Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-07

Continued from Page One
would be 81. 400. 900 in excess Of our
ability to pay"
Goes Into Revenue Plan
Mr.. Nitten took up the question OF
transfers and exchanges to emphasize.
he said, the necessity for more revenue
I'VE knew we had 60 900 900 pas
sengers year who paid three cents for
the transfer privilege and much COM
plant was being made because others
were getting it free. One hundred and
seventy million passengers a year were
receiving free the same service that 60.
600 900 passengers were paying three
cents for. Eighty five million pas
sengers year were riding because they
got 1t for nothing"
Mr.. Mittcn stood for nearly a minute
at the outset of his testimony and sat
down at the invitation of Chairman
n Ainey. The transit company head pro
h ceerer deliberately, speaking slowly and
distinctly and occasionally referring to
4 notes.
Paid in SIS, ,OOO. 200 in 1907
I'm 1907" Mr.. NTitten said. "the
company paid in 10000 of its
$50, 100000 capitalization IL had n
chance of losing SIS. 900. 900 or navipg
in the other $4,000, 900.
! 'Overtures had been made to enlarge
the transit facilities. To complete the
Market street elevated and to make
7 other improvements the 1907 agreement
was entered into. The company naid
In its S12 ZOO, 900 with the understand
ing that it was to pay it's rentals and
4, receive O per cent on $50. 900 900. The
paying Of the $40 900 was made
possible by completion of the elevated
line"
Referring to the Market street ele-
,yated. Mr.. NIitten said:
THE city has so benefited BY the
elevated improvement that assessed pro-
perty values increased S113, ,OOO, 900.
+ That was the situation when came to
Philadelphia. found the =. r, r,
politically exploited and practically
bankrupt. My first move was to de-
termine what would overcome the heavy
fixed charges, which was forty nine
cents out of every dollar.
Found Labor Conditions Bad
Labor conditions here were as bad
as they could be- That has been cured.
Il found the property had been used for
building up districts for real estate cx.
pansion. Passengers were carried at
loss for long distances while the
energy of the management seemed to
have been planed to serve the outer dis
tricts.
''The man who rides from a district
four miles north of City Hall to the
business district gets more than his
fiye cents pay for. This ride must be
compensated for by the short rider
whose ride costs the company less to
produce
''The per capita riding due to the
cultivation of the riding habit has in
creased in this city over that Of other
cities. 1t represents $1,000 900 in gross
earnings per year and is the most profit
able business Of all, Prior to 1910 we
only had the riders Of necessity"
Mr.. Mitten explained the company
wanted to be "open and above board" in
its efforts to obtain necessary increases.
He said he realized that public con
fdence was the prime requisite for
success
Must Not Harass Short Rider
In planning any fare increase" he
continued, 1--WE must recognize we are
more subject to loss By driving the short
rider off the cars to the extent OF
S5,OO0OOO per aunum than those long
riders who ride because Of necessity
and convenience.
From my experience at Chicago be
fore coming to Philadelphia knew
that public confidence was prime re-
quisite for success. knew ! must be
sure of stable fares on which NV csti
mates were made. therefore sent com.
munications to Councils which were
afterward made matter of record set
ting forth what Mr.. +. r. Stotcsbury
was undertaking to do in the interests
of the public
Mr.. Mitten added that upon the
strength of Mr.. Stoteshury's financial
standing the p. Il. T. obtained large
loan which was used in the purchase Of
new cars of which 1900 were bought
almost in one lot.
staggered On" Till Wartime
Up until 1914, he continued, tho com
pany carried on as best it could. In
that year, he said. the right of the p
IL. I. to issue three cent exchange
'ickets was questioned and this caused
denial of the right to issue three
;ent exchanges, which brought in $500,
900 annually.
The p. r. T., he declared, continued
TO stagger on until wartime.
The need of facilities during the war
to carry war workers was so great, he
said, and the credit resources of the
company were 80 impaired an applica-
tion was made for increased fares. The
request. he asserted, went to city Coun-
ellis, which referred the whole matter
TO the Public Service Commission.
In the meantime, Mr.. Mitten con
tinued, the government loaned enough
money to buy extra cars and other
equipment. The request for extra fares
was then allowed to die, he added.
Harmonious Relations With Men
Mr.. Mitten sketched the development
Of harmonious relations with employees