The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-04-20

| lbeiuS uu not DG8ln lO De tllc plpiStlS liiS ! street railways have been. The former
 wait until the population has reached a
 point, or the natural resources d deVel- opment which is believed to insure a
 paying, or at least, self-supportlng bus
 mess. On the other hand, hundreds of
 miles of street railways have been laid
 in the face of certain loss the first years, and in some cases with the full eXpec-
 tatlon that no profit need be looked for during long period. Some have re-
 ceived their reward sooner than expect
 ed; many others have not.
 The street railway of our large cities
 is gigantic institutions; it cannot reVo-
 lutionize in day or a year. To do it's
 best for all concerned, public, employees
 stockholders, it is absolutely essential
 that it's course be plainly marked out q long way in advance. But it cannot
 proceed with a progressive policy, how
 ever desirable, and pull up suddenly in
 moment. Such a course means dlsas- ter just as much as when ship strikes | q rock
 | But, you say. we argue for longtime | franchises with fixed fares of cOrrespon- dingly long periods, and admitting that fve-cent fares are just now, will not four cents or three cents, or even less be possible, in ten, twenty or thirty years? Under the old horse car regime were not
 the prevailing rates of fare five cents,
 tie ourselves up for long period, only
 to cause us regret later on2 The point
 is well taken, I coneede; but what are
 the facts now and what is the record? Lei hp ic Ia
 that while economies in production, re-
 sulting from labor-saving machinery
 and competition. have reduced the sell
 ing price of all commodities of necessity
 and luxury during the past decade,
 street car fares alone of all the rest re-
 main the same. Sugar, petroleum, flour,
 shoes, iron, books, jewelry, newspapers,
 have bent to the downward trend of
 prices, but the car fare is a Gibraltar
 But is it true? What is the history of car fares the country over, and here in
 Chicago?
 During the horse car regime, which
 dates from the first car in 1881 to 1885,
 when electricity came into practical use,
 there were frequently ten separate, and some of them competitive, companies in a single city. The longest haul in those days rarely exceeded four or, at the
 most five miles, while the majority were probably three miles or less. The ser vice was slow infrequent and performed with cars dimly lighted and but little better than a shelter. There was no in- terchange of passengers. and to go three or four miles often necessitated the pay ment of a second or even third fare. With the advent of electricity came many comforts, and the ability to use larger and heavier cars than was possi ble to haul with animal power
 The ability with electricity to supply several roads from one power station brought about consultations. Without a single exception the public was the dl- rect gainer by this merger system. It became possible to give transfers where formerly two fares were required. On parallel lines, where competition wasS running empty cars Gor I have visited cities where the supply of ears on par allel lines one block apart was two and three times in excess of the possible de- mands), in such cases the unnecessary cars were removed and either placed on new lines or held in reserve for emer- gency, The expense thus saved became available for Improvements in numerous ways, but which before were unwarrant- ed. Tn these consultations the new company, or the old one absorbing the others, voluntarily surrendered it's rights to extra fares. This has been the history for more than ten years. Not only this, but extensions were made in every city, greatly increasing the length of the haul, but without any increase in the fare This has been continued until in almost all, if not every one, of our larger cities the five-cent fare carries the rider two, three and four times as far as for the amount paid ten years ago. In other words, on the basis of the ride sold for five cents only decade ago, the passenger would to-day be pay ing fifteen or twenty cents
 The libarality cannot all be on one sde, for in exactly the proportion you burden and restrict a street railway, in just that do you limit it's range of use fulness. Does the company ask what | you are pleased to term certain privi- leges and concessions in exchange for certain concessions or performances on it's part? If so, it is because the cOmpa | ny has been actually forced to use in | barter that which, under a liberal and just treatment from the city, it would | gladly have done voluntarily And ! what, too, are these same 'concessions' the company seeks? Investigation will, | with scarcely an exception the country over. find them to be that which will go | to improve the service and add value to in which the company has no | share.
 Did time permit I would like to trace | for you the evolution and revolution of | as a romance. It is a story of patient | ceaseess endeavor toward | better. A few know of the . trials and lives and millions of treasure which have gone into the striving; the world has never heard of these Success )nly is crowned. 1 would have told you of the cars of fifty years ago, small wages and long hours. l should like to picture the great social change In the fife of the farmer and his family which the trolley has wrought in four years; of the brightness and happiness poured into the life of drudgery of the poor by music and entertainment and parks, now provided free by hundreds of street rail- ways; of reading rooms and libraries md S cial clubs, and free baths and ben lift associations for employees.
 There are so many phases to subject