Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, January 15, 1921, Page 12

{ REMEDIES FOR TROLLEY SITUATION The board of directors of the Conneo- imae datermhnuon of the trolley prob- ticut Chamber of Commerce, at their|lem. The committes has also examined meeting Friday in New Haven, adoptde | through counsel anq through its individu- the recommendations of the trolley in-|al membérs a large number of reports of vestizating committee practically without | other trolley systems and of investiga- change, tions conducted by various municipal, The directors did not all agree with | state and federal agencies. In addition, the vecent report of the public utilities | the committee has observed the operation commission to the legislaure that ‘the |of the trolleys and jitneys of the state commission should have power to au-|and interrogated people throughout the thorize street railways to operate or es-| state in order to determine the attitude tablish motor bus lines. Otherwise the | of the public toward the entire situation. report was accepted without any différ- | The report is made as follows: ence of opinion, and after it had been Ret e nded. referred to a referendum vote of 'the cmmr:ln of commerce, a bill will be| Your committee belieyes that there are drafted and presented to the legislature. |SiX main topics relative to the present The committee making the investigation "‘;}”V llglflmt "lh’eh mm;umj.}a action. iese topics are rief- o B s gl Situatlon in the |1y herein, with the recommendations of State con: 2o your committee thereon, and accompany- o S i o B Y ot e v ey s $ 5 commi recommends be sent imme- ins of Norwich Percy T. Litchfield of | giatery with coples of this report, to all ridgeport and Arnold Turner of Dan- | members of ‘the chamber: .in order that bury. their views may be known snd may be ; Decemper, 1919, the committee |passed on to.the general assembly in sup- w.:"...momfr to empoy counsel to as- |port of such legislation as your board sees sist in conducting its investization and |fit to have introduced. was represented by counsel at all heat- | ypy praniey Situstion tn Gemeral. R N . & The trolley situation in Connecticut is slon on remonstrances to the zome SyS-|. o ioq in practically every other state tem and subsequent petitions of the Con- | %) Fosyn iy ‘The trolleys nearly every. necticut company for chances of fare. | yy.re are.n a critical financial conditio Through ghe courtesy of the publc utlli- | Mhere atein & CHICAl Baanel con e - ties commisston, connsel for the chamber | T’y Toiles of track Bave beed, abatact was permited to question witnesses . for | 00,7 TIARY TR ore e panies the sake of bringing ouit any poins Which | 3re constantly increasing thejr fares; he deemed would be of assisance o he Ul | most roads .are unable to meet. their tax and many. other financial obligations, and very few roads.anywhere in the country are paying dividends. This. condition. s due in part to early errors of jndgment in_ building into un- profitable territory, and in part to the in- crease in the use of private automobile: and in large measure to unrestricted ney compétition ; but -the :chief.-cause is the great increase in the last few years in the price of everything which goes to make up the cost of opereting a trolley svstem. Wages; fuel and materials have all increased practicaily 100 per cent. since 1916, Notwithstanding these facts, your com- mitiee is firmly convinced " that electric street railways are, and for many years Wil be cssential fo the industrial and socinl welfare of this state, and for these reasons urge that prompt steps be taken to so relieve the street railway companies from excessive and improper burdens that they may continue to exist and may be enabled to furnish transportation at a i reasonable rate of fare. Madison Square Garden I Taxation. January 18 to 22 § |- The trolley companies in Connecticut AN S0P M, are taxed 4 1-2 per cent. on their gross AND CONVENIENCE OF MANY OF OUR PATRONS, FOR YOUR INFORMATION— profit, and even when they are not able to pay the actual cost of running their cars. .the)'n are not taxed on their incorhg, the flat tax which they are reguired \n ply is very small. 'For several years most of the trolley companies of the state have been unable to pay the taxes due the state. The Connecticut company alone, which operates 76 per cent. of the trolley mileage of the state, owes approximately $1,500,000 in back taxes. Your committee recommends (a) that required to Lear similar tax burdens; (b) that such tax.be based, where feasible, upon their net income; (c) -that the street railway-companies of the state be excused . from .paying .the taxes now due the state until after the session of the general ‘assembly’ in -1923, ‘the amounts now due to bear no interest. IL’ Paving. Street railway companies are required to lay and- keep in repair nine.feet ot paving where they maintain single tracks and 19 feet where the