New Britain herald., 1927-02-19
CONNECTICUT COMPANY
TELLS IT'S STORY

In the pamphlet gotten out by the
Connecticut company-in the form
of a large token-the company seeks
to take the public into its conf
dence as to the intricacies and Sc
crets of transporting street car pas
sengers. It's a huge business, when
done on the scale of the Connecti-
cut company, and it is somewhat
disconcerting that the last line in
the pamphlet is the most signifi-
cant. That line reads: Dividends
None"
Here is a business that employs
$500 people in the state, spends
sl0,000,000 a year within the state;
buys supplies from plants which
employ large numbers of workmen:
uses enough coal in a year 10 fill a
railroad train 10 miles long, or 10
barges; carries in stock over 10000
different items requiring continu-
Gus investment of s1,000,00o; pays
the state 100000 year in taxes.
Every day 100000 passengers are
transported. In a year this totals
more than 16b,OOo,O00 people. And
at eight cents head--slightly less
than they pay. hut We are ignoring
fractions-this totals a gross income
of nearly s13,ooo,OOo.
The table of expenditure in the
pamphlet includes $500, 600 annually
paid out in interest.
The company takes pains to point
out that the trolley car is more
economical in the use of street space
than any other vehicle. This is a
strong argument, without doubt, es-
pecially in connection with the pres
ent era. of traffic congestion. The
average automobile rider. it is
pointed out, requires from six to
ten times the street space required
by the average trolley car rider. this
count having been verified it an
pears, by actual traffic counts
made in various cities. In Balti-
more the trolleys comprise IA per
cent of the vehicles operating in the
business district and carry 50 per
cent of the passengers; in st. Louis
the ratio is eight to 72: in Chicago
eight to So; in Los Angeles four to
&c, etc. The list looks impressive and
evidently is greatly due to the fact
that so many automobiles in the
downtown districts carry only an
average Of less than two passen-
gers, as was discovered after a
survey in Boston.
It appears from the statistics
gathered In various cities that the
merchants are great friends Of the
trolleys, their checks showing that
by far the largest total of their
trade comes to the stores in trolley
cars. Springfield is the nearest city
cited. There the chcck-up showed
that 81 per cent of the shoppers
used the trolleys, 20 per cent rode
through the business district in auto
mobiles without stopping, and four
per cent Of the shoppers used auto
mobiles. To cap. the story is the
report of the National Association
of Retail ClothierS, which found
that retail stores located on street
car lines did about 40 per cent more
business per square foot of floor
space, and those located at street
railway transfer points did about so
per cent more business than stores
not so located" The Influence Of
trolley lines and transfer points
upon business houses seems TO be
we'll established.
Tho company's pamphlet is a
unique contribution to. the literature
upon the subject and Of course en-
deayors to present the trolley out
look in as favorable light as pos
sible; but it also is evidence that the
company is anxious to gain the good
will Of the public. There was once
d time when public utility corpora
tons We're not so much concerned
with this angle of their business. In
the case Of the Connecticut company.
which has a monopoly in its terri