The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-20
FIVE CENT FARE
 STILL UNSETTLED = sl N n,
Street Railway Committee to
 Report Thursday
CITIZENS WANT REDUCTION
Citizens Discuss Reasons for Advocat- Ing a Flve-cent Fare on E@Es From Ensley to Bir-
 mingham.

Ensley September 19.-(special.)-At the
 next regular meeting of the city council which will be held at the city hall next
 Thursday night the street railway com
 mittee will make a report on the i've
 cent street railway fare proposition, which came before the council at It's last
 meeting in the form of petition from
 five hundred citizens, who ask that the council take some action in securing
 reduction on the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power companys lines be- , tween this city and Birmingham The petition was signed by majority of the business men of .Ensley, who are becoming more and more insistent that the fare be reduced from ten to five cents They claim that the charge of ten cents on the Ensley lines is an unfair discrimination against this city. The claim is made that if a ten-cent fare were charged on all lines leading out of Birmingham as long a distance as to Ensley that no complaint would be made
 by Ensley people. but the claim is made
 that the ten-cent fare is only charged on
 the two lines leading to this city, while
 five-cent fare is allowed on other lines
 equally as long.
 In speaking of the matter today, Cor
 don DuBose, president of the First Ma
 tional bank. said: "The people of Ems
 ley should not let up on this fight for a
 five-cent fare until 1t Is granted by the
 Birmingham Railway Light and Power
 company.
 of fhp rnH1IC- tion in the car fare not from selfish mo-
 lives, but from sense of justice and fair treatment.
 Let us reason the matter for a mo-
 ment A man can ride from Fairvew, one mile out of Ensley, to East Lake,
 a distance of something like eleven or
 twelve miles, for five cents, with trans
 fer, but to go from Bnsley to Birming-
 ham, a distance of six miles, one has to
 pay ten cents l am told that five cents
 will bring one to Hill Top, on the cor
 porate line of Ensley but to get into
 the city, a distance of something more
 than half mile, he has to pay another five cents.
 This unfair discrimination on the part of the street railway company Is forcing the people who would build homes on this
 side of the mountain In Ensley to go to Fairview and other points along the line within the cent limit. Ensley will suf7
 fer in the loss of citizenship so long as the railway company is allowed to prac- I tice such discrimination"
 W. N. Wood of the Ensley Land com pany, speaking individually and for the
 company said: We are heartily in favor of the reduction in the fare, in fact we have wanted 1t for some time. The citi- zens should back up the city council in it's efforts to secure the reduction, and l believe that their efforts would meet with early success
 "The discrimination practiced by the
 Birmingham Railway, Light and Power
 company is so evident on its face that they will be compelled to grant the re- duction if the right sort of pressure is
 brought to bear on them.
 "Ensley is suffering very greatly on &C., count of the excessive and unequal charge for street railway transportation and the matter should be adjusted at once" Pratt City has renewed the fight for the reduction in the fare and petition has been circulated the second time for the
 names of citizens and business men who favor the reduction. Practically every
 business man of Pratt City has signed the petition.
 Pratt City and Ensley will join in their
 efforts to secure the cent fare.