Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-06
NED, amounted % s7so.oo0. That total
Is increasing by s1s7 800 month, he
Payments due December n

~ when are your next rental pay
ments duep' asked Mr.. Gordon.
The critical moment for us 10 on
December 81" was the reply.
Have your men forgone their
wages In the expectation that the com
ssns waSd sSs sst relief IF S1an and be able
.'They have" Mr.. Mitten replied.
will the company be able to go on
II Y doesn't get present relieff'
sit will not" Mr.. Mitten said.
At this point Commissioner Clement
.If the p. r. T. Is granted relief
new, can It get along on the increased
s revenue or will II be necessary to re-
turn again to the commission2"
Mr.. Mitten replied:
IF the abolition of transfers and ex =
changes had been granted when we
made that request originally, II would
have netted the company SO, ,000, 900 an
nuslly and put the company on Easy
street. ~ IT.. ~
There was no deficit then. Now W,
not only need the So, ,OO0, 900 year ad
ditional, but We must meet the deficit
Of $1.500, ,OOO." '.
Mr.. Clement persisted in his orig
inal question, asking II Mr.. Mitten be-
lieved the new fare plan would carry
the company through. The p. r. 4.
head replied the only reason the COM
pany was sticking to the Eve cent fare
plan was because he thought the i'm
position of higher fare would be i'm =
practicable.
Made Play for "Sh0rt Rides
Mr.. Mitten explained that during the
nine years he has been connected with
the p. r. T. the company built up its
"short- ride" earnings above that Of any
other city. The number Of riders
doubled, he said, providing an income
Of - 200 900 from that source.
The company conducted Its service es-
pecially to get the short riders, he con
tinued, and the men were instructed I'd
cultivate that business.
Mr.. Mittsn pointed out that much
OF the short riding would be extremely
nsAde from the basic five-cent fare.
The p. R. I. president said he be-
liSved the company was giving the
greatest amount Of service to the great
ct number Of patrons ut the lowest pos
Ole rate of fare.
Commissioner Clement interjected:
1T Il said, Mr.. Mitten. that the pro
posed straight fare plan would be dis
crfminatory. A complaint has been made
~ woman employed at the navy yard
She said she would have to pay fifteen
cents to reach that place from her home
while other young women living at
CHESTNUT Hill could 80 there for Ave
csnts."
sThat may be true and we may
eventually have to establish zone sys
tsm," Mr.. Mitten said, "but this would
require a general community under
standing to make a zone fare practica
ble- What we ask now Is emergency
relief. This would give us a capacity
Of 300 cars which would be taken away
from the lines used by the short riders.
I'm every plan for increaini revenue
some one must pay more money thar
formerly. We cannot overcome it,
Commission Benn asked:
If you get this relief in a short
time It would carry the company ovei
until the valuation was completed, ther
you would have figured on which t.
base permanent fare, would you not?,
Exactly So" replied Mr.. Mitten, 81
better myself"
Other Cities Are Cited
Replying to questions of Mr.. Gordon
Mr.. Mitten showed that in Buffalo an(
in other cities in which the basic far,
was raised from five to seven cents tn,
companies in those cities lost larg,
amounts.
d "If we 60 to higher basic fare" h,
said, 1--WE will lose more than any othe
city because we created the fve-c
short ride demand to larger extent b.
better merchandising than other cities.
Asked by Mr.. Gordon how much tn,
company would lose if the short ride.
were eliminated, he replied: "Abou
5000, 900 a year"
At this point, Commissioner Benz
remarked:
eat the end Of December, Mr.. Mitten
I understand you will have $4,000, ,00t
less than Is required to pay the advanced
wages of the men and the underlying
rentals. Will you have to default IL
either the pay of the men or the rent
Mr.. Mitten answered that unless tn
company obtained relief it would hav
to default in one or the other.
"What would you dor" queries
Commissioner Clement.
Mr.. Mitten paused for few moments
Choice Already Made
IT have chosen" he replied.
This brought loud applause from
nearly fifty or more conductors ant
motormen at the hearing.
Y C. Oscar Beasley, counsel for tn
United Business Mems Association, be
ran an examination of the p. K. I
head which continued for more than a
hour. Mr.. Beasley tried to show tha
the company was not its own maste
and that it was dominated by the Unioi
Traction Co.
The straight fare plan. Mr.. Beasle,
continued, did not contemplate an,
TO this Mr.. Mitten replied the far
now sought would re establish the com
pany's credit so that it could hope Il
market its bonds more easily.
Mr.. Beasley tried to show that on
81 loan of SIC, ZOO, 900, hoated by tb
sompany In 1902, $4,000, 900 had no
been used. At this point, Coleman J
Joyce, of counsel for the T. K. T., re
sortsd that Mr.. Beasley was wrong.
II must be a little dumb" san
nsssley.
"Not a little" taterjected Mr.. Cor
ssa, with emphasis on the wor
Mr.. Mitten endeavored to explain VIII
. was necessary to have the Unio
Traction Co.'S approval OF the p. II
Thi4 plan to float $4,000 900 Of ca
tsms& certificates.
lawyers Tactics Tire
0psAznissioner Clement displaye
ssariness as Mr.. Beasley persisted |
~ examination. He said he though
". Mitten had explained the matte
'I understand that the Union Trac
3Da Co. holds q residuary interest