Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20
The People Lose.

The street railway corporations have
. won the right to charge a ten-cent fare
and the people have lost their fight
against increased cost for necessary
public service that has shown no i'm
:prcvement, in which none is promised
:, and which Is already high because OF
the unnecessary and expensive COM
: petition, duplication and wasted EFFORT
involved In the operation Of two lines
: when there should be only one.
Yet the decision Of Justice Bailey
yesterday Is not TO be written down as
: a decisive victory for the one or I'M
Hnitigated defeat for the other.
The ten-cent fare represents .
i, doubtful expedient on the part Of the
street railway corporations to bolster
diminishing returns by increasing the
charge for q service that ID already
r losing Its patronage ct an astonishing
and alarming rate. Since the flrst Of
the year the two companies between
;. them have lost more than three million
revenue passengers, and the rate OF
less has been heightened by the advent
=. Of cheap and convenient taxicab serv-
= Zee that places automobile Transports
: ton on q competing basis with q ride
IN q crowded street car. The result OF
:. the higher fare will be to drive even
q more car riders to the cabs, and 1t is
very doubtful II the greater revenue
will do more than merely Offset the
, loss.
What then? DO the corporations In
tend to seek still higher fare from the
diminishing number Of patrons until .
ride on their vehicles becomes q luxury
kiaat few can afford? That Is the trend
- OF their effort now. The only question
is the length Of time consumed in
bringing about . change Of tactics on
their part, which necessarily must be
directed toward making car rides rs
cheap and a. convenient and as at
. tractiys as efficiency and good manage
nent and unified operation can make
them.
The ten-cent fare win probably do
more than the most persuasive argyll
nnents to bring an end Is the existing
rnuddle that now marks operation OF
: the two competing lines In Washing
ton, The higher fare alone VIII not
bring the financial relief sought by the
companies. It viii drive away, and not
attract. new riders. II will bring added
dissatisfaction, On the part Of the pub
lie, with the type Of service they now
contend with.
. The only relief In sight for the COM
panies is q merger, carrying With 1t
better and more convenient service.
But to get this merger the companies
must now bargain with the public and
demonstrate that they are prepared to
:, pay for the privileges that merger con-
@fers.
In the meantime interest will now
. turn TO the Public Utilities Commission
: still pending before that body is q
: motion by william NICK. Clayton for q
: revaIuation Of the lines. The commits
sion left the motion unanswered wher
the fare case was taken into court. II
: may now rule on 1t and order a revalua'
ton. The delay was evidently chosen
: advisedly by the commission in the
. hope and belief that Congress would
!, act on the merger petition and that
o:revaluation would become q part OF thu
procedure In merging the lines. In THU
:, 1t guessed wrong, but as revaluation Il
. necessary, 1t should be done. Mean
while the street railway lines will bc
" receiving higher fare. while the revalua.
p ton, possibly consuming eighteen
$ inom1hs to two years, goes forward.
the court took note Of the testimony
relating to possible savings to the COM
:" panieS which might be effected through
merged operation, but its view, in effect
=. was that as Congress has failed Il
- authorize q merger these possible saw
1ngs are beside the point. From thu
:. courts point Of view that position Il
obviously logical. From the point o.
view Of the car riders, the mystery re-
mains as to why they, and only they
should bear the brunt Of financing two
= competing companies without enjoyini
any Of the benefits of competition anC
at the same time putting up with thu
- Inconvenience that result therefrom
and why the higher fare demanded b.
,, the weak company must be paid, a!
- we'll TO the strong one