The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1906-08-20
MONDAY, AUGUST 40, 1906.
DOUBLE-FARE HOLD-UPS.


cation appears in another column Of this issue OF
the News-D Democrat, is by no means unusual or
exceptional. Double-fare hold-ups by the con-
ductors employed on the cars OF the Perry street
railway corporation of daily, indeed almost
hourly, occurrence They the legitimate fruit
OF that narrow and short-sighted policy that has
characterized the management of the street rail
ways since they passed under the control of Mars
den J. Perry and the Philadelphia Gas Improve
ment syndicate
The establishment Of the ticket transfer sys-
tenn was neither willing nor voluntary concession
or recognition of the rights of the people by the
Perry corporation 1t was wrung from it by the
Irresistible power of public opinion, after a crusade
that lasted for years
Forced unwillngy to concede this right to the
riding public the railway company hedged it about
with restrictions and limitations that
reasonable as they are stupid and annoying. The
ticket transfer system devised by Perry not
intended to encourage patronage of the trolley
lines but to discourage it by imposing troublesome
and irritating restrictions.
1t was the plain intent of the law enacted by
the general assembly in compliance with the insist
ent demand of the people, that the payment of a
single fare should entite passenger to con-
tnuous ride from point to any other point
within the city limits reached by the trolley lines
The Perry corporation has found way to
defeat the spirit of the law and to extort unearncd
nickels by petty requirements to the particular
y;U ho Dtad III,
particular place and time at which the car must
be taken.
Complaints of the refusal of conductors to
accept transfers on the most trivial grounds are
constantly reaching the News-Democrat Office.
Last week woman asked the conductor of car
on which she rode from her home 10 the centre OF
the city for a transfer to Governor street car.
"A transfer was given her and she boarded
Governor street car. When the conductor on this
car examined the transfer he declared it was not
good on that and demanded another fare, which
the woman was forced to pay. The trouble with
this transfer was that 1t had been punched for
Brook and not for Governor street. The blunder
was clearly on the part Of the Perry corporations
employe, but the passenger was mulcted double
fare nevertheless.
"A Victim was, according to the facts as hc
relates them subjected to equally indefensble and
illegal extortion. The conductor who punched the
transfers full hour earlier than they were issued
and then refused to give others properly punched
as to time, claiming that the transfers being issued
in an emergency would be accepted on the other
car, either blundered or fasi6ed.
II the emergency transfers were good with
out reference to the time at which they were
punched the conductor who refused to accept them
and demanded and compelled payment OF additional
fares was guilty of fragrant extortion.
No one believes, however, that the blame is
wholly with the conductors. Responsibility for this
species of robbery rests with the management OF
the Perry railway corporation and ii is that cor
poration that profits by IT, II the Perry manage.
ment desired to eliminate such infractons OF right
and justice it could do so by an order the framing
OF which would not occupy FIVE minutes OF time.
The fact that il does not put an end to the
extortion has created in the public mind the deep
rooted conviction that the Rhode Island company
purposey encourages, if it does not actually compel
conductors to practice this system of double fare
pundering
Can no relief from the continuing outrage be
obtained? Not while Braytonism, the political ally