The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-07-23
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP
Of STREET CARS
SUBJECT or ELABORATE REPORT
BY NATIONAL. CIVIC FEEDER
ALTON COMMISSION.
! NE |ICAE SERVICE BEST
Great Eritair'c Municipal Ownership
sys.em inferior In Every Respect
Sayc VIM. j. Clark--2rof.
Parconc Differs.

New York, July 21.--The operati n
Of British street railways by municip.
alities ana privately owned corpora
lions respectively is considered in
great detail In two reviews OF ex-
pert reports on the subject made to
the Ma ional Civic Federation Com
mission on Phblic Ownership The
reviews we're prepared by members
OF the c mmission after an exhaustive
investigation OF the systems treated,
and We're made public today. They
are based upon technical reports
compiled by expert engineers who
with the reviewers, spent several
months in the British cities where he
several lines arc operated. The re.
views are by William j. Clark, Of
New Yorf, as an opponent OF muni
cipali2aiion, and Prof Frank Parsons,
Boston as an advocate Of pgbllc
ownership and operation. Nj Clark
IS general manager Of the foreign de-
lartment of the General Electric com
pany. Professor Parsons has been
student OF municipal ownership for
yeras ana Is the author Of several
" rke on that subject among them
THE Railways, the Trusts and he
People"
American Service More Extensive.
Mr.. Clark points out that no Amer
lean street railroads were inyestiga.
ted by the Commission and tho only
tramwy installations directly investl-
gated in Great Britain were those
owned by the municipalities of Man
chester, Liverpool. Glasg " and the
London County Council and those
owned by the following private com
panies: London United Tramways,
Dublin United Tramways and the
Norwich Electric Tramways. The
9gFitei calls attention TO The fact thar
the entire development Of street rail |
ways in the United States has been |
accomplished by private enterprise |
end that this has permitted the con
struction OF extensive systems serv |
ing entire communities and linking |
them together irrespective of municip. |
ri boundary lines On tho ether |
hand since 1894, at least, municipality
controlled traction systems have been |
confined, TO a great extent. within the
narrow limits of their respective NUM-
cipalities. Mr. Clark here enters into
statistical statment of the facilities
enjoyed by the urban inhabitants of
Great Britain rs compared with the
town and city population of the Uni
ted States. In 1902, the town and
city population to each mile of tram
way track was 12,47G while in the
United States there was a mile of
track to each $40 of town and city
population. In Great Britain there
was one car for each 7G0 of popula-
ton while in he United States there
was one car to 574 city residents
Thus, the urban resident of the United
States had comparatively moro than
six and one-half times the number of
cars available fer his use than were
available to the British lnhabinnt
The British systems carried 1894.
A52,9S3 passengers and the American
5,52l,509 SCI, and OF these 1.OG2. 4O3. 1872
or practically 30 per cent of the Brit
Rh total were transported free on
transfers. J,
Crowded Cars.
Mr.. Clark takes up the charge that
the traction cars in the United States
are overcrowded and declares that
the the figures given above show that
on the basis of passengers carried per 9
car per year. the American car aver. :
ages only 90 SIS passengers per year {
as against 1872. iG3 per year carried by
The average car in the United King. j
dom. While the Briton paid an aver B
age of 2.2G cents. against an average a
Of 3.75 cents in the United States the a
writer p-ints out that the formers '
facilities for travel were from II % .
- per cent of those enjoyed by the II
American passenger. In 1902 there r
we're two British cities OF more than (
100, 600 population. seven with Don <
Nations Of from $4,000 to 5000. and .
81 with from % 900 to $4,000 inhabi- q
Iants. without street railways but in j
The United States there was no city I
4 more than $4,000 people without Y
traction service. q
Prom 1890 to 1909 the length Of =
Runway line mot 7Tassl in the Uni q
ed Kingdom increased $50 miles CT
from siS 10 1.4S4 miles. while in the ?
United States in the same period q
here was an increase Of 10.755 miles. !
ir from 5,7S3 10 1888 miles This d
great etxension Of service in the
United States resulted in an aciual
decrease IN the n-mber II passengers
,arried per mile Of line. On this pcint I
" Clarf SAYS:
These features clearly demon {
iirafe that the British policy has been {
Concluded IN Third Pagal