The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1915-05-01
ENGLISH L STREET
CAR LINES PAY.
Profits Made In Spite Of War.
Fares Reduced-Taxes
- Greatly Lowered
$50 LIVERPOOL STREET
- CAR MEN OFF TO FIGHT
Families of Former Employees
e.: e.. e.. Now In War, Cared for
! By City. :

= LIN EHEOO1s ,EnglanQ, April 5V.-
The official annual report of the 1
street railways here shows that $50 !
Of the employees Of the lines have
gone to war. The total number en-
p1oyed on the lines is $500. i.
The street railway lines of Liver
pool are owned, by the city, and have
been since 1897. 49,, -: -:
The 1915 report has to deal with,
the business of the lines for the en-
tire year Of 1914, and in viSw of the
war a very remarkable. showing is
made. -:
Soon after the war broke out, the
city council passed resolution pro-
viding that the family Of every en-
ploye Of the line! should receive the
difference between what the ,employe
now, gets as a soldier and what he
did get when employed on the, Ines
This is costing the street car lines
$4,000 a week., besides paying: full
wages to the men who took the places
Of the soldiers in the street railway
service. ."..>.'
Besides that, the lines carried all
soldiers free of charge. That: amount:
ed to a total Of 1,750,o00 passengers.
City Lines Pay Taxes. y. :.
The war hit the street railway: in
another way. The lines always pay
taxes the same ais though owned; by
private corporations: : These taxes
amounted to over 100000 since the
lines were acquired in 1897. But last
year they were extra high, running
$4,000 more than the previous year.
Besides the $50 who have gone to
war, 500 employees, who are beyond
the present military age limit, are
drilling for war, that they may be
ready for use in case they are needed.
But what has been the effect of all
this on the municipality owned street
railway?
The report shows that nearly all of
the passengers rode for two cents;
not all, but over 81 per cent Of them,
or a. total of 127,709,346 passengers.
Then over IL per cent rode for four
cents fare.
That makes over 90 per cent of
them, almost 80 per cent. OF the re-
manning number, little over one per
cent in all, fare of six, eight, ten
and twelve cents was charged, depend
ing on how far out they went.
; Reducing: the English pound to our
dollars, in roun nd numbers, we find on
the first page Of the report that In
spite of the handicaps of the war the
lines did this:
They had total revenue of $a,6oo.-
900:
Their operating cost was $780,
900;
Their gross profit was $1,240,0OO.
Their gross profit was used as fol-
lows:
They paid $255,ooo interest on
bonds;
They put aside $4,000 into the
sinking fund for repayment of loans;
They set aside $183,OOO for reserve
And, after doing all that, they had
$4S7 900 to turn into the city treasury
to help relieve the taxpayers.
And we read in the report that, al
though the net profit was somewhat
less than the previous year, the
amount turned into the city treasury
to relieve the taxpayer was the same
as was turned in the previous year.
The report shows, also that aside
from paying over 100000 in regu-
lar taxes since being municipal1zed,
the city lines have paid over $780,
900 on principal, have set aside
100000 for renewal of lines and
betterments and have turned $780,
900 back into the city treasury to
help reduce taxes.
The street railway managers have
! put on ten motor buses to supple
! ment the service Of the lines. These
carried over million passengers and
brought in a revenue Of $4,000.
Since the lines became municip-
allied the number of passengers car
ried has increased from 38,000,O00
to- 145.000.000.
Other earnings brought the total
revenue up to the $3,600,000 stated
above.
The rate of fare has been reduced,
and very greatly, since the city took
over the lines. In the first year Of
municipal operation the average rate
of fare paid was 3.O7 cents per pas
senger. In 1914 the average rate of
fare was 2.O3 cents per passenger.
The city prevents crowding Of cars
by putting a limit on the number of
passengers car can carry. Cars with
a seating capacity Of ga are licensed
10 carry II extra passengers, the limit