Norwich bulletin., 1919-04-17
Especial to The Bulletinl.


 The committee on appropriations gave hearing on Wednesday afternoon on an act authorizing the state to loan money to street railway companies.
 President Robert W. Perkins of the Shore Line Electric Railway Co. said the people did not seem to realize that the trolley companies are servants of the people under control of the state. The control of trolleys by commission was first introduced in Massachusetts and the result is apparent In Con
 necticut the companies are told of the kind of equipment they must have the service they must give and what they must do in the matter of puolic high ways. He told of the work done in Middletown avenue m New Haven where the company was compelled to sustain it's share of the expense of two different charges in pavement and were not permitted to remove one of the tracks to save eXpnese. The pub 1 lie utilities committee would not per init removal. The companies were not permitted to raise fares and the 1 change to zone system raiied to come any where near meeting the tremend- : 1 ous increase in cost Of operation. What l is true of trolleys in Connecticut is 1 true of like properties all over the ! country. He did not claim that en- ployes are overpaid, but are paid great ] ly in excess of the returns and far above what is received in payment for operation. The point has been reached when the full lines cannot be continu- 1 ed in operation, without aid of some kind from some source. It would be | a great loss and inconvenience to the | whole people if suburban lines were | abandoned and tracks removed. Places where tracks have beSh abandoned ir l Massa achusetts, people along the lines have come to the support os the com panies for return of the service. A bill is pending in Massachusetts, whicl and bridge burdens, and exacting six
 per cent. tax on net income, wher there is a net income. It is not fair to require the trolley companies to dt highway work, to accommodate in tht main another line of conveyance Tht
 people of the state are appreciative O the need of trolley lines put city of ficials do not seem inclined to lighter
 the burden. He said that not line il
 the state will be in full opera
 ton in the fall as the the companie
 are not earning their platform expens
 eS and there is not enough return iron
 city traffic to begin to pay the cost of operating suburban lines The trolle, 1 companies are the greatest industr
 in the country, excellen, service ha
 been given and mainly at the expens
 of the stockholders.
 In response to a query, MT. Perkin
 said the Shore Line company ha
 never paid expenses and that the los last year was S424,000. The lat | Morton r. Plant financed the road an } received a very, very srriuif return. NJ Perkins did not know wnetner tn , trolley companies of the state desire : to accept a loan of s2,000.0o0 as tn l benefit might be of spendthrift nat ure. As to the Shore Line tne matte r of borrowing from the state would b - a matter for the owners of the roat
 The property was owned by MT. Plan e and now by his estate, ancs 1t is ques = tionable whether the trustees woul e put more money into 6 losing propert < He believed an appropriation would re