Evening star., 1923-01-06
STREET RAILROADS
BOOSTING TRADE
Carrying Vast Numbers of
Shoppers to Special Sales,
Reports Show.
BY j. c. ROYLE.
special Dispatch TO The Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 6.-An ar
| ttcle does not have to be taken from
shelf or a warehouse to be a sale
able product In proof of which the
street railroads of the United States
are selling to the public something
besides transportation. They are
merchandising seasonal business.
safety. comfort and service They
are asking and receiving the as
sistance of the merchants of the
country in their selling campaign, and
as a consequence they are cutting
costs and making money. These sales
are being made to a large extent
through newspaper advertising.
Right now street railways are mer-
chandisfng white sales, clearance
sales and inventory sales. Depart
ment stores all over the country are
attracting thousands of customers
through such offerings. 1t costs al
empty as to run it full The ideal
condition. obviously, is one that pro-
vides a full load for each car on
each trip. If street car companies
could operate at peak load each
hour all would prove profitable. lit
Is the dip from the peak which en-
aoles overhead to overtake net in
come.
Help TO Boom Shopping.
The traction companies. therefore,
are selling to the women of the coun-
try the utilization of the slack hours
LOT their shopping excursions, empha-
sizing the speed and comfort o: such
Tips. In this effort the. American
Electric Railways Association has
asked the aid and assistance of de-
partment stores and merchants
through local chambers of commerce
and other bodies, and is receiving il
freely
The slack hours of the street rail-
roads are also the slack hours Of the
stores. and merchants are more than
shoppers, so that each salesperson
shall be occupied at all hours just al
each car is occupied
After Winter Business.
The street railways are going after
the winter business of the automobile
owner on the score of both comfort
and safety. They are not lighting the
automobile. Such a fight would ba
hopeless. but they are stressing it,
advertising and by other means III
reliability. safety, economy and COM
fort of the heated street cars in COM
parison with the expense. discomfort
and danger of. operating a motor car
in winter weather.
The effort for safety is perhaps tha
most lucrative that the traction COM
panies have made. BY every effort
they are endeaVoring to eliminata
accidents. Not only are they instruct
ing the public by newspaper ana
poster advertising, but they are hold
ing schools for the training of the!.
own employees. 1t is the old Ben
Franklin principle of "a penny saved
is penny earned"
Accident Losses Heavy.
Accurate figures which becam7
available for the first time today for
all the street railroads in the United
States show that nearly per cent
of the gross revenue of the roads Il
lost through accidents These havr
forced nearly every traction company
to maintain claim department IL
1922 accidents cost the traction COM
| panies of the United States $44,o0O,0OY
| in round numbers
The percentage of gross revenue 50
expended by various roads ranges
from 34-l00 of l per cent to IT per
cent and the average for the whole
country is 4.6 per cent. Elimination
OF accidents has enabled scores of
roads To meet interest payments on
their bonds or resume dividends in
the last twelve months
Spend 10000 on Car Tickets.
The cola aboration of the merchants
OF most cities with the street rail-
ways Is easy to understand in view
of the fact that retailers have come
to realize their dependence on the
most common form of transportation
for the volume of business which Is
! essential to their success. The ex-
tent to which merchants are willing
TO cooperate was indicated at East
Brighton, Pa, where the merchants
bought $4,000 worth of street car
tickets in advance In order TO relieve
a financial crisis of the street rail-
way system.
AS result of these policies the
street railways of the country face a
!, profitable year. with little possibility
of any general demand for Increased
fares.