The San Francisco call., 1907-02-03
Jersey City "Straphangers'
Take Rides Free on the
Streetcars of That City
UNITED RAILROADS
is MAKING MONEY
Thalman Issues a Report
Telling of Prosperity of
Company in San Francisco
By 9. G. Carleton

NEW YORK. Feb. I'm Jersey City
the strap hangers" and roof riders"
are having a contest with the street
railroads similar to that being waged
IN San Francisco The Jerseymen have
the law back OF them. however. for a
city ordinance provides that each pas
senger is entitled TO seat as a con-
dition precedent TO the collection of
fare by the conductor. If no seat is
provided and the passenger is COM
PEELED 70 stand he is entitled 10 ride
free.
This ordinance inficts q fine of $50
on the company for each violation
thereof The ordinance has just gone
into effect, and its operation is being
watched with great interest by strap
hangers IN other cities. The city Of
fcisls have made a test case. and 1t
viii be decided by the Supreme Court
OF the State OF New Jersey whether
city officials have the right to pass
such an ordinance. which the company
declares amounts TO "conascation," and
IS therefore a violation of the State
and Federal constitutions. Meanwhile
the passengers who are compelled to
stand inside or on the platform steps
are making all sorts OF trouble for the
conductors. who seem powerless to
either collect the fares Of those stand
ing or to eject them from the cars.
4 bin pending IN the New York Leg
islature provides that each street rail-
way car must be provided with q ther-
moDeter located in q conspicuous place
where the temperature may be seen at
e glance. II the temperature falls be-
low s5 degrees and the conductor of
the car declines 10 turn on more elec-
tric heat az the request Of any passen-
ger the company viii be subject TO a
ne Of $50 for every infraction Of the
law.
The discomfort suffered by New York
people in the winter months will
scarcely be appreciated by those Cali
fornians who are unacQuainted with
conditions here, where the thermome-
ter often registers below zero. The
street car companies claim that 1t costs
as much to heat & car electrically as
il does TO operate IL. Consequently
they are sparing Of the heat. and fire.
Quently. with the thermometer around
the zero mark, the electric radiators
are not warm enough to melt snow. A
passenger writing TO a morning paper
says he rode from Harlem to Herald
square yesterday. the trip consuming
about forty minutes, and the snow
brought IN on the feet of passengers
did not have g chance to melt
These cold cars are undoubtedly re-
sponsible for the epidemic Of grip and
pneumonia prevailing here. But the
suffering public seems TO be utterly
powerless to effect any remedy. And
the prospects are that when Shonts,
who has resigned from the Canal Com
mission TO take charge Of New York
City street railways. begins his work
there viii be still further tortures in
store for the New York public, for II
dends," which have, for some reason OF
another, not been satisfactory to the
company.
It viii be poor comfort 10 the strap
hangers Of San Francisco to read that
the United Railroads are IN a highly
prosperous condition" At least. this
is the assurance Of Ernest Thalman,
president Of the investment company
that Sc TO say, the holding company
Francisco lines
Patrick Calhoun. president OF the
subsidiary company. has advised his
friends quietly TO buy up the stock of
the investment company and hold il
for q rise There is not much of il Of
fered on the Stock Exchange, but such
as there is IS being bought by insiders.
Here Is Thalman's report;
The rapid resumption Of business IN
Sal. Francisco is reflected in the earn
ings Of the United Railroads OF that
city. The gross passenger receipts for
December were S556,000 in spite of the
delays and losses occasioned by the FIRE
and strike. The gross receipts for 1906
were s5s41 ,000-a loss Of only about
xI.lIs,o0O. compared with the year 1905.
The officers and directors of the
United Railroads are confident that the
rebuilding Of San Francisco viii go
forward with continued Vigor. They
report that the labor situation is
steadily Improving and that the COM
pany now has no difIiculty in obtaining
ali the labor necessary for the recon
struction OF its old cable lines, and
several OF these have been completed
and the entire work of reconsuuction
viii be finished by spring. The deliv-
cry Of the $50 new cars which were
ordered By the railroads company be-
gins this week. and when they are
placed in service the United Railroads
&hould be as well equipped as any
'street railroad property in America
The new construction has been OF the
highest order, the weight of the rails
varying from 10e TO IzI pounds
The officials of the company report
z most favorable outlook for this
Years business It is confidently be-
lieved that the earnings for 1907 will
exceed those OF 1905"