St. Paul tidende. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1902-1928, 1920-07-09
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OF the Clty anu the neeuS OF I'LL Glasses
Of people in Minneapolis, but for this
week we shall write only of the street
car condition. Every sane person will
f, admit that we can not now afford to be
without adequate street service.
Gasoline is expensive, therefore the CT
ty cannot afford to establish bus serv-
ice. All our Industries as we'll as the
merchants are behind with orders,
| therefore we can not afford to let the
City be tied up at present. The Mayor
and the City Council ought to know
that. Now then what can be done. We
are convinced that the street car fare
should be increased, that a zone system
should be i~naugurated, that the work
ing people and middle class, who do not
belong to any unions, should be con-
sidered, that the Mayor, City council,
the street car company, the trainmen
and the people should be fair and
square to each other. Every body will
loose heavily by starting a fight. Let
us have peace, and let every wheel turn
tn ster and be more of a cervice for us
all, than it have eve been before.
If five cents fare will not pay operat-
ing expense and legal rate IN the act
ual cash invested, then of course the
fare should be raised. We know the
City council can find a way OF doing
it within a hours, if it so wishes. The
City council with all it's machinery II
easy going men, should have found out
long ago whether a five cent fare is
enough or not. We common people will
not object to pay for adequate service.
We are fair and square. We are con-
WINGED that a zone system should be
inaugurated. 1t is not fair that the
working people, the clerks in the stores
and banks, who use the street cars reg
ularly only for a short distance, should
pay as much as those who use the
street cars for long distances and for
pleasures. Suppose five cents is paid
for three miles, six cents for four miles,
seven cents for five miles, eight cents
for six miles, nine cents for seven
miles, and ten cents for eight miles.
This is not any more complicated than
the regular railroad way Of collecting.
The street car company should under
all circumstances adopt the ticket sys-
tenn. The conductors would not then be
suspected Of not ringing up the fare.
The ticket books could be made up
something like the milk books. There
could be three mile rides in the book,
foul mile rides and so forth. This zone
system would save operating expenses,
because there would not need to be so
many cars operated at the long dis
lance zone, and it would save the City
millions OF dollars, because the real
estate men could not then lay out all
ditiolls ten, fifteen OF twenty miles
from the center of the City, promise
five cents street car fare and all city
improvements to customers. Very ma
turally, the real estate man will be
against the zone system, but the conf
mon people will be in favor of it, be-
cause it is fair. 1t would also put an
honest and right value on real estate
according to it's distance from the Gen.
ter of the city. There is no sense or
justice in letting people ride for five
cents from Smelling avenue, st. Paul,
to the end of Sixth street line, north
Minneapolis, and vice versa. Why
should midway, between Bedford and
Smelling be favored by all utility COM
panies? Is it mo- a scheme of the St.
Paul real estate men, in order to en-
nance the real estate value in that
great territory, and has not that abso-
minable unwritten law cost Minneapo-
lis thousands of dollars? The street car
company should at once, the first of
July, 1920, if it wishes to be fair and
square, separate the Minneapolis ac-
count from the st. Paul account, and
if st. Paul operation necessitates a
higher fare than Minneapolis, st. Paul
should be made to pay it. The street
car company should at once arrange
it's car so that all passengers enter
the rear end of the car and exit at the
front end of the car, thereby at once
getting all passengers up to the front,
saving time, clothes and clowding back
and forth.
We do not believe the trainmen can
afford to strike now, the common PEG.
pie will not stand it. Do not believe
for a minute, that the common people
will have to stand it, and that they cal
not help themselves. You train me1
will only create class hate if you strike
now, and that will always react on you
You trainmen have a greater income
with less brainwork and worry, if 70,
put in as long working time as the mid
die class, who do not belong to an,
union.
The most of us in the middle class
have to work sixteen hours a day il
order to make a living nowadays. lie