Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-14

or the other they would take street car
service, but they say that the street cars
would go right on running regardless
of jitney competition. That is where
the fallacy comes in. The street car
company is just an ordinary business.
It either makes money or it doesn't. If
it doesn't its credit is no good, just like
that of any other business.
when the street car company doesn't
make money it's stockholders are affected
just like those of any other business,
and don't forget that % per cent Of our
stockholders live in Indianapolis and 50
per cent in Indiana. They bought our
securities as investments.
MUST GROW
WITH CITY.
''Up to that point we're like any other
business Then we begin to differ, in
that we can't sit down and be satisfied
when we get to a certain point. We've
got to grow with the city. We have
got to have new money to grow, and
it wouldn't be fair to take it out of the
pockets of the passengers. It is only
fair that the street car company should
put the money in itself. But we can't
get new money unless we show a profit,
and if we can't get money we can't
SIOMs IL We OO1 SAO0 Tic Slty NoA
grow. If the city grows, we must grow.
Therefore, every member of this coun
ell is charged with the solemn duty Of
settling the transportation problem in
the next four years. The public service
commission can't do it. 1t can't regu-
late service. 1t is just to aid you
DR.. Jameson said that street cars are
the cheapect system of transportation,
and that If jitney drivers keep books
right and operate any length Of time
they must admit they are not making
money. The street car company would
tolerate the jitney, perhaps, he said. il
it were not in the same condition.
''You gentlemen must either study the
street car company and sanely set about
to solve the transportation problems or
do as, 1 am sorry, 1t has been done In
other cities, take the other track and
have confusion and dissolution just as
sure as the sun rises tomorrow. Are
you going to do the best thing for the
people If you do what they did in To-
ledo, Flint, Bridgeport and Des Moines,
destroy street railway service and de-
stroy SO of the peoples money for every
dollar of the companys money!"
DRIVERS, CAR MEN
SPEAK ALTERNATELY.
The jitney drivers and street car OPP
orators were given five minutes each,
speaking alternately. Jitney men asserted
that street car service is worse since
iitney competition was eliminated. Con-
ductors and motormen claimed that more
cars are being operated on lines where
buses formerly made business lean for
them and that lives of persons waiting for
cars are no longer endangered by the
willy vehicles crOwding them against cars
or the curbing.
There was much ado about the service
IL West indianapolis, one jitney man
asserting that he waited an hour for
street car the other day. A conductor
answered him with the statement that
the Belt Railroad frequently causes tie
ups and that jitneyS are necessarily de-
layed just like the cars.
One street car man declared that II
titneys come back the company mast
either go out Of business. thereby throw
ing its $500 employees out Of work, or
cut their wages back to the old q to %
cents per hour scale.
Councilman Heydon W. Buchanan
asked if the men had been told this by
the company. The conductor replied
that they had not, but as a matter OF
simple economics he could see that this
was what was In store for them.
Mr.. Buchanan then wanted TO know If
the company had not already cut wages.
The employe replied It had not.
Jitney men who spoke were. w. l. Hub
hard and Ellsworth Conklin. Mrs. NJ. l..
Reiffel also championed the buses.
W. A Oman, William z. Stevenson,
David Griffin, Edgar E. Young and
Homer c. Belch were street railway en-
ployes heard from.
Young declared that while working as
a conductor on the South Meridian line
against jitney competition he only took
in between So and 50 in eleven hours.
This, he said, was not enough to pay the