The New York herald., 1921-03-10
across the Williamsburg Bridge.

across the Villa msburg Bridge.
Commenting upon all this dismember-
ment. the receiver says In his report:
The partial destruction Of the system
has caused inconvenience and loss to the
public. Nevertheless. the receiver be-
lives the policy adopted has In reality
proved constructive, as the remainder OF
the system could only have been kept
together up TO this time by cutting of
the parts causing the most serious losses.
''The discontinuance of free transfer
points has resulted IN the payment OF
seven cents ten cents. flfteen cents and,
in some cases, as much as twenty
cents, by persons who may desire 10
make journeys about the city on sur
face car lines at the present time,
whereas they were formerly able to make
such journeys upon the payment or five
cents"
Mr.. Hedges makes complete report
OF the financial condition of the New
York Street Railways. which is sum
married. thus:
"The deficit from the street railway
operation alone during the receivership
was sl.SS6,15S.21. After taking into con-
siderat.on the incorporating income and
miscellaneous outgo. the deficit amounted
to sl479.2t3.0i Cor at the rate OF $685.
os6 per annurn) before paying any
interest on bonds or any charges what
goever In the nature OF a return.
Conflicting Jurisdiction.
After paying only interest on bonds
OF underlying or constituent companies
not actually In default. and without
paying any dividend rentals or other
requirements. the deficit is S2,S19.243.0 .0S
II interest were paid on all the under
lying mortgages and the first and re-
funding mortgage now In foreclosure, the
deficit would amount to S4,596. .631. 60.
1t must be remembered that these figures
do not include any allowance whatever
for the alleged inflated dividend rentals
OF the leased lines, or any stock divi-
dends of any kind, or any interest on
the adjustment mortgage bonds. which
are In the nature OF income bonds"
The company is shown to have a
funded debt of s57 ,027is. on which
there is due an annual interest charge
OF s1,14e.041.6o. Tt advanced wages
under court orders to rate 35 per
cent. higher than at the beginning Of
the receivcrship and more than 100 per
cent. higher than before war times.
Although the operation of the system
is carried on at an actual deficit. the
report states. "the New York Railways
system is expected TO pay the highest
tax per car mile of any street railway
in the larger cities of the United States,
namely. 4.92 cents per car mile. The
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company
pays 2.19 and the United Railways (San
Francisco) only 1856" The New York
Railways Company's accrued and un-
Paid liabilities In taxes. tax penalties
and paving charges amounted on Decem-
her III TQon RI S31S6
Mr.. Hedges stresses the enoarrass-
ments due n. the conflicting jurisdiction
OF the Pun Service Commission and
the Board[X Estimate and Apportion-
ment InStpe matter of transfers. he
says. 1T produces anomalous and illogi-
cal results. The franchise provisions
which still require certain free trans
fers prevented the Public Service Com
mission from adopting a logical and
inclusive scheme of two cent transfers"
There IS one chapter of the report
headed Attitude OF the City OF New
York" In which Mr.. Hedges pays his
respects to the Mayor and Comptroller
Craig. Without intending TO reflect
on tlRr motives,'' he says. "it has be-
cong apparent that the city officials
have adopted the policy, IL not actually
to destroy. at any rate 70 refuse any
help to the street railways operated by
the receiver" Many instances are cited
in proof of this assertion and the Mayor
and Comptroller are quoted to demon
strate their hostile attitude.
The report tells the story of Commits
sioner Whalen's bus lines and inciden-
tally appends an exhibit wherein It APP
pears that during rush hours on the Ave-
ue G route an actual count showed that
less than one-third as many passengers
we're carried on the buses past the point
of observation as had been formerly car
ried by the storage battery cars.
In conclusion Mr.. Hedges says: THE
system has already disintegrated to SO
large an extent that this has resulted In
the public paying In many cases seven
cents or ten cents or more for rides
which previously had cost five cents.
Unless some relief is granted II Ia, in the
opinion of the receiver. unavoidable that
there win be a further disintegration OF
the system now operated by him.
The result win be q number OF rail-
roads charging five cents or more for
short haul. The crosstown lines presum-
ably will be operated independently. with
no transfer privileges 70 any uptown or
downtown line. The result win be q
hodgepodge OF street car lines operated
independently at a greatly increased ex-
pense and inconvenience to the travelling
public"
Mr.. Hedges's prayer for the instruc-
tons OF the court in the premises is pref
aced with the statement that in the fiscal
year ended June 30. 1919, a total Of
'310, ,6i2.4So pasHengers rode on the lines
of the New York railways or surface
system alone. "Of these he says,
.'2o4. .3s1,0O2 rode on up and down town
lines and the balance on crosstown lines.
About one-third Of the total rides were
taken in the rUsh hours 1t Is inconceiv-
able that the public would desire to have
these passengers forced to use the al
ready overcrowded subways."