Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-23
CROWDED TROLLEYS
TORTURE WORKERS
FROM FRANKFORT
Scores of Frail Shop Girls
on Way to Work Forced
to bangle AZ Minutes
From Straps.

! city to Frankford should take ride
| any morning on route No. Hundreds
| of working girls, and working men, too.
| are obliged to stand practically the en-
| tire journey. Sometimes they are lucky
enough to get strap which bangles
| overhead but when they don't the pas
| sengers support each other. They are
| wcdged too tightly to fall And so they
ride, posting, swinging and hanging by
| their finger ends, from Frankford avenus
| and Bridge street, the northern terminus,
| all the way to Sixth and Market streets,
where most Of the exhausted passengers
leave-tO go to work, tired out before
they begin their days labor
The car then proceeds to its southern
terminus, Sixth and Ritner streets To
obtain accurate information about this
Frankford line, an EVENING LEDGER re-
porter took the interesting ride this morn
! ing from Bridge street, He was lucky
enough TO obtain seat by entering the
car before II started. For two whole
blocks there was plenty of room, but
when the car reached Margaret street
there was a rush. and in less than two
minutes every seat was occupied.
At Orthodox street five minutes later,
there similar rush-for straps and
fully dozen frail little girls, BARELY past
the official working age, reached for
straps to rest tO during the long ride
to Market street. one girl, evidently ac-
customed to the ordeal managed to
wedge little package of lunch under her
right elbow ana read a book. With the
disengaged loft hand she practically
dangled from strap
And she rode 20 Market street a
trip of ~ minutes from where shs
boarded the car A few of the girls
lucky enough to get seats offered their
laps to some of the girl strap-hangers.
Although the car was uncomfortably
packed at Orthodox street, there were
at least two dozen workers taken on at
y lpErh h.n h.g
but they got in by rushing, squeezing
and standing with feet close together.
The lurchng and sudden stopping of the
car fortunately did harm, for there
was solid mass of passengers from
cnd to end. Even those fortunate enough
to have seats didn't have room to read
their newspapers. Some, alighting
at Market street. scanned their papers
as they walked to their places of en-
ployment
WORKERS STAND ~ MINUTES.
The actual time made from Bridge
street, the beginning of the route, to
Market street, was n minutes and an
the car was packed al Orthodox street,
FIVE minutes from the starting point.
scores Of little workers had to stand
packed together like cattle for AZ min
utes before they went to the stores to
stand for the remainder OF the day.
Riders say the conditions are the same
every day.
There is nothing better to look for
ward to at night, for the Frankford
car. as all daily riders know, is filed
before Chestnut street is reached. Thus
it actually happens that some girl
workers are on their feet from the time
they leave home in the morning until
they return Mt night, except for the
short respite for their MONDAY lunch.
Between the hours of 6:i5 and 7:45 in
soutnhOund car on this line are practically
the same. There are aged workers, too.
barely strong enough 10 stand their reg
ular daily tasks, who must suffer the
added misery of n Frankford car. In all.
% mnu"s Of torture is added to the lot
Of hundreds Of Frankford workers daily
on account of deplorable car service.
An elevated road which will be built
when Councils and the Legislature un-
wind all its red tape would save %
minutes 20 the tOilers on each trip, or
+6 minutes a lay. This reduction in time
has been figured out by Director Taylor.
of the Department Of CITY Transit. who
bases his calculations accurately upon
tho running schedule Of the Market street
subway elevated road.
This means that every toiler in Frank
ford who is Obliged 10 use Route No.
could have ~ minutes more each day at
home. or four and three-ffth hours more
rest each week when the elevated road
is built
FEhNKFORD STAYS U'NDEvELOPED.
In the course of the disagreeable ride.
the reporter noticed that there was no
end Of ground i'm Frankford going to
waste. Immense stretches Of land, hum
dreds Of feet in depth, border Frankford
avenue on both sides. just on the edge
of the bu.lt-up section There is room
her" FOR hundreds OF homes and ample
opportunity for a few now streets.
II was learned, however, that no one