The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-08-14
Key West Bitterly Opposes
| Increase In Highway Tolls
Business And Civic Lead
ers Would Appeal To
RFC Against Proposed
New Schedules

Practically every responsible
citizen in Key West today joined
in condemnins the action of
Overseas Road and Toll Bridge
District Commission in voting 10
raise the tolls on the highway rs
percent above present levels.
In statements 70 The Citizen
leaders of our civic. business and
patriotic organizations. and in
dividual businessmen went on
record as opposing the new tolls.
as favoring q reduction rather
than an increase in the charges
and as proposing appeals 10 tho
Reconstruction Finance Corpora
iion at Washington against the
new schedules.
The statements set forth that in
their opinion the new rates call
ing for SITS for car and driver in
stead of 81 for car and driver aft
er SEPTEMBER would seriously
cut traffic to Key West, reduce
the number of tourists, reduce
the general volume of hotel, res
taurant and other business, and
result in higher bus fares and
greater cost of food products and
other supplies trucked here from
the mainland.
A few of the statements fol-
low: az
A. Maitland Adamst general
manager of Overseas Transporta
ton Company Naturally higher
tolls for trucks will increase OPP
Grating costs and affect freight
rates, but the real damage result
ing from the increased charges
will be the loss of business to Key
West. The new tolls will cut
traffic. Instead of increasing the
rates. the commission should de-
crease, run excursions and make
it more attractive for people to
travel to Key West.
William Arnold, Monroe county
agent for Florida Motor Lines
.sThe new tolls will increase our
operating expenses, and this may
later result in an increase in bus
fares. Higher fares would re-
duce the travel. That might force
us to cut our service. Higher
highway tolls are great mis-
take.
Miss Elizabeth Sharpley, mana
ger of Hotel La Concha-"Any
way you look at it, an Increase
in highway tolls is, going to hurt
La Concha Hotel and Key West,
1t will be particularly bad~to in
crease the tolls at this time OF
year because business Is bad
enough as it is. II will be bad to
increase the tolls next winter, Tor
then the tourists will feel they
have been victimized. Some 9TH
or solution ought to be found.
L. S. Gruber, proprietor OF
Overseas Hotel" Increasing the
tolls is the wrong way to increase
for the highway. Re-
duce the tolls, run excursions and
offer other inducements so the
people of other sec
lions of the state can come down
here cheaply and see for them
selves that we have water and
facilities. believe we should
appeal from the tolls to the
RFC".
r. A. Lehman, manager OF
Ocean View Hotel-"The new
tolls will seriously cut the vol
ume of tourists coming to Key
West. It viii be a heavy loss to
some hotels, run others out of
business. The tolls win increase
unemployment, decrease our or
ders for laundry and other sup
plies. We should ask the RFC
to kill the action of the bridge
and inaugurate q pol
icy that win attract, rather than
discourage. tourists.
Everett Russell, local Standard
Oil agent and president of the
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