Low-Fare Nolan

The late, great James Couzens of Michigan had two pet political ideas: Federal taxation of tax-free securities (which made up 98% of his $34,000,000 estate) and municipal ownership of Detroit's street railway. When U. S. Senator Couzens died in 1936, the bulk of his income was still free of taxes (and would still be today). But his municipal ownership idea had long since borne fruit.

Jim Couzens was mayor of Detroit in 1922 when the city bought Detroit United Railway (for $19,850,000). He was in the Senate, and Detroit Street Railways was running in the black when a husky onetime track material checker named Frederick Albert Nolan became its operating boss in 1934.

Since then Fred Nolan has kept his heavy undershot jaw set for his two favorite principles: 1) that transportation, like any other commodity, must be cheap to be sold in quantity and at a profit; 2) that transportation must follow population.

Today Detroit's streetcar fare is 6-c-. Fares on 22 of its 35 bus lines have been reduced from 10-c- to 5-c- and Fred Nolan plans to slash all of them to a nickel as soon as he can persuade the city administration to authorize it. His ideal is a transportation system which makes no citizen walk more than a block from his home to the bus or streetcar.

For 1934, the year General Manager Nolan took charge, the line's net income was $1,181,587, and its fixed charges were earned 1.61 times. At the end of the 1939 fiscal year, net income had hit $2,030,033 and the line had earned its charges 2.26 times. It also paid $743,022 in taxes. Its wage scale went up with income and today Detroit Street Railways' platform men, operating 1,269 busses, 1,302 streetcars, are paid an average of 81-c- an hour, highest in the U. S.

Smartest of the Nolan promotions are four parking lots, away from the business district, where Detroiters can park their cars for 15-c-, go downtown and back for another 15-c-, save parking troubles downtown. Another good one is a New Year's Eve service for drunks: D.S.R. busses deliver tipsy roisterers to their front doors for 10-c-.

Last week, out for public support for his 5-c- fare, Fred Nolan tried out another one: two-and three-hour "fresh-air cruises" for Detroiters in D.S.R. busses to River Rouge Park and other local beauty spots. The fare: 15-c- for adults, 10-c- for children. First night five busses were used, the second 13. Smart Fred Nolan prepared to throw into D.S.R.'s fresh-air cruises all the equipment that was needed.

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