New-York tribune., 1870-08-25
THE CAR-FARE QUESTION.

ppopARIF EFFECT OF THE PROPOSED REDUC-
TION-vIEws OF A RAILROAD PRESIDENT
r. r. Butler, the President of the Sixth-ave.
Railway Company, proposes TO resign. lie is iaige
stockhoder in the road. When he assumed his present
position the line was not and had not been paying dyi
dends for several years BY the increase of the passen
ger fare from six cents the Company were able 10
declare dividend Of ten per cent Under the proposed
decrease of passenger fare 10 five CENTS MI Butter says
that the will barely be able to meet It's current eX-
penses which last year were 62S A. OF S6OSoo Al lor
maintenance and repairs and 75OO for interest on the
bonds whcB the Company have issued The receipts for
the same period were $9S9 AZ or s67725l 80 from pas
sengers and s3G2i7 60 from manure old iron &c The
lire carried during the year 12S75SO passengers ana
the one cent above five netted them s12,S5 81 Out OF
this the profit came for maintaining the road lie taxes
sworn statement Of the business of the Thrdave line,
which he considers the leading one, to show how 1t
and al the other strong lines will be affected by the
reduction Of fare. n,., IL uo.o
800 ~ It's expenses 81 2GG $50 S0-there was there
fore balance Of s393f9 50 which was useu ior UN-
dend that amounted 10 $4,000 Tie slxthaye. company
had S7g Oc above their expenses for the year. out OF
that they paid the dividend The same company Trans
fore the cent above netted them si2s55 So ont 9i
this paid the Government tax ana sne during
the year; the one cent from each passenger "noue "
Mr Butler is Of the opinion that several weak lines IN
this city will become bankrupt when the rare Is Isuuee
the Central PARK North and East River Railroad Com
pany Their receipts last year were s5s g7
tl7n5 81 loss S239l 81 with fare at SIX cents Inc
number OF passengers carried 96J9I Tue one cent
nsted the Company 3s7 With the one cent on ne
Company would have had loss first OF SLs49 81 anu
tsess7 a. or total of s2as7s 81 The o,d1Se Broad
way and Seyenthaye., Bleeeher-st' second,aES;, ,o,
and FortysecOnd and Grand-st Ferry lines are those
which he thinks are going TO have nara rOad 10
travel" He saws that in 1860 the sixthave company
paid John Stevenson $50 in gold for every car whch
they ordered now they 20 pay him SLIT IN green
backs. Ii took that . 100 IN greenbaeks INTO wall
g. to-day with gold at 49," said Mr. Butler yestet9ay,
and sold them would get f955 IN gold ana Ic 1iaI,
today isthe cost in gold Of exactly the same ears wc9 men
we bought for $3.50 In gold in 1s60 ie believes tnad
gold has greatly lost its purchasing value ~ e aS re ~
years IN lbGO, he says, the cOnductols re-
ceiyed 81 so day in gold for their services.
To-day they receive 81 80 in currency, or
with gold al 10 81 81 in gold, increase OF Al cents y
IN gold There conductors the sixthaye lne
The extra Il cents day, IN gold for each conductor,
amounts 10 Sls the whole Of them, or s7l2 per
annum The same, he says, applies 70 the JOS drivers
whom the Company employs and all their other huef
attaches, or their general expenses -,
The aggregate income al the lines IN the city IRON
the one cent above fve be approxDates was slOUONO
last year. and when this Is taken or the public VIII De
sufferers well the companies by the change he
refers 10 what occurred in 1884 Then the cars were
charging five cents, AID the Omnibuses SIX cents Inc
onnibuses raised the fare TO eight cents Ihe public De-
came indignant They would not ride and Day eIght