The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-09-03
Organized Workers of Buckeye
Capital Fire First Gun in Fight
for Extinction of Corporation
Owned Transport Facilities.

lctiOn of the executive committee Of
calling upon the governor to summon
a special session of the general as
sembly to enact law permitting mu-
inequalities to own street car lines, is
the first gun in a campaign which
organized labor in this city plans to
follow up with wide distribution
of literature relating to the city owned
street car lines abroad.
Data relating to the &municipal
tramways of Belfast, Leeds and Bir-
mingham, gathered through consular
reports made to the department Of
commerce and labor, will be distrib-
uted on fertile ground in Columbus
where the street car strike has forced
the issue of public ownership before
the people.
For the past five years the city of
Belfast has successfully operated its
tramways under the direction of a
general manager. All the lines pass
through a. central station making ev-
cry part of the city available from
that center.
Special cars, run at fixed hours,
night and morning, transport working
men to and from their homes and
workshops at cents for any distance.
The same rate has also been given
to females up to g. a. m. For both
classes cents buys ticket that will
carry the holder back to any part OF
the city at any time in any car. Chill
dren under 16 years of age travel at
half fare l.
The regular rate on the Belfast
street cars is cents for the average
distance of miles. There have been
few accidents during the year, the
ratio of fatalities to passengers being
Eut 1 in 23,173,795. II
In. the city of Leeds the municipal
tran2Way management is planning to
take up the handling of heavy freight
on Its lines with special cars built for
the purpose. -
These cars will be equipped with the
standard motors and brakes of the
department., so that they can proceed
at~~thes same rate of speed as those
carrying passengers and be in the
same control of drivers.
There are over 100 miles of track in
control OF the management and there
are other lines connecting with near
by towns which possibly have the
same powers conferred and can util-
ize the cars.
The corporation Of Birmingham
during the early history of street
transportation, instead of allowing
companies to lay down tracks in the
streets of the city, as was the case
IN the majority of towns in the Uni
ted Kingdom, constructed the tram
ways and leased them to companies
upon terms which repaid the capital
outlay within the periods of the leases.
In this way the corporation always
had complete control of the streets Of
the city. The wisdom of this policy
was brought home to the citizens
when on January 1, 1907, the leases
of the majority of the lines in the city
fell to the corporation without a
penny Of cost. Other cities allowed
companies 20 construct and own the
lines, and at the end of FL years had
to buy the companies interests.
The cost to the city in construction
including rebuilding and equipment
Of lines, power tations, car sheds, ami
cars, was $4,615,,520. Three hundred
cars were in operation the first part
o. 1909, and in 1911, when leases ex-
pire, the city will operate every trac-
ton line in its territory.
In the year ended March 81, 1908,
75,600.000 people were carried The
total revenue for that year was ST.
:409,125, and the operating expenses
were $819,733. leaving a profit over
working expenses of s5S9,3e1, of
which s17o,327 was applied to reduce
taxation and the balance to pay in
terest on money borrowed and to
sinking and reserve funds.