New-York tribune. [volume], January 06, 1920, Page 11, Image 11

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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Appraise Green
Car Lines at
$140,000,000
Experts Sound Death Knell
of Craig's City Ownership
Plan by Report on Vaina
I tioBiFranchisesExchided
lUx Increase Since 1914
Figures Indicate 300 Million
Would Be Needed to Take
Over Interborough Alone
The New York Railways Company,
%lt9B1prisins the preen car lines and
comprehending, generally speaking, the
surface lines in Manhattan, now in the
? band? o? Job & Hedges, receiver is
* vorth to-day $55,000,000 more than in
- 1*14. before the World War demoralized
The ?et earnings of railroads.
gtaoe A Webster, the accountants,
practically have f?n4shed their appraisal
of the physical valuation of the lines.
Al?ongh only approximate figures are
?T?il?ble at this time, it is declared
'tte report will show that the physical
valuation of the New York Railways in
1914 was in the neighborhood of $S5,
Wi.OOO, and in 11*19, based on repro?
duction and replacement of all the
elements entering into the physical i
?unposition of the system, is, in round
?gares, $140,000,000.
Franchise Is Not Included
This enhancement in value makes '.
gllewsnce for depreciation of rails and
equipment, but does not take into ac- ;
count the former value of the special i
franchises? $16,000,000?on which the !
corporation has been paying taxes' as
rf gering concern. The enhancement ?
^presents what it would cost to re- j
?i.ace the physical factors of the sys- ;
?em on the present-day basis of high ;
prices for labor and materials.
m the judgment of local traction
men. this surprising showing in the
physical valuation of a system in the
iiands of a receiver, when values under
ordinary conditions should go down
gather than up, precludes the possibil?
ity that the city might take over the
system at a "bargain counter" price.
The same ratio of enhancement will be
found, it is said, in an appraisal of the
B. R. T. and other passenger carrying i
systems in greater New York.
Comptroller Craig, on December 30,
in an informal discussion of the trac- j
non situation, having in mind the re- j
peated assertions of Receivers Hedges, j
Garrison and others, suggested that ?
the ci$y might be able to take over the j
city traction systems after an official j
inquiry had determined their physical |
valuation. This valuation, as opposed j
to the capitalization in stock and per- J
minent debt, the Comptroller suggested, |
would be the basis of the city's project !
?lkim
ADTOS?TIRES?BODIES?TUBES
SHOW WEEK SPECIALS
Ail at Fair and Honest Prices?
No Profiteering.
i? Easy Parn.er.ts Arranged; Demonstra
?a Given; Autoir.obtlfts Traded.
pn Brauner Townear '.S17 Locomobile Couse
(Rubay Eexiy! J3I7 Owen-Majnette
!>?9 Hudson Sea an Limousine
IKS National 4 Pass. 1317 Cad.llac Sedan
is IS Ubenj Itunabout 19M Hudaon Sedan
??19 Eljtn .Sedan ' 1?17 Mercer 8 Pass.
1918 Cadillac ?Suburban 1917 Hudson Cabriolet
Sedan 1917 Phiaiuu 5 Pass.
ISIS Cadillac Victoria 191T-'ia Standard
1913 Enid, Coupe Towncar
lili Liberar ?edan ! 19?7 Franklin Runabout
?Uli Saab S?ian i l?> : T S'tudebaker Towncar
ms Siarsion 7 Pasa. 1917 Orerlasd Coupe
"IMS Hudson Cabriolet ; 191T liberty 3 Pas?.
I 3*18 Caanaler Limousine i 19H Mercer 4 Paaa.
lili Liberty i Ptert. 1916 Cadillac Lamiaulet
mi Peerlc?i .Sport Model 191? Cadillac Towncar
HIS J?ant?! Sedan 1911 Cadillac Runabout
1*11 Oakland Runabout ; and Fifty Other?.
1? 17 Lacoauibiia Sedan i
?Special: Lancia Tourin?; De?aftnay Belle- '
??ville Sedan.
