer and whlskj nnd to oth
eiwle render the State, as vveli as the
nation, dry
Suppose This Should Happen!
What if the rattle of machine
guns should be heard in our
streets?
A million men and more, the
very sinew and valor of the
American people, will under
take to keep this war from
our shores to fight our
figh t for us! If we support
them, they will not fail. But
if we, the stay-at-homes,
slink to refuge behind cow
ardly, disloyal indifference
to the fate that threatens,
then we, too, shall pay the
penalty.
These young fellows we see
in uniform throughout the
Any Bank, Banker or Trust Company will furnish full
details and accept your subscription. Or ask your
employer how you can subscribe your share. Or the
folder of complete information will be mailed free by the
LIBERTY LOAN COMMITTEE
Third Federal District
108 South Fourth St Philadelphia
U. S. Greatest Spending In 19l7
WASHINGTON, May 29. The fiscal year
of 1917 will show greater financial activity
on the part of rlio t'nlted States Govern
ment than nny preceding year In the na
tion's history Expenditures for the year
will total almost a billion dollars In excess
of thoso for tho fiscal year of 1910. Dis
bursements for tho flscnl year to date nggrc.
gate Jl.600,779.000. the Treasury Depart
ment nnounced this afternoon. Last year's
total for the corresponding period was
$692,418,000.
Graduation Gifts
In our extensive assortment
arc many beautiful gift sug
gestions at moderate prices.
Watches
Wallets
Scarf l'ins
Pocket Knives
Fountain Pens
Ilroochcs
Finger RitiRS
Dorinc Hoxes
Uracelet Watches
Lingerie Clasps
S. Kind & Sons,
DIAMOND MISIICIIANTS
city streets are looking us
squarely in the eye and say
ing: "Will you match your
loyal generosity with our
willingness to charge up to
mouths of cannon and there,
if need be, make the last
great sacrifice?"
Men we have! Money we
must havel The LIBERTY
LOAN is your opportunity
to play the one honorable
part which men of years
and of dependents nay play!
Don't "slack it"!
Be an American!
Buy!
"m93
Say ,G!orf"BarnH In tite Ha4
tANSDAt,n, To,, May 9, Hiram C,
Weachter, president of the Falrmount FIro
Company, of Lansdale, who notified both
the Borough Council and the Board of
Health that the Lnnsdala "Glory Barn,"
which has been kept standing since the
Wclglo cvangeSlstlc campaign last Decem
ber, Is a fire hazard, says he will now ap
peal to the Stnte fire marshal. Mr. Weach
ter says he will persist untlt somo action
Is token
a.
jfWTiV
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1110 Chestnut St.
JKWULERS SILVERSMITHS
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