The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-05-13
PETITIONERS SIDE
WAITS IN RATE CASE
Hearing on Proposed Abolishing of the
"Workingmen's" Tickets on Traction
Line Will Reconvene in Barre
ON MAY 20.

After hearing the testimony of foul
witnesses for the Barre & Montpelier
Traction & Power Co., the Vermont pub
lie service commission adjourned its
hearing on the proposed abolition Of
workingmen's fares at city hall yester.
day afternoon until Tuesday forenoon
at 10 o'clock, May 26. The hearing be-
gan at 10 o'clock in the forenoon and il
was not until 5 o'clock in the afternoon
that the attorneys for the company rest
ed their case. As the commission is to
be busy elsewhere for several days to
come, it was decided not to open the
case for the petitioners till Messrs. Ba-
con, Warner and Pollard, the members,
can reconvene for a period long enough
to complete the hearing.
| During the day, General Manager H. T.
Sands, Fl. D. Larrabee of Montpelier,
local superintendent of the company,
Alexander Macomher, an electrical en-
gineer, and III. A. Gidney of Boston, one
of the company's auditors and an expert
accountant, took the stand and testified
| to the financial status of the road, its
physical condition. its conduct in the
past and its requirements in the future.
| General Manager Sands occupied the
stand until the middle of the afternoon
and most of the material evidence came
| from him. All of the witnesses were
examined by Attorneys Fred f. Gleason
| of Montpelier and Robert p. Clapp of
| Boston, cross examined by 5. Hollister
Jackson, counsel for the petitioners, re-
examined by the company counsel and
questioned by the commission. States
Attorney J. Ward Carver, whose pres
ence was directed by the law, was not
called to take an active part in the pro-
ceedings.
Testimony sworn to by Mr. Sands in
the forenoon was followed by him with
supplementary testimony in the after
noon tending to show the roads financial
inability to continue the two and one
half cent fare among workingmen or
anyone else. Mr.. Sands held that every
passenger should pay proportional
share of the coast of the road mainte-
nance. He estimated the cost of operat
ing the road per car mile to be Fl cents.
In the cross examination it was brought
out that the gross earnings for the year
1907 represented a decrease from the
year previous of 81 900. That was the
year when the old holding company tenn
porarily abolished the lower fare for a
period of two months. 1t also developed
in the same method of examination that
1907 was the only year between 1908
and l9ll 1.-THE latter being the last year
in which the company's annual report to
the commission was accessible for com
parison) in which the gross earnings
showed loss over the year preceding.
Alexander Macomber of Boston told
the commission he was a graduate of the
Massachusetts, Institute of Technology,
had had experience on the Pacific coast
among others. He had qualified as an
appraiser of rolling stock values. Ac
cording to his testimony, he had acted
for Vermont and New Hampshire public
service commissions in various capac-
tiles. Early in April of the present
wear, he had come to Vermont at the
request of the traction company and had
made an inventory of the companys
property. He found it to be valued at a
figure around $4,000. He was briefly
cross examined and then excused.
IT. A. Gidney of Boston said he had
examined the books of the old company
before the stock was purchased by the
present company. That was in 1912 and
it took him nearly all summer to com
plete the job He testified that the sum
of 100000 found on the books and
termed by the old company as surplus
was eliminated Mt his direction by the
purchasing company, since il represented |
repairs, legal expenses, etc, which in
times past had been reported TO the pub |
lie service commission in the construc- |
tion accounts instead of in the accounts |
of operating expense and income deduc- |
tions. He was allowed to leave the stand |
after short cross examination.
Mr.. Larrabee, local manager OF the |
traction company. introduced an exhaus-
tive table showing the workingmen's
fares taken up on the cars during spec
fled months. This was done, apparent
ly, for the purpose of showing that |
many of the workingmen ride home at
noon, but walk back TO work after din
ner. He declared that the men employed
in operating special cars for the work
ing men each day would not be employed
otherwise. He said that cars in Mont
pelier are carrying comparatively few |
Mr.. Larrabee thought that II
many people were buying workingmen's 4
tickets who are not woTkingmen and II
who We're in the habit of waiting for
the specified hour when such fares were
before coming uptown. He
told, in the course of his testimony, of II
special car service furnished by the com
oany at a minimum price of S..
AT this juncture, the commission took
I recess and lawyers, witnesses, clerks
md spectators, who had endured the
air of the court room for
nearly three hours, seemed glad enough
% seek the open for few moments.
After the hearing reconvened, General
Manager Sands again took the stand and
aid the company had contemplated rails
ng the price of special cars to perhaps
| minimum price of $40.
Before adjournment Attorney Jackson
Csked that copies of the tables intro
luced by the company as well as the
inventory be furnished him for examina
ion. When the hearing convenes again
he petitioners will open their case and
It that time it is probable that a num-
Der of witnesses from among the men
Who travel the road as workingmen will
,e asked to take the stand.