I Sew Arrivais Ds?iy?Everythlm; aa Rep- ?
reaented.
CLOSING OUT WINTER
BODIES
few Sedan Bodies, $600,
$700, $800, Etc
Pttttng-:?Pier-??. Packard?. Cadillac?.
> adaofit-, Loco.-.-.-ju.;??. Etc.
.. ALSO
?sol Sedan, Coupe, Limousine
and Landaulette Bodies,
$59, $75, $100 and Up.
Don't Pr??svs: Au-o in Solid Comfort?
TireDealers'Headquarters!
M JOBS IN ALL MAKES
Best Discounts! AI Tiros!
Big Stocks!
3CT TOCIi WINTER NEEDS NOW!
Jaa?orf Automobile Co.,
******>* to ms. Telephon? Circle 247?.
^Broadway, near 57tb St.
?*rD*V*..2U-Zl!, W. 59th St.. near B'way.
"?HEARGONNB
Obedient to your slight?
est touch, yet with all the
oa*h and vitality of a
two - year - old, the Ar
jonne bring? a new driv?
ing laxury that sets the
wood tingling with the
Pare exhilaration of it
On exhibit at the
Hotel Commodore,
Mezzanine Floor.
ARGONNE MOTOR
CAR COMPANY,
Jertey City, N. J.
0^K FOR tad GET
Horlick's
i
'?JOlWeel
???^??????Hbj ivsri%
l***Ui*imm
to assume proprietorship of the lines if
the companies should agree to the plan.
Craig Offered Plan
In substance, the Craig-Hylan plan,
authorized by the Board of Estimate,
calls for
Physical valuation of the traction
lines.
Reduction of stock outstanding un?
til it represents only physical prop?
erty.
Conversion of this reduced capi
: talization into a iirst lien on the
j property.
City guaranty of the principal
j and interest on the new securities.
j All obligations of the company to
! be met from income, if possible; if
: not, through taxation.
Use of surplus profits from remu
! nerative lines to make up deficits on
j non-revenue producing lines.
A prominent traction official com
; menting on the result of the ap?
praisal of the New York Railways
! Company said:
"The capitalization of the New York
1 Railways Company in stocks and per?
manent debt as of June 30, 1917. was
, about $200,000,000, with a physical val
j uation of perhaps $85,000,000. The
? system is in the hands of a receiver,
and the stock of doubtful value. As?
sume that the stock is worthless, and
, that the roads are worth only their
' physical valuation.
Result Is Surprising
j "We find that while the system's
I physical valuation for the year 1914
j was only about $85,000,000, it has en?
hanced in value during the war period
j to $140,000,1100, or an advance of be?
tween 60 and 70 per cent. Assume that !
| for all the passenger carrying lines in
] the city the present physical valuation
is about 70 per cent of the capitaliza
? tion in stocks and permanent debt, and
? we find an aggregated valuation of
! about $700,000,000. The city's b.orrow
i ing capacity is about nil. The Repub?
lican Legislature at Albany is against
? frenzied finance of any sort. How is
the city to expand its credit so as to
finance this possible obligation of
$700,000,000, with the surface lines in .
receiverships on account of not getting
better than a five-cent fare? Who is
going to furnish the credit for the
undertaking?
"Take another object lesson?dual
subway contract 3. The original con?
struction cost was estimated at $112,
000.000. of which the railway was to
contribute one-half and the city one
half. The equipment estimate was
$22,000,000. making a total original es?
timate of $134,000,000. The company
kept spending money for equipment
until it had invested $56,000,000, and
kept on longer until it Lad spent alto?
gether $96,000,000, making a combined I
investment for the company and the ?
city of $196,000,000, instead of $134,
000,000, as estimated in th? pre-war
period. As a matter of fact, there is a j
clause in Contract 3 enabling the city
to take over the road any time it so de?
sires after the first teh years?paying
what it is worth on an inventory,
much" as Mr. Craig proposes. The
trouble is that the city has no money
with which to do it. It will take about
$300,000,000 to carry out the Comp?
troller's plan for the Interborough
alone. Who iav going to furnish the
money."
a.
