The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-23
GATES ON CARS ARE BECOMING SUBJECT IF WARM ARGUMENT President Ford Explains Why They Were Put On And
 Asks Fair Trial
OTHER CITIZENS CONDEMN
 THEM IN VIGOROUS TONE
Ferd Marx Says They Are Not ToIer- ated Elsewhere; Caheen That They Delay Traffic and Abbott
 That They Are Nuisance.

d iaee that persons who wait to the last minute can no longer swing their car as It moves off. They cannot drop off tho Highland car on the Twentieth street hiii or on the business streets. The ear must be still before anyone can dismount reporter called on President A. H ford or the Birmingham Railway, Light ana Tower company for statement rela- tive to the criticism of the gates and only after persuasion would he discuss the matter. The following interviews oivo both sides of the question:
 MT Ford said "These gates wera i,- stalled for the sole purpose of preventing people from getting hurt. We didn't want to put the gates on. A large expenditure or money was required to put them on and considerable amount will be need ed to maintain them. They do not add one dollar to our revenue.
 Tt cannot be construed as a reflection on the intelligence of the Birmingham public, for l believe the intelligence of the Birmingham public Is going to ap- prove and indorse these gates, and we are satisfied that they are going to accom plish our purpose.
 ''fhe first gates were installed ahout July l and as fast as the cars conld ha taken in gates were put on them. the last being equipped September l. So we haven't had time yet to show the re- suits and, following but our general cus- tom, We are going to tell the people in due time just what they are doing, and we are going to tell them the truth.
 We do know, however, that the gates have saved large number of platform accidents. In the period from July to september l5, 1908, we had 200 platform accidents, two of which caused death one lady deliberately walking off of a moving car. In this list is included quite number of arms and legs cut off and crushed and other serious accidents.
 In the same period of 1909, with the cars only partially equipped, we have had 10S accidents, not one of which was of serious nature, and with the gates on all the cars for that period We would not have had more than 10 or 15 trivial accidents.
 All this is true during a period when a new thing was being introduced-the device was new to the travelling public new to the company's men.
 With the gates on the cars you can send your children to school with abso- lute assurance that they will not fall off or leave the cars
 Schedules have been very slightly in- terfered with and we can see a steady im- provement in schedules as the men be- come proficient in handling the gates and the public is accustomed to their pres- ence on the cars.
 These gates are in use in a number of large cities like St. Paul. Minneapolis, Philadelphia and the elevated cars in New York; Boston and Chicago. They are not an experiment..
 "The Birmingham public impresses me as standing for fair play, and have pcr- feet confidence in their suspending judg- ment on this gate matter until the thing Is given trial. If they will wait six or twelve months I am certain that the travelling public and the employees on the cars will request their continuance.
 We have, we believe, the best street car service in the south and the addition of these gates to our equipment was a move on our part to still further improve the service. We want the people who ride on our cars to have confidence in our in- tention and effort to constantly improve the service"
 Ferd Marx Gives Views.
 Ferd Marx said: This summer have visited a number of the larger eastern cities, and nowhere have I found the gates on surface cars. New York, Cleve- land, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago St. Louis, Pittsburg. San Francisco, Wash- ington nor any other city of size will toler- ate them.
 ''The interurban trains out of Detroit, running at a rate of more than 50 miles an hour, do not use them. They are not safety valves because no one in his right senses will walk off moving car but they are sources of the worst inconveni- ence In downtown movements.
 T hope the city council will remove these gates by ordinance. Our street car
 
 that we allow this sothful time killing apparatus to delay the traffic in our hustling city"
 Sol caheen Objects.
 q have talked with hundreds of people during the past weeks about these gates said Sol Caheen, and I will pledge you that no more unpopular thing was ever brought into Birmingham. It is being criticised and condemned on all sides, and it seems to me that the street car com pany out of policy and good sense should take these nuisances off the cars imme- diately of their own accord, and not leave 1t up to the citizens to force them to take them off.
 What about the schedules? Some of them have been increased six minutes, and there Is not a single line in the system that has not been increased. Under tho crowded conditions the cars were already making too slow time, but these gates make 1t outrageous. I hope to see some thing done immediately and if not the business men will want to know the req son."
 Abbott Uses Strong Language.
 John Abbott said: ',These gates do not save the company any thing. The records show that they suffer no accidents to men under 50 years of age in moving around the principle corners or anywhere else. These are the persons who are incon- venienced by the gates Heretofore 1t is tho women and children who have been in- jured through the negligence of the em- ployes. The company had best get in- tellisent. sensible employees instead of slow, time-losng machinery. ''The other day l ran out to car on Third avenue to have the gates slammed in my face. I followed 1t around the curve and could have mounted any minr ute, then chased 1t to Second avenue getting there just in time to have the gate slammed in my face again. Now 1 didn't have any gun, so had to wait 20 minutes to get another car.
 Instead of saving money the company is prejudicing jurors. which will lose them thousands of dollars I never saw any thing in Birmingham cussed and discussed as this system has been It Is disgrace to a moving city, does not exist in any other and ought to be discontinuedr im- msdiately."