Street Railway SUPPLEMENT OF THS ommercial & inancial hronicle. (C P [[ FOR INDEX OF COMPANIES See pages 92, 93, 94, 95 and 96. i i^jiii nSTo-xreiDQ-TDei? 25, 1S90. WILLIAM B. DANA COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. PENB STREET, coeneb PEARL STREET, NEW YORK. [Entered Meordlag to Aet ot in Congress the year 1899 by WnxuLM B. Dara Coxpaitt, In ofiBoe of Ldbnurlan-of Congreu,WMhlngton, D. 0.] I A. N. CHANDLER & CO., BANKERS, THE BOURSE, FIFTH STREET FRONT, PHILADELPHIA. FIBST MORTGAGE BAILBOAD BONDS AND OTHEB HIGH -GRADE INTESTMENTS. All bonds offered by ua have been carefully selected and investigated as to legality of issue, physical condition of the property and permanent financial success of the Company. An experience of many years affords the advantage of intelligent coxmsel in the making of investments. Attention given to the organization and financing of corporations. CAPITAL FURNISHED FOR MERITORIOUS RAILROAD ENTERPRISES. H. B. HOLLINS & CO., COR. WALL AND BROAD STREETS, Issue Letters of Credit for Travelers, Available in all parts of the World. DEALERS IN INVESTMENT SECURITIES. AGENTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL AND MORTGAGE BANK OF MEXICO. WHITAKER & HODGMAN, BOND AND STOCK BROKERS, 300 North Fourth Street, - St. Louis, Mo. INVESTMENT SECURITIES AND MUNICIPAL. _ BONDS. WE BUY TOTAL ISSUES OF CITIES, OOUNTIES, SCHOOL AND STREET RAILWAY COMPANY BONDS, AND DEAL IN HIGH-GRADE COMMERCIAL PAPER. MONTHLY CIRCULAR QUOTING LOCAL SECURITIES MAILED ON APPLICATION N. W. HARRIS & COo, BANKERS, NEW TORKL CHICAOO. BOSTON. Government and Municipal Bonds BOUGHT AND SOLD. ALSO STREET RAILWAY AND PRIOR LIEN RAILROAD BONDS OP ESTABLISHED PROPBRTIM. APPRAISEMENTS MADE OR QUOTATIONS FURNISHED FOR THE PURCHASE, SALE OR EX- CHANGE OF ABOVE SECURITIES. LISTS ON APPLICATION. 31 NASSAU ST., ^^^lu^^D^N^or^^^ NEV/ YORK. Cablb Address: Suba. Street Railway SUPPLEMENT OF THE 0MMERCIAL & INANCIAL hRONICLE , £| f (]| VOLUME LXIX. l<To-^ejooL\DGr 25, IS 99. WILLIAM B. DANA COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, PINE STREET, corner of PEARL STREET, NEW YORK. oflBo© Librarian of Congress, Wa«bU>«rtoE. D. C. [ EBteced aocordiiig to act of Congress, in 1899, by William B. Dama Oompant, In of the Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1899 by WILLIAM B. DANA COMPANY, In the office of the Librarian of Congresp, Washington, D. O. Street Railway SUPPLEMENT -OF THE- OMMERCIAL & INANCIAL Q F {^ HROWICLE. [Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1899 by William B. Dana Company, in the office of Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. <xl " NEW^ YORK, NOVEMBER 2B, 1899. tems which have been recently formed by the consol- Street Railway Supplement. idations of several companies formerly operating sep- arate lines in a city and its environs. The problem The Street Railway Supplement is issued semi-annually and is furnished ufithout extra charge to every annual subscriber of the now being carefully worked out along these lines by the Commercial and Financial Chronicle. officers of the Brooklyn Kipid Transit Oo. is one of The Investors' Supplement, Issaued quarterly, is also furnished considerable magnitude and its development will be without extra charge to every subscriber of the Chronicle. watched with interest by all street railroad managers. The State and City Sitpplement, issued semi-annually, is likewise famished without extra charge to every subscriber of the Chronicle • The question has never assumed such proportions as The Quotation Supplement issued monthly is also furnished with- in the conditions now before that company and the out extra charge to every subscriber of the Chronicle. possibilities to an operating company, through the Terms for the Chronicle, including the four Supplements above named, are Ten Dollars per annum within the United States and readjustment of car mileage to the traffic moved, Twelve Dollars (which includes postage) in Europe. were never so large. The general conditions in Brooklyn are also in WILLIAM B. DANA COMPANY, Publishers, many respects unique. For some years past, because Pine St., corner Pearl St., New York. of the many competing transit companies, elevated and surface, whose lines penetrated all sections of the ADJUSTING OAR MILEAGE TO TRAFFIC city and into the newer sections beyond the city lim- NEEDS. its, there has been an exceptionally liberal transit The success of a street railroad management is gener- service. The running of cars has been governed by ally fairly measured by the relation of the aggregate num- the effort on the part of each company to draw travel ber of car miles run to the traffic carried. Normally the from a competing line rather than by reasons of proportion of car mileage to passenger movement should good transportation practice. The result has been show a large and steady