250 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Feb. 12,

pay the heavy taxes imposed by the city. There is, there-
fore, no dispute as to the binding force of the city ordinances
providing for the tax, nor as to the further fact that the
several roads were constructed with the clear understanding
that the tax was to be exacted. The real question at issue is,
whether there are not considerations affecting the best in-
terests of the public which call for a material 'modification
of a pernicious system of taxation, inaugurated by the city of
Baltimore, in the matter of Street Railways. Tour Memori-
alist respectfully suggest that the statistics of other States
show that there is no city in the United States, of equal
population, where Street Railways have been constructed,
that has not four or jive cars for every one in operation in
Baltimore. There are cities, with a population not exceeding
100,000, having nearly as many street cars in daily operation
as are now run in and about the city of Baltimore. In all
these cities, Companies are permitted to charge as high, and,
in some, much higher fares, than here. But nowhere else are
the Companies required to pay to city or State any portion of
their receipts, or subjected to any rate of taxation other than
that imposed upon like property or interests.

Your Memorialist is no advocate of an increased fare—on
the contrary, it is believed that neither for the Companies nor
for the Park Fund should an increase in the fare be tolerated,
and the effort of your Memorialist has been to keep the fare
somewhat below the maximum allowed by the ordinance. In
like manner, our cars have been run at intervals of four and
five minutes during the busy hours of the day ; and we should
regret to find ourselves driven to an abandonment of what Ave
are confident should be the policy of Street Railways, and to
lessen the frequency of our trips, and to charge the maximum
rate of fare.

It is now well recognized that to constitute these Street
Railways real conveniences to the business public, economis-
ing time and thereby expediting business, cars must be run at
good speed, and short intervals, for low rates of fare. These
conditions it is impossible to comply with, under the present
system. Elsewhere than in Baltimore, "short intervals"
means one to three minutes. Here no Company has been
able to run cars at seven or eight minutes, without loss—and
on some of the city lines, the intervals are nine and ten
minutes.

It is confidently asserted, and your Memorialist is prepared
to make good the assertion by proof, that the present partially
developed, and languishing condition of the Street Railway
enterprise in Baltimore city, is mainly owing to the fact that
the convenience and rights of the public, have been subordi-
nated to a supposed necessity of maintaining an enormous