The Rock Island Argus and daily union., 1922-11-27

ers. This agency was orcNni,.S :.
= corporation and was therssossss q
well fitted to be the one,s,sse
agency for the ferry line. The hos.
ing corporation took over the n,os
erty on lease and then procsssss
to spend 81 100000 in rehabili,.,a
ing the. line. 1t junked about Nj,
the old equipment and Rebuilt y.
rest and then purchased two mo-s
ferryboats in New York, and vAss
1t was through spending mons.' !.
had practically a new aNtahl;.," "
ment. The old property had hssn
appraised at $165,0OO. The ns.
was worth more than million
When it leased the ferries a.
housing corporation put in Ter
young men to run them-Charles n
Freund. who had been an assiste.,
to the president of the housing co.
poration, and W. NJ Coopef n,
auditor In charge of the bonsi..
operation at Truxton. cFreund vens
in as manager and Cooper as NJ
assistant and office manager
A TwO.Man Proposition.
When the hurry of war was na,,
these two operators settled down
to their Job with great interest n
see if they couldn't make the obly
government-owned municipal ferrv
line in the United States proposi.
ton that would not be ashamed IA
hold up its head in the COMPANY hf
other public utilities privately
owned and operated.
They fired most of an over-si,sa
office force and, keeping only three
or four clerks, made the enterprisa
practically a two-man proposition.
doing most of the overhead work
themselves. They inaugurated
numerous economies unheard of by,
the Norfolk ferryboat crews before
the advent of the government For
one thing, they slightly cut down
the speed of the boats, and in the
course of a year saved hundreds Of
tons of coal. They adopted the
plan of competitive bidding for
orders for all supplies. Neither OF
them had often seen a ferryboat
before they took charge. but now
New York ferry operators visit
them and 60 back home with their
heads full of ideas.
They made the line pay small
profit from the start, but this profit
has grown. In 1921 it was sS1, ,O00;
this year, with no increase in gross
revenue but simply by the applica-
tion of economy, they raised the
profit to $116000. And this is no
paper profit, either. 1t is the sur
plus left after all charges are paid,
including $135,000 year rent to
the local public owners, including
also 100000 interest on the gov
ernment's investment, and finally
including about $4,000 set aside
for the depreciation fund. The last
private operators were glad to take
SIP 900 in lieu Of six months profit.
and they had none of these stagger-
ing interest and depreciation
charges to bear. ADA
Meanwhile, Norfolk and Ports
mouth are in dilemma. Naturally
the business interests of the town
would be glad to see the govern
ment relinquish control and ALLOW
the profits TO fall into local private
hands, as it was in the old days.
Under the terms of the contract,
three years after the proclamation
of peace, which means in November,
1924, the city and county have the
right to demand a new appraisal.
The government agrees to wipe OF
as a war loan the difference be-
tween the price it paid for the re-
of the property and
what the appraisers say is its pres
ent worth. Then, any earnings are
to be subtracted from the appraisal
value, and the city and county have
the right to regain the utility by
paying the difference to the GOV
ernment.
The question is, will the city eni
county take this step? For one
thing, they would probably have TO
dig into their treasures for some
100000 to pay for the ferries ID
1924. Meanwhile the travelling pub-
lie is cooling toward private opera
ton in the near future. Those VINO
cross the river buy their tickets II
clean commodious stations anu
ride in safe veli-kept boats that run
on schedule to the second.
Moreover, and most important,
the tax payer sees the line no"
earning profit at the rate OF Sl62'-
700 a year. At this rate, the govern
ment viii pay itself of in less thaa
seven years. The citizens ol fortS-
mouth and Norfolk thus think lnat
under the terms OF the contract TINS
plum will iaN mo
their laps free, ii they give II tiins
enough. Whether congress "ou'u
be willing to part with such
revenue-getter without a strusse
is another question.