Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-07

to the District right to go over the tracks
of existing railroads.
| IN the case Of the Old Dominion Railroad
Company. for instance, the tracks of the
capital Traction Company might not be
used without any further legislation II this
BILL was passed. 1t seemed to him that as
the bill stood any railroad company, with
out legislation, could use any tracks at any
time in the future.
Mr.. Couldren Voices Complaints.
Mr.. F. G. Couldren chairman OF the rail-
road committee Of the Business Mems Asso-
citation, then addressed the subcommittee. He
said that mis- committee had heard COM
plants regarding these lines Of railroad,
especially the City and Suburban and the
Columbia, and they had concluded that the
management is defective by not giving ade-
quate facilities for travel.
we had large number OF business
men," said Mr. Coudren, reliable business
men. not cranks and kickers, but sober, rea-
sonable men, before our committee and
there was a decided opinion that every rea-
son existed for the improvement of the
service. These men complained of running
cars in the winter time over the Columbia
line, one-third close and two-thirdS open.
We concluded that the management of the
road is not satisfactory. 1t seems to us that
1t is impracticable for a committee of Con-
gress to legislate to the number of minutes
apart these cars should run and how these
tions should be established, etc, and that
1T was necessary to have some authority
outside of Congress to pass upon these mat
ters. l understand that one of our District
commissioners, who was In office In former
years, recommended that there be Com
missioner to exercise such authority over
the railroads.
In reply to question, Mr. Couldren said
that the Massachusetts law provides that
railroads shall furnish adequate accommo-
dations for the convenience of passengers
and provides penalty of from $5 to $40
for each failure to do SO. He said that
make such orders to that end as would be
just. He said the Michigan law contained
the same provision.
Question Of Profit
Senator Gallinger suggested that, while
| the citizens were anxious to have better
railroad facilities in the suburbs, at the
same time he presumed that some of these
| roads at least are not paying dividends and
some are not paying actual running ex-
penses. He asked Mr.. Couldren how that
| would affect the proposition.
Mr.. Couldren replied that the existing
corporation which controlled these roads
had purchased them when they knew the
situation and the prospects of the roads,
and that they were under an obligation
to give an adequate service. Even if ii
should take five or ten fifteen years to
put these roads on a profitable basis, citi-
zens should not be made to suffer in the
meantime. because the roads themselves
would eventually reap the reward of profit
able investment. He thought that if the
question suggested by Mr.. Gallinger were
TO be gone into and to have weight with
the committee he should like to have an
opportunity to present the question as to
whether the issue of stock and bonds by
these roads fairly Represented the invest
ment required to equip them.
The Tenleytown Line.
Mr.. L. L. Hooper, principal of a boys
school on the Tenfeytown road, spoke of
the facilities on that road. He said the
schedule has been thirty minutes. except in
| the morning and evening, and they wished
| to make it fifteen minutes as minimum.
He claimed that the company has not lived
up to its charter, and II some way could be
devised to secure a reasonable service he
thought 1t would answer the protests of
people. They wanted cars to run at least
every quarter of an hour. He said that the
suburbs of this city offered splendid advan-
tages for people desiring homes, but the
car service is so bad that the people will
not go there.
Mr.. A. E. Mclaughlin said that the re-
port for 1902 of the railroad company
showed an increase of passenger traffic on
the Brightwood line of 4 1900 passengers a
month. There has been no increase in ia
cilities, he said, to equal that increase of
traffic.
President Dunlop's Statement.
President George T. Dunlop of the Capt.
tai Traction Company was then asked to
| make statement Mr. Dunlop said that
so far as the company was concerned 1t
had been chartered for fortytwo years, and
it had endeavored to give satisfactory serv-
ice to the public at all times
1t had never been held up by Congress
for any failure to do SO. He said it had
done away with horses voluntarily and had
put in a cable line at cost of 4GOD00O.
When it's power house was burned down 1t
equipped with electricity. 1t did every
thing regardless of expense to improve the
service.
II am satisfied" said Mr. Dunlop. that
we give as good service in this city as is
given on any street railroad in the United
States.''
You do came from a chorus of those
present, in approval.
Mr.. Dunlop went on to explain how his
company was fully equipped to provide
either open or closed cars for the proper
accommodation of passengers. 1t had in
spectors stationed at the end of every line
to watch conditions of weather, and 1t
would run in closed cars open ears as
the conditions suggested. Sometimes it
would change them half dozen times
day. Under this bill, he said, it could not
change its cars unless the Commissioners
should approve it, He said that the COM
pany would be hampered to an extent to
upon orders from the Commissioners in or
der to change its methods of operating the
road.
Mr.. Dunlop stated that so far as the heat
ing of cars is concerned, he had more COM
plants that they were overheated than that
they were underheated. There was con-
stantly difficulty about that Sometimes
passengers would open the ventilators in
the cars, and few minutes later other
passengers would close them up They in
structed their conductors not to Interfere
with passengers who did this in the inter
est of an endeavor to please everybody.
I'VE run three-minute cars during twenty
hours on our whole system except the
country line," he said; that is at least
three-minute cars.
The 18th Street Line.
I'm the morning and evening on the I4th
street line we run a one-minute service.
and that is as many cars as it is possible
to run, and 1t is more cars than we can
shift with our present facilities at the
terminus at 14th street. 1t takes a minute
and half to shift a. car. and we manage
to run them minute apart only by run
ming In and out of the harm II, ada,.;... :.