New-York tribune., 1908-08-08
earnest of the preservation of that benevolent
as TO TRANSFERS.

! The cutting off OF the trlHsfer privileges ia
59th street has not been attended by violence.
Passengers have accepted the inevitable. a few
of them paying the extra fare. but the vast
majority preferring TO walk rather than go 10
tbe additional expense The cars of the cross
town lines are reported 10 be carrying about
one-sixth as many persons as formerly, which
measures the unwillingness inability of for
mer Messengers to pay more than single fare
10 reach their destnaio ions. and which also indl-
Gates the discomfort imposed upon the travel
ling public hy tie present policy. The work
ing people of the city 10 great extent picked
ont their homes So that they could get To ana
frGm work with the then existing transfers
for a single fare. To enormous and stead
lily Increasing number the loss of these prlvi-
leges means suffering. They have either TO pay
10 cents more day than they counted upon
out of their scant incomes 10 reach work ana
get home again or walk considerable distances,
taking the line which carries them nearest to
their destinations for a single fare. NO hgures
are available to show how many persons nave
been affected by this cutting down OF the Tree
Interchange of passengers between lines. DuI
it is estimated that two-thir!s OF the transfer
privileges on Manhattan Island have already
been abrogated. AS about half the passengers
formerly carried used transfers, it is apparent
that an enormous number of persons are being
railroad companies cannot he large, for few
of the passengers who formerly used transfers
now pay two fares. while the policy OF re-
Stricting the opportunities of travel for SIN
Gle fare undoubtedly tends TO reduce the use
of the cars for other trips than those of neces-
sitv. When transfers were first adopted and
extended they were hailed by street railway
men as a valuable device for educating the
people to ride in the streetcars.' The present
L., ,d,Yno %
10 ride in streetcars: teaching them, rather. TO
walk and save their fares. to refrain from pleas
IRE trims in the ears and to move near their
DIaces of pmDIoylnent and so avoid the expense
of riding
This new educational process, although it has
been received without violent resentment can
hardly fail TO awaken feelings of hostility
among a very large number of persons The
danger is that the present policy, however III
duced or defended. will lead to such popular
war upon the street railways here as reduced
them 10 sIIbiection in Chicago and in Cleveland
and 10 the installation of city government
plpdeed TO harass the traction companies in
every way possible. Such a war could not be
advantageous to the street railways. and II
might be almost equally bad for the city, Tor
few things could be worse than TO have the
public mind diverted from the question of good
government 10 a nagging fight against the
traction interests.
The street railway managers complain or
the subway as one Of the causes for their de-
crqasinc traffic hut we cannot believe that the
disruption of their system into small units in
capable of giving any adequate service for
single fare. is wise method of meeting the
competition of the subway. The cutting down
of transfers is already intensifying the call for
more underground roads, and these lines as
they are built in the future will he planned to
give Il much more comprehensive service for
: cents than the street railways are giving.