A FIGHT FOR CHEAP FARES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9130, 1 July 1908, Page 4

A FIGHT FOR CHEAP FARES.

Would any New Zealand city display such pertinacity on the subject of cheap tramway tares as Cleveland, Ohio, has done? After a campaign extending over twelve years, and fiercely contested for the last time, the citizens of Cleveland have got what they desired —a universal threecant fare an:l universal transfers. There has probably been nothing like this fight in the history of tramways. Experts claimed that the system in Cleveland could be operated to return a profit of saven per cent, with a three cent, tare, but the street companies said it ctulM not. On this issue, Mr T. L. Johnson, who had made a fortune in tramways, was elected Mayor, and a 'franchise was given to a company to build a line, for which the fare should be three cents. Tha existing companies retaliated by obtaining an injunction declaring the city's constitution illegal, and for eleven months Cleveland had no municipal government. The Legislature was calhd int > special session, anJ a new municipal code drafted for Cleveland and every • other city in the State. Cleveland ; was now thoroughly roused. Mr i Johnson was elected Mayor again by ■ a huge majority, and a start was ; made with the construction of the ; three cent. line. Lawsuit after lawsuit followed. Judg3=* were haul id i out of bed long after midnight and : injunctions granted. Rails we r e torn • up and low-fare line-layers wer.; ■ massed after nightfall and sorti s > made to lay line-, in contested localities. In spite of the effort- of th« old companies, the low-fare line grew foot by foot, and finally a public square in the heart of the city became i the point of contention. The low I fare line bent every energy and triad r euery triclc to reach the square. The i old company snared no effort to keep its rival out, and more night raids, injunction suits, and confusion foil- ! owed. Anothei* Mayoral election came round,, and the opposition thought that if Mr Johnson could b? ■ defeated, the people, tired of the : struggle, would give up their idea . of a three cent. They put forth all their strength, but Mr Johnson was elected by a great majority. This was the beginning of. the end. Clearly the will of the people must prevail, so the companies gave way, and the tramways passed into the hands of a company under conditions as akin to municipal ownership as tha law allowed, with the understanding that all fares should be three cents. To celebrate the victory, the people were allowed to ride free for a day, and it was decided that April 27th every year should be known as "Free Ride" Day, and kept as such.