Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-21
TWO GENT FARE
BILL DEFEATED
Committee Recommend Indef-
mite Postponement of
the Sankey Bill
MEN WERE OPPOSED
Not Likely That Any Further Attempt
Will Be Made to Bring the Subject
Up for Consideration at This Session
Discusses Board Of Re-
gents BiIl-News of Legislature.
[By Ora williams.l
,ecial to Times-Republlcun.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, March 21-The railroad
men came to the front again yesterday
to state their views in regard to the
proposal for a law making the maxi
mum charge for passenger fares in
Iowa 2 cents mile instead Of cents.
Almost every session of the legislature
this question comes to the front. Quite
recently the state of Ohio started out
to enforce the first state law on record
limiting the charge to 2 cents mile.
In New England and the eastern states,
on some roads, the 2-cent rate prevails,
but it is on roads where there is an
immense amount of traffic. The San
key bill was taken up yesterday by the
railroads committee of the house and
considered. Mr.. Sankey, the big hurley
member from Decatur, presented the
reasons for the bill briefly and concise
ly He contended that the railroads
now get on an average less than 2
cents a mile. The bill is to enforce
equality. 1t would eliminate the spe-
cial concessions and free passes and
then the roads would get as much as
they do now. There We're present for
the railroads, the general passenger
agents of the Burlington, the North
western and the Milwaukee, Messrs.
Eustis, Kniskern and Miller, with
Capt. j. F.Merry, of the Illinois Cen
trail, and others. Mr.. Eustis and Cap
tain Merry spoke. Mr.. Eustis presented
a mass of statistics to show why the
railroads doing business in Iowa can
not make rates as low as in some other
states. In Iowa. on an average every
person in the state travels three and
a half times a year; in Massachusetts,
for instance, every person travels at
least ten times a year. In Illinois.
Ohio, New York and eastern states the
suburban passenger traffic Is enor-
nous. In Iowa the travel is light COM
pared to population. Then in the mat
ter Of branch lines it was shown by
the figures that nearly all these lines
are money losers, taking into account
both passenger and freight earnings,
and that only because they contribute
TO tle prOIltS Ol lAS 1A1dAH AAAlSS a. v
they operated at all. In short, If there
is to be a reduction Of one-third in the
charge 1t will mean dead
loss on passenger business In Iowa.
Mr.. Eustis stated that statistics
show that on Iowa roads less than 5
per cent of the travel is on free passes,
and If free passes were abolished not
over 2 per cent of that traffic would
continue and become paying. But the
chief item bringing down the average
price per mile for traffic Is the special
rates for conventions, fairs and ex-
cursion parties. Last year there were
over 400 events in Iowa to which spe-
cial rates were given. With this law
passed all rates to Grand Army meet
ings, to political conventions and to the
state and county fairs would have to
be withdrawn. He stated that the av-
erage received now is about 20 cents
per mile for passenger traffic in Iowa.
The reduction could not possibly be
made up entire by abolishing all spe-
cial privileges complained OF.
Captain Merrv made statement
along the same lines.
The railroads committee today re-
ported the Sankey 2-cent fare bill for
indefinite postponement, and this will
unquestionably end the matter for this
session.