tracks are double. This|pavement is of no use to tn: com- panies. In fact, it is detriinen‘al to fhem, as it encourages peopls 10 rile in aute- I mobiles, thus causing a lows in pazvenger rvenue. Moreover, - trolleys - injure the pavement for only a few inches each side of each rail. The paving requirement is a relic of horse car days, when the horses cut up the pavement. Tolay, however, paving between and immediately.adjacent to the trolley rails {s used more than any other part of the pavement by other ve- hicles of every description. Your committee recommends that the lay new:, companies -be not required to pavement, and be tequired only to keep in repair the pavement adjacent to'each rail which is actually damaged by them. L . Bridges. Under existing statutes one-third of the cost of building and . reconstructing -state highway' bridges must be borne by the trolleys using them. When this law was first enacted it was necessary to build a heavfer bridge if it were to be used by.a trolley compaiiy than if it were not to be so used. Today, however, the tendency of trolley companies is-to use’ lighter ecars, while the use of the alto truck has great- ly increased and the size and weight of! these trucks and their loads are con- stantly increasing. Also the accommoda- tion to the general publicto have trolleys i cross thees bridzes is greater than it is to the trolley companies to be allowed . to cross them. Moreover, jitney 'buses carry, ing passengers are not required..to. con- tribute to the cost of constructing bridges used by them. 3 Your committee rccommends for these reasons that street uilway companies be relieved of all bri g building and main- tenance requiremei..s, except the obliga- tion to install and wantain the rails, wires and accessories used exclusively by them. IV. Jitneys. Within the last two or three years the receipts, whether or not they make any | possibilities and limitations of automo- | WE ARE PLACING OUR USUAL SATURDAY SPECIALS, ONE DAY IN ADVANCE—FRIDAY EDITION IN NORWICH BULLETIN—THEREFORE, DURING THE WINTER SEASON, WE WlLL HAVE TWO-DAY SALE, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. SPECIALS SWIFT’S FINE RIB ROAST BEEF, pound. . 29¢ Boneless, Rolled, No Wast= FRESH LITTLE PIG SHOULDERS, b 22¢ SUGAR CURED SMOKED|FRESH FLATFISH SHOULDERS, Ib. . ... 20c{Pound ............... 15¢c SPECIALS Pure Silverleaf LARD Pound 15¢ FRESH NATIVE EGGS From Nearby Farms, dz. 79¢. MEALY COOKING POTATGES, 15 lbs. pk 39¢c Insofar as'possible jitneys and trolleys be | bileb and auto ‘buses, commonly termed “jitneys,” for public- transportation have ! been demonstrated. Your committee Ja | convinced that jitneys, without bearing equivalent burdens as to taxation, paving, bridge builing and servige requirements. should not be allowed to compete with the ; | trolley companies. Further thap this, our | state statutes forbid the éstablishment of | a rival troliey line parallel to an. existing | trolley line without a finding by the su- perior _court, after hearing, that public convenience and necessity require the construction of such a line. Your commit- tec feels that if this required ol . an clectric railway, which is bound of neces- sity ‘to have some financial responsibility and which is able to operate .in,all kinds of weather, and which ‘can be 'made ‘to, serte the public, ceftainly similar require-'|§- ments should be exacted of irrespousible jitney. drivers, who have been free to, drive when and_where they chose, staying at home during severe weather. and driv- ing only where the trafiic was heaviest to | skim the ‘cream- of the business of the trolley company. There is, however, .a | place for jitneys in substitution for exist- ing non-paying -trolley lines and in ex tension of the servicé into new territory | where there are now no trolleys, and pos- | sibly to supplement trolleys during the rush hours. - i Your ‘committee récommends ‘(a) 'that street railway companies should have au- thority to operate motor 'buses In substi- tution-for.” or.auxillary to, existinglines, and to est®blish' new 'bus lines, with the permission of ‘the public utllities commias- sion after a duly advertised hearing; ¢b) that_all_common, carriers doing.a street passenger. transportation: business, includ- ing street railway compan‘es and jitneys, so-called, extept - these “doing a cab br livery business, be subject to.the jurisdic- tion of “the .public- utilities commission as to routes, ‘rates. of fare, schedule and ser- vice required, -and - that .no” néw street mmpog-umq:Q line; whether - trolley - or ‘bus, should be established-wit #;ut a find- ing of public convenience and necessity by the ‘public. utilities commission, -atter .a. duly advertised hearing. & S * g Opportunities well-nigh bewildering in their real- ity are open for profitable invest- ment in the securities market today. Can ' YOU afford to overlook chances LIKE THESE 7 ACQUAINT YQURSELF with “ this ‘extraordinary * situation by obtaining a copy of our " “YEAR-END. REVIEW”- and Supplements (sent gratis) which recommend for purchase such stocks as we consider most attractive, sielding handsome returns on pre- sent prices. P ,MILTON HElMM & CO. INVEBTMENT SECURITIES embers Pml-delvhll Stock Exchange Consolidated Stock Ex. of N. Y. 162 Atlantic St., Tel. 3045 Stamford Stamford, nn. +Main_Office: 74 Broadway, N. Y. Branches — 489 Fifth Ave., N. Y. Ph||l‘.