Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-10-24
Standing Room Only Prevails on
Almost Every Train on All
Roads of the State
EATON SAYS IT'S SENTIMENT
Public Going Short Distances Be-
cause of Cent Fare Law, When in
Fact They Are Saving Only Few
Cents = Progress Of Work of Mu-
nicipal Accounts inspection.
sne .,al to rimes-Repunllcan.

L
Des Moines, Oct. 24.--That part o.
| the public that has not ridden on pas
senger trains since July l, II there
any. has no conception of the amount
of travel there is at this time. accord
ing to State Railroad Commissioner w
r, Eaton. II took train early in the
morning from my town to Waterloo
leaving before o'clock and there was
not an entire seat empty in the car
Long before we got to Waterloo every
| seat was occupied, and some were
| standing. From Waterloo l took q
train to Fort Dodge. This was on a
main line and a crowded condltlon
might be looked for with more reason
and it was there. People We're stand
ing everywhere. 1t used to be tha'
| when person got on g. passenger tram
he expected to occupy one entire seal
by himself if he was alone. Those
days are passed. If q man doesn't nave
to stand he is fortunate. There IS no
reason for 1t either, that | know OF
The reduction of one cent is not SO
great for a short ride. 1t Is just sem
timent. People know they are getting
their rides cheaper and so they go
They go and take all their family with
them. Traffic is enormous and those
who have not ridden on the trains
since July / when the cent law went
into effect have no conceptions OF how
enormous 1t Isl
January ! will be the first date on
which any information of a definite
nature can be had on the 2 cent fare
business. Reports are being made by
the railroads at this time to the Iowa
railroad commission but they are for
the business ending June 80. 1907. The
reports to be made to the executive
council covering the year ending De-
cenber 81, 1907. will not be made Till
Some time next spring. Soon after
January there will be a few of the
railroads that report to other states
than Iowa on the business for 1907 and
some information can be had from
these. Next year when they make
sion for the business ending June 80
, lJUS, loi lutl
year under the cent fare bill will be
had, but it is already known that the
receipts will be enormously increased
A. D. Sheets and George f. Pennell
from the municipal accounts depart
ment of The state auditors office, be-
gan the Investigation OF the accounts
of the city of Des Moines yesterday. II
will be a two months task at least, SO
it will he about January ] before the
report4of the inspectors is made public
With the completion of the inspection
of Des Moines there will remain only
Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Dubuque
Clinton Muscatine and Davenport to
examine to complete the state. The
report on the city of Waterloo was
fled today by A. D. Sheets with the
state auditor and copies We're mailed
to the mayor Of Waterloo and the city
I clerk OF Waterloo. The affairs of Wat
erloo were found to be in excellent
shape and the only thing that the in
spectors found that was illegal and
open to criticism was that some small
items such as horse shoeing, feed
hauling water and barn rent had beer
| paid from the improvement fund which
is contrary to the law as set forth in
section 1914 of the code. The city is
we'll inside its legal limit of indebted
| ness and tho the Investigations made
do not uncover anything as to the ef-
| ficiency the inspector implies that the
city seems to have gotten the worth
| of its money.
| 1t is not improbable that at an early
date the legislature will still further
| improve the municipal accounts de-
partment by providing some method OF
disclosing in the reports the efficiency
of the city administrations. The re-
ports now being made disclose the con-
dition of the city's finance, how much
there is in outstanding warrants
whether or not the city has exceeded
it's legal limit Of Indebtedness, whether
or not the city council has overMRFW
or not the city council has over paid
| itself for attendance on meetings anc
whether or not money has been illeg.
| ally transferred from one fund to an
other or used to pay bills not allowed
to be paid from such fund.
| The next step will be to show in the
reports whether or not the city has
made the right price for its paving
whether its water works is efficiently
managed and whether or not sewer
contracts and other contracts have
| been let at fair or exorbitant prices.
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