El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-10-04

Conditions which the El Paso Electric Railway
Company can IN no way control. and for which it IS
not even remotely responsible have rendered necessary
the application which has been made to the Ell Paso
city government for permission to increase street
fares in the City of El Paso one cent
This increase viii make the street car fare SIX cents.
where now is five csnts and three cents where it
IS two and half cents.
WHAT HAS CAUSED THIS.
The purchasing power of the Nickel which for so
long has been the standard street car fare hnk until
is now worth to the street railway not over and often
not even one half what It was before the world
brought about the prevailing high prices.
An increase of one cent IN five cent fare IS twenty
per cent It is the opinion of the best minds in the
street railway business that this per cenage will not be
reached IN revenue increase While data Is not avail
able based upon actual results of fare increases the
best opinion is that viii be increased between
eight 90 and ten (l0) per cent.
On an estimated gross revenue annually Of half
million dollars the proposed increase Will to
between Forty thousand ($4O,OOO) and Fifty Thou
sand ($5OOOO) Dollars.
LABOR WILL GET ALL OF THIS.
Since the World War started. the Company has vol
unfairly increased the sliding wage scale of It's conduc-
tors and motomen from 20c-25c to 33c-36c per hour
as follows
January /. 1916 .2lc to Zoe per hour
August IS. 1916 $50. .23c to 26c per hour
Tuly l. 1917 ...... .25c to Doc per hour
February l. 1918. 49,. lie to BE per hour
May !, 1918. Doc TO 35c per hour
August !, 1918 ...... .33c to 36c per hour
The National War Labor Board. of which former
President William H. Taft and Mr.. Frank P Walsh
are Joint charen announced the following schedule Of
wages as proper one for conductors and motomen in
cities with climatic and living conditions similar to Ell
Paso:
First three months of service. 36c per hour
Next nine months Of service. .40c per hour
Thereafter 42c per hour
Operators Of Safety cars receive &c additional
The Ell Paso Electric Railway Company has frankly
told its that its financial condition will not permit
the payment Of this wage It coupled this statement
with pledge that if the City Of e. Paso permits it to
increase its fare cent. it viii pay this wage, which
vii add to its operating costs SIS. 30l00 per annum
for tIammens wages alone. This figure does not take
INTO account increases N other departments, which it
viii be necessary to give in order to equaze the salaries
Of employees.
INCREASED OPERATING COSTS.
The cost of operation has increased in every depart
ment since the opening of the world Labor costs
have advanced and they must yet be advanced further
to meet the standard set by the National War Labor
Board. Materials costs have advanced from fifty to
a high five hundred $500 per cent.
Taxes have increased enormously and the end Is not
yet.
Maintenance costs have gone up IN step with labor
and materials costs and they are still going up.
WHY INCREASE SHOULD BE GRANTED.
FL Paso requires adequate and dependable street car
service In order to secure this, adequate wages must
be paid the who are employed in rendering this
service The property be adequately maintained
and follows natural sequence that IN order to do this
the Of the company must be kept measuraby