The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-06
C9ryngm, TST%
 by the Mcclure Newspaper syndiea1
By J. K. PUNDERFORI

with cheap wooden horse car barns and sheds, rail ranging from 30 to 30 pounds to the yard, waterbound mac adam CT cobble pavement at 45 cents a yard and wages of drivers at 15c per hour
 With the electric car of today we find cars costing as high as S17,00O apiece, power stations instead or horses, car houses and shops th@, cost often times high as $2,0O0 per car housed, rail ranging from 80 10 125 pounds 10 the yard and pave ments costing instead Of 5000 a mile of double track from $25, 900 to $65,o per mile of double track
 The average rate of wage for mot0rmen and conductors in 1907 was in New Haven and Hartford ap= proximateIy g cents an hour and on our other divisions considerably less, whereas today the average rate over the entire system, including overtime rate, is approximately 43.8 cents an hour. Up to 1915 the rate for or dinary track labor was II cents an hour and for more skilled labor T. 1-2 cents an hour, whereas today the minimum rate is 36 1-9 cents an hour.
 Undoubtedly a fare system, which would allow riding within a reason ably restricted area in the center 0 cities for a fare of 5 cents and then charging passengers upon a mileage basis for further rides outside of this area, would be more nearly equitable than the present system, but no method has yet been found to collect and account for fares on this basis without serious flaws We of the street railway industry are giving this method of collecting very serious thought at this time in an endeavor to arrive at a system which will al low the companies to continue to op- crate and still be fair to the passen- ger.
 Tt is now possible for passengers in most of our large cities to take a ride from 10 to II miles for 6 cents, which is out of all reason. The short rider who to a degree compensated for the long rider has of late years been taken away from street railways in large numbers by the so-called
 
 a short distance for the unit fare with out giving transfers. From Windsor to the City Hall in Hartford is 4.7 niiles and by using a transfer, with out further charge a passenger may ride to Station 27 on the Glastonbury line, AS miles additional or total of 9.5 miles, for cents.
 Extensions into suburb districts have undoubtedly made for the pub lie health and economy and without these extensions many people who now have healthful homes and play grounds for their children would be obliged to live in tenement districts, but it will be noted that practically no extensions into rural districts have been made for many years, although desired by many people. Charters for such lines have been renewed by sue cessive General Assemblies, but no work has been done upon them. For instance, the line from Hartford through Colchester to Norwich, from Bridgeport to Danbury, from Water bury to Bristol and from Meriden to Durham and to Guilford. This is certainly not a healthy condition for l the state.
 I've believe that unfortunate as our financial situation may be, we have conducted the property as eco- nomically as vas commensurate with | furnishing reasonable service. We have established at New Haven what | we call a Reclamation Shop for thu | entire property where modern devices for welding, etc, have been installed | By the use of these facilities we have | saved large amounts of money in | making useable defective equipment l instead of purchasing new. For ex- ample-during the month of Decem Der, 1918. this Reclamation Shop re- wound motor and air compressor armatures and field coils. welded gear cases, motor she Is. etc, and did other work at an estimated sav- ing of nearly s6.o0O over what 1t l