The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-09-10
INDUS IRlAI IEUROP As SEEl
THROUGH || ! !. An AMERICAN S EYES
Europes Municipal street cars and the economic Lessons
They Present to the People Of American
f**# u O4t4es : ! al+#
Record Shorter Hours and Higher Wages All Employees
% in the Municipal Service, and Improved Sys- = ~{
tenn Over PrivateConcerns ~~" K

.
charges. In Glasgow, this basis Is,
in the rough. about a mile, for which
ride the charge is a cent. In Man
chester the basis is two; cents for two
miles. When two zones are entered
the cost is doubled. ":.:
When paying fare the passenger
either informs the conductor: where
his ride is to terminate, OR hands over:
the exact fare he desires to pay. In
either case he is given a check con-.
tanning the names of the streets or
stations terminating the various
zones, and this check is punched OPP
posite the terminus of the zone or
zones paid for.
AS a rule the backs of these checks
are used for advertising purposes,
quite an income occurring from this
source. These checks. are at once re-
ce1pts for fares paid as well as bars
| TO dishonesty on the part of conduc-
tors and passengers. Inspectors"
| board cars at irregular intervals and
call for these checks, in the mean
| while noting the number Of passen-
gers the memorandum kept by the
| conductor calls for. do not remember
l k'NSSAAoS1
| street cars abroad, the number of
! checks taking their place.
Close View Of Manchester Street Cars.
Last year was the second the street
| tramways or Manchester had been I'M
der municipal control. The system is
| not yet perfected, as the experimental
stage is incomplete. Yet the manage
| ment turned $4,000 into the city
treasury, besides cutting the fares,
reducing the hours Of labor Of en-
1poyes from 70 to 81 hours a week,
| increasing their pay, putting ON more
cars with more rapid speed, and in
other ways improving the service.
Letters Of Introduction from Mayor
Maybury Of Detroit, Mich, and Mayor
johnson Of Cleveland, o., provided me
| interviews with city officials every
where and the information thus OBJ
! tanned as Well as the confidence with
| which those in charge Of municipal
tramWays talked, backed up as were
their words with official figures,
| makes it impossible for me to see how
! anyone with any general knowledge
Of the situation can argue for a mo-
ment in favor of private and against
| vice.
mo one, in this city at least" the
superintendent Of Manchester city
tramways told me- "even dreams Of
returning to. the private":ownership of
our tramWaYs, except he has "a night;
| mare. In no big; town in England has.
this addition to the duties of a NUM-;
cipality been failure. It was often.
! necessary to buy out private COM
panles, paying good, round sum for
unexp1red franchises, and then throw
! the outfit on. the scrapheap and build
anew from the bottom. Yet this was
cheaper for the public: than permit
ting private" ownership to continue
Penny Fares the Unit.
Here the penny fare is the unit.
That small sum carries a PASSENGER
about two miles. Over fifty per cent
! of our fares, In round numbers, pay
this sum; rs per cent pay a penny
| and half; Is per cent possibly pay
tuppence. The remainder pay trip
pence, and increase over the largest
| amount carrying them out of our and
into other municipalities territories.
In the "cross-town routes there are
half penny zones, but these cut but
a small figure in the system, such
routes being only feeders to the main
lines
Some routes are run at a financial
loss, but there is compensation in
other directions, one being the preven-
ton of -congested traffic elsewhere.
You: can say for me to the Ameri-
can public that our experience here
proves that city tramways must be
under municipal control If the best
and cheapest service is desired. Only
through gross mismanagement can
there be financial loss'
Manchester, as also do other up-to-
date towns, uses two sizes Of street
cars. These seat from 80 to rs pas
sengers. -Four passengers only are al
lowed to stand at one time In the
small cars and six In the large ones.
during rush hours. This privilege is
seldom needed and never abused, as
the cars are sufficiently numerous to
take care of all ordinary crowds.
Conductors Have Apprentices.
On the big cars. besides motormen
and conductors, there are employed
trolley boys The duty of the trolley
boy is to watch" the trolley rope and
to stop the car when passenger
| wishes to alight while the conductor
is collecting fares. The boy starts in
at $1:76 a week and is raised so cents
each year for five years, when. he
energies a full-fledged: conductor COM
nanding journeyman's wages--say IS
to- SO a week. This latter sum is tip
top pay in England for a skelled me-
chanic: ~''~.'; o..
I noticed in Bradford, on the MUM:
cipal tramway there, what looked like
the persistence Of customs more ap-
plicable- TO private ownership. For
one thing, the motorman, in giving
warning at street crossings. was com
PEELED to pullHa string attached to the
elapper q ., big bell hanging over
head: Each g nductor carried a safe,
into which the passenger dropped his
fare e.. So tha u the conc uctor handled!
only such 81 n money that his ~
/ as was necessaryIto to- change larger Tor:
i