Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-16
A Desire on the Part of the Traction
Companies 10 Catch All the
Traffic They Can
WILL SAVE LOTS OF SHOE LEATHER
East Liberty and Sharpsburg Patrons Anx-
ious to Secure System of
Transfer Tickets.
THEIR REASONS FOR THE REQUEST.
The Citizens Line to Meet All Cuts That May be
Made by its Two Competitors.

The demand for q revision Of traction
road fares is rampant through Lawrence
vile and the East End. A cheaper scale of
fares is demanded, as also q system of trans
fer tickets from one branch of the Citizens
line to the other. Laborers, especially mill
workers, who reside in the East Liberty
neighborhood, and whose business brings
them to LswrencevilIe, are especially inter
ested in the movem ent. Several of these
children Of Drawn were interviewed on the
subject yesterday. Mr.. James Werner, q
director of the Citizens Traction Company,
was also seen. As q result, at the next
meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Citizens Traction Company, some time
next month, q proposition will be made to
have the company issue transfer tickets to
people using both the Penn avenue and
Butler street branches The matter will be
brought up by Mr.. Werner, who is one of
the principal stockholders and directors of
the road. If the recommendation is adopted
the people using the two lines will save 3
cents each time they ride on the cars.
There are quite a number of people living
in East Liberty whose places of business are
on Butler street, and many of them work in
the mills at Sharpsburg and Etna. There
two boroughs who travel between those
points to Bloomfield and East Liberty. If
9 workingman living in East Liberty travels
to and from Sherpsburg every day, his car
fare will be 80 cents, which is quite an item
of expense. The fare from East Liberty to
the Forks of the Road is cents. From the
Forks to the Cemetery Gate it is cents more,
and he will have to pay an additional fare
on the Sharpsburg cars.
BASIS OF THE CLAIM
The people who object to paying Is cents
say the company should issue transfer
tickets at the Forks and carry them from
their homes to Sharpsburg for 10 cents.
They base their claim for a reduction on ac-
count of the short distance between these
two points, although it is necessary to
change cars twice to complete the Journey
The distance from Sharsburg to East Lib
erty is no greater than from the latter point
to Pittsburg, although there are three times
the amout of fare charged. A reporter of
THE DISPATCH yesterday called upon Mr..
Werner, and in reply to questions the latter
said:
1.-THE idea of issuing transfer tickets from
East Liberty to Sharpsburg has never been
thought of by the directors, cut since you
mention ii, will bring it up before the
board at the regular meeting in July. I
think the scheme would result fayorably to
the company, and 1 believe it will be done.
What money would be lost in decreased
fares would be made up from an increase of
passengers. The officers of the company are
always willing to do anything to please its
patrons especially when it will benefit the
stockholders. We are contemplating i'm
proving and extending the Sharpsburg
branch, and we may as well begin with a
reduction of the fares from East Liberty.
THE DISPATCH has already announced
the fact that there will be special meeting
of the stockholders in July for the purpose
of increasing the capital stock. This will
be necessary to make the change of motive
power on the Sharpsburg branch. The
capital stock of the company is now s., 50O,-
600, and it will be necessary to increase this
to 50, 600, 900, to make the change. Our in
Jention is to make the very fastest time be-
tween Sharpsburg and the Cemetery Gate,
and transfer the electric cars to the cable
car tracks. Passengers could then make
thetrip from the borough to the heart of
the city in about three-quarters OF an hour.
WOULD SAVE TIME AND MONEY.
''The majority of the people now travel
either over the Allegheny Valley, the West
Penn or the Pittsburg and Western roads
In either case they have to cross the river at
Allegheny or Sharpsburg, and about ten
minutes is lost. If they walk they are COM
PEELED to pay bridge toll, and if they ride
they must pay 5 cents. The electric cars
could be run into town, attached to the
cable cars, without trouble, and passengers
Woul d not have to change at the Cemetery
Gate. It is the intention to extend the line
from Sharpsburg to Fairview, distance of
about four miles. The country up there is
becoming thickly populated, and there is
no doubt at all about the business paving.
sit is rather too early to talk of Duquesne
Traction Company affairs. but to nv mind
there is going 10 be fight between the two
companies for business. About the first
thing will be a reduction of fares, and
will favor our company taking a hand in
the fight. We have our own patronage in
the East Liberty Valley and have never
paid any attention to the Pittsburg Com
pany, which goes through an entirely differ
ent territory. II the Pittsburg Company
reduces the fare we will meet it, and be-
tween the three companies it will be a case
of the survival OF the fttest If the fare
was reduced to cents it would probably be
a starter toward consolidation of the Pitts
burg and Duquesne companies The1 two
lines would fight each other, and, as both
would lose money, the affair would be set
tied by one selling out to the other. Both
lines will practically 90 through the same
territory, and where under the sun both of
them can get enough passengers is more
than can see. The people in the new COM
pany are in it to stay and there will be fun
when they begin running their cars
TALKS WITH THE PATRONS.
A trip was made to Highland avenue
near East Liberty, where John Doghertv
resides in a neat frame house Mr.. DoghertY
is q mill worker. He formerly lived in
Lawrenceville, near the mill in which he
worked, but has since moved to his present
dwelling place. Mr.. Dogherty said: 81
think that's good plan of The DISPATCH
about those transfer tickets. Every morn
ing, when I'm starting out TO work, I've got
to take the cars down to the Forks ofthe Road,
get out there and take the other cars as
far as Forty-third street. For the two rides
pay 10 cents. Lots of men prefer TO walk
the whole journey; but I'm getting bit
old, and the walk would make me too tired
to work my full time. If the Citizens line
people allowed transfer tickets, TO 60
through, they would do a much bigger bust |
ness with millmen and other laborers. |
About lower fares, l would like nothing |
better, and I'm sure the additional number |
of passengers would make up for the reduc- |
ton" Joseph j. McGonigle, of VAIN
rights brewery, lives on Frankstown ave- |
nue.. He also approved of lower fares. |
''Three cent fares" he observed, would |
help us with families 10 paw rent and taxes.
-Four cents extra In our pockets every day
may look small, but it means church money
on Sunday and candy for the children. The
transfer tickets would be great boon: that
il IL they were 5-cent transfer ticEete Lee