Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-08
THREE-CENT FARE
Another Hearing on Mr.. Berry's Bill
by House Committee.
Mr.. TRUBSDELL MAKES A STATEMENT
Says That Such Action Would Be
Practical Confiscation.
SOME OTHER REMARKS S

The House District committee continued
| the hearing this morning on the bill, intro
| duced by Mr.. Berry of Kentucky, for g.
| cent fares in this city, all-night cars and
vestibules on the front end of the cars.
Mr.. George Truesdel, the president of the
| Washington Traction and Electric Com
pany. appeared before the committee to op-
| pose the bill Mr. Truesdell read the COM
| mittee extracts from a recent letter ad-
| dressed to Capt. Beach, Engineer Commits
| sioner of the District. upon this bill. In the
course of the latter Mr.. Truesdell read the
| following statement, which he desired to
have recorded as part of his argument to-
| day:
Mr.. TrueSdeIls Statement.
1.-The District of Columbia has today the
| most modern best-constructed and best
equipped street car system, and the cheap
est, best and most convenient street car
service in the world For a single fare of
1-6 cents passenger can ride eleven
miles. with a free transfer privilege at nu-
merous places, enabling him to reach al
most any point 1t is generally admitted
that our roads are mechanically and cleo
trically perfect the state of the art
will admit. Congress authorized and re-
quired their construction, and prescribed
| the conditions upon which they were to be
built and operated, and fixed the rate of
fare.
1t invited capital to come into the District
of Columbia and undertake the work, which
has been well and perfectly done. with the
belief that as long as the laws in force here
were duly observed the companies would be
protected in all their legal rights. The cap
italists who accepted in good faith the invi-
tation of Congress have complied with all
the conditions of the invitation. and have
done much more than they required
to do. They have established a transfer
system. liberal and extended in its provis-
ions, resulting in increased accommo modations
to the public al greatly reduced rates.
Now. under the reserved right to alter,
amend or repeal, Congress is asked to pass
a bill which, however well intended would
destroy the value of the properties as COM
pletely as If the franchises We're taken
away, and serve a notice to the world that
persons who invest their money in street
railways street railway securities in the
District of Columbia do at great peril.
under such law, and it would result inev-
itably in lower wages to street railway
employees or bankruptcy
Bad Thing for the District.
Mr.. Truesdell said it would be a bad thing
for the District if this bill should pass, be-
cause 1t would be notice served upon the
investors of capital to keep away from Dis
trict of Columbia street railways.
At the outset of his remarks Mr.. Trues-
dell said he desired to correct statement
made by Mr.. Berry at yesterdays hearing
to the effect that the railroad company had
made an arrangement with the herdic
company by which the old three-cent fares
were abolished and passengers were re-
quired to pay the same rate charged upon
the street cars. Mr.. Truesdell said that
combination had been made with the
har6ic that the railroad had
connection with it except an arrangement
for the exchange Of free transfers.
The Suburban Roads.
Mr.. Truesdell told of the suburban roads
which had been obtained by the syndicate,
and said that not one of the roads in the
syndicate outside Of the Metropolitan and
the Columbia, had ever earned dollar of
dividend. The syndicate had built seventy
miles of road outside the city. One was
now being constructed to Rockville, the
Great Falls road was being double-tracked,
and bridges, to cost 100000, put in. By the
early spring all of these lines will be upon
basis of mechanical excellence.
Mr.. Truesdell said that the company had
established free transfer system, which is
practically as nearly universal as it can be
made. Precaution had to be taken, of
course, to prevent an abuse of this system.
He said that Washington now had the
largest Underground railway system IN the
world. He said it had been put in at an
expense of millions of dollars. Three-cent
fares, no transfers, might not be disastrous
to the roads, but even that was doubtful.
He said the scheme Of the company is to
distribute the riding population, to get the
people into the suburbs where they will
have to ride, and TO extend the excursion
business. Mr.. Truesdell said that there IS
not s. t-eet railroad in the District of Co
lumbia that could live under this bill The
measure simply provides to destroy the
finest street car system in the world.
Simply COnfscation.
This bill is simply confscation,'' said Mr..
Truesdell. "If it passes the only thing for
us to do is to cut down the wages of en-
p!oyes. don't believe that would save u.s."
Mr. Truesdell doubted if the committee
could go before the House and urge the
bill on the claims that had been made in its
favor. He said that Mr.. Berry admitted
that he had never read the reports of the
companies and knew nothing of the prop
critics.
Touching the question of vestibules. Mr..
Truesdell said he did not oppose them on
the score of expense. His experience on the
lexington line had been that they were not
desirable. The motormen did not like them
He thought that yestibuleS ought to be
prohibited by law from being placed on
cars running on crowded thoroughfares
Mr.. Truesdell said, however, that if the
committee could examine the subject could
mony from practical experience about it
and then decide that vestibules should be
put on, he would interpose no objection.
LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM.