The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-06-24
Street Car Service Improvement
Will Be Made ON Orders.
That Is Statement Made by Al
bert Patten Today.
SERVICE WILL Be BETTER
Increase in Fare VIII Improve
1t, Manager Asserts.
Get New Atchison Cars and Re-
arrange Schedules.

improvements in the Topeka street
car system will probably BIO confined
mostly to improvements in SERVICE.
unless the public utilities commission
orders otherwise in its fare increase
order, it was intimated by Albert
Patten, general manager of the ILL
nois Traction company for Kansas.
Repaving of streets, new cars and
other similar improvements may be
delayed, he said.
Beyond asserting that there would
be material improvements in serv-
ice" Patten would give out no state
ment regarding the betterment- of the
street railway system here if the g.
cent fare is allowed. That, he said,
would be altogether UP to the utili
tics commission Whatever order is
made, he declared, the street car COM
pany will have to comply with it,. He
asserted that to pave between the
tracks on Kansas avenue alone would
cost more than the extra revenue from
the Scent fire for a year to come.
He Also expressed a belief that wire
screens on the left sides of the cars
which would cost $50 a car, were un-
necessary, saying that only one in
every ten million passengers hauled
had been killed by striking trolley
poles.
Get Atchison Cars.
Some new cars which proved too
heavy for Atchison have been brought
| to Topeka. he said. and are being over
hauled for the purpose of supplanting
the trailers being used in the summer,
in order that the extra service during
rush hours may not have to be discon-
tinued during cold weather. Some
changes in the location of switches,
| and altogether faster service will be
products of the increased fare. he said.
There will be material improve
| ment in the street car service here"
will be done 1 cannot now say. The
commission will issue an order regard
ing the Improvements and it will be
| up to the company to comply"
AS regards Mayor Corwine's' dena nd
that paving between the tracks be re-
placed with the same material as the
rest of the paving on the street, Pat
ten declared he did not see how this
| could be done, as it would not only be
a tremendous expense. but would be
| impractical where the pavement was
of asphalt. Brick pavement. he point
| ed out, is the only kind that can be
| conveniently taken up to replace worn
ties and otherwise repair tracks. - .
1T would cost more" he declared,
| than the extra revenue FROM the s.
cent fare the first year to repave The
| tracks on Kansas avenue alone"
Topeka Trackage Large.
There are more miles of street car
| track to every thousand population in
Topeka than in Kansas City, he said
| The population of Kansas City is 475,-
| 900 and the city has 436 miles OF
street car tracks, or less than one
mile per 10000 population. The pop
ulation of Topeka is about $4,000 and
has AZ miles of street car track-al-
most a mile for every thousand OF
population. -
Patten expressed the. belief that
there is too much track in the city to
keep in repair and pointed out the six
| lines running parallel on the West
| Side-the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth
Tenth, Twelfth and Douthitt lines
This is a result of the old city lines
on one street and the Rapid Transit
| lines on the next. which were in use
when the present company took the
| system over, he said. $3.50
Patten intimated that one double
truck line of cars would be removed
from the North Topeka line and the
Douthitt avenue cars routed to the
| state hospital. The Shorey line, he
said, will probably be extended tc
Ouinton Heights