The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-30
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC ]. HAsK1N. Director.
Washington, D. C
SPEAKING OF CAR FARE.
Warrington, D. G

buffalo, the passenger pigeon, free
silver and the open sugar bowl, into
the limbo of things that were. The
street car passenger Is wailing that
is there is anything in the theory that
acquired characteristics are heredi-
tan, his children will be flat like
founders and have one arm "a foot
conductor and also the motorman are
striking for higher wages. And the
street car itself lifts up to heaven the
sad voice of it's flat wheel.
The magnate points to the fact that
about thirty companies have already
gone out of business, bankrupt. From
his viewpoint, there is nothing for 1t
but a raise in the rate of car fares
And from any viewpoint. such raise
seems necessary if the cars are to go
on running.
Unlike the price of doughnuts or
ce1lu1oid collars, which may be indi-
rectly fixed by the war industries
| board, a raise in car fare rates de-
ponds on the will of the public. Nat
urally, the public is not in favor OF
| investing two or three extra cents in
| street car rides. especially when street
\ car riding involves a series of aero
bat: stunts on the part of the pas
senger while swinging pendulum-like
equilibrium. What will we get out
of a higher rate OF fare?" asks the
public. sAnd the street car company
answers cheerfulIy that the extra cent
or two is needed to keep the system
| in operation at all.
To support arguments as to its I'M
enviable financial condition any street
car company will produce statistical
reports showing that the net income of
| the electric railway business for the
past year fell over eighty per cent IN
comparison with the preceding year.
Few people understand that an or
| binary green-backed street car, with
no velvet upholstering or artistic wall
decorations, costs between ten and
twelve thousand dollars. Before the
war. the same car would have been de-
| livered for five thousand. The extra
! five thousand now paid represents to
the street car company an overhead
expense for which no return can be
made, because the company cannot
fix its rate to correspond with its in
creased expenses. Another blow to the
once thriving industry is the high cost
of labor. A street car conductor in
some cities now commands a salary
as high as s175 a month, by order of
the national war labor board. This
figure, which is somewhat larger than
the remuneration ofs many of our
scientists and educators, is not an I'M
usually high rate in war labor wage
scales. The war labor board awards
certain scale OF wages to the en-
ployes of a company according to liv
ing conditions in the locality. 1t rests
with the company to pay the price or
lose its men. Estimates on pay of
electric railway employees show that
for the present year the wage increase
is S100,000,000. Most industries meet
added expenses and profits by raising
rates. A street car system, being a
public utility, cannot do this. because
the companies are organized accord
ing to contract with the city govern
ment, and invariably the contract pro-
Ivides for service at a fixed rate of
fare. In order TO raise the rate 1t is
necessary to secure the consent of the
lefty council or other civic body respon-
sible for public utilities. Tackling
these officials is. according to the rail-
lroads, a. feat requiring the tact of a
diplomat, the eloquence of a lawyer.
and the patience of school teacher;
and then, nine times out of ten, the
rates remains the same.
The company has to deal with citi-
zen's associations, popular vote, and
the city officers, all influenced by the
fact that street car systems have the
repAation of making easy money. In
some cities municipal ownership of
public utilities has been established as
solution of the problem. Upon in
vestigation of conditions. the utilities
committee almost invariably raises
fares. to defray expenses. A con-
spicuouS example of this is found in
Boston where municipal ownership
has raised the fare from cents to Z,
Comparatively poor car service In
war industry centers is due partly to
the labor shortage and partly to the
scarcity of street cars In one south
!, ern city, even the head bookkeeper o:
the car company and other officials OF
: dignity turn out and run cars at rush
J hours. Companies hesitate to inves,
to extrava gantly in cars because wal
conditions are uncertain, and a crowd.
: ed war-factory town may shrink to the
size of a village after the war. Ever
= where company is willing to risk
borrowing in order to purchase cars
the situation is not helped. Bankers
will not lend money to electric rail.
ways because of the latter's poor finan.
cial condition
1t has been suggested that a fail
deal for both railroads and public
might be insured by national public
utilities commission with authorit,
granted by the president to study in.
dividual cases and fix reasonable rates
A commission OF. this sort would pre-
vent more companies from going ou
OF business and see that rates were MOI
raised by any companies already max
ing fair profit
Such a commission would undoubt
GUY HeIp III lHlS emergency. But tht
present breakdown off, the nation,
, street car system is seen by many OBJ
servers as proof of the futility OF hav.
ing the government control and regu
: late, rather than own public utilities
/. Government regulation. both city ant
national. is always a compromis,
measure. Like a good many othel
$ compromise measure, it often doesn'
!. work. The city governments general,
9 11Xed the street car rate at a nickel
when the companies were granted
their franchise. For long time tn,
f street car companies piled up millions
at this rate Then the war cam,
along. and ut the very same rate the,
all cola psed. Plainly. the logical thin.
would be for the city governments t.
run the street car lines themselves ant
charge the public whatever the opera
ton costs.