Trolley car redux
by Charles C. Hall, Ed.D

"Give the public the color (of the car) it wants so long as it's black."

--Henry Ford

Americans' love affair with the automobile has never waned over the hundred years of its introduction. On the contrary, it has only deepened. Cars have always been glamorized and extolled as the mark of individual freedom. By 1926, a Model T could be had for a mere 260 bucks. That figure translated in today's economy works out to approx sixteen thousand. Many more people today are financially able to shell out 16K than our counterparts of the `20s for a $260 Ford. We were more of an agrarian culture compared to the current group-think.

Previously I mentioned the unlawful conspiracy between Standard Oil, General Motors, and Firestone Rubber Company in undermining the widespread use of the trolley car as a means of mass transportation. Due to space constraints, I was unable to explore on the motivations of those three modern day "robber barons." The story is right out of Teddy Roosevelt's Trust Busting days.

The three biggies formed a consortium which bought up the trolley lines in fortyfive major U.S. cities and proceeded to tear up or pave over the rails on which the trollies moved. The consortium bribed local officials when necessary with underthe table cash, and promising other perks such as campaign contributions, and in some cases free busses, fuel and tires for a period certain.

Also, the demise of the loveable trollies was a class issue. The elite hated to share rides with the riff-raff of the city - meaning blacks and common laborers. They made such a fuss (because they had the clout) that mayors and council members bowed to the "public will" and sold out the general population without the blink of an eye - except maybe a wink.

People were moving from the slum-plagued cities to the suburbs. Those who could afford them purchased the automobile. The feeling of the power of independence of car owners was enormous. They began to demand better roads, more service stations, shops and parking spaces. These demands required cities to allocate public monies to placate the few over the many.

As an example, from 1947-1970, the combined expenditures of local, state and federal revenues exceeded 249 billion for the automobile, bus and truck traffic while a mere one percent was spent on urban mass transit. That "great darling" of the right - Ronnie Reagan, actively discouraged the use of passenger trains, extolling the car as the "last great freedom. "

You may surmise that all these shady deals, and political one-sided support of the auto are un-American. You'd be wide of the mark. Blatant fraud, selling out, and such are as American as apple pie and Grandma. It has always been "the American Way." It's called "capitalism, " the tried and true "can do" spirit - get what you can, when you can and as much as you can, courtesy of our great uncle, Uncle Sam.

Europe decided on a far different route to fame. Its mass manufacturing facilities were much smaller than those of the U.S. Car makers had small shops, built smaller cars, in fewer numbers which were more efficient fuel users and less poluting. They also enhanced their mass transit systems, built subways and comfortable way-stations. The consequence of all these factors enlivened their cities while our major cities fell into disrepair, and many eventually dried up completely.

The decisions which a nation as a whole makes determine its future. All those "bad decisions" made yesterday and beyond eventually return in stark contrast to what we expected when made. There is probably no way to revive Detroit, Pittsburgh, so on and so forth to the vibrant communities of the past. Many smaller cities are in the same fix. When passenger train service disappeared, many interesting communities died along with train travel. Freight trains also fell silent, except for the milelong, ore-hauling behomeths. The proliferation of Mack, Freightliners, and semis took over when freight trains found themselves in the "bone yard." The mails, too, once moneymakers for freights, succumbed to air freight.

That's progress, they say, but it proved to be a steep decline to the neighborhoods which bound communities together. The General Store was overwhelmed by the mega complex offering lower prices and more choices, with one exception. Does the clerk at the local food store know your name and call you by it when you visit it? Hey! It's herd `em up and move `em out, as if we were cattle!

When I was about six years of age, Mom called the little grocery store in the tiny community of Wolf Creek, outside Greenville, and asked Mr. Jaco if he had any vanilla wafers. She had a banana pudding in her crosshairs. Mr. Jaco said, "No Ma'm, Mrs. Hall, but I just got in a new batch of Saltine crackers." You see, Mr. Jaco was simply trying to be helpful and friendly. He knew all his patrons by name. So it goes ....