The New York herald., 1878-12-16

Second avenue. The use of the hated bell
punch last year cost S3.543 SO. The company would.
therefore, have to have been swinded out or nearly
seventy-one Thousand fares to even make the punch
pay its expenses and before it's would bencft the
road in the least The of the bell punch at this
expense must, therefore, rest upon the assumption
that each Of the $50 conductors would without the
bell punch pocket Mt least five hundred fares during
the year. The income of the company for advertising
in their car panels Is very light-only II 200. AS
there 167 the advertising in each pays
only little over 81 per annum$5 less than the cars
OF the Sixth avenue line.
FIGURES OTHER LINES
The figures Of the other street car lines would be
very instructive il they would tell the true inward
ness OF their business. AS it is, they have to be
cepted with great reservations particularly the
been immensely watered; Indebtedness. cost OF road
&c. But according to their own showing the
horse car lines have not done badly in this era
of rapid transit; which, 1t was predicted. would kill
the horse business altogether. The Broadway
and Seventh avenue lines lone company managed to
n'a tail cars ' to the % tune Of ss7s5a These two two
lines carried 1.0O0000 passengers less than in
1877, but still they carried about $4,000
per day. 1t is evident that the Metropolitan Railway
took more passengers from these two lines than 1t
took from the Sixth avenue. which latter in the
responding period had lost less than six hundred
thousand passengers. The Eighth Avenue Company
lost about half million passengers las compared
with the previous year, in the four months covered
by these reports during which the Metropolitan
road was rnnning-namcy, June, July. August and
September. Even this road divided .220 profts
1t would appear incredible had not people read the
company's official statement to the State Engineer
that the cost of this road and its equipment s stated
at nearly sa,oooooo. One Of the most inter-
in view OF the extension Of the Metropolitan Rail-
way is its traffic above the park The road charges
it costs ten cents to ride say from Forteth street and
Eighth to Seventieth street and Eighth ave-
nue.. From 10th street to the Harlem River the
Metropolitan road will pass right the tracks Of
the Eighth horse car line, and it is therefore,
significant to learn that the horse car line con-
veys $500 passengers per day between Fifty ninth
street and the Harlem River. The Belt line carries
about forty thousand passengers per day, and last
year divided about S3OO00O profit. As rule it may
be set down that to-day in spite Of rapid tram
sit, there is business in the whole city OF New
York so lucrative as that of the horse car lines.
REDUCE THE FARES.
Perhaps the most striking fact in looking at the
horse car companies reports, next to their almost
which these creations of the law pay back to the
munity that affords them these magnificent fran
chses They only pay taxes their real estate. Thus
the Third avenue, with stated cost Of road Of
"a Ss4, only pays $67. 1861 taxes the Sixth
pays only s153Oo; the Second avenue only sl4.677;
the Broadway and Seventh avenue. $2e,797 the
Eighth avenue, $2l793; the Belt line, according
to its official published report. pays no
taxes at all. In view view iIs,, Of the vast St gains
quently been urged. and no doubt will be brought
again before the Legislature-frst, to amend the
charters OF these companies, so as to compel roads
like the Third and the Sixth to reduce
their fares, and second to require them to pay Ii
'o y pes ivy That Of
for every such could very well be paid by
nearly every large company and such license fee
would net the city treasury over $3.50 900 per year.
When it is considered that Third avenue Sixth
avenue car returns the company over 81 900 per
num- a license tax Of 5000 is not deemed excessive
But it appears to be the determination of those
who patronze the horse cars most and have most to
suffer from their systematic impositions upon the
public. that they must be made to render either in
cheap in taxes equivalent for the valuable
privileges which for many years they have gratu-
tously enjoyed.
REPORT OF THE TwENTY-THIRD STREET CROSS