The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-11-20
CHEAP RAILROAD FARES
PROF. f. j. JAMES. OF CHICAGO UNI
VERSITY, TALKS OF THEM.
shows How Reduced Rates Have In
creased European TraHic-Unfair
Conditions in This Country.


foremost economists in the United States.
He is professor of public administration in
the University of Chicago and was for a
number of years at the head of the
ecoEo mic faculty of the University of Penn
sylvia nia. He was the founder and has been
the only president of the American Acad-
envy of Political Science. He was one of
the chief promoters OF theoretical municipal
reform which is being worked out all over
the country. He spoke in part as follows:
The railways OF this country have, as
a whole, neglected the possloiiileS Tor proht
which lie IN the development OF the pas
senger tralnc. The result is not oniy lhat
the railways have tailed 10 earn prontS
which they might just as well nave mace,
but that they nave also 1alieo 10 extend
the proper facilities in passenger tralnc 10
the puDnc In many respects ana nave not
lowered the rates as much as the cneapen-
ing or ali other tnings in our modern lie
would call for IL Is "a common notion that
the people OF the United states are great
traveiers, greater IMAM those OF any oIner
country. but the ngures snow that In 1852
England had 70 Passengers Tor every IN
divldual In it's population, Belgium 3-lU,
Scotland 10, rance D o-lO, Germany D. the
United States less than D. In otner words,
Eng land, Belgium, france, scotland ana
Germany exceed The United States In the
number OF passengers TO the population,
England having more than nVe times as
many.
line ratio has changed somewhat to the
advantage OF the UnILed States IN the last
ten years, but we stlil remain far behind
the ieauing countries or Europe in the num-
Der or people who actually use the railway
a number OF times in the course or year.
The ngures show that the leading roads In
1884 carried fewer passengers Tor eacn mile
of road than in ls,0. Inc hsures as given
by Poor in his Manual for 1879 are as fol-
lows. 1910, III, 40, 1894, y6,liS Inc ngureS
also show that the passenger earnings for
the last ten years are only about 20 per
cent. OF the total income or the roads. Inc
hos l. ri
was 775,0ooOO0. not counting the holders of
Communication tickets, while the number was
only 52U,UUv,OoO in the United States. includ-
ing Communication ticket holders. The num-
Der of people who travel is increasing more
rapidly in the leading European countries
than 1T is in the United States. This is, to
road rates in the United States, rates which
are TOO high, considering the social de-
mands of the people; too nigh TO allow
RAPID and healthfui development OF the pas
senger traffic; too high TO allow the highest
rates of protit to the railways themselves;
too nigh 10 permit the most rapid develop
ment OF industry incident TO the most rapid
means or locomotiCn. There are still very
many examples III this country OF the state
OF things which exist between New York
and Philadelphia. where the lowest single
fare for ninety miles is $3.50 Let Us COM
pare these rates with some OF the rates in
Europe.
FARES IN HUNGARY.
Hungary adopted most interesting sys-
tariff system, under which the unit of dis
lance was taken as fifteen miles instead
of one mile. and according to which the
price to all stations within the first fifteen
miles of any staten Is the same then to
all other stations up to twenty-five miles
is the same; then the same to all stations
up to thirtyfour miles, and. finally. the
same to all stations more than 14O miles.
he 70 oil ;,, he 40
including, therefore. all within fifteen miles
from the starting point, is 10 cents. third
class. The fare for any zone up to the
twelfth is found by simply multiplying the
number OF the zone by this formal rate.
Thus the fare is 20 cents all stations
within twenty-five miles and more than fif-
teen, 80 cents to all stations within thirty
five miles and more than twenty-five. etc.
The fare for all stations beyond lao miles
would be SLIGO. This system was great
reduction over the system which had been
in vogue before. The traffic increased in
side of twelve months over lis per cent.
traffic, which was at somewhat of dis
advantage, rose the most. showing an in
crease of more than 100 per cent.
The Austrian railways adopted new
tariff on June 16, 1880. The lowest rate is
one kreutZer, or four-tenths of a cent, per
kilometer being the. equivalent of six
half a cent. And at the same time they
adopted other features which made the
price of tickets for local traffic extremely
low. The simplification of the railroad
tariff under such a system Is very great.
Under the old system the number or dis
tinct tickets which had 10 be kept was
nearly 100. under the new IL was only nine
ty-two. Railroad tickets are placed on sale
like postage stamps at the postoffice, hotels.
cigar shops and other convenient places.
The greatest distance which can be trav-
eled in Hungary for SLIGO is 459 miles max
ing rate OF 35-100 of a cent for the third
or lowest class. At the same rate one could
a got frnn 70
York for $500. The lowest fare from New
York to Philadelphia under that system
would be 80 cents. This, of course, is the
extreme rate at one end. but the extreme
rate at the. other shows a much lower one
than anything offered in the United States
The Austrian system would make a rate
of so cents on distance from New York
to Philadelphia, whereas the Pennsylvania
road charges $3.50. The fare to Chicago
would be 1913, making the cheapest rate
in Austria about one-third of the cheapest
rate here.
Some places in Europe offer low prices
for workmens tickets. On Austrian roads
on workmen's trains there is n rate of 2
cents trip up to six miles, cents for
twelve miles, cents up TO eighteen miles
) cents up TO twenty-four miles and 10 cents
up to thirty miles.
1.-The best rate of workmen's trains is,
however, given In Belgium. In that coun-
try one can ride the workmen's trains
to and from work six days in the week a
distance OF three miles for Il cents. six
y 5.
making the rate on the weeks riding thir-
ty-sX miles for q cents. seventy-two miles
for 2, cents ia miles for 3! cents. 2le miles
for 81 cents. etc. This tariff is based on
the principle that ii does not cost the rail
road anything like the same proportion to
carry passenger ten miles than il does
to carry him five.
Our present railroad system in the
United States favors the Weather class In
the community at the expense of the
poorer. III is generally agreed that the fast
trains composed of Pullman cars do not
pay 20 the road at the same rate as the
slower trains filled with second-class pas
sengers. II Is the second-class passenger,
therefore, who pays for not only his OWE
fare. but a part of the fare of the man who
rides in the Pullman.
Every nation develops and grows fond
of lot of tictions in regard to its own
qualities We Americans have a number OF
them. Among them is the notion that the
average American il a well-to-do indvid-
ual, who has money enough to get what he
pleases and to go where he pleases and
the question of whether he pays 3 cents a
mile or half a cent mile upon the railways
is one of indifference. Mr.. Atkinson, the
prophet of optimism in this country, has
pointed out that the average wage is only
a trifie over 40 cents day per capita--that
| is, that family of five persons would only
get about y a day on the average for all
its revenue, even If the whole product We're
equally divided and If we consume the totai
| annual production i'm the year within which,
| IL Is produced. Now. with ~ day for ali
| expenses. ii is evident that the average
| amily would have very little left for tray
| cling at the rate of cents mile. It L.
| simply impossible. therefore, that at the
present railroad rates travel should increase
| in anything like the ratio which We Shout
| tie inclintd to think possible fi.rn the well
| known characteristics of the American