reduction. Special circum- that where there was most competition, often in the stances may interfere with the result, but they should newer sections of the city where the travel at best was be clearly understood and removed or overcome. In an light, a wasteful service was given at the cost of sec- ideal condition of traffic every car run would be fully tions where the travel was heavy. loaded at all times, and no travel would be lost be- With all the Brooklyn transit lines, except one or cause of insufficiency of service. This might be pos- two, merged into ( ne company, one of the first prob- sible if traffic were uniform at all hours of the day lems for the managers to take up was the reduction and each day. Actual conditions are, of course, very of excessive car mileage in districts of light traffic far from that. It is the great irregularity of traffic and its increase in the congested districts One of which makes the problem of the proper car service the simplest and most reasonable means by which this one of the most difficult problems which street rail- could be advanced was in the use of the elevated lines road managers have to deal with. In the effort to in- for long-distance travel, for which they are best crease gross receipts it is more likely that excessive adapted. This releases a great number of cars now car mileage will be operated than^too little. In fact, running far into the outlying districts, and by short- probably every company is running a good deal of car ening their round trips greatly increases the service service that is not only unprofitable but is unnecessary. they give where the traffic is heaviest. Some friction A careful study of conditions will usually enable a may be looked for in the working out of such exten- manager to adjust the car mileage of his line so that sive plans, but they so materially add to the general the traffic can be moved with as much convenience to efficiency of the service, and mean so much in reduced the passengers, if not indeed to their increased satis- operating charges to the company, that as conditions faction, and at the same time with a material decrease become better understood they may be expected to be in the operating cost. even further developed. The possibilities in the adjustment of car mileage The ownership of the elevated lines and the possi- are most apparent and important in the many sys- bility of adjusting the street car service in a very wide STREET RAILWAYS. district to feed the elevated lines, so that the latter Of course, if the remarkable growth of travel which would carry passengers for the longer part of their has been brought about by the better service of the journey, simplifies, while at the same time it compli- electric lines could have been foretold in any measure, cates, the situation in Brooklyn. In Chicago, how- a more permanent form of track construction, such as ever, the joint ownership of elevated and surface lines has only come in recent years, would have bee-n de- has proved of great value in reducing car mileage and veloped at a much earlier date. has given a more desirable service to passengers, and The benefits of the electric traction were assumed to the same conditions, but on a larger scale, exist in li 3 chiefly in the possibilities of redaction in operation Ikooklyn. cost, rather than in a direct encouragement of addi- In other cities the problem is more simple, but may tional travel. Naturally, therefore, attention was be relatively as important. In New York City, where turned almost exclusively to the novel features of the on a good many lines the traffic is so great for a good system, such as the questions in connection with the part of the day that the headway of the cars depends generation and distribution of power. A good rail- solely upon the number that can be run on the track, road track, however, is essential to economy in oper- very important savings have been effected by a regu- ating, and this problem has been presenting itself to lation of the car service, after a systematic study of railroad managers with increasing force of late years. the traffic conditions. The service, for instance, on Careful first construction is always repaid, for a ?ood each of the lines on the east and west sides of Central track is easily maintained. AVhat a cheaply built Park in the early hours of the day was practically road saves in first cost is more than made up in the uniform. It was found, however, that the heavy higher operating charges above those necessary where movement of traffic occurred at different hours. The more solid construction is adopted. The many recon- short headsvay service of the east side therefore now structions of electric lines which have been necessary starts at 6 a. m., but that on the west side of the town have emphasized the force of this, and as a conse- not until after 8 a.