New-York tribune., 1906-10-27
CAPITAL AND TRACTION.

The offer of the Chicago street railway COM
panies to serve the people during good be-
hayior" Is the result of q changed attitude Of
capital toward street railway investments. Not
only in Chicago but In other Western cities, in
vestors look for profits on roads run on terms
more advantageous to the people than for
merly. The Chicago companies do not ask for
a franchise, but for a mere permission to op-
crate, revocable if the service is unsatisfactory
They will provide new cars and not overcrowd
them-a recent court decision confirmed the
city's right to exact that consideration of the
public comfort-and they will run the cars sngly
and not as trailers They will do a lot of other
things to make the cars and the streets through
which they decent They will submit to
penalties for failure to keep their service I'D
to their promises, and they will pay q percent
age of their earnings to the city, or, if the
authorities prefer, they will reduce fares
Whenever Chicago's pocket bulges sufficiently
she can buy out the companies 1t strikes us
as a reasonable proposition. but we do not
know how it will strike Chicago Perhaps she
will prefer the Dunno system of pedestrianism
for principles sake.
1t may be objected that capital is only doing
this In Chicago because it has to. Well we
are not accusing capital of any eleemosynarv
purpose or of a desire to reduce its returns
Conditions in Chicago are hard but investors
are evidently ready to accept them as they are
for it will take a great deal of money to effect
the improvements which the companies offer
Moreover, in Cleveland, where the street rail-
way monopoly is not in such hard straits the
company, in order to get additional franchises
and keep the growth of its system abreast of
the growth of the town. offers seven tickets for
a quarter and universal transfers on a short
term franchise. 1t will reduce fares through
out It's present great system for the permission
TO build additions. If it felt there was no profit
in lower fares it might stand pat" with its
existing franchises. In Detroit, too the street
railway company, to obtain a renewal of its
franchises, most all of which have expired
is offering six tickets for quarter part of the
day and ten for quarter the rest Of tha day.
Neither it nor the Cleveland company wishes
to make a contract with the city like that which
the Chicago concern offers, to exist only dur
ing good behavior" Both want limited FRAN
chises.
Besides these concerns offering cheap fares
there is Mayor Johnson's company of true he
levers, already discussed in The Tribune
every man of them sworn municipal owner
ship man who has taken the VOWS Of financial
abstinence. 1t offers 3-cent railroads to Cleye-
land during good behavior, and to be bought
out by the city whenever dreams come tr11e
| 'Three-Cent Tom" is not content with CIava
land as the scene of his activities, but is car1v
ing the gospel OF near municipal ownership and
straight 3-cent fares to Detroit and has offered
10 run that c1ty'S roads on terms like those Of
Tered in Cleveland. Once he did run Detroit
roadS, Dut that was when he believed in
o-ceht fares, and as many of them as possI-
Die IN every car. Then he was making his own
fortune; now he is making the peoples fortune
We do not know whether to treat Mr. John
sons offers as seriously indicative of capitaTs
attitude. The true believers requirement and
the vows Of financial abstinence make it a MKT
ure OF business and an economic propaganda
III we can't have public ownership" Mr. John
son says, let us have ownership by people who
believe in public ownership" If the people
cannot own their own cars let Three Cent
Tom" own them. for he is the next thing m
the people If he should carry to other cities
as well as to Detroit the inestimable blessings
or 8-cent fares and public spirited ownership.
the true believers company might become =
true believers trust. New York's new suh
ways, soon to be advertised might tempt him
Pelham Bay Park to Coney Island or three
boroughs for three cents would make mighty
slogan.
But, leaving out of consideration Mr. John
son and his Scent gospel and his true believ-
ers, the disposition OF capital to seek invest
ment IN western street railways on terms adj
Vantageous to the public is a hopeful sign Con
ditons In New York are different from condi-
tions in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, but
there should be competitive bidding for the sub
ways about to he offered, and capital should
be ready to make terms here elsewhere
much more favorable to the city than was
thought possible q decade ago