Hi, many years ago, I asked for a -dcrop options for SVG for a very similar usecase: adding SVG images to a website (a markdown extension in particular). It was then implemented some time later and I was happy with it (with my single line scores). It might be that Étienne Beaulé implemented it, but that is just a guess from a distant memory - git could surely tell.
I am writing that here, because I’d like to add that as far as I remember, the intention for -dcrop was like Trevor explained and the removal of inter-system white-space seems like an accident to me. Cheers, Joram