The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-04-03

Bridgeport and Stratford, from 23,54' to 7,O6S; decrease 16, 479.
 New Haven and West Hayeni from 8, 294 to 6,649; decrease 1,585.
 New Haven and East Haven, from 5, ,819 to 2,203; decrease 3,416.
 Meriden and Yalesville, from 1376S tc 3002; decrease 10,76
 Hartford and Rocky Hill, from 7,55S to 6,567; decrease 991.
 Union City and Waterbury, from 23,- 124 to 3,107; decrease 20,017.
 Naugatuck and Waterbury, from 48,- 672 to 6051; decrease 42,620
 New Haven and Woodmont, from B. 58O to 3,275; decrease 5,3O5.
 Bridgeport and Southport, from 2O,74s to 15,617; decrease 5,13l.
 Meriden and Wallingford, from S4, to 24,54S; decrease 9,689.
 South Norwalk and Rowayton, from 33. .606 to 21, ,814; decrease H.
 South Norwalk and Winnipauk, from sos to 102; decrease FOG.
 Derby and Ansonia, from 2,479 to g. 2g5; decrease 254.
 Birmingham and Ansonia, from l2,o2O to 10, 400; decrease 1, 1,620.
 Between Bridgeport and Fairfield the travel begun to show falling off in December, 1894, undoubtedly due to electric competition, and continued, as will be seen by the following compari- son:
 December, 1894, 5,224; 1895, 3,59Sj de- crease 1,626.
 crease 3,624.
 IN crease 3,037.
 Between Danbury and Bethel the tra- vel begun to show a falling off in Jan uary. 1895, undoubtedly due to electric competition, and continued, as will be seen by the following comparisoni
 January 1894, 469s; 1895, 2,9O6; de- crease 1,792.
 February, 1894, 7,251; 1885 1.4o1; de- crease 5,S50.
 "But what of it, says Brother Gager? Supposing your local travel is destroy ed? It is an insignificant loss, com pared with your total passenger income. But what has the total passenger tn- come of the Consolidated road to do with this question? It has no more to do with it than the bursting of the dam of the Ansonia reservoir had to do with the nomination of MT. Gager for a. fudge of the superior court, posi- tion I hope to see him attain some day. and which he will adorn, if he does not stay too long around the legislature acting as counsel for the promoters of electric interests. The question here refers wholly and only to local busi- ness Stick to your fast expresses, your through trains, your freight trans portation.' cries Motorman Gager. But will the people of these towns, upon which these New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania syndicates propose to inf1ict those electric parallels, be content with less frequent steam trains and accommoda-i tions than they now have? Will they be content to see most of the trains go rolling by their stations because the steam railroad has been obliged to cur tall its service for lack of patronage? Yet such must be the inevitable result, if the policy advocated by the gentle man is followed.
 "In 1893 President Clark, in his state ment to the stockholders, said, in speaking of the electric competition, that the owners. of steam railroads may expect their managers to lessen local service in proportion to diminished business Again, in hds annual statement of 1894, he says: The of electric railroads in the of our property continues all it's territory. Wherever they seriously reduce the revenue of this property, we shall be compelled to iVN nyH iY1 ry degree, as pointed out in our last an- nual report There is no other remedy that the steam road can adopt to pro feet itself. But do the people of these towns, or the people of the state, who have occasion to use this great high way for rapid communication, desire his diminished service? Within three months the New Haven company has with the consent of the railroad commissioners, .wo out of five trains between Fall River and New Bedford, solely on ac- ,ount of electric competition by parallel street railways.
 Let the people of the several towns l n the state, but very few of which 1 Ire directly interested in any way with l ,lectric railroads, understand that, if | hese parallel schemes are continued and he local traffic of their steam roads is destroyed, but one result can follow, 1 md that is, less frequent trains, less l xpensive stations, and less money for he steam roads to provide comforts, | he conveniences and the luKuries the | raveling public reasonably and prop | rly demand. MT. Gager's argument ! egarding the ratio of the loss of local | business, due to electric road competi- | ion, to the total passenger earnings l f our railroad, is unworthy of him. | { is too infantile and weak to stand | lone. It is spacious, but absolutely un- ound. As well might one say that, l ecause a man had eight toes left after he amputation of two, it was un- easonable and trifling for him to de- lore the loss of the two, because he ould still walk pretty well. With its ne running in four states. each con travellers for longer or shorter | istances, it is true the road is not en- rely dependent upon the business de- wed from the territory competitive with he electric roads, but 1t is a part of | UT sustenance and we are on the round ready and willing to serve the ublic as well as ever, and have in- ested vast sums of money for the sole urpose of so doing.