allowance for further increases of expense in 1919, and proper depreciation requirements, to formulate estimates adjusted to various hypothetical conditions.

There are, as already indicated, certain grounds for optimism in regard to the future of the railways, especially if credit can be restored and an adequate supply of capital Future insured. The necessities of the situation have Prospects. stimulated invention, and during the past two or three years new ideas in regard to operation have been developing and gaining ground which seem likely to have an important influence upon the industry. For a long time the tendency was continually towards larger and heavier cars, and as their weight increased track was rebuilt and strengthened to accommodate them. The tendency is now in the opposite direction, towards lighter cars which may be operated by one man instead of two, and which will consume less power and cause less wear and tear upon the rails.

It is no doubt wise to withhold judgment in regard to the results which these one-man cars are likely to produce, until they have had more extensive tests under a greater variety of traffic conditions; but certainly the experience to date, if reports may be relied upon, has been full of promise. The new cars are equipped with automatic safety devices and it is said that they are easy to handle, that they stop and start as quickly as an automobile, and that they are liked by the public. It is also said that they are of even greater advantage in city districts than on country lines of lean traffic, for they can be used to provide much more frequent service without increase in expense, and frequency of service is the thing which attracts traffic in short-haul urban territory. They have been successful, it is said, not only in the South, but in the hills of Seattle, and in the severe weather of Canada. Clearly they represent a labor-saving, power-saving, track-saving device which deserves most serious consideration.

Another new idea which is gaining vogue is a different method of dealing with rush-hour traffic. The peak loads during the

morning and evening hours have always been the bane of street railway operation, for it has been necessary to invest in much equipment and to employ many men useful only during the periods at which this excess traffic occurs. The new method of dealing with this problem is to spread the traffic and lower the peaks by a so-called "staggering" of the hours at which business houses open and close. In other words, instead of having industries open and close at much the same time, and clog the arteries of travel with a sudden tide of humanity, the purpose is to persuade one group of industries to open at a certain hour, another group at a later hour, and so on, within reasonable limits, so that traffic may be spread and congestion diminished. It may prove that there are disadvantages in this plan which outweigh its benefits, but it seems to have promise as a means of preventing overcrowding and reducing expense of operation, and public management should make it easier to put it to the test.

A unified public management with an adequate supply of capital would also make it possible to improve power, shop and track conditions which are admittedly adding to the cost of operation on many of our railways. It is impossible to operate with real economy over poor track or with an inadequate power supply or with antiquated and inefficient shop and car house facilities. Such conditions do not prevail, by any means, on all the roads of Massachusetts, but they exist to such an extent that their improvement would have a marked effect in securing lower unit costs of operation. Unified management, furthermore, should make it feasible to bring about a standardization of equipment and supplies like that which so many industries in this country have found of great advantage. It is such standardization which has made it possible to produce Ford automobiles at low cost, and still pay high wages. If the rails and cars and other items which street railways use could be manufactured in a similar manner, without doubt their cost would be substantially reduced.

All this is merely suggestive of the possibilities of the future for street railways, if they can once be placed upon their feet and in a position to seize the opportunities which lie before them. We offer these suggestions, not as an exhaustive dis

cussion of the subject, but merely to indicate that, in a time of prevailing pessimism, there are some reasons for a more hopeful view of the future, if the proper starting point can once be reached. As a matter of fact, it is within the public's own power to decrease the expense of street railway operation and increase revenues without raising rates, if it will only co-operate in traffic regulation, accident prevention and the collection of fares.

The Commission has not attempted to draft a specific bill providing either for a temporary scheme of public aid or for the more permanent plan of public acquisition of the railway Public properties, nor indeed to formulate such a plan with Opinion. any degree of definiteness. We have endeavored merely to state the issue and furnish a starting point for discussion. The new policy which we have suggested is too far-reaching in its consequences and penetrates too far into fields, like taxation, of which we have little special knowledge, to justify us in urging it with confidence or in developing it at this stage with greater particularity. It needs above all things the consideration of many minds from many angles. Furthermore, evidence of public demand is essential. It is useless to undertake the difficult task of preparing definite and comprehensive legislation upon this subject, unless there is sound reason to believe that it will be in accord with public opinion and receive the whole-hearted support of the community. So strongly do we feel upon this point that we should not favor the adoption of any plan, no matter how great the public demand might seem to be, unless provision were made for final submission to a referendum vote. It is of vital importance that the people of the commonwealth should accept the new policy, if it is to be adopted, and become directly responsible for its success.