Trap Set for
U.S. Envoy in j
Mexico Cityj
Con tinned from pare 1
dated by saying that he was leaving
the vicinity of Puebla for another part
of Mexico, where he would cooperate
with the forces of General Palaez, un?
der whose command he operated.
I asked if Jenkins had paid the en?
tire sum of ransom money, 300,000
pesos. The rebel leader produced a
canvas sack half-filled with gold coins,
which he jingled, declaring, "This is
the last of the Jenkin3 ransom money,
and I have sent him a receipt? not only
stating that he's paid the full ransom,
but that I took 50,000 pesos from his
safe when I abducted him. With that
receipt he will place claim against the
Mexican government, and they will be
forced to pay him. That was my ob?
ject in demanding the ransom?to
?Mexican Bandit Cruelties
Told Senate by Woman
o ? American Dentist Bares Degradation of
8 Months in Prison Camp, Where Husband and
Aged Mother Starved ; Her Country Called 'Bluff'
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5.?A dramatic
story of eight months' hardship and
degradation es a prisoner in a Mexican
bandit camp was told to-day by Mrs.
Cora Lee Sturgis, a Virginian, before
a Senate committee investigating the
Mexican situation.
Mrs. Sturgis told how her old mother,
worn out by long suffering and humilia?
tion, died of starvation after their
plantation had been looted by the
bandits, and how she had been forced
to go into the hills to cut wood and
; of a long tramp to another camp with
a secret message from bandit to
bandit sewed in the sole of a shoe.
"Our first trouble was in 1915, when
Carranza sent troops to our section to
drive away the help," said Mrs. Sturgis.
"As a result we lost our crops right
on the eve of the harvest."
It was nearly two years later that
the home of the Sturgis family, com?
prising Dr. Sturgis, a dentist; his wife,
the witness to-day, and her mother, was
raided by Federal soldiers, who charged
them with giving refuge to rebels.
"Two of Carranaa's captains and a
lot of soldiers came to our home and
beat us with guns," Mrs. Sturgis tes?
tified. "When my husband protested
and reminded the bandits that we were
Americans they pushed him aside and
laughed, saying 'Your old government
is only a bluff.' "
Dr. Sturgis reported the raid to the
American Consul at Frontera, who ad?
vised the family to remain at the plan?
tation, the witness ^said.
Mrs. Sturgis said" rebel and Carranza
forces frequently worked together, and
that both factions disseminated anti
make them pay him back." And with
a show of rather egotistic pride, Cor?
dova added, "We've not only shown the
United States that the Carranza gov?
ernment is incapable of protecting any
one in Mexico, but we've hurt their
pocketbood, and that hurts them
worse."
Can Force Mexico to Pay
"But do you think that Jenkins can
force them to pay?" I asked.
"They'll have to pay when the United I
States gets after them," he answered, j
Cordova declared he believed that
President Wilson was responsible for
the attitude the American government ?
took toward Carranza and for recogni?
tion of Carranza's blankety-blank gov- j
ernment, and that the American peo?
ple and the Senate were of an entirely
different opinion. He added that he
hoped the Senate would soon take !
Mexican affairs out of Mr. Wilson's
hands.
"What is the extent and unification |
of the rebel movement?" I asked Cor- |
dova.
"We have plenty of men throughout ;
Mexico to overthrow the Carranza '?
government at any time, but we lack \
arms and munitions," he answered. "I ?
am of the forces of General Palaez, who |
sent me from Tampico district in April,
1919, for the purpose of unifying ail
the rebel forces in the states of Puebla,
Tlaxcala, Morelos and Oaxaca, and to
get them to acknowledge the leader?
ship of Palaez. This mission is now |
complete and successful, and in case
Palaez is recognized by the United
States, they will support him uncon
ditionally."
