Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-12
LOCAL AGENT FARES
House Votes For and Later
Against Them.
THE QUESTION WILL RECUR
HAY Come Up on a Street Railway
Bill Next District Day.
NEW TERM FOR WASHINGTON
Champ Clark Styles It Legislative
Experiment Station - Would
Auction OF Franchises.
THE QUESTION WILL RECUR
NEW TERM FOR WASHINGTON


The debate in the House yesterday after
noon on local street railway conditions con-
tinued with undated vigor after The Stars
report closed An amendment to the Balti-
more and Washington Transit Company
bill, providing for a 4-cent fