Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-09-24
4 Card from DIR. Thomas Nelson Fage.

RIcHMosp. Va, September q. 1871.
| To he Eiiior Of he DiSpd'ch:
| A short time ago | made some enquiry Gs
| to the reason why the Electric Street Car
| Company give transfers a Ninth and Main
| and other points, and even at Reservoir
| street gong one way, but reiuee to allow
| them there going towards Broad stoeei.
! Your reply WAS as follows:
Ihe asrtnEoncn, "a explained 60 W does
| not seem to be an unrrasona bic one, for other
| wise a passenger cDud make the circuit OF the
| city Toy ono larc. II n man got on n car nj tho
DISPATCH Office and rode to Reservoir street ard
! WAS th"rc transferred 20 n Church-l!ill car
| Z nc GOVn town he could continue 70 ride to the
| end OF Tho route. as II - deemed Improbable
T. take individual notice Of the Passengers after
| they are once .rnnsicrred.'
| The excuse assigned seems to me 10 he
| wholly frivolous and unreasonable. Per-
! haps thcTc are some poor women who to
| get the hr attn Of a breeze caused by the
motion Of the ear might ride as far as You
| say, bat unless they were defective in the
sense of smell "a well as of hearing they
would be very likely to prefer the ride out
through the open country to the reservoir
TO that suggested through the odorOus re-
gions of lower Franklin with Its stables
and market. Why Is IL deemed imprac-
ticable TO take individual notice of pas
sengers after they ore transferred" at that
polntf (Will you kindly state who your
informant Is that We may judge what
grounds he has for his opinioni l. he an
officer of the street-car cOmpanyD Do
they not have conductors who could pro-
tect the cOnpany's interest when transfers
are made at this point, as they do when
transfers are made. say at Ninth and
Main TO Broad-street cars, and again at
Laurel ana Main from those cars 10 Mann
street carsI Donot the conductors on rail-
roads take individual notice Of passengers
so as to prevent their riding further than
they have paid for?
Why did not your in:orman. say that
the transfers at Nintn street and other
points are not gwen because the people Of
the city have any right to them, but are
given gratultously because they are part
of that liberal and generous policy which
the company has ever displayed, and
which has induced them alw avs TO furnish
us the best ana quIctest cars ard the best
equipment here! That, indeed. might
have been reasonable had it been true.
But III view OF tho fact that there is now
and has been for year or 80 only one
stroet-car company In this city Except, of
course. the Manchester hpo), and that the
double charge complained Of is violative
of Its charter. and like the noisy, rafting,
rundown cars an imposition on this long
suffering public. am compelled TO differ
with you. Within the las: year all the old
companies have boon consolidated.
| know that for private reasons there
still remains q fiction Of law that they are
distinct but they are not. they are con-
solidated. There Is but one president.
one management. one set of owners. and
one company the Richmond Railway and
Electric Company, chartered under the act
of Assembly (Acts of Assembly $3.50,
page 497). Now. this act provides that the
company shall be subject 10 all restric-
tions, conditions. &C., imposed by the
Council of this city. The ordinances of
the city provide that only one fare shall bc
charged for continuous ride over the
company's lines provided the same part OF
the line he not covered twice. This is not
the language of the ordinance but it is
the spirit of the provision, and the COM
pany recognizes this by its transfers at
other points. If the company adheIes to
ITS refusal u give the transfer the question
will be tested. Yours respectfully,
Thomas NELSON PAGE.
The excuse assigned does not seem to
US so utterly" frivolous and unreasonable"
as it appears TO our learned friend.
Our information came from the manager
Of the street-car company.
II the refusal to give transfers is a viola
ton of law, why there is an end Of it, be-
cause We have courts here established to
enforce the laws.
We should like TO hear what answer the
company has TO make 10 DR.. Page.