Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-01-22
End of Tom |. Johnson's Fight for
 Low Fares Is Now in Sight

l are riding daily on the sfreet cars for 3 cent fares with privilege of transfer. the end of the great six year battle for low fares Wdeed by Mayor Tom s. Johnson, himself an old street railway man, is be- leved to be in sight. On this plat form he has been elected three times mayor of Cleveland.
 The beginning of the end came l last week, when the United States supreme court declared many sran- chises of the old company invalid. During the long litigation, the old company hindered the construction of the 3-cent lines by thirty-two separate injunction suits. The whole matter is expected to be settled be- fore February 1, by the low fare company taking over all the old company's lines, operating them on Scent basis and paying the own CTS a rental
 The battle to prove that5 cents was not the Godordained fare for carrying passengers has been marked by political battles that made history, and by judicial rul- ings which may last forever.
 The Jokers Discovered.
 The controversy really started in 1898. Agitation was then begun for cheaper fares. Scrutiny of the franchises of the Cleveland Electric company showed they had been pre- pared by street railway attorneys, and that in most of the later ones jokers had been inserted intended to perpetuate the franchises. At the same time the clause giving the city council right to regulate fares was omitted.
 At the next election this was made an issue and since then with the exception of two years a coun- cil has been chosen by the people, that was pledged to a low fare The one council not pledged almost passed for a quarter franchise, but got scared at the last minute.
 Enter Tom Johnson.
 Tom L. Johnson, in 1900, said street railways could be operated on a Scent oasis, at profit in Cleve- land. The next year he ran for mayor with that statement prac- ically as his platform. Mark Hanna was then in the zenith of his power and the political battle was re- markable one. Johnson won and began preparations to make good his promises. The Municipal Fran ident, was formed to operate on 3-cent fare basis.
 But the old company was not go-
 we up without a fight. In- functions were obtained on any or no pretext. It took time to fight each one. They were seemingly without numper.
 Several months ago, through de- cisions in the Ohio supreme court, the 3-cent line at last gained the right to build a track over streets on the West Side, where it held franchises, whose validity had been contested by the monopoly, which, through injunctions, had prevented even the laying of rails for over five years.
 First Line Built.
 The line was rushed to comple- tion, after which came injunctions, by which the old company, the Cleveland Electric Railway Co.,. pre- vented the Scent cars from run ming over the tracks of the oli com pany. which had been supposed to be free territory" This step kept the Scent cars from reaching the center of the city, and patrons were compelled to walk over two con- siderable gaps in the line to get to the public square. Then the low fare company ran bus lines to transfer passengers across the gaps.
 Then the claim was made that Mayor Johnson had financial in- terest in the low fare companys franchises, making them void It