Villa in Accord, He Says
Answering a subsequent question, he I
stated that Villa in the north was !
working in complete accord with ;
Palaez, and that they were in con- j
stant communication, although Villa ?
has a strong dislike for Felix Diaz, the
rebel chieftain now operating in the
state of Vera Cruz. VjHa has given
hia promise to support Pal&ez, although
he will have nothing to do with the
leadership of Diaz. However, Diaz, on
the other hand, is favorable to the
Palaez movement, and would support
TWO distind
types of new,
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cars are on display
at the automobile
Show in the Haynes
Exhibit.
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American propaganda, including a
charge that Henry P. Fletcher, Ameri?
can Ambassador to Mexico, had ac?
cepted ?1,000,000 to uphold the Car?
ranza government. Mrs. Sturgis said
she told the bandit who made this
charge that "it was a lie."
"One of the bandits told me that Am?
bassador Fletcher could not return to
that country," Mrs. Sturgis said. "I
don't think Mr. Fletcher knew how bad
conditions were. Once, when I was in
Mexico City, they blew up a train in
front of me and one behind me."
The most thrilling chapter of her ex?
perience followed capture of the family
by Zapata bandits, who took everything
movable from the plantation, including
$23,000 in cash. They were sent forty
miles across country to a prison camp,
Mrs. Sturgis and her husband afoot
and the former's mother on a mule.
Some months later Mrs. Sturgis was
ordered to proceed on foot to another
camp with a secret message, and
warned that unless she returned in two
months other members' of the family
would be killed. On the- way she
stopped at Mexico City and reported
her troubles to the American Embassy.
The embassy, she said, got in touch
! with Zapata forces, and it was agreed
| to send a Zapata lieutenant back to
! camp with her. Meanwhile, a bridge
on the way to the camp where she was
to deliver the message was blown up,
and the shoe, with the message in the
sole, was sent by messenger.
Returning to camp, Mrs. Sturgis
found her mother dead and her hus?
band dying of starvation. Some months
later she was released, and, "more dead
than alive," walked with Dr. Sturgis
over the hills to their old plantation,
to find it "bare as a bone."
him on one side while Villa supports
him on the other.
"What is the significance of the re?
ports published in the Carranzista
newspapers that various rebel chiefs
lately surrendered or intend to sur?
render?" I asked. Cordova declined to
answer the question directly, except to
say that many of these reports were
fabricated by the Carranza press, while
others had to do with revolutionary
plans which he was unable to discuss.
Cordova said he was not in sympathy
with those who blow up trains and
commit other depredations constantly
occurring in Mexico, which were not
always" due to revolutionary organiza?
tions to which he belonged. "We don't
want to harm innocent people," he de?
clared. "Our fight is not against the
Mexican people. Our feelings are
kindly toward the American people,
whom we believe to be our friends and
sympathizers toward our cause."
Writes Statement for Proof
Whpn the interview was nearly ter?
minated I asked the rebel leader to
write a statement with which I might
prove that I had talked with h:m al?
most in the heart of the capital of
Mexico, where he had come in defiance
I of the Carranza army to spend the
i Christmas holidays and make arrange
j menta for his return to the staff of his
I leader, Palaez, in the Tampico district.
| Leaving the room he procured a pen,
paper and ink, and wrote the following,
) herewith translated from the Spanish:
; "Mexico City, Dec 29, 1919.
"This is to certify that on this date,
in this city, I have talked with Mr.
Forrest, representing the American
newspaper The New York Tribune, for
one hoar, and that I have explained to
him the existing revolutionary move?
ment in Mexico, and that 1 have also
told him the true occurrences in con?
nection with the abduction, which I
personally effected, of the American
Consul W. 0. Jenkins.
"To which I certify for whatever
Mr. Forrest may believe convenient.
"FED. CORDOVA."
When Cordova re?ntered the room
he left the door open and as he wrote,
sitting with his back toward the door,
my interpreter arose to close the door.
This necessitated his stepping behind
Cordova momentarily, but Cordova '
took no chances. His eyes followed
every move and he did not resume
writing until the interpreter was
seated.
