The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-07
BuCKINC THE DRIFTS. IN A
 TROLLEY CAR How the Connecticut Com pany Promises and Is
 Not Ashamed Here the Plaint of Frozen Passengers Held Up By An Inch and a Half
 of Snow

A trolley car left Bear6sley Park at 7:05 yesterday morning. Another car followed it. The wind was blow ing and there was an inch and half of snow upon the tracks. AS the cars moved slowly west on Noble avenue they were boarded by groups of cold and angry people, men and women on their way to work. who had been fed on trolley promises un- til their faith in human nature mad been destroyed.
 The cars were cold as "Greenlands 8 icy shore.''
 Whats the matter with the heat?' inquired a passenger with acerbity.
 Company needs the power to run the cars. sir,' replied the conductor. who sympathized with his passengers to such an extent that he remained polite in the face of things we'll call culated to make men swear.
 Fare" he said to a man, one who was sitting on the north side of the car, which was the coldest side.
 You get the nickle," replied the person addressed through the icicles that had formed upon his mustache, ''but I shall probably have to get off and walk, and I shall expect the nickle back"
 It s a CTlIne to take the money, said the harassed conductor under his breath.
 It was five minutes after when the first car crossed the Congress street bridge.
 The journey had been made in startk and jerks. in little slides and rumbies.
 There was an inch and a half of snow on the tracks.
 Sometimes the snow had been drifted into great drifts, as much as two inches high and a foot wide. Such aggregations proved insuper- able obstacles. The electric lights had gone out also. Presently the lights would glow faintly again an.l the motorman would back the car and then 'give her the juice" and buck the drift at the hair raising. death defying speed of half a mile in half an hour.
 Sometimes the lights went out when there was no drift in sight. Upon such occasions the power had evidently been turned into some other line for a few seconds to enable other cold cars. carrying other burdens of cold passengers to creep to destina- ton.
 This was a typical journey. which anybody could experience almost anywhere on the trolley system yes terday.
 And the people of Bridgeport are paying profits into the coffers of the Connecticut company at the rate of $5OO,0O0 year.
 What can be done about it?" was the question that everybody asked.
 Flow is it that this trolley com pany, which has a monopoly of the flout the city and its inhabitants year after year, bringing them for rich profits and miserably poor service?" The truth is that so long as he trolley monopoly can control legisl:t- ton and pay interest and dividends on it's millions o; watered stock 1t can do about what 1t pleases in Bridge port.
 A public utilities commission such as other states have could issue m order compelling the service to which Bridgeport is entitled. In the meantime the company will continue to explain that the two en- zines which it ordered "Oh, so long ago." have mysteriously not arrived But this will make no difference whatever so long as the nickels come merrily in. Why should trolley car riders get somewhere on time? Why shouldn't they hang on to straps | cars are cold they can get made enough to get warm? If they don't | like the cars, let them ride in taxis Here is the true attitude of the Con- necticut Company, with it's little in- vestment and its millions of water | whose official head has declared tha, water in the stock doesn't impair the service
 Perhaps some day the Connecticut company will wake up to find that the people of Bridgeport are not en- tirely helpless against abuse, extor- 1 tion and imposition and that it has been sowing the wind to reap the whirlwind.
 An ordinary citizen who couldn't run trolley cars in an inch and a half of snow would die of shame The ethics of the trolley car business appear to be different.