It is really a question of alternatives. If some such plan is not adopted, the alternative is to continue the present policy and attempt to cure street railway ills by the raising of fares. It is not impossible that, as the public becomes inured to this policy, it may produce better financial results than have yet been realized. Even if this proves to be the case, however, it will be a long time before the credit of the companies is good, and the higher fares, in our judgment, are certain to lessen the

value of the railways to the state, and to cause a gradual shifting of population which will be harmful in its results. On the other hand, if increased rates do not improve financial conditions, a period of receiverships and reorganizations will result, which may finally lead to better conditions, but only at the cost of abandoned lines and still worse service meanwhile. The people must choose between these alternatives. If they are to have good service, undoubtedly they must pay for it, in one form or another. Public ownership will at once insure a muchneeded supply of capital and make lower fares feasible, and we know of no other way of accomplishing these results, other than a permanent guarantee of the outstanding securities of the companies, which would be open to the objections already pointed out. Nor do we think that public management is greatly to be feared. Whether there are other disadvantages which will outweigh the benefits received, we are not prepared at present to say.

It is unnecessary to state that the Commission is at the command of the General Court. We shall be only too glad to prepare, or to assist in preparing, any draft of legislation which the committees dealing with this matter may desire. We shall be equally glad to submit any statistics or other data in regard to street railway property, finances, or operation which it may be within our power to supply.

Minor
Measures.

Various measures have been suggested for improving the financial condition of the street railway companies without any radical change in state policy such as relief from the socalled "excise tax" or other forms of taxation. While some of these measures may prove of benefit, they are only palliatives and are not likely, in our judgment, to provide any real cure for the ills of the present situation. No doubt petitions for such legislation will be presented to the General Court and the Commission will be glad to advise with the committees in regard to them. One measure, however, which is likely to prove of advantage to both the public and the companies, if their credit can be improved, we deem it desirable to recommend specifically, since it is less likely to be introduced by others. This is the legislation to enlarge the powers of the companies to acquire private right of way through exercise of the power of eminent domain, which was submitted to the General Court

by this Commission in its Fourth Annual Report. The reasons for this measure were fully stated in that report. (See pages xxii and xxiii.) A draft of a bill is herewith submitted.

Elsewhere.

In conclusion, it may be well to say a word in regard to the situation which prevails in other parts of the country. There seems to be a general feeling that Massachusetts The Situation is specially afflicted. As a matter of fact, similar conditions prevail everywhere. The raising of fares did not begin so soon in other states as it did here, but the movement in this direction has gained great headway during the past year all over the United States. So desperate have the street railway owners considered the situation that they did everything in their power to persuade the federal government to seize and exercise the rate-making function in war time, in order that embarrassing provisions of local franchise grants might be overcome. There are certain companies elsewhere which have been able to cling to the old rates, just as there are one or two in Massachusetts, notably the Union Street Railway Company of New Bedford, which by reason of good management in the past and present, and favorable location, has so far avoided raising the 5-cent fare, -but most of the railways have increased, or are now seeking to increase, their charges, and complaint in regard to service is very widespread.

In a certain sense our "anti stock-watering" laws have been a disadvantage. Many companies in other parts of the country were so wrecked in their early history by financial exploitation that they were forced to reorganize and start life over again, some 10 years ago. This happened, for example, in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York, and resulted in a rehabilitation of equipment which is helping them in operation at the present time. With their lower capitalization, our companies have been able to postpone the day of reckoning with depreciation a little longer. Circumstances differ to such a degree, also, that it is difficult to make fair comparisons. The Boston Elevated system, for example, now labors under clearly marked disadvantages, some of which are these:

(1) First and foremost, it carries the load of a tremendous investment in subways and elevated lines. Only three other communities have similar