The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-21
TELLS WHY CARS
CEASED TO RUN
IN DES MONIES
Exchange Club Hears Interesting
Address by II. l.. Adams on
Traction Problems.

Exneriences of residents of Des
,foines. Iowa. who have been with
out street cars since Aug. 3, was
praphicalIy pictured in an address
delivered before members of the
exchange club of the tr1-cltles IN
the Rock Island club last evening
nv III. L. Adams, attorney OF that
citv He told the business men who
comnrised his audience both the
cause and the effect of the unique
situation which has been created In
one of Iowa's largest communities
Mr.. Adams, the principal speaker
If the evening, besides his former
service as a state senator, has been
nrosecuting attorney of Fayette
county, Iowa, and in his time has
been the principal of a school. His
services as an attorney have been
retained by the large business IN
terests of Des Moines, who are ser
iously affected by the cessation OF
street car transportation.
In felicitous diction, he sketched
the progress and enumerated the
results of the transportation dill
Guilty. claiming that agitators who
spoke unadvisedly and without
facts to back them UP, contended
for a ) cent fare; this precipitated
a conflict until in 1918 after the
company lost 100000 and as 1t
continued to run at a loss, receiv-
ers were appointed and the fran
chise was set aside by court order.
In March, 1919, the court ordered
the company to reduce the service
to a point where the fares received
would be sufficient to meet the in
creased expense This resulted in
a cut in the number of cars oper-
ated from 136 to 60.
Buses Ruined Streets.
With this reduction, came the
busses," Mr. Adams said. Long
buses, short buses. narrow,
buses. high buses, low busses.
Forty people were crowded into a
truck with a seating capacity of II.
They gave inadequate service, and
ruined the streets. This was the
state of things from March. 1919,
until the third of last August, when
the car service ceased. No cars
have been run since that date with
the exception of a few days during
the holding of the state fair, when
the fair board guaranteed the ex-
penses of operation.
Love Power, Shirk Duty.
1.-THE cause of it ALL" he said, ''is
that the average resident of Des
Moines concentrated his attention
upon his own private business,
gave little or no attention TO how
the city was being run. and made
no effort to inform himself as to
the facts about public utilities. 1t
is our own fault.
I'VE had the power to regulate
the utilities, but with that power
came responsibilities. We loved
the power, but we shirked the re-
sponsibilities 1t was up to US to
get the facts about the expense in
yolved in the operation of plants
which serve the public. and we did
not do it. Now we are paying the
bill. We listened to agitators who
had no reliable data upon the sub
ject, and whose purpose was to
ruin the street car company, so
that the city could buy in the equip
ment and own the plant.
THE moral of it all for every
community is that the average citi-
zen and tax payer should inform
himself as to the actual expense in
volved in operating utilities"
Rev. Buckner's Address.
Rev. Arthur Buckner, in address
which preceded that delivered by
Mr.. Adams, voiced his belief in the
present generation. He said I'VE
should have faith in our own day,
believe in the men we associate
with. This generation must do it's
own thinking. 1t must be trusted
10 learn to love" There are prob
lens, he said, of economics, of poll