Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-05-04

CONTINUED From First Pagel
opinion, which demand speedy
solution.
poets to take necessary steps in the
near future to bring about some of the
reforms.
Some Problems
The practice of iitney drivers from
Steelton, 'cross-river and other towns
avoiding the regular jitney license
fee by tooling into town and doing a
regular iitneY business here; trolley
service over the 'cross-river lines from
Market Square; the unsatisfactory
methods of handling river coal from
the Nerbeke and Boas street landings
along the river by out-of-town firms;
the necessity of widening and elevating
South Second street over the grade of
the Pennsylvania Railroad freight sid
inss below Vine street in order to in
sure more adequate outlet for whole
sale and manufacturing district
these are few of the immediate needs
to insure permanent relief, in Mayor
Meals opinion.
The appeal to the Dauphin County
Court by the iitneurs who were fined
for violating the jitney regulations sug-
gested a new angle for discussion by
the Mayor.
The Family STAND
zone Of the more serious questions
OF the iitney business" declared the
Mayor, lis this practice of outsiders
driving into town and swapping up all
the business they can, to the detri-
ment of the local man who pays the
iitneurs license for the purpose"
Where do they come from?' the
Mayor was asked. rs there no way to
regulate this?"
Most of them come from Steelton;
a lot from across the river This is
the way they do it, Some fellow in
one of these smaller towns hauls his
family in here, presumably to attend
moving picture show.
Many Jitneurs Unknown
Now, then, while the family is at
the show or attending to some other
business, yuor Mr.. Chauffeur or owner
hangs out his card and then proceeds
to do a jitney business for several
hours from a fixed stand See? lie
pays only S5 at most for that privilege
and does a serious harm to the Jit-
neyman who pays his license and tries
to make a living.
"As to preventing this, one OF the
surest ways is to go right after them.
To do this we've got to know who they
are-~-where they live. An investigation
OF this remarkable phase of the jitney
service exposed the practice of the
out-of-town fellows. We found that
comparatively few live in Harrisburg;
most of them have no place of resi-
dence here. Two-thirds, I'll venture
to say, are out-of-town auto owners.
We're going after them hard, as we
mean to thresh out this jitney question
thoroughly for the benefit of every
body concerned.
The Front Street Tracks
The 'cross-river trolley service from
Market Square suggested another
traffic problem of importance, in the
Mayors opinion. The laying of tracks
on North Front street from Market in
order to complete connections at the
entrance to the Walnut street bridge is
not considered favorably by his Honor.
"Oh," said Mayor Meals decisively,
that will never come. Permission
would never be granted for that right.
AS a matter of fact, don't think it is
advisable in any way. In the first
place, that Is the only section in the
business district that is free of tracks:
let's keep il so. Then, again, doubt
if it would be feasible from an engi-
neering viewpoint. Tracking of Front
street from Market to Walnut would
mean that the sharp turn into the
'cross-river bridge would have to be
done at the end of a stiff grade"
The Coal Handling Problem
Residents who live in the vicinity of
Boas and Verbeke streets have COM
planned bitterly of the unsatisfactory
methods employed by the coal and
sand dredging companies that unload
coal at these points.
No effort, it is said, is made to use
carts that will prevent the dripping
and dropping from the CARTS no pras