Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-22
THAT TRANSIT TAX BoGEY

TNHosE who have been reading its
political effusions recently will not be
surprised that the Record last spring was
unable to understand how the taxpayers
were going to spend all the money called
FOR In the big loan bill with any prospect
Of Immediate return" The Records nom
understanding of the most elementary
principles OF political economy and finance
is too pronounced for the public to ex-
pect from II glimmer OF intelligence
In so simple n matter as rapid transit.
There is not any citizen, we surmise,
who is such a fool as to swallow the
talk about a ruinous tax rate TO pay for
transit development. No citizen. IL he
wanted to. could possibly pay cent in
taxes for rapid transit for some years
the lines have been completed and in
operation one year.
The two lines that will be finished first
are the Frankford L and the Broad street
subway. Nobody yet has advanced the
supposition that the Frankford L will
not pay its way virtually from the be-
ginning 1t will earn money the second
year IL is operated, and every year there
after and everybody knows II. So from
this line there is no possibility of a
deficit.
Almost as certain Of producing revenue
is the Broad street subway. Just imagine
highspeed line cutting the heart of
Philadelphia from north to south and
not paying its wayl why, the present
subway-elevated. a dead line though It
is at one end. is a good enough revenue
producer to make that forthcoming p. r.
T. dividend feasible. Put it down as a
fact that the Broad street subway will be
earning money after operation for a few
years, and long before that-before, in
fact, it is completed-the enhancement
in realty values induced by it will bring
to the city more money than any deficit
that can possibly accrue. This increased
revenue will be coming in to the munich
pal treasury for three years before the
line itself is in operation.
A great public utility such as rapid tran.
sit never ultimately costs any money.
Millions have been spent for automobiles.
but, as was stated in this newspaper re-
Gently, for every dollar spent for a motor.
car there has been corresponding in.
crease in land or other values in the ma.
ton. Service creates values just as Ger.
tainly as a factory creates values when
It changes raw material into a finished
form.
We have heard all this talk of in
tolerable taxes before. It is the usual
bogey. The municipal gas works were
to be a burden to the taxpayer. They
never, as a matter of fact, cost the tax
payer one dollar, and they yield the city
annually two millions of dollars.
The waterworks were to be a burden
10 laxpdyorS. Iney are not IN TACT, cost
ing the taxpayers one single dollar and
: they are yielding to the city treasury ne
not less than one million dollars annually
The two great public utilities which tn,
city now owns earn net for the city every
: year not less than three millions of dollars
or more than one-sixth of what is yielded
by the tax levy on real estate. For every
six dollars the realestate owner pays fo
taxes now he would be paying sever
J dollars were 1t not that the city own
the water and gas works.
Perhaps the Record can understan,
that.
| Certainly the people understand tina
their transit lines land their municipa
piers) are going to be revenue producer
instead OF revenueconsumers. and thei
|. only ultimate cost to citizens is going I
be the fares they pay 10 ride.