The evening times., 1898-12-21
CONDEMN THE ACTION
OF THE RAILROADS.
Washington and Baltimore
Commuters Hold a Meeting.
A COMMITTEE APPOINTED
To Confer With Traffic Officials s to
Adjust the Difficulty.
A COMMITTEE APPOINTED
No Protest Entered Against Affixinr Pho
tographs to Monthly
Tickets.

| and Baltimore commuters at Willard's
| Hotel last night in protest against the
| action of the Pennsylvania and Balti-
| more and Ohio railroad companies in
disseminating the sale of three months
| communication tickets between the sister
| cities OF Washington and Baltimore.
The sale of monthly communication tick
| cts will continue, but il is claimed by the
commuters that this is equivalent to an
| annual increase in the fare between the
| two cities of $500. The commuters In
| attendance last night entered no obsec-
ton against the demand of the railroad
omclais that they attach their photo
| graphs to their Communication tickets.
John Fleming. II. j. DAILY, sr.. J. War
rem johnson, l.. L. Freeman and B. I'll.
Brockway were appointed as a comm ttee
| TO confer with commuters in Baltimore
and to call upon the railroad officials
with view TO adjusting the dfficu ~.
r. +. Newton, Burdett Stryker. H J
DAILY, jr., and T. NJ. Medford were chos an
as a committee to canvass all the inter
city commuters and TO secure their CO.
operation
Another meeting will be held on next
Wednesday evening
At meeting of the commuters held at
Baltimore on Monday evening Thomas F
Sprigg was chosen TO confer with Balti-
more business men.
In speaking of the interviews held Mr..
Spriggs said:
The various business organizations rec
ogniZed in the action OF the railroads a
move that is Injurious 10 the business in
terests of Baltimore. We have enlisted
the cD-ODera ion NJ rh,. nroa MIA tfaps
as result, we hope TO have the railroads
reconsider their action. Holders of com
mutation tickets in making this move are
not fighting the railroads. but desire to
cooperate with them for mutual pr0tec-
ton. While there has evidently been
abuses of the Communication privilege. the
large proportion of the five hundred or
more holders Of these tickets have faith
fully fulfilled the obligations OF their con-
tracts with the railroads.
Instances can be cited of cases where
the railroad company detected the misuse
of these tickets and took them up on the
train only TO return them TO he original
purchaser. When the railroads condone
such violations of The agreement and fail
to rigidly enforce the penalty by refusing
TO allow such persons to enjoy the COM
mutation privilege they assume response
biity for the abuse The action taken Is
a hardship 10 many persons who have not
violated the agreement. and prompted by
the existence Of the communication tickets,
have made their homes in Baltimore al
though their daily work is in Washington.
The additional charge now proposed is
tax that the average comnuter cannot af-
ford and the only alternative is to aban-
don Baltimore as a home and move 10
Washington This VIII not only hurt the
,fD Dol, nv mar fa m
who now spend their income here but the
railroads, whose action will force such a
step will lose just so much business.
with liberal commutation rates the at
tractivenesS and economy Of Baltimore
as a home would induce more people who
work and now live in Washington TO
make their homes here. This applies
with especial force to the department
clerks. In determining TO sell only
monthly Communication tickets the rail-
roads require that the photograph of the
owner shall be placed on the ticket to
prevent its use by any one else. Now, If
this will prevent unauthorized persons
using the monthly tickets, why won't
the same regulation stop them from US
ing quarterly tickets? Three-monthly
tickets between Baltimore and Wash
ington under the change which has been
made will now cost s15.45 each, or si6.35
against the old rate of $36.75.
"The Hudson River Railroad sells
monthly Communication tickets covering
trips of forty-one miles al 50 each. Cheap
er rates are given from Baltimore to
HaVre de Grace and from Baltimore to
Sykesville by quarterly Communication
tickets than between Baltimore and
Washington. This discrimination cannot
be understood. when it is considered that
the traffic between Baltimore and Wash
ington on Communication tickets is many
times greater than that to either or both
of these places. and should, therefore.
have any advantage in the way of rates.
Another point is that quarterly COM
mutation tickets can be bought between
Baltimore and Laurel for Sl9.75 and be-
tween Laurel and Washington for ST,
making for the two $50. .75, against the
charge of s46.35 for three month tick
cts between Baltimore and Washington.
With two such quarterly tickets the
commuter is certainly entitled to trans
portation between this city and Wash
ington. The railroad says that on
through trains which do not stop at Lau-
rel such tickets would not be accepted.
What are they going to do about it? They
would hardly put the holder off of the
train and bring up the legal question as
to whether joint tickets do not entitle the
holder TO ride between the farthest
points they specify. The commuters feel
that they have been done an injustice by
the changes which have been made, and
are willing to believe that fair consid-
Grafton of the case by the railroads will
induce them to restore the quarterly
tickets