Uncrowded Suburbs, 1904-07

AuthorC. Ian Kyer
Pages79-101

Chapter
UNCROWDEDSUBURBS

not yet fully assumed his role as the champion of public
ownership, and the majority on city council had not yet come to see public
ownership as the way out of their problems with the Toronto Railway Com
panyTRCManyremainedconvincedthatadecisivelegalwinwasneeded
to bring the TRC into line. They saw the problem as one of resolve; the failure
of the TRC to meet its contractual obligations seemed obvious to them. If
only the city council could be motivated to drive forward with a legal as
sault on the TRC, it would win the decisive victory needed to end the City’s
problemswiththatcompanyAsearlyasDecemberFrancisSpencehad
preached this in his unsuccessful mayoralty campaign, and he and others
remainedofthisviewWehaveacasesoclearandstrongSpencehadpro
claimedthatthereneedbenofearastotheresult He assured the citize ns
ofTorontothatiftheCityrmlyinsistedonitslegalrightsthecourtswould
certainly give the rel ief they so badly needed.
TheyearwasonlyelevendaysoldwhentheToronto Star reported
onanewaldermanwhowasofasimilarviewOnitsfrontpagethepaper
announcedthattherewasanewchampioninthelistsagainstthestreet
railwaycompany Earlier that day newly elected alderman, S Alfred Jones,
hadusedhisrstcitycouncilmeetingtoproposeseveralwaysforacivic
aackonthecompanyJoneswasplayingtothepressandhisconstituents
when he gave notice that he intended to introduce a series of motions to
drivetheTRCintoprovidingbeerserviceInlightofthefactthatTRChad
AThirtyYearsWar
unfairlyandunjustlyenrichedthemselvesattheexpenseofthecitizens
he proposed that the city council reduce the transit fare to two cents from
itscurrentvecentsuntilitobtainedacerticatefromtheCityengineer
saying that service was adequate. In order to determine what was adequate,
he wanted the City engineer to report on the advisability of laying down
additional track on various streets and on what number of passengers could
comfortably be accommodated on streetcars. Using this, he wanted the City
engineertoprovideanewtimetableaimedtoensurebeerstreetcarservice
To make certain the TRC got the message that city council would not accept
inferior service, he went so far as to suggest that the City give sixteen years
advance notice that the transit franchise would not be renewed. Finally, to
motivate his fellow council members to act, he called upon the provincial
legislature to give private citizens the right to enforce the franchise agree
ment if the City did not do so.
Jones even challenged the management of the Toronto Electric Light
Company (TEC), which was not subject to City control at all. The TEC was
a separate company providing power to the TRC under contract. Neverthe
less, Jones was convinced that the TEC was acting inappropriately by selling
oelectricitytocompaniesotherthantheTRCpowerthatcouldbeusedto
improve service at the TRC. He wanted to know what quantity of electricity
was being sold by the TEC to other companies.
MackenzieandtheboardoftheTRCdidnotneedtoreadthenewspapers
toknowthatsomethinghadtobedonetodevelopabeerworkingrelation
shipwiththeCityTheirdonationofanelephanttothecityzooin had
obviouslynotearnedthemsucientgoodwillMackenziebegantothink
that hiring a new general man ager might help. He appreciated Keating’s ten
acity and his ability to hold the line against the City’s threatened encroach
ments on the TRC’s freedom of operation, but Keating’s personality and
approach had done nothing to improve relations with the City or the general
publicMackenziebegantothinkthatthemanforthejobwastheformer
mayorandKeatingsupporterRJFlemingAsMackenziewellknewFlem
ing could be as tenacious as Keating, but he was more of a politician than
KeatingwouldeverbeandnobodyknewCityHallbeerAsmayorFlem
inghadbeeneectiverespectedandpopularEvenasassessmentcommis
sionerhewasseenasapowerfulgureinCitygovernment And he was
saidtobeawizardatjollyingthepublicMackenzieapproachedhimand
oeredhimamultiyearcontractatayear This was more than t wice
what Fleming was then earning with the City. Fleming was receptive for

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