A few moments later he personally
ushered us to the door, holding the
candle while we descended the few j
steps to the street. We returned to
the center of the city by jitney bus,
convinced that what Cordova had said
about Carranza's inability to furnish
guarantees for the safety of foreigners
j in Mexico was apparently true.
Tribune 9s Mexican
Expose Aids U. S.
Disclosures Made by Cor A
respondent About Jen-\
kins Case Stirs Officials\
IVetr fork Tribune ?
Washington Bureau '
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5.?The dis?
closures made by Wilbur Forrest, The
Tribune's special correspondent, that
the Mexican government had sought to
have Federico Cordova, who kidnaped
William O. Jenkins, American Consular
Agent at Puebla, swear falsely to bol?
ster up the case against the American
official, are immediately to be investi?
gated by the American State Depart
ment.
Mr. Forrest's story was read by all j
the State Department officials in any,
way concerned With the Mexican situa- '?
tion, from Secretary of State Lansing
down, it was learned to-day. Mr.
Lansing was furnished with a copy of
The Tribune, early this morning, and
read Mr. Forrest's article completely.
Later in the day Mr. Lansing said he
could not comment on the revelations
made by the Tribune correspondent,
and added that the department knew
nothing of the report that the Mexican
government had offered Cordova 200,
000 pesos ($100,000) to appear against
Jenkins.
Members of the Foreign Relations
Committee of the House and Senate
expressed the keenest interest in the
revelations made by Mr. Forrest. They
declared that the interview with Cor?
dova strengthened the evidence that
previously had been gathered that the
Carranza government was making fran?
tic efforts to "save its face" in the
Jenkins case.
OU are cordially invited to
inspect Harry C. Stutz's
latest creation, the new
H. C. S. Motor Car
which can be seen all this
week in the lobby of the
HotelAstor
HARPY C. STUTZ, President
M. C. 8. MOTOR. CAR COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS, U. S. A.
SF
BknfTJOE
At the Show
Space AS,Main Floor
You can look your fuel bills in the face with?
out a shudder.
Ask about the economy records of Briscoe
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Garland Automobile Company
Distributor
1888 Broadway at 62nd 8896
New Philadelphia
Mayor Sworn In;
Repeats Pledges
J. Hampton Moore Takes
Office in Presence of
Distinguished Throng
Hylan Is Among Guests
Special Correspondence
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 5.?Joseph
Hampton Moore was inaugurated as the
110th Mayor of Philadelphia to-da>
and the first executive of the city to
serve under the new Woodward
charter. The victorious champion of
clean government took the oath of of?
fice in the presence of a distinguished
gathering.
The ceremony took place after a new
municipal lawmaking body of one
chamber of twenty-one men had me;
for the first time to take the place of
the bi-camerial Common Councils.
No less interesting than the in?
auguration itself was the address of
Mayor Moore, eagerly awaited as the
pronunciamento of the policies of his
administration. Political adversaries
who had predicted that he would "for- :
get" his pledges against contractor |
rule, when once elected, were sur?
prised to hear 'him pledge himself j
again against this evil?even more j
emphatically than before. He promised
clean and better lighted streets for
Philadelphia and efficient and more
highly paid Police and Fire depart?
ments.
One of the features of his inaugural
address was the announcement that the j
police of this city would cooperate with i
the law-enforcing bodies of New York I
and other municipalities, so that an i
interurban police system would be de?
vised for the cooperative detection of !
crime.
In this connection, it was noted
that Mayor John F. Hylan of New
York, wa3 on the platform with Mr.
Moore during the ceremonies: Later
at a luncheon in the Bellevue-Strat
ford, attended by the Mayor. Council
men and other city officials. Mr. Hylan
announced that he had brought with
him to Philadelphia, Richard E. En
right, Police Commissioner of New
York. Mr. Enright came, he said, to
confer with his life-long friend,
James T. Cortelyou, Mayor Moore's
new Director of Public Safety. The
two police officials were schoolmates
in New York.
