Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-15
ASKS 1-MAN CARS
Be DISCONTINUED
Deputy Coroner Cites Gig Acol.
dents In Week to Clement
40 Reason
CALLS TR0LLEYs DANGEROUS

A request that onc.man trolley cars
he discontinued because they were
dangerous" was made to Public Serv.
ice Commissioner Clement today by
Deputy Corner Sellers, acting for Cor.
oner Knight.
Mr.. Sellers cited six accidents dur.
Ing the last week and the death Of n
passenger. which. he said. actuated the
Coroner in making the request.
lie nsked Mr.. Clement 20 sit with
Coroner Knight next Tuesday Mt the
inquest into the death Of rrnnk Dun.
lcavy, 2121 North Newkirk street, who
died following injuries received in a
car crash at Richmond and Madison
streets.
The request was made Of the Com .
missioner after he had concluded ume al
the p. II. T. valuation hearings in City
Hall.
Cities Serious Accidents
''In the last six days" said Mr..
Sellers, there have been three serious
accidents due to one .man cars. From
our investigation We believe that the
operation of one. man cars II dangerous
and that they should be discontinued.
Mr.. Clement said he would be glad
to sit with the Coroner Tuesday and
hear the testimony In the case.
The commissioner later explained
that stenographers would be present
and a record of the proceedings sent to
Harrisburg, where the request would be
considered In executive session by the
commission.
Boys Death Prompts Action
She death Of a boy in West Phila Z.
dclphia, which, 1t Ia said. resulted from
,,,,, 81 In,
was among other things which caused
the Coroner to act.
I'm nv opinion, the opera ton Of one 1.
man trolley cars Is dangerous" said
the Coroner, ''and they should be
abolished. have seen no end of con Z.
fusion as result Of this form Of opera .
tion. The =. Il. T. should have full
crews
Prior to seeking action by the com.
mission. Coroner Knight asked several
Councilmcn to take the matter up.
At their suggestion, 1t is said. he then
placed the matter before Commissioner
Clement.
At the same time business men Of
i'ridcsburg were protesting against uS
of one.m man trolley cars in that section
Of the city. IN official of the +. Il. T.
last night issued n statement in which
he declared that type of trolley to be
'the safest yet devised.
The mere fact" the official said,
that these cars are operated by n single
man distinguishes them from the genera
run of trolley cars. with the result that
every accident involving the onr. .mnH
car is accentuated by the fact that I,
man car, might he in hundreds OF acci
dents and nobody would become pnr.
ticnlarly exercised about It. The one.
man car Is the safest devised. 1t car
stop quicker and withih a shorter dis.
thnce than Hny other car mndc.'
Says One. Man Car Is Safest
Certainly the one man trolley canno
be blamed for these accidents. Tn
Public Service Commission Of Iennsy.
van!a has recognized this particular tyI.
Of conveyance as one OF the best devisc'
from Il safety standpoint, und thcr
always remains to the citizen the righ
Of appeal to the commission.
AT present We are operating 22O o
the one man safety cars In the city.
wish to cite the statistics on the Folsom
| division, where the one. man safety chr
were first used. Up to August. 1915
We used the accepted two. man type o
car on that division. The compariso
between the two man type and tn
one. man car on that division proves o,,
contention that the one. man car Is IN
better from the snfety standpoint tina
the other car. From November, 19lS
to August. 1910. we used the two INA
car. carrying 4.2S1 ,306 persons, and "
had 159 accidents.
From November, 1910. to August
1920, we used the One-man type {
car. CARRYING 4,773.4l3 persons. wit
only 103 accidents. Thus with a 1O.3
per cent increase In passengers we ha
u decrease Of 1922 per cent in acci
dents.'
Business Men Protest
! Protest against the one man trollc
car in Bridesburg was made last nigh
Mt n meeting Of business men and resi-
dents of the section In the Prideshur
Methodist Episcopal Church, Kirkbrid
and Thompson streets. More than 40
persons were present.
The protest was made agnns
Route q. which runs from Richmon
street and Allegheny avenue. throuc
the streets of Richmond and the north
ern end of Frankford to the Arsena
Route IL formerly ran to tn" arscna
but with the "L' in operation II
northern terminus Of the route has bee
made Mt Richmond street.
The meeting adopted resolutions ask
ing for the removal Of the one man CO
orI tho roturn ~ Route IL