New Britain herald., 1918-03-25

Z IF a1ell been III VOgu @
 tica11y all the street railways (
 country up to 8 very recent dat in most eases up to the present. The distance of the several zond not always remained the sam eI companies having from time to heightened or shortened certain
 Casually heightened upon requ} parties located near the fare Il still retaining the same unit of for each zone. In some case5 zones have been heightened to tl tent of reducing the total mum
 The development of local coni ities and the selection of part sites for the construction of subI residences have been materially f1uenced and controlled by thia established zone system in street way transportation.
 The petitioner claims that the ent zone system Is inequitabIe that the mileage system, by whid passenger is required to pay d mileage basis for the actual dis travelled, would be much fairer. titioner further claims that if elimination of the present zond tenn in populous centers, as Harl is impracticable, that the city should be contracted. with limits of equal radius from thd ognized center. the charge therd be the five cent unit of fare, and traffic outside of such zone bel ried either on the present zone tenn, rearranged, or on g. mi basis.
 The adoption of the latter or native plan suggested by the
 tioner would result in suburban { and some parts within the city, ing not less than seven cents street railway transportation int, city on the mileage basis and no than ten cents on the zone basi: which it is now paying six cents traffic figures were produced
 which it could be determined much increased revenue, if any, a plan would produce. Its ge adoption, however, would elinl the populous centers and relievf larger number of street railway sengers from sharing the burden producing the necessary incrt revenue, which would then have fall upon the comparatively few
 However defective the present established system may be, any cal change therefrom should not adopted without careful study analysis of traffic and other E railway conditions on the parti lines and system to be affected. is a practical though somewhat plex economic problem which transportation company itself, it's experts and intimate knowled operating conditions, should prin solve. If the solution is to be by the commission or any mand order issued by it, changing the ent zone system to a mileage sy a combination of mileage and system, service at cost" systen any other system, it could onl done after 6 careful investigi such as has not been made and not have been made upon the presented in this case. We | therefore, at this time determine of the rates ( plained of as levied and collecte' the zone system used by the res dent.
 Conclusion.
 Existing abnormal conditions, sulting from the present internat. war, are necessarily involved must be taken into considerable the cost and selling prit the company's product. The na' result of war conditions is to burdens, but these burdens shoul far as possible be equitably distri ed. The added burdens thus re ing to transportation conn should be borne in part at leas the stockholders as a patriotic ( as we'll as by the patrons of That which in nol times would be @ fair return in way of dividends for capital in7 ed, might in war times cause an equal distribution of the burden favor of the stockholders. On other hand, rates of fare which normal times would be reason; might in war times be unreason low, thereby causing an inequit distribution of the burdens in f 1f the patrons. Therefore, any established under war time co ions and influenced by such co ions, should be the subject of re IS soon as such conditions ceas exist.
 The importance of street rai1y md other local untility companie var time and the necessity of m aiming them at maximum eff1cit Ire strongly emphasized in the re between the secre ,f the treasury and the presiden h United States, in which the Ia ;ays: Tt is essential that these ties should be maintained at f maximum efficiency and that ev hing reasonably possible should
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