Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-02
ALEXANDRIA R AFFAIRS
II 30
State Corporation Commission
in Session Today.
HEARING COMPLAINTS
DEMAND FOR IMPROVED SERVICE
ON ELECTRIC RAILWAY.
Policy of Retrenchment Said to Have
Been Adopted by Company
General Matters.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

VI opSiiflS tiit curt FOOHl aS
gathering of citizens. including many wit
nesses and others who had come out or
general interest in the proceedings. The
determination of the citizens to impress the
commissioners with the fact that the public
is deeply concerned in the matter was evil
dent. When the state board was appealed
to on a previous occasion it was suggested
that the petition lacked weight owing to
the apparent absence of a general backing.
The commission is composed of three
members, Judge Beverly T. Crump and
Messrs. Harry Stuart and Henry Fairfax.
First Assistant Clerk Lanier and Balm ).
w. Williams have been assigned for DUTY
at the present session. 1t is expected that
an evening session will be held and also
that the commission will continue its sit
ting tomorrow morning.
Scope of Investigation.
When the commission convened Judge
Beverly 7. Crump, the chairman, made
statement outlining the scope of the inves-
tigation which the commission was empan-
eled to make into the complaints against
the Washington, Alexandria and Mount
Vernon railroad. Corporation Attorney
Gardner l.. Boothe appeared in the interest,"
of the city council and Attorney Leo +.
Harlow appeared as counsel for the Alexan-
dria and Washington Commuters Assocla-
ton. Attorney r. Walton Moore represent
ed the railroad company.
Mr.. Boothe made preliminary state
ment in which he discussed the complaints
in general against the road and made spe-
cifc requests.
He said the movement was a general pro-
test against a miserable service. Though
the interests of the city and the company,
he thought, should be identical, he charged
the railroad with doing practically every
thing to exasperate the people of Alexan-
dria. He accused the company of breaking
PROMISES rpDp1tpdlV and said that the bad
service had caused many Alexandria people
to move to Washington.
The following are the specific points of
complaint made by Mr.. Boothe: First, In
sufficient trackage and rolling stock; sec
ond, delays in running trains, a period of
from one and a half to two hours being
alleged as not unusual time for the trip
from Alexandria to Washington; third, the
condition of the cars with reference to
cleanliness; fourth, the heating. 1t was al
legged that the company had been almost
criminal in this connection, Notwithstanding
the fact, Mr.. Boothe said, that there was
enough heating apparatus lying idle in the
shops of the company to properly heat all
the cars. He emphasized the Importance of
of life and death Only one new car, he
years. - . = - ~. q
e. Mr.. -Boothe,s Charges 2 -,
The rolling stock of the company" said
Mr.. Boothe, ''ilas been sacrificed to the
dividends He then read from the an
nual report of the company showing the
employment of 125 men I'M Virginia in 1861
Fifty-one passengers were shown to have
been injured that year, as against seven
for the year before.
Mr.. Boothe said that as the people Of
Alexandria put absolutely no confidence in
the promises of the railroad company, he
would ask the tribunal to provide for a
fine of 500 per day for violations of any
order for improvements.
The following specific requests We're
made: First, for at least ten new and we'll
equipped motor cars of fifty horsepower
each, to be put into operation not later
than August l, 1905; second, a double track
from Alexandria to the south end of the
bridge over the Potomac; third the INSTALL
ment of proper heating apparatus in the
cars within the next ten days: fourth, sys-
tematic attention to the roadbeds and
joints, these to be put in approved con-
dftion by July 1, 1905; fifth, the purchase
and operation by the company of modern
snow-sweeper, and, sixth, the storing in
the cars of a surplus supply of lamps to
be used in case of accident to the others
The company's View.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Boothes presen-
tation Mr.. Moore briefly addressed the COM
mission. He recognized the unity of inter-
ests between the city of Alexandria and the
railroad company, saying he thought that
fact an assurance that the company had
not acted in a spirit of opposition to the
city He did not question the existence of
unsatisfactory conditions, but said the COM
pany is anxious for an early conclusion of
the controversy. He said there would be
no croSS-examination of witnesses by I'm,
He desired to see the testimony proceed
as rapidly as possible. Speaking for the
company he said he was able to give most
positive assurances that in the near future
an important change in the management of
the road would take place and that i'm
provements would be made whereby all
the demands of the travelling public would
be met. He promised interurban rail-
way that would be one of the finest in the
country.
Mr. Moore announced that at the con-
clusion of the testimony against the road
the president of the company, Mr.. Charles
p. King, who was then seated beside him.
would take the stand and outline In detail
the plans which had been adopted for the
improvement of the service.
Testimony Introduced.
The hearing of testimony was then
opened. All sorts of deficiencies were al
legged against the company. The cars were
pictured as ramshac kle unsafe and in
sanitary and the system was character
lied as a wretched makeshift in which
neither form nor order prevailed. The
schedule of the road under conditions at
certain periods, asCleclared to be of in
terest as curiosity without practical sig
nificance Business and professional men
testified that their work had greatly suf-
fered through prolonged delays and in
terruptions of traf1cYfor which no reasona-
BILE excuse could be offered, and persons
employed in Washington daily voiced their
grievances in many specific complaints.
There were not lacking those who swore
that they had been made seriously i'll from
exposure and hardships in the travel on
the line.
were Dr. Lindsey, q dentist whose office is
in Washington; Mr., John NJ Reid. ma
chinist, Miss Mary .Grigg. a school teacher
in Arlington; Rev. Robert Massie. pro-
lessor in the Episcopal Theological Semin-
airy: Mr. T. III. Netherland, the president of
the Commuters Association, and many 9TH
ers These read from notes that they had
taken at various times, describing bad con-
ditions on the line. DR.. Lindsey gave in
stances of cars without any heat and Miss
Grigg told of occasions in January when
she had ridden In an open summer car on
branch line in the most severe weather.
Considerable exact evidence was given by
Mr. Netherland, who had taken close notes
on the condition of affairs for the past
few months.
The hearing was In progress when this re-
port closed A session will probably be
held this evening and another may follow
tomorrow.
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