The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-02-15
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY IS, 10
Re-route the Jitneys.


have great mystery attending their
movements are the men who make up
the railroad commission of Wisconsin.
1T is generally believed, and we see
NO reason why it should not be believed,
that the railroad commission was or
ganized with the view Of promoting
service for Wisconsin communities.
There has been nothing to suggest that
it had as one of it's cardinal attributes
the wrecking Of the business Of a
utility company, even if it should de-
sire to wreck the method it provided.
The railroad commission has rights
to supplant utilities by giving certi-
ficates of necessity and convenience to
open the way for the coming of an
other utility. 1t is not supposed that
such an action was considered in Ke-
nosha when the routes for jitney buses
were laid out. Tt does appear, however,
little unusual that with some thirty
five miles Of paved streets in the city
and with some thirty-fve thousand
people looking for transportation facil-
tiles that the railroad commission sit
ting at Madison should have selected
Just the one route which was covered
by the street cars in Kenosha. We are
free to- admit that we are not DESTROYS
of boosting the private fortunes of
men who own the stock of the Wis
consin Gas and Electric Company--not
2 bit more than we are interested in
lining the pockets of jitney drivers
with nickles and dimes What we are
looking at and for, is the interests of
the people of Kenosha and the de-
velopment of traffic arrangements
which will be of the greatest value to
this constituency. Just on this ac-
count we believe that the railroad
commission should re-route the jitneys
of Kenosha. We are not ready to
charge that the commissioners were
either forgetful or negleetful Of their
duty to the public when they outlined
the single route for Kenosha. Rather
we desire to have the opinion that a
crafty leader of jitney drivers slipped
something over on the commission.
We believe that blinded blythe lack
Of interest of the public in not pro
Testing, the railway commission took
tie course of least resistance and
granted the routes shown in the appli-
cations of the first men who drove
iitneys. We can not bring ourself to
believe that the commissioners, wise
in the service of the people, came into
Kenosha and after careful and DELHI
crate and If you will, expert consid-
Grafton of Kenosha's traffic problem,
decided that the only place that jit-
ney bus could be operated was along
The tracks Of the railway company.
We are inclined to believe that the
commissioners were entirely ignorant
of the conditions. We know that the
commissioners knew that If the rail
way company was not giving proper
service to that portion of the city
touched by Elizabeth street, Milwau-
kee avenue and Newell and Market
streets, that it must have known that
it had full power to force the utility
to render this service. We feel GER
tain that the railroad commission
never considered the fact that there
was a vast territory lying between
the railway lines which wanted service
of some kind to the down town district
that Prairie avenue and Park streets
both stretched west from the business
district of the city for close to mile
that there was big territory to the
south and southeast of the business dis
trict where people had nickles they
were anxious to spend for iitney fare.
Why routes should have been en-
tirely overlooked on these streets and
the one single route placed on streets
where utility was already establish
cd, is the mystery we want solved
The development of the transporta-
tion facilities of town depends, not
only on the extension of some, but the
conservation of Others Tt is impossi-
BILE for the jitneys and the railway
company to divide nickles on these
streets and either be operated at real
profit. 1t is impossible for the people
to get the service which is possible for
the present facilities so long as both
use the same streets. If the railway
company is furnishing insufficient
service let the commission use its pow
er to enforce service. Let the people
on Prairie avenue and Park streets,
Durkee avenue and Eagle street and
other streets in the south and east
portions of the city have the benefit
of jitney traffic.
It seems to any one who has studied
the problem that it is the plain duty
of the City Council, the Chamber OF
Commerce and the Retailers Assoeia-
tion to make a formal appeal to the
commission for the correction of this
stupid blunder in order that Kenosha
as q city may get the greatest posi-
Die benefit from its various modes of
street traffic. Now is the time to take
this matter up. Surely the commits
sion can not but fail to recognize its
mistake and it should hasten to COR
rect it. One would think that it would