Evening star., 1913-06-22
Dirty Street Cars.
o the Editor or The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Having read the good letter Of Mrs.
{. L. Stone on page 20 of The Evening
Star for June Il, 1918. the subscriber
would, with your leave. add few facts
to the complaint about the street car
service of our National Capital That
the cars are dirty a rule any woman
who ventures to wear a lght-colored
dress on street car ride can testify 10
he fact. II any of your readers have
not noticed this before. let them examine
their dresses after just one ride and the
stains upon that portion OF the garment
which comes in contact with the car
seats viii be convincing Visitors of mine
from other cities quickly found thar inst
one ride on our dirty street cars was
sometimes enough TO fairly ruin q good
summer dress. The same holds good when
a man risks wearing white linen or other
light-colored summer clothing on Wash
lngton street car. When wearing dark
clothes the stain will not show 50 much
II at all; but YOU all know the dirt is
there just the same.
BY order of the Commissioner" peo-
pie are warned not TO spit on any street
car IL is a wonder that the Commits
slonerS care does not take in the whole
situation. for it is useless to hope or
expect the street car compani"s. though
they enjoy highly valuable public priNi-
leges, will do anything that Will lessen
profits with which to pay dividends on
a heavily watered capital stpck-the
amount of which is boosted by the value
set upon the very franchises under which
they do business. You may have noticed
at one time or another colored women
carrying huge bundles Of soiled clothes
packing these into perhaps already over
crowded street cars. and thus not un-
likely spreading contagious diseases
alongside Of which the prohibited Spifting
on street cars is mere baSatelle. Should
not that pernicious and often dangerous
practice be stopped too
Men placing their feet and women let
ting their children, wearing sometimes
soiled shoes. stand upon street ear seats
should be stopped by the car companies
ihls would cost them nothing and help
little.
Furthermore If the street car com
panies would get all the fares collcctihle
DN their conductors they would get
enough additional revenue from their
present ears to pay to have these prop
erly cleaned without reducing dividends
As this last sentence may require a little
explaining. permit me to add daily en-
perience when riding on the open stvle
or car. There are a class of people who
seem not to consider cheating the ear
company as rank dishonesty. or if they
KNOW better. they do not care any more
Tor these companies than they care for
their patrons. the passengers. If Won
VIII take seat, say. in the center of
one OF the open cars during hours when
these are we'll filled tand that Is mostly
an ,i' 'liiie No" VIII me inadequate
number of cars in service, You may see
the conductor making his rounds call
for Fares, please. industrously and
yet miss from five to ten single one
way trip. Some people will get on a car
and when the conductor calls for fares
they will take notice of him as il
they had paid. Nine times out OF ten the
conductor will be thus bluffed out of his
fare. But should he have noticed the
party and is sure they have not paid
and ask for the fare YOU NAV see the
person quickly produce a nickel held
ready for the purpose. and PAY acting
as IL the matter had been forgotten
FREDERIC EGNER