. Electric railway journal . e in the wage account of the obsession on the part of the publicover the fixed 5-cent fare the electric railways were thelast of any of the public utilities to obtain relief by way•of increased fares, and the relief granted was at no timesufficient to offset the increases in the cost of labor andmaterials which had already been incurred. Instead ofbeing able to put into effect rates which would anticipatethe continuing increases in the cost of labor and mate-rials which were obvious to every one, the electricrailway industry was compelled to stand the brun
. Electric railway journal . e in the wage account of the obsession on the part of the publicover the fixed 5-cent fare the electric railways were thelast of any of the public utilities to obtain relief by way•of increased fares, and the relief granted was at no timesufficient to offset the increases in the cost of labor andmaterials which had already been incurred. Instead ofbeing able to put into effect rates which would anticipatethe continuing increases in the cost of labor and mate-rials which were obvious to every one, the electricrailway industry was compelled to stand the brunt ofsuch increases for months before any relief by way ofincreased fare could be obtained. We have literallyfought our way from a 5-cent fare to a 10-cent fare,every step of the road being fiercely contested. Notwithstanding an increase in wages of almost 100per cent and the grossly excessive prices of practicallyall materials, notwithstanding the unreasonable de-ysin securing increases in fares, the electric railways dur-. © Harris £ Eicing, Washinotoii Hon. J. W. Weeks Tivo of the After Charles A. Leedy ■Dinner Speakers ing the period of the war and reconstruction have con-tinued to carry on; they have continued to render anessential service in a most efficient way. They have car-ried countless thousands of workmen, whose daily wageshad increased from 75 to 150 per cent and in some cases200 per cent, to work in factories and industrial under-takings of every nature whose profits exceeded in mostcases anything ever experienced in business before, whilethe electric railways were themselves compelled to fightdesperately for any relief from conditions which, whilethreatening their destruction, were rolling up enor-mous profits to business generally throughout thecountry. Notwithstanding the excessive burdens placed uponthem by the increased wages and cost of material, not-withstanding the ruinous delay in granting of increased fares, notwithstanding the burdensome pavingtax
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