The Washington times., 1919-09-18
The Fight to RAISE Street Car
Fares Begins Today
By EARL GOODWIN.


Today the street railway companies begin their fight s
INCREASE fares and thus tax the public Of Wash
ngon millions of dollars for the privilege Of going to work
and returning home. It is the duty Of every Cs Of ths
National Capital to work to the utmost limit Of his capacity
mot only to retain FTVECENT fare but to abolish ts
twOcent charge for transfers and to insist upon perfect
street car service.
The Public Utilities Commissions valuation Of the tive
systems Is generous enough much that aOu
Iay facing INCREASE in fare on that vauson alone
unless progressive enough to take the bull By tie
horns, street car lines and charge hvecet
fare less for perfect service But If the Public Utility
Commissions majority valuation is generous what win
happen to rs if the street car company should Be allowed
to charge rate based the Gardiner valuation which
would impose ADDITIONAL tax Of 10000 upon -
merely for the privilege Of riding on sreets
That means nearly TWENTY-ONE DOLLARS q year
EXTRA fare charge for every man, woman and child
in Washington. nearly hundred dollars year
EXTRA for the actual riders.
In addition to what you NOW pay you w6Old have t.
pay ADDITIONAL taxes in the form Of street CIR fare
that would be unjust and unnecessary than any
thing the American coonsts fought about when they
fused to pay tiny tax on tea.
There is justice IN additional fare; there IS
justice in fare which is the European rather than ho
American method The fare whereby the sdbuEbea
dweer is taxed more than the city dweer tends eong
people in the midst Of already OvercrOWded areas.
The American method is to charge aat fare no mat
ter how great distance you ride. Under this ysem of
course the who rides the short distance makes the
profit for the road and the who rides long distance
probably is carried at loss.
Now, carrying rider at loss or rendering ethsP
public services to citizens at loss is not always absurd
or unjust The Government has always delivered certain
classes of mail at loss The ONLY men who oppose tie
widest distribution of mail at the lowest possbs eost
those who believe balance sheet is greater than democracy
or humanity ~
The Government carries mail at loss for the great
general benefit that flows to all the country from this prac
ce. Our Government does not its business for profit
expressed in money but for the advancement Of hs
greatest number So with bridges, roads pubc school8
and fire departments We don't charge people for sending
the fire department to their homes to put ont fires
Street car systems SHOULD be considered e bsne
fetal to the entire community, and the only way they
best the community is to nd them Of the balance sheet
The only way this be done is to them for SERVICE
only and disregard the profit
There several ways Of accomplishing this desirable
end
One would be the Kutz Plan, which NO newspaper II
Washington except The Times has had the temerty
to explain. It touches private ownership In spot
Another is out and out municipal ownership Some
day. after private ownership Of railways has gone con-
pletey on the rocks than Is today people
will wonder why hadn't adopted the scheme ages ago
But there will NEVER be return to low fares unless
we throw overheard the entire private ownership propO
ton and run our own street the streets which We
ourselves OWN.