The new age., 1907-01-12
EDITORIAL
WRETCHED SERVICE.

Complaints multiply about the SER
vice Of the street railway in Port |
land, and the people generally are
pretty we'll disgusted with it. Not |
only are there not cars enough but |
frequently there is not power enough !
and people have to wait an indefinite
time on the motionless cars or get out
and walk. 1t is the same lack of
power, we suppose that causes the arc
lights and sometimes other lights to
go out frequently. The city pays big
price for lights, and sometimes gets
them and sometimes doesn't. The
other evening when man was muir
dered on the Ford street bridge, the
lights were out long time and thugs
had things their own way. 1t would
not be surprising if the heirs-at-law
of the murdered man could recover
damages from the light company or
the city. The people are not to blame
If the company can't or won't get
power to run their cars and light up
the city. The company holds itself
out as able to accommodate the pub
lie and takes their money for pretend
ing to do so, and then pleads that its
power is short. This is an old excuse
and has become too thin. The CON-
pany has had plenty OF time to get
more power, but perhaps it doesn't
want to spend any money in that di-
rection, acting on the same policy that
causes it to pay it's carmen starvation
wages, that no good, responsible man
fit for such position can afford to
work for. While the New Age saw
that the late abortive attempt of the
men to strike was engineered by a
few busybodies and mischief makers
and was doomed from the start to fail
ure, it believes there ought to be
real, united strike, if it could be made
to succeed, that would stop every car
in the city and keep it from moving
until the men were paid decent, liv-
ing wages, and a full complement of
capable men were employed AS it is,
the company has discharged lot of
its men for venturing to intimate that
they would like to get money enough
out Of their long hours of hard work
to live on, and so is short of men, or
has put on some incompetent or care
less men, and in fact if one gets a
chance to ride anywhere near the
time he wants to it is scarcely safe to
do so.
The service is so regularly irregu-
lar that in many cases no dependence
what ever can be placed on it. If a
man goes to a corner where car he
wants is due in one minute he is like
ly to have to wait five, ten or fifteen
minutes, and this is pretty sure to hap
pen if he is in hurry or the rain is
pouring down. The noise of the ap-
paratus used is enough to wreck a
strong mans nerves, and while the
car may go jerking along like a frog
jumping, it may take a squirt and run
a ways at about 40 miles an hour, re
gardless of anybody that wants to gel
aboard or anybody that may be in the
way on the street. And of course
the pretended or alleged tenders, il
a person is run down, are of no use
whatever, rather renders the person:
death doubly certain.
What can be done by the authori
ties, if anything, to compel the com
pany to establish and maintain de
cent, proper and sufficient service W.
do not know, but if anything it shoult
be done Meanwhile all the peopl
who are not absolutely obliged to rid
would better walk 1t is safer, pleas
anter, and in a great many case
quicker.