Evening star., 1922-11-21
|HALF-FARE RATE
| FOR PUPILS URGED
J. C. Wright, in Letter to
Focht and Ball, Pleads
for Legislation.

A plea for establishment by law of
fares on the street cars for
school children in the District OF
Columbia was made today to Senator
Ball of Delaware and Representative
Focht. chairmen. respectively. of the
Senate and House District COM
mittees, in a letter written by ]. c.
Wright.
Mr.. Wright points out that bills
providing for half-fare for the school
children have been introduced In both
houses of Congress. and urges early
action on them. He says, in part:
Stresses Need for Cut.
TT is rightly conceded that public
education is the basis of intelligent
citizenship and that ignorance Is
the most costly crop any community
may produce Therefore every op-
portunity should be amply afforded
every boy and girl to enjoy fully all
public school advantages without
undue hindrance or embarrassment,
cation week can have no program
more essential to the welfare of the
school children at the nations capital
than the early enactment of the bill
now pending in the House and Senate
providing one-half fare for school
children on the street railways within
the District of Columbia.
THE present passage by the Senate
of the Capper bill providing compul-
sorry attendance at school for all chill
dren in the District of Columbia be-
tween the ages of seven and sixteen
years. authorizing school census
of all children between two and
eighteen years of age, and creating
department of work permits for the
better regulation of child labor.
makes more urgent the early enact
ment of law providing one-half
fare for children riding to and from
school on the street railways operat-
ing within the District of Columbia.
Cost Proves Burden.
THE Elusive reduction in the high
cost of living; the prevalence of un-
employment almost everywhere; the
prevailing high rents that hardwork-
ing parents are forced to pay from
only scant means: the unrestrained
ingenuity that contrives a constant
increase in the cost of coal, which the
mass Of people are without money to
buy, and the present exorbitant rate
of car fare, that operates too severely
against many school boys and girls
from humble homes - all these con-
spire in making it impossible for
many struggling parents to provide
the bare necessities of physical health
keep their children in regular attend
ance at school and rear them to nor
NAL human stature worthy of Ameri-
can citizenship.
Many Forced to Walk.
I'm a survey of street railways here
tofore submitted to the committees on
the District of Columbia it may be
noted that school children ride for
one-haf fare on street cars in more
than seventy five leading cities located
in twenty seven states of the country
In the District of Columbia school
children are required to pay a car fare
Of 8 cents or six tokens for 40 cents.
and. because their small means can
not Withstand the constant drain of
40 cents to purchase tokens, many are
forced to pay the single eight t-cent
fare or 20 per cent more for six rides.
MANY children still less fortunate
are compelled to walk to and from
school, irrespective of health, wealth
er and distance, because the meager
family budget will not permit them
to ride"