Connecticut western news., 1916-04-06
NEW HAVEN" TO CARRY ADS
Company Signs Contract as a Means
 of Increasing Revenues.

of Increasing Revenues.
 With the view of increasing its revenue from such sources as may be found reasonable as suggested by the Interstate Commerce Commission in its findings in the Five Per Cent. Rate Case" the New Haven Railroad has recently signed a contract with an advertising firm for advertising in local cars, at stations along the com pany's right of way. George W. Roebling, Inc, will handle this adver. Using.
 This source of revenue has been con- sidered by many of the leading rail ways of the country. The Block Island, The Erie, the Northern Rail. road of New Jersey, the New Jersey and New York, the Illinois Central, one of the divisions of the New York Central. and the Long Island, have already adopted the practice. Practi cally all street car, elevated and sub way lines in the country utilize this means of deriving additional revenue Many of the leading railways in the country that have not already entered into an arrangement such as the New Haven has just completed are said to be in the market for similar contract.
 The advertising at the stations of the New Haven Road will be on a limited scale at the start. Two large and two small posters will be placed at some of the stations in the near future
 An effort is to be made to make this o1x ,int, md r|, ,rti |, as possible. In European countries where railways have availed themselves for years of this means of revenue, a remarkably high degree of artistic ad- vertising has been attained. Some of the large national advertisers in this country have adopted this policy, and the firm that is to handle the New Haven advertising hopes to impress upon other advertisers the advantages of this form of display.
 Probably no greater object lesson could be had to illustrate the need of additional revenues by the railways than the condition of unpreparedness disclosed within the past few months They were not ready for the enormous and unexpected business revival pre- cipitated by the European war. Ter minal and slI ing facilities were lack Ing One authority, Samuel w. Fair. child, chairman of the committee on Internal Trade and Improvements of the New York State Chamber of Com. merce, estimated in 1919 that the rail. ways of the country would have to spend $1, TOO, 900, GOO a year to main. tain railway facilities equal to the traffic of the country. In the seven year period ending June 30, 1914, an average of only $650, 900, 900 year, or less than two.fi 'ths of the yearly amount estimated by MT. Fairchild as necessary to maintain facilities, was spent by the railways of the United States.
 The present freight congestion on eastern railways and the consequent interruption to the business and com mence of the nation, is the direct result of the inability of the railways to in- crease facilities in the necessary ratio year by year.
 Every legitimate means of obtaining revenue, therefore, must be utilized by the railways in order to obtain the ne cessary funds to. maintain the ma chinery for manufacturing transporta tion at the state of efficiency demanded by the business of the country. The New Haven Railroad has adopted this new source of revenue as one that will assist in building up its system to that state of preparedness.