The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-15
TELLS WHY NO TRANSFERS.
TRACTION COMPANY SAYS 1T CAN
NOT BE REQUIRED TO GIVE THEM.

NOI bF4 AktAsAt ~ III - AAA@-A
Manager Collins Claims the City Or
dinance Regulating street Rail
ways Did Not Intend One Fare to
Extend to the Entire system. But
only to a Single Lfne-A Difference
of Opinion and the City Attorney
TO BE Called on For n Construction
of the Law.
Manager J. S. Collins of the Savannah
Traction Company holds that there is no
city ordinance which requires street rail
way companies to give transfers from one
line TO another line of the same system.
A passenger who has ridden over one
line or portion of a line of a street rail-
way system, he holds, cannot require the
street railway company to give him a
transfer to another line of the same sys-
TEN.
For instance, Mr.. Collins holds that a
passenger who has paid his fare on a belt
line car is not entitled to a transfer to
a Barnard street car on arriving at the
junction of that line with the belt line.
The same thing applies to the crossing
of the belt and Price street lines at the
Office at Gwinnett and Price streets, at
the market, and at other points on tie
system where the different lines meet or
intTsect.
Manager Collins bases this opinion on
exactly the same section of the same or
dinance on which most people base the
mt hot
is required to give transfers so that any
part of its system may be reached from
any other part of the same system for
one fare.
The point in question is to be found in
section of the city ordinance, authoriz-
ing the Savannah Street and Rural Resort
railroad and the City and Suburban and
Coast Line railways to equip their lines
for the operation of cars by electricity,
the terms Of this ordinance being after
ward made applicable to all other street
railroads operating by electricity. Sec.
ton reads as follows:
''Be 1t further ordained That in order
that the citizens of Savannah shall be as
sured of an improved street railway SER
vice, 1t is made one of the conditions of
this service, that, upon the adoption I'M
der this ordinance, of electricity as a mo-
Tive power tue railway company adopting
and using the same, shall be required to
commence running it's cars not later than
6 o'clock a. M, and to run them contin-
uously to O'Clock p. m, at intervals not
exceeding Is minutes, and from o'clock
p m. to II p. m, not exceeding one-half
hour. The fare 70 be charged by the said
companies from any point on their line of
road within the said city of Savannah,
shall not exceed cents for each passen-
ar 20. -
line Of road by day or by night"
Mr.. Collins rests his case on the word
Zine" He holds that this means that
a street railway company is required to
transport passenger for 5 cents from any
point on any one of it's lines
TO any other point on the
same line, but that it cannot be re-
CURED to give transfer to another line Of
the same system. In other words. he
in this case are not interchangeable and
that the ordinance is not so intended
Mr.. Collins said that the only point at
which transfers are given by the Traction
company are at Bay and Indian streets
between the belt and the Indian street
branch, and at the company's office on
Gwinnett street, to the Collinsvilie line.
He holds that passengers have no right to
expect transfers between the two belts at
their Intersection at Gwinnett and Price
streets, or at the market, where the Price
street belt intersects the Barnard street
line, or on Bay street. where the Barnard
street line joins the big belt
III We gave transfers at all these inter
seeting points," said Mr.. Collins. "a pass
enger could ride all day for one fare. He
could ride around the big belt, transfer to
the Price street belt. ride around that.
transfer at the market to the Barnard
street line, ride out that, transfer to one
OF the belts and continue the operation
Just as long as he or she saw fit to do so.
1t would be nice snap for people who
wanted to ride
Mr.. Collins was asked il this could not
be easily regulated by providing that a
passenger who had received one transfer
should not be given a second. He did not
think this could be done.
If Mr.. Collins is correct in his interpre-
tatlon of the ordinance, and he saws he
has good legal authority for his position.
then street railway companies in Savan-
nan are not required to give transfers.
The natural Interpretation Of the ordi-
nance would appear to be, however. that
line" includes everything belonging to
one company The City and Suburban
Railway Company appears to put this in
depreciation on the ordinance, as It gives
transfers between its lines. The point
may be brought to the attention of the
city attorney for his decision.