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Speculation was rife in Wall Street last week over the real reason for I. R. T. receivership. The action was brought by a minor creditor (for $27,000) and the company readily assented. There were reports that the Morgan and Hayden Committees had been unable to obtain sufficient deposits of notes for them to authorize an extension until unification could be consummated. With an extension of note maturities it was thought that I. R. T. could have struggled along. Lawyer Untermyer hailed the receivership as a long step toward the time when I. R. T. would readily accept the terms of his offer. But most observers believed that I. R. T. would seek to rid itself of the burdensome Manhattan Railway Co. (elevated lines) lease. Saddled with this load, I. R. T. is in a poor position to bargain in unification deals, for at best it barely earns its fixed charges. On subway operations alone, I. R. T. showed earnings on its common stock even in the last fiscal year. But if efforts are made to break the lease, Wall Street expects stiff opposition from the Rockefeller interests. They have donated large blocks of Manhattan Railway securities to philanthropic institutions.