Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-30
NO SCHOOL TICKETS
Suburban Roads Withdraw
Special Rate for Pupils.
CITE INTERSTATE RULING
Decision Affecting Steam Road Ap-
piled by Trolley Lines.
THOSE AFFECTED INDIGNANT
President Norment Refers Inquirers
to Gen. Enthusiastically Eddy
to Investigate.

Ire of suburban residents between
Washington and Rockville, Nd, and
along other lines extending some dis
lance in the country beyond the confines
of the District is excited by a notice
posted in the trolley cars which reads as
follows:
THE interstate commerce commission
having ruled that school tickets are dis
criminatory no such tickets will hereafter
be sold and neither will they be received
for fare after November 30, 1905
Citizens interested declare this a mis-
statement of facts. They consider it is
an attempt on the part of the railroads
| to get out of selling reduced rate tickets
for school children on a flmsy pretext.
Decision of Commission.
The ruling presumably referred to in
| the notice is one of the informal rulings
handed down by the interstate commerce
commission October IL last, and reads as
| follows:
"A carrier offers a forty-six-trip month
| ly Communication ticket and provides that
| it shall be issued only to Pupils. without
regard to age, who are In attendance ON
schools OF certain kind or class, ana
specifically provides for the exclusion o!
pupils attending various other kinds OF
| schools Held, that this regulation Is I'M
justly discriminatory, and. therefore, I'M
lawful; but that carriers may lawfully
offer and use a communication ticket hmi,ea
| in it's sale and use to children or young
persons between certain stated yes las
| for instance from twelve to twehty-one
years of age).
such arrangement Will proVine desired
rates for school pupils and will not eX-
| clude other children, travelling under SUD
| stantially similar circumstances. but for
the purpose of securing other lines OF IN,
| struction or on other missions. IL Will
also protect against the use or such
| ticket by adults. The carrier may not IN
| uuire into the mission. errand or busi-
| ness of the passenger as condltlon OF
| fixing the transportation rate which such
passenger shall pay"
President Norment Silent.
G. F. Norment, president of the Wash
ington Railway and Electric Company,
when asked for a statement from his
company in regard to the matter, referred
| The Star reporter to Gen. George II. Har-
| ries. who, he said. was fully conversant
| with the facts and would be able to give
! such explanation of the matter as was
| proper.
Gen Harries was not found at the Of
| fees of the company, nor was any other
officer there who cared to express an
| opinion or make a statement upon the
subject.
Secretary Eddy of the District electric
| railway commission. whose attention was
called to the matter this morning, said
he had been apprised of the facts and
would look into the case.
Commissioner Clark of the interstate
commerce commission said his commits
sion had made no ruling whatever with
reference to the subject so far as 1t af-
fected Washington railways. The case
in which the ruling came up. he said,
was one affecting steam railways
Commissioner Clark's Opinion.
Speaking for himself and not for the
commission. he felt the principle laid
down in the ruling was correct. In that
particular case, he said, the railway COM
pany had undertaken to rule that school
children's tickets should be accepted for
fare from those children only who were
attending the ordinary schools for an
English education, and could not be ac-
copied from those who went to music
school, dancing school, business colleges
and the like.
The effect Of the ruling was to give all
children between certain ages. whether
they we're on their way to school or else
where, the benefit of the use of the re-
duced rate tickets, on the ground that no
common carrier had the right to inquire
into the mission of a passenger travelling
over its line Of road. If a rate is pro-
vided for school children and tickets are
used to take advantage of that rate, 1T
does not concern the carrier whether the
child ia going to school or going after
for the bread is within the prescribed
limit as to age and travelling under the
same condition as the child going to
school.