The Washington herald., 1921-06-06
- I would not live always; ask not to
stay where storm after storm rises dark
DER the way.-William A. Muhlenberg
(I7e6-Is77), Il Would Not Live Long"
Still on the Milking Stool.

Advocates of this discrimination between the
car fares to be charged by the two systems
fares, under which the passengers fare is pro-
portioned to the distance he travels. Analysis
OF the conditions and equities involved shows
clearly that in fairness and in the community
interest the discrimination in charges should be
not between the Capital Traction passengers
and Washington Railway and Electric passen-
gers indiscrminately, but between long-haul
and short-haul passengers both roads under
"a thoughtfully devised zone system.-The Star.
6THIS is wholly falacous statement. The
street situation is not one between long
haul and short haul, but of overcapitalization
and fairly honest capitalization. The w. R.
& E would be capable Of earning fair dividend on
its full value fixed by the utilities commission,
common stock had been used on maintenance
The Herald is giving daily, stories of the origin
of these -long-haul street car lines. They ran from
nowhere to nowhere. They did not come in re-
sponse to any demand of the public, or Of any pub
lie need. They were the creatures of land speeula-
tiona They were built, rather laid down, pro-
mote the sale of lots in outlying sections far from
any settlement There were large aereages of va
cant land contiguous to settlement but SPECTATORS
went beyond this near zone
There is such thing long haul in Wash
ington as the term is known in other cities, and
there cannot be. This city is just under 70 square
miles in area. It can never be any larger Its
boundary line forms and every street rail-
way extending beyond, collects an additional fare
at the line. By comparison Cincinnati with less
population, covers II square miles; Duluth with
100000 people is almost identical in area and has
street car haul of nearly 20 miles at the one fare
which is still cents; Galveston is of like size in
with but $4,000 people; Kansas City, 81 I-z
square miles, has 100000 less people; Los Angeles
with 100000 more folks is 36s square miles in size:
n-I.-
less population; Portland, Oreg., with 100000 less
population is almost exactly Washington's size and
there are others.
Street car managers used to estimate three miles
as the maximum haul at profit scent fare
Comparatively few, here anywhere, demand that
long continuous haul. Street cars do not stop at
each block or alternate block for fun. There is a
constant receiving and dscharging of passengers.
The long haul is made up of short hauls. The day
OF any possible fairness in proposal for
Washington is long past. Far more reasonable
than zoning is the stagger hour This relief should
be granted the peak load has a narrow period
peculiarly vexatious.
: But after all has been said the w. R. & Els
troubles are of its making. The utilities COM
missions valuation report points unerringy at the
cause. When capitalization is double fair
valuation, it is useless to plead long haul. When
fair valuation is under bonded debt zoning is SIM
ply penalizing the innocent Those who are guilty
should lie in their bed. A bad investment can
not, in fairness, be passed on perpetually to the
people of this city compelling them to pay exces-
sive charges to save those who were badly ad-
yised or who used to the process, took long
chance at the financial roulette table.
Yet The Herald's proposal of settlement,
would leave all such investors with fair and
substantial value. 1t would conhscste nothing 1t
would but wipe out what in itself has value, re-
placing it with what has value. 1t would distribute
among the stockholders what the corporation holds
in trust for them and make it impossible for any
future board of directors juggle them out of it
-. 6.et aeeb &c