New-York tribune., 1905-03-07
AN ADVERTISING NOVELTY.

The advertising columns of the New-f orK
revsnapers have in the last few days cohIdlleu
several communication Of mover KIM AueS
attract attention not merely as an odd thougn
nxcaIIent form of advertising. out also as the
acknowledgements of a not always admltted re-
Ia ationship and responsibility. little uIne ago
the Long Island Railroad decided to raise It's
communication rates. Naturally there was o"!e'-
ton. The commuters complained that they were
,nfei,,Iv treated The newspapers have been
bonbarded with angry letters, and the legisiat-
IRE has been asked to regulate the rates ac-
cordine to the commuters view lt Is the Ia
tniliar and perfectly natural scene when uahs'
portation company does anything unpopular.
The unfamiliar scene is that of sttalgntIor"aro
discussion with its patrons by TIE ralFoa"'
Under such circumstances traffic managers gem
orally preserve silence or grudgingly answer
as indefinitely as possible the questions put 10
them. Mr.. Potter. the president of the Long
Island Railroad, in series of advertisements
which appear frankly to acknowledge the In
terests OF the passengers and their right TO re-
cGire the cheapest service that can be rendered,
takes his patrons into his confidence and shows
them the need from his point of view for the
advances made. The commuters, on their part,
though they have not sought the same avenues
of publicity have not failed TO record their
views of Mr.. Potters statements and to attack
| the discussion the public will reach under
standing OF what constitutes fair rates.
Nobody, we think. will question the sound
ness OF Mr.. Potter's contention that the business
OF railroad is to earn a reasonable dividend Oh
its capital and that the rates must be so scaled
as to do this in the long run. But there is al
ways the question Of making business for the
future. For many years the service on Long
| Island was so bad that the growth of the island
was retarded and traffic Senc elsewhere, so that
when the present management took hold 1t found
a backward community TO build up. As a speci-
men Of the old policy we may note the fact that
| the freight charges 10 the State hospital, at
Kings Park, were in the spirit of monopoly
made so high that the State was forced In self
| defence to cut a canal from the Sound SO as
to secure its coal by barges. The Pennsylvania
management of the Long Island road seems to
have other ideas and perhaps It might wisely
accept temporary loss rather than once more DIS
courage those who, in the hope of better DAYS
have been going out on the island and striving
! 70 make homes and develop new settlements
thore. Those settlements, the further out the
better are the hope cf the railroad.
Whether or not the public agrees with Mr.
Potter that his policy is the best for the COM
munity and the best in the end for the railroad
his innovation is cODlmendable and his example
might proftably be followed by other railroad
presidents when they have "kickers' to deal
with. wise business man makes use Of the
''kickers." They tell him things he ought
TO know If they are right, he will take hints
| from them. II they are wrong, he. will find out
where he is misunderstood and be prepared
as Mr. Potter seeks to be, to meet them and
convince reasonable men that they nre being
fairly dealt with.