Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-29
The Haskin Letter . : %ssz
A GOVERNMENT FERRY BUSINESS.

agency was organized as a cor
poration and was therefore well fit
ted to be the operating agency for the
ferry line. The Housing corporation
took over the property OH a lease and
then proceeded to spend $1,10O,00O in
|, rehabilitating the line. 1t junked
| about half the old equipment and re-
| built the rest, and then purchased two
more %ferryboats in New York, and
when it was through spending money
it had practically a new establishment:
The old property had been appraised
at S165,O0O The new was worth more
| than a million.
When it leased the ferries the
housing corporation put In two young
men to run them-Charles Z. Freund,
who had been an assistant to the pres
ident of the housing corporation. and
| W. NJ. Cooper; the auditor in charge
| of the housing operation at Truxton.
Freund went in as manager and Coop
err as his assistant and office manager.
A Two-Man Proposition
! When the hurry of war-was past.
these two operators settled down to
| their job with great interest to see if
| they couldn't make the only govern
ment-owned municipal ferry line in the
United States a proposition that would
not be ashamed to hold up its head in
the company Of other public utilities
privately owned and operated.
They fired most of an diversified
! office force and. keeping only three or
four clerks, made the enterprise prac-
ticaIIy 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 govern
ment. For one thing, they slightly cut
down the speed of the boats, and
in the course Of a year saved hundreds
of IONS of coal. They adopted the plan
of competitive bidding for orders for
all supplies. Neither of them had often
seen q ~ferryboat before they took
charge, but now New York ferry OPP
orators visit them and go. back home
with their l-@ Dis full Of ideas.
They made the line pay a small profit
from the start, but this profit has
grown. In 1921 it was $4,000; this
year. with no increase in gross rev
enue but simply by the application of
economy, they raised the profit to
SIG, 900. And this is no paper profit,
either. 1t is the surplus left after all
charges are paid, including S135,0Oo a
year rent 10 tHt ioCdt puOi4N o"Li0AS' AZ
Icluding also 100000 interest on the gov
ernment's investment, and finally in
Guiding about $4,000 set aside for the
depreciation fund. The last private
operators were glad to take $4,000
in lieu of six months profit, and they
had none Of these staggering interest
and depreciation charges to bear.
Meanwhile. Norfolk and Portsmouth
are in q dilemma. Naturally the bust
ness interests of the town would be
glad to see the government r~elinquish
| control and allow the profits to fall
into local private hands. as il vas in
the old days. Under the terms Of the
contract, three years after the proc
lamation of peace, which means in No
yember. 1924. the city and county have
the right to demand a new appraisal.
The government agrees to wipe off as
a war loss the difference between the
price it paid for the rehabilitation of the
property and what the appraisers say is
its present 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 government.
The question is. will the city and
county take this step? For one thing,
they would probably have to dig into
their treasures for some 5000 COO to
pay for the ferries in 1924. Meanwhile
the travelling public is cooling toward
private operation in the near future.
Those who cross the river buy their
tickets in clean. commodious stations
and ride in safe, well kept boats that
run on schedule to the second.
Moreover. and most important. the
taxpayer sees the line now earning a
profit at the rate of $4,000 a year.
At this rate, the government will pay
itself off in less than seven years.
The citizens of Portsmouth and Nor
folk thus think that under the terms
Of the contract this miIlion-doilar plum
will fall into their laps free. if they
give it time enough. Whether con
tgress would be willing to part with such
a revenue getter without a struggle is
another question,