The oath of office was administered
to Mr, Moore by Justice von Mosch
zisker, after the legal notice of his
election had been read. After the
Mayor-elect and his directors were
received in the Mayor's office by
Mayor Smith and his Cabinet, the of?
ficials of the new administration
passed through almost impenetrable
crowds on their way to the inaugura?
tion room. Long lines of police, per
Sickness Cure or
Sickness Prevention
imi rtmmr Wb.en Pasteur proved the relation of germs to in?
fectious disease, he marked a big advance in that
i development of medical science which reigns to?
day?the Idea ot^tcinese Preventim.
As a result, many plagues and epidemics mat were
the bane of former ages no longer temfy the world,
and science has now developed an effective agent
against the condition, which is the first cause of
over 90 % of all human disease?tenstipation
That -ffective agent is Nujoi.
. Nujol by relieving constipation pr?venu the absorbtioa
y of poisons which otherwise would be taken into the blood
and so under-mine the whole system.
Leading medical authorities agree that pill?, sah?, castor
oil, etc., simply ftree and weaken the system.
But Nujol it entirely different.
Nujol prevents constipation by softening the food watt*
and encouraging the intestinal muscle? to act naturally
Nujol helps nature establish easy, thorough bowel evac?
uation at regular interval??the healthiest habit in the
world. Get a bottle from your druggist today.
For valuable health booklet? ""Thirty Feet of Danger"
?free, tvriu Nujol Laboratories, Standard Oil Co. (New
Jersey), 50 Broadway, N.Y.
W/"<a t-T??r? rf? P^1 *' nii m!r '" ??.W itain htrhr ?*? KhM TrmS?
" Al "?lg. Murk at Atum hm. grew? iffnjmtt nfr.unud ? it
"tht ixmt as Nujtl". t'ni mar tu fir frnn miitituni.
For Constipation
hap/? the heaviest guard ever assigned ,
to a Mayor, prevented the eager spec- ?
tators from pressing too close to the !
party.
A unique feature of the reception |
wab the impromptu gathering in the !
Mayor's outside office, which was j
addressed by Mayor Charles H. Ellis, j
of Camden ,and Mayor Hylan.
Soldiers' Home Inquiry
Evidence Under Review
Walker to Decide What Shall
Be Done on Charges of
Cruelty and Robbery
BATH, N. Y., Jan. 5.?Lieutenant Gov?
ernor Walker to-day began to review
I the testimony taken during his recent
i inquiry into the alleged ill treatment
1 of the veterans in the New York Sol
diers' and Sailors' Home here. What
further action will be taken, if any.
will be decided by the Lieutenant Gov?
ernor when he completes his considera -
tion of the evidence. There are 1.100
inmates of the home and their averag?
age is seventy-seven years.
A number of witnesses testified dur?
ing the inquiry that the veterans were
abused and sometimes robbed of then
pension money, which ranged from S3~
to $40 a month. It was also testified
that fist fights among the inmates were
permitted in the presence of the in?
stitution's attendants.
One blind veteran was alleged to
have been robbed of his pension
voucher, and another was declared to
have been struck on the head during
the night when he begged for medical
attention.
The management of the home has
issued statemnts making a sweeping
denial of all the charges and declaring
that the investigation was welcome!
and invited.
See the
at the Show
The ever-increasing interest evi?
denced in the Nash Six is a tribute
to the demonstrated quality of its
performance., The unusual power,
economy and quietness of its Per?
fected Valve-in-Head Motor has
earned the unqualified endorsement
of its thousands of owners and has
built up for The Nash Motors
Company a great good-will that is
nation wide.
VALUE CARS AT VOUJMt MUCH
Nash passenger cars, including the new Nash Four, are
on exhibition at the Automobil* Show, Space A3. Nash
trucks are being exhibited at the Truck Show, Artillery
Corps Armory, 193rd Street and Jerome Avenue
% gMMi?r toarte*car. S14M? 8-g?nn?w rosSetar. SMWi I yum???! ???-??** **ft
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