Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-23
ASKS AN EARLY
RULING ON CAR
FARE INCREASE
Tri-City Railway Company Submits
Petition Asking Commission
to Take Action Soon.
By Associated Press.)


Springfield, Ill, June ga
supplemental petition. In
which additional evidence was
submitted for an increase i'm
street car fares from to Z
cents, was fled by the TTi-City
Railway company with the
public utilities commission
today. The original petition
was filed some time ago, by
representative of the COM
pany, who operates as a street
railway in Davenport. Iowa;
Rock Island and Moline, Ill.
The Tri-City Railway company
today filed with the Illinois public
utilities commission at Spring
field a plea for a prompt decision
in their request for cent street
car fare, a statement showing that
it depended upon the increase
whether the company can grant
its trainmen a scale of 80 cents an
hour and table showing the earn
ings OF the company.
The table shows that in the first
five months of the present year, the
company had an operating rev.
enue Of S349. 762. SIS as against $780,
274.73 for the same period in 1918,
a decrease of $40, 548.15 Operat-
ing expenses for the five months
this year was S25S, 17010, an in
crease of S40,I4S.33 over a year
ago. Operating income for the i've
months this year amounted to $9l,-
55648, a decrease of $50.696.4S.
Appended is the statement to
the public utilities commission in
part copy of which has been filed
with Mayor H M. Schriver:
The railraw companies had,
until June l, 1919, a contract with
the trainmen employed by said
companies, which provided for a
wage scale of &c cents per hour
for the first year of the contract.
81 cents per hour for the second
year, and 81 cents per hour for the
third year of service, with in
creases of l cent per hour each for
the second and for the third years
of the contract.
This contract was for three
years, expiring May 81, 1919. Rec
ogniZing the great increase in the
cost Of living Of our men, We in
creased their wages in October,
1917. December, 1917, and in May,
1918, until the present scale was
established in September, 1918,
which scale is So, IS and 40 cents
per hour, an increase of approx
imately 81 per cent over the con-
tract scale.
Prior to the expiration of this
contract negotiations were entered
into with the representative of the
men employed. for a renewal of
this contract on a basis equitable |
to both the uen and the companies !
concerned.
THE contract offered by the en-
ployes through their representa- |
tives called for a graduated scale /
of wages, the maximum being Sc (
cents or an advance over the pres
ent scale of about So per cent.
Others Decided.
'All other questions in the con-
tract were agreed upon after ne
gOtiations extending over several |
weeks. but the men were told that I
no wage increase could be granted /
unless the COH pdnleS received dQ-
ditional revenues through in !
creased rate of fares, as operating
revenues continued to show prac-
tically no return to the invested
capital. after proper reserve for
and it was plain that
the companies could not continue
to operate, giving the present ser
vice, without seriously impairing
their capital, the alternative being
bankruptcy.
The proposed wage scale was
agreed to by the representative OF
the men. with the proviso that on
Aug. l. 1919. in case the maximum
fare increase was granted, the
whole wage question should go to
an arbitration committee for ad-
justment, the men meanwhile to re-
ceive the maximum increase of so
cents per hour, and this scale to
be the basis of such arbitration.
I'VE do not know when we will
he granted an increase in street
car fares. nor what the increase