The New York herald., 1921-11-24
Continued from First Page.

the outgo as nearly as l could to avoid
a receivership. The service has not beer
kept up to what il ought to be II there
were sufficient money to keep Up. We
have had to trim il wherever 1t was pos
sibie to save dollar.
whenever we can we have to cut off
a train and we have run three-e-r trains
instead of four and eight-car trains in
stead of ten. provided we could still
carry the people, not with comfort. bu,
still carry them We have to make the
service fit the money that Is taken in. "
Economical expedients which the wit
ness enumerated included the cutting
nut Of a proportion of the car lights
and the station lights. He made also
the singular admission that with five
lights ont of the old. original subway
cars they are better lighted than are the
newer cars when all their lights are
burning. The latter have not so many
lights"
Efficiency of car movement. like the
safety factor the witness emphasized is
not being permitted to suffer. But in
such maintenance as cleaning the car,
repainting or revarnishing it. we have
economized down 10 the limit. l saw
3 car down there in the subway the
other day that had its windows clean
and when l got back to the Office / start
ed to raise hell to find out who cleaned
those windows. and why we spent that
money. That is illustrative of how the
operating companies have been trying to
economize."
1T is better picture of what has
happened to the service than / could
possibly paint" laughed Mr.. Shearn.
Big Saving In Wage List.
AS further economies the railroad
chief mentioned the new coin box and
turnstile device whereby the company
expects to save the services of many
gatemen and ticket agents, and also the
multiple cars, which dispense with the
employment of about 1000 trainmen
Isn't it perfectly fair then to say
asked the chairman, ''in view of what
was brought forward here this morn
ing. that all these economies that have
been forced at the expense OF the public
have been precpitated by the policy OF
your own directors in passing out mil
lions of dollars in dividends when good
management would have held those
funds for operating needs?"
'1f they had not passed those divt-
dends out replied Mr.. Hedley, and II
] had found them in the treasury when
] took hold, 1 should not have had to
skimp so closely as 1 did"
Surface lines having fallen into harder
straits than the subway roads, the ques-
tion was asked whether it would be de-
sirable to charge a higher rate of fare
on the surface than on the rapid transit
lines.
uniform Fare Best
"That would make things just a little
fhor of thn}
be possible" was the reply. because il
the fare on the surface cars were higher
the people would not ride much on them
An equal, uniform fare l think is best
for the people of New York, the city of
New York and the owners of the prop
critics." Mr.. Hedley readily conceded
that the pooling of all receipts Is an es-
sential feature of the plan.
''The furnishing of transportation to
the people of any large city, he con-
tinued, "in my Judgment, is a natural
monopoly. just as is it's telephone SER
vice. The people can be best served if
there be one operating company and one
fare.
but your trouble. gentlemen. IS gcing
to be to get all these owners around mere
TO agree to a traction consolidation
Some fellow thinks he has a straIegic
position and you have to pay him %
per cent. on his investment, while some
other fellow Is glad enough to creep in
on or per cent basis. These are
the things you are going to have diff
Guilty with in getting the kind of a sys-
tenn here that is best.
Make monopoly out of it. That will
effect many economies. Make it one big
company and operate it so the public
will get the best service possible. And
eliminate the element of stock specula-
ton. But particularly eliminate the
possibility of any one in politics having
anything to say about company man.
agement. the hiring of employees. let
ting of contracts or purchasing of sup
plies
Not Against Present Mayor.