Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-05-22
|. 1. { W. ASK PERMISSION
II CONTINUE 7-cHT Fares

LIpvlgtpr NJ. nv - n V Gun p
~ forenoon. while achses n ne ora
tor ana hRndcIapplnE ut lie Prtaian
ror1vnrtIrn drltaef down frurTl ne Eai.
auuve. a matter of vital importance %
ne residents o. AndroscnEEln county
was quietly considered n the common
council -onn o. The city builc!ng-sp
quietly III eac-. mat only SIX persons
ware presan-, ana the genera public
apDsaret 70 neither know nor care.
Thts WIS d hearing by the Public Uril-
il as Comm .ssion on me petition o. the
Lewiston. Augusta & Ea-I0weI Street
RAILWAY for PERMISSION 70 make per-,la-
nen- rs seven-cen- fa-es-adopled as a
reIrporarv eEpecient II June Of last
~aar
There Was NJ opposition and the Erc-
csed3nEs w-~a technical. Genera Man
age- Sweeney and Tudge William 4.
Newell. -aceIve-s Tor he company.
spoke brief Thev were armed with
caou.aled statistics showing ne cam
pany g revenues and expenditures as
far BACK as 1NS-Lne most sigHitIcGut
~ --.leas figures Seinr 4 comparison NJ
me -arenues and expenditures OF ne
= -nenths ina the seventeen faro nus
been effective compared with th1s., 81
me corresponding I rnertns o1 ne TWO
Years previous These figures are 1,in1-
ed IN THIS article,
Although The members Of he commits
sion made no ststHment pending con
ste',atiun of the data. there searns Ill
tie question NJ; that me petition viii
ne granted and the sevan-cent fares
made permanent. The total lack Of o,,-
position spoke for Itseif-Rnd was IN
marked contrast 70 the sensatiuna,
hearing Of = months ago.
Mr.. Sweeney. first -sGogn zed. srid
that ne called the particular attention
Of the CONTINUATION TO the fgu-e.-the
81 OK the whole case-curnpRring he
cprnpRnys revenue and expenditures
month By month. under the seven-ceu-
fare regulation. with the cpr-sspgnf, NJ
months Of the TWO previous vears Thu
Hrsf monLl Under the new regula tim
June :. 1ES-the passenger revenue
showed some Increase In July mi
August the earnings even with these
increased fares fell ava: but he ar
t-ibuted this not so much IN -asen+-n>,-
al the increase as o the .ac. tna+ -,,,-
dreds Of young men were in mil;-a-,
service
!. In September the REGENTS war.
anouf the same as in SeptsYnber of
the year before; in Ortobr aue tn
me Influenza epidemic, thew fell
away again But in Noverr bar 1hev
started to gain: IN December Their.
was a good increase: and this in
crease continued through all the re-
naming months
SO much for our passenger in
come" said Mr.. Sweeney. The IN
creased cost in our labor department
has been almost staggering. On MAY
l. 1918, we voluntarily give our en-
pioyes an Increase Of about ffrteen
per cent. thus adding $4,000 TO the
annua! payroll. During the s,,r,..nsr
another increase was given the ma
chanicai forces and track men and
on MAY 20 the War Labor Huard-
with our consent il is t-ue-Rranted
wage schedule that further in
creased the annual payroll by some
sl-n.Doe. Therefore, between the
months OF May and November. this
payroll grew by al least s17o.pna.
You recnllect the severity of the
winter Of 19l7-1s, and the milfiness Of
the one through which we have Ius;
PASSED. And yet our operating sx-
penses during this mild winter ex-
ceeded those Of the unusually severe
one-so greAtly had the cost ri Al
most everything Increased in the in
tarval. But the mild winter did have
a good effect upon our axruinxS: and
only because Of q considerable in
crease IN thsse earnings has the road
been abie to exist"
And Il is your contention" asked
Chairman Clsaves of the COMMITS
sion. that the same conditions npw
exist that caused you to ask for the
seven-cent fares eleven months ago ~
Yes" said Mr.. Sweeney. they
still exist-Rnd in even greater de-
gres. The Increased cost of opera