The evening world., 1894-09-27
MONOPOLYSSECRETS
They Are Guarded Zsalously by
the Big Traction Syndicate.
The Public Cannot Find Out What
the Profits Are.
Omcial Action. Not Argument, VIII
Bring About Reform.

The story OF one OF the main feeders
of the Metropolitan Traction Company
has already been told by The Evening
World" 1t showed how enormously
the traffic OF the Houston and West
street line, which now includes the
broadway cable road had increased
during the past three years, and that
the road had carried over 100000 more
passengers in 1898 than in 1892.
This represents an additional income
for the Company OF more than S9VO.OoO
for that year alone, and 1t only brings
the record down to June 30 1t Is rea-
sonable to suppose that the succeeding
year. ending June 80, 1894. will show a
corresponding increase, but the state
ment has not yet been made public.
II II is included in the report OF the
Metropolitan Street Railway which now
controls and operates not only the
Houston and West street line. and Its
leased lines, but the Broadway surface
road and South Ferry as well, the In
crease in the number of passengers car
ried should show a tremendous Increase.
The consolidation of all these lines un-
der the Metropolitan Street Railway
but whether the exact situation Will be
shown in the forthcoming statement OF
not Is question.
1t is evident from the complicated and
confusing system in bookkeeping which
has been adopted by the syndicate. tina,
managers of these lines have no dispo'
sition to let the public know how much
money they are making. Up to the
present time their published account
would seem to indicate that they are
making only a very moderate prom
on the capital invested, and yet th'
declared dividend of 8 per cent. mus
seem ridiculously small to any one wht
knows the tremendous Increase whlci
| has annually taken place In the earn
| inRs of the monopoly.
In addition to the 63, OO0, 900 passenger
carried in 1898 by the Houston and Yves
street and It's allied iines the other sr. r9ds sia
third street crosstown road in the sam
year carried ltsiio Passengasrsss rdpa s,ree ta
Ferry road S,OOOO passengers, ana IN
Central Park, North and East Rive
road, for the first quarter or the sam
year, June 30 to oct A. 1892, 4,920,OoO pas
sengers, or an average of nearly 10000
600 passengers for the entire year. Tn
figures for the latter Company are ON
given VI, to the time of Its lease to % IN
Metropolitan Crosstown Railroad Con
pany, which was. organized In octobe
is92. to operate the Forty-second stree
and the Central Park, North and Eas
River roads, with a line OF its own thre
and n half miles In length
The offices of all these companies ar
centered in the big Gable Building, .
broadway and Houston street, and u
personnel OF the directories Of the di
ferent corporations Is almost identica
Theotticers OF the, Traction CompaT
, President; Peter A.. B. Widmer, of Phi
, adelphia, Vice-President, and Charles
Warren, Of New York, Secretary an
Treasurer. Other directors are Wiilia,
3 L. Elkins and Thomas Dolan, of Phil
, delphia, and William c. Whitney, Il:
Hayes and Thomas +. Ryan, of Ne
York.
e Company. which has absorbed eigl
: separate lines, the names, of IL.
Yreeland, D., b. Hasprouek' Hans
}, Beattie and II. o.. Robinson appear
the Metropolitan Crosstown Railroi
$ Elkins, II. II. Vreeland. II. $. Beatti
;, y Charles L. Warren; The same nam
d figure prominently in the list of dire
e tors OF each Of the subordinate cor
o panies, while the others represent Z
~ few surviving directors of the origin
II corporations before the Traction Cor
lie pany gathered them into It's clutch
IN and who now represent only small l
terests as rule, in the big centr
X company which controls them all.
No complete financial statement OF I
, operations OF the monopoly has er
been made public. 1t has always work
Ir in secret and kept Its affairs involved
"a mystery. Very little knowledge can
2 gained from Its reports except that
controls IA prodigious traffic, and that
r must be piinG up millions In Its coffe
a every year. Meanwhile 1t Is gradua
n spreading out and gathering in 9th
properties, extending its own lines
le ready acquired. and In time no dot
Y. expects TO own or control every str,
E. railroad line In the metropolis and
A vicinity,
1t has already become so poweri
to that II has practically deted public st
At timent, and has utterly ignored all {
mands from the travelling public
o. better and more comfortable aCcomn
~ dations. So long as 1t can collect II
of cents apiece from l50. 600 900 or more pa
a. sengers every year, and actually conn
% them to patroni2e Its over-crowded ca
n herding them in like cattle or swi
without any Interference from the q
=, tho titles or any restraint by law, II
5u evident that there is going to be no
lie provement.
as Moral suasion does not go with
:, greedy corporation like the MetropC
IL tan Traction Company. II the pl
OF lie wants remedy II must take I
tn matter into its own hands.