|>bll. Pa. stimulate riding. Negative” erguments are that the ne- is friction between the office of the com- pany. and that of the supervisor; and the guarantee of and Umiting of a fixed divi- dend return discourages initiative in striving for efficient management. |latter objection can to a great extent be met by permitting the companies to in- crease their dividends up/to a fixed maxi- mum, with a'decrease in fares. Attention is called to the fact that because of the Jurisdiction- of. the public utilities commis- slon of this state over fares, the trolleys of Conflecticut do in effect, operate on a service-at-cost basis. Your commitice is not prepared to ree- ommend that muniéipalities be authorized to make service-at-cost contracts with trolley companies. Your committee recommends, however. that twice each year the public utilitics commission review the rates of fare charged by the street passengef common {carriers of the state, with a view to au- thorizing an increase, or ordering a de- crease, in fares as may be justified by the financlal statements of the carriers. VI. Fares. As stated under the preceding heading, there is such a difference in operating costs in different localities, and more cs- pecially as the attitude of the public toward the street railway differs so widely from one community to another in regard to the amount of riding, the keep- ing of vehicles off trolley tracks so as not to delay the cars, etc., it is not, right to tax By a high fare a city which,co-oper- ates with the trolley company, in order ‘that a city’ which does not 8o co-operate may have trolley Bervice at less than cost. There, is algo no more reason for having the same trolley fare throughout the, state¢ than_for. having. a uniform charge for wn(cr ~8 or electricity. Mcre- over, there are ¢ § ral trolley companies 1 nthe ‘state ‘and i. !s not feasible to re- auire all to charge the same fare. There- fofe, it is no'tequitable to impose a stan- dard fare throughout all the lines of one ‘company - which has extended to ‘include widely separated communities. It is be- lleved that ft will stimulate-co-operation ] - - ‘| between the public and the_strest rail- .. Abandonment and Munlcipal Ownef- - ship ‘and Controk * All forms:of ownership and control. of street rallways have.been tried in this country, from unregulatéd private owner.’ ship through, privately owned and state and municipally ‘controlled to municipally owned rail¥ays. Your committee believes that a municipality . cannot operate - a street railway as efficiently and econom- ically. as.can.a private concern and that a municipally owned railway will not give as good service to the public, and it is, th;renzm opposed- to -municipal owner- ship. g However, a trolley company should not be required to indefinitely operate a line, or a substantial portion of a line, at a loss, hence your committee believes that a rallway eompany should have the right to discontinue -2 non-paying line, or por- tion of a line, with the permission of the public utilities commission; after hearing. 1. In a number of-cities, notably in Cleve- jland, a service-at-cost contract between the city and the street rallway company has ‘ giveh "satisfaction’ to both " partles. The essential-features.of this system are: The company Is allowed a certain divi- dend return upon its invéstment upon.an agreed valuation; :a so-called balancing fund is- established- into which is paid all carnings above this allowed divifilend. and from which the_balance of expenses and allowed dividends are paid if the cerrent income is insufficient to pay them. When this balancing fund' exceeds a- certain figure the company is required fo reduce its- fares,~and when it falis belew a-cer- tain figure the company is automatiecally permitted to increase its fares. “The chief arzuments in favor of such a system are that there Is no possibility of the company’s making excessive profits, fares -are adjusted automatically with the rise and fall of operating costs, and the public sees that it is to its interest to way companles if rivalry between com- T8 GOOD. X0 CHILDAEN munities I8 encoursged by rewarding a s e T e é;fl‘y. HOAD- | co-operating community with lower fares. |and Tar for coughs and find it onelof the| Your committec recommends thdt rates {Best ‘remedies 'on "the market, ‘cepecially |of fare should be determined by the rela- | good for children’s coughs, as it does not | tive cost of operating the street trans- jcontain any drug that is harmful. Seri- | portation lines within a municipality. or a ous sickness often follows lingering colds. | group of municipalities so inter-related as Hard coughing racks a child’s body and | ¢, riging h: itz Seto fus ol make np n | disturbs strength-giving sleep, and the | \° : D street transportation em essentially O B s o obe mcioiae2%8 | dietinct from other systems in the state. cannot_be warded off. Take Foley’ |ume Lee & Osgood. Co. The forezoinz report and accompgnying cessity of having a munieipal supervisor with ‘a corps of anditors, engineers and clerks means a duplication in‘large meas- ure of the office and engineering forces, anid so of the operating expense, and there ‘This GILBERT’S Good Furniture—Rugs Special Prices During January ‘have arrived. Have You Seen the “Pullman” Go Carts ? OPP. LAUREL HILL New line of “Whitney” Carriages. - N. S. Gilbert & Sons SHETUCKET STREET N\ proposed referendum ballot were adopted b the trolley investigating committee of e Connecticut Chamber of Cammerce at llu meeting in Hartford Dec. 31, 1920. Attest: ROGER WOLCOTT DAVIS, Secretary and Counsel. from the school. followed. SEVEN MISSIONARIES FROM PARK CHURCH AV WORK A meeting of special interest was held at Park Congregational church Friday evening, when sketches of the work of seven missionaries from the church were giyen. Mrs. Allen Latham, chairman of missions, presided. The devotional exercises were conduct- ed by Mrs. Henry T. Arnold. president of the Woman's Federation, and the singing was led by Mrs. E. A. Harris. The work of Dr. Helen Howe Gage, daughter of" Dr. and Mis. §. H. Howe, who is at the Yale mission in China, was told by Mrs. Howe, who read written by Rev. Anson Phelp who wiote, of his trip from Shangiu.. 300 miles by steamer, to the city of ChangChi, where the Yale mission is lo- cated. A glimpse of the home life of the same mission was shown in a paper pre- Mrs. Marjory Browning Les ter of Deacon Frank A. Brown- h was read by Miss Etta Me- ions. day from 50 hens. mima Hedges, R. F. health center within a radius of 13 miles A greeting ed by her mother, Mrs. DeLong. A social hour with light refreshments was extend- Jokesmiths Are Wrong. Most Christmas cigars are smoked 'fih pleasure and most Chrisimas neck worn without mental diturbance some jokesmiths persist in_asserting or in- timating' the contrary.—AMany Journal. are though In a mutual admiration’ soclety we can find the most agreeable compan- 50 HENS LAID 3 EGGS A DAY. .NOW LAY 36 Tells How to Make Idle Hens Pro- duce Money in Winter. “When I began using Don Sung in De- cember, 1 was getting only 2 or 3 ¢ ‘Within three wi wus getting from 3 to 4 dozen & shall never be without Don, 5 —Jer- D. 1, hmwny, This 3§ or 4 dozen eggs a day, at Wit ‘- prices, heus sl A third missionary in China is Dr. Wentworth' Prentice, who has established a dental school at the Hopkins Memor:al hospital at Peking, about 1,000 miles above Chang-Chi. His work was shown by quotations from letters which were read by his father, Deacon Myron B. Prentice. The ‘in Afferica dons by Mr. and | Mrs. ng at the Chandler Normal | school at Lexingtcn, - class of colored ie who ar from Virginla ala\es was depicted by Mrs. ¥ nould do as well | trying it under this offer. Give your hens I Don | sclentis feed, s up the eg; Don' Suns your ¢ Tor send | to'd of the work | neers at Pihe done > Ethel DeLong Vandee 2 cents by —C_—:_E}E:—E—E-CZE—E]—EE_E—: SALE NOW GOING ON AND CONTINUES FOR 1C DAYS ONLY. E Tan Calf Bal Gun Calf Bal Tan Brogues Tan Bal, Suede Tops rwn. \ == e I= ===l $5 95 $7 90 $9 90 IFI‘I---'HE MODEL BOOTERIE, 132 Main St, Norwich, Conn was almost clear profit. fmiroves and makes lier stron, g ., 214 Columbia Bidz Your It's no trouble to use Don Sung and you visk nothing by n Sung and watch re- for one month. If you don't find that f, and pays you a geod smoly tell ve and your wiil be_cheerfully n—rundpd (Chinese for eg: the ‘hen’s "no matier how ool o be obtained promptly t or poultry_ remedy tincludes wa mail prepaid. N AFull Line of W. L. DOUGLAS SHOES and Other Hl.gh- Grade Makes. Tan Blucher 'Gun Metal Blucher | Mahogany Bal - Mahogany Blucher $8.00 to 39 00 Shoes $10. 00 to 312 00 Shoes 312 00 to 515 00 Shoes At Our First Annual Sal ~ We Wi Sell All of Qur HGSIERY IS INCLUDED IN THIS SALE AND WILL SELL FOR 1, PRICE. 21 Grada Faxiwoar at “Rock Bottom” Low Prices ALL REGULAR STOCK SHOES ARE MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THE “MODEL BOOTERIE” STANDARD OF THE HIGH- . EST GRADE WORKMANSHIP AND FINEST CUSTOM FOOTWEAR. WE NEVER YET DISPLAYED "'7H HIGH-GRADE FOOTWEAR AT THESE PRICES. FOR MEN— Pumps in strap effects Black Suede Gray Suede:" BroWn Suede e corartsrs IN BOOTS Black Suede - Gray Suede Blue Kid ' Brown Kid Black Kid Pat. vamp, Suede uppers $8 00to $9 00 Shoes $10.90 to 312 00 Shoes $12.00to 315 00 Shoes $5 45 $7 90 $9 90 REMEMBER--THIS sALE_ IS FOR 10 DAYS ONLY HE MODEL BOOTERIE 132 Main St., Norwich, Co EEEEE—:\EEJEEEJEEE@E EEE:—:EJE—JE—JEE E-I-E’