The Washington times., 1920-08-24
STREET CAR FARES
At COST ARE URGED
Board Probing U. S. Electric
Lines Would Bar Strikes
and l0ckOutS.
CONTINUED from First Psge.)

straits. The letter TO the President.
signed by Secretary OF Labor w. B.
Wilson and the then Secretary Of
Commerce William c. Redneld. call
ing for the appointment OF the Com
mission, stated that ALREADY 90 or
more urban systems. representing .
considerable percentage OF the total
electric railway mileage OF the
country. are In the hands of re-
ceivers-
"The communities affected are
among the most important-New
York. Providence, Buffalo, New
Orleans, Lenver. 81. Louis, Birming-
ham. Montgomery, Pittsburgh, Mem
phis. FIT. Wayne. Des Moines, st.
Paul. Spokane. and Chattanooga.
other large systems are on the verge
OF insolvency, for the industry as
whole is virtually bankrupt.
"The continued shrinkage In the
value OF hundreds of millions OF
electric railway securities held by
savings banks. national banks. life in
surance companies and by the public
at large threatens to embarrass the
nations financial operations Further
more the Withdrawal OF this IN
dustry's buying power. which is said
to rank third in magnitude, Involves
the unsettlement of collateral In
dustries. naturally entailing labor
dislocation that will AFFECT hun
dreds Of thousands Of others
MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.
The Commission named by the
President follows:
Charles e. Elmquist, President OF
the National Association Of Railway
& Utilities Commissioners.
Edwin F.. Sweet, Assistant Secre'
tary of Commerce.
Philip II. Gadsden. representing the
American Electric Railway Associa-
ton.
Royal Meeker. Commissioner OF
Labor Statistics, Department OF Labor
Louis b. Wehle, general counsel
War Finance Corporation. represent
ing the Treasury Department.
Charles w. Beall, banker. represent
ing the Investment Bankers Associa-
tion of America.
william d. Mahon, president Anal
gamated Association of Street Rail-
way Employees Of America.
George L. Baker, mayor OF Port
land, Ore, representing the American
Cities League of Mayors.
ALL SIGN REPORT.
Notwithstanding the varied per-
sonnel Of the commission, representa-
tive of the public. the Government
bankers, street railways. labor, and
cities. the report was signed by all
The report estimates that from
s175, 900, 900 to $20O00O,o0o annually
will be necessary II the future needs
of the industry are to be met proper
ly. Restored confidence on the part
of the public, it emphatically stated.
is one of the vital necessities of re-
stored credit
The plan of the commission Is that
rides shall be furnished to the public
at the lowest possible actual cost,
while the investor shall be guaran-
teed a fixed return on his holdings.
No recommendation was made for
fixing the value, but the Importance
Of arbitration "as the basis for the
financial return Of the company" was
stressed. This, it is suggested, might
also be the basis upon which lines
may, IL desired, be taken over by the
municipality.
THE public should know what 1t
is paying for" the report. says. and
this is impossible without knowing
what the property is worth"
Communities desiring "service-at-
cost" the report advises, can study
the practice of the Interstate Com
merce Commission on railway valua-
ton.
FIXED FARE "BROKEN REED"
On the subject of fares, the report
declared the fixed, uniform fare Is "a
broken reed" and that public con-
troll must be flexible enough to en-
able them (the street railways) to
secure sufficient revenus to pay the
entire cost of service rendered, in
Guiding the necessary cost OF both
capital and labor"
An essential to the success OF this
service-at-cost plan, the report stated.
is that the operations Of the street
car company must be an open book
and under the control of trust
worthy representative of the public
itself.
When a given fare Is found to
produce profits above a fair return, 1t
is explained. the money should go
neither to the company nor to the
city, but be detected back into tho
pockets Of the public by an automatic
reduction in the fare paid by the
rider.
The elimination OF special assess
ments for sprinkllng, paving. bridges.
etc. Is recommended by the commits
sion, on the ground that the entire
community, and particularly the auto
mobile owner, gets more beneflt from
these things than the street car rider.
The entire community should, there
fore, be made to pay.
The lowly "jitney," tho report
urges, should be regarded as com
mon carrier and placed under public
regulation.
SERVE PUBLIC FIRST.
Street railway managements are ad-
vised that their first duty Is to serve
the public with highest efficiency at
the lowest cost and to keep their
cards face-up on the table all the
time. Employees the same, but they
should be given decent wages and
hours of work and the right to deal
collectively through representatives
chosen by themselves. The public
must supervise control OF its street
railway properties. place a fair valu.
alton upon them, and guarantee a
fair return on tho investment, all In
a spirit of friendliness and cooper
alton,
on the other hand, both strikes and