Evening journal., 1918-02-11
The Plight of the fractions
What the High Cost of Operation Has These Companies
and What Stockholders Can Do to Offset the Shrinking Nickel
W. JENIns IN THE INVEST TwEEnY
w c. JENKINS IN THE INVESTMENT WEEKLY.

I spending lOt or money, 10 get voice
in the councils, but several aldermen
always needed something. There was
scarcely a day that some one Of them
! did not come TO us for money. We
thought we couldn't refuse, and came
across as long as we could.
Finally, we saw the futility Of our
! efforts in this direction, and decided to
quit politics Then there was a howl.
We were bulled and threatened by
many different men, and, in the course
OF time, various regulating ordinances
appeared in the common council and,
nguratiyely speaking we had jumped
out Of the frying-pan into the flre In
two or three years, however, sanity
asserted itself, and we were not mo-
Tested so often.
But misinformation and prejudice
had done its destructive work. Every
body thought we were a crowd Of fran
chise grabbers, and that we could not
be honest IL we tried. We were taxed
beyond all reason, and when we asked
for relief we met with opposition that
was insurmountable.
THE time came when we had TO de
fault on the bond interest, then it was
IANAAHANA Ant htunu-NltANnt WIS ANtul-
cient and ! was blamed for every
thing"
The old mans story was a pathetic
one, but his experiences were those Of
many other men who have undertaken
to create lighting or traction convent
ences in the cities Of this country.
Just now. when the cost to render a
street railway service is nearly double
what it was a few years ago, the men
engaged In the industry are struggling
with the most vexatious problems. |
When the price Of labor and material
was normal, IL was with difficulty that
many companies could make ends meet |
During the past two years there has /
been an Overwhelming gulf between /
the cost Of service and the prices re- |
celved from the people, until today /
there are conspicuous danger signals |
in the executive Offices as we'll as along /
the lines
Something must be done 10 place .
street railway affairs upon a better .
basis. Either the zone system must be 1
established, or an increase in fares or
small charge for transfers permitted /
The street railway companies have .
been forced, through public pressure,
to make far greater capital investments.
betterments and Improbable exten-
sions than were ever contemplated
when they asked for municipal fran
chlses. Moreover they have been penal
lied instead Of compensated for max
ing these investments and extensions.
they have been compelled to give
greater and more extensive service Tor
the same rates Of fare as originally
agreed upon when the only traction
conveniences they had 10 offer were
slow rides in poorly equipped convey
ances.
From the standpoint of the street
railway investor the establishment Of
the flat tlve-cent fare must now be con-
sidered a financial blunder, although
Il resulted in the public reaching rich
benefits. The rates would not have
been so harmful were IL not for the
fact that through the enforcement of
almost unlimited transfer privileges
the fare has been reduced to below an
average Of four cents throughout the
country; and while the fare has been
forced down, the extent and cost Of the
service has been forced up.
Nothing has been more conducive TO
municipal development and civic pro-
gress than the street railway and its
full importance is only realized when
the cars are idle through accident or
strife. Few greater calamities could
bef3ll our American cities than to have
street railway service suspended for
month, or even a week, for every in
dustry, and every branch of commerce
is so intertwined with and related 10
a city's traction system that TO afflict
an injury on one will quickly be re-
flected In more or less Generalization
in the other. And yet we frequently see
men who have large real estate or in
dustrlal investments in a municipality
leading the attack upon the local street
railway corporation. They would deny
the company any benefits from those
in real estate and similar
values which have been created by
street railway operations alone and
they would hedge around the corpOr-
alton conditions and restrictions which
are not only impracticable. but m
possible.
In all candor let It be asked Is not
this a mistaken policy? Is it not an
economic error to impose a burden
upon these companies which the mo &
casual investigation reveals they are
unable to carry? Or should they be
met In a spirit Of fair play and proper
appreciation lot lnelr importance IN
And If the rates and rules
adopted under conditions which no
longer exist, or are materially changed
If these rates and rules are obsolete,
does not justice and the self-ilterest
Of all suggest that they be speedily
changed?
Many public utility managers COM I
plain that stockholders do not give the
corporations the cooperation which
they could extend without subiecting 7
themselves 10 but little inconvenience
It is well-known fact that the sew
sral hundred thousand stockholders in
our American public service corpora
lions are among the most prominent
people Of the various states, men and
women whose opinions exert consider
able influence in their respective COM
II the voices Of the stock {
holders could be raised in favor Of p
more equitable relationship between
the cost OF furnishing frst-class
traction service and the income =
obtained as a result of rendering =
such service, a long step would have
been made towards the Improvements
which are today absolutely imperative. !
A readjustment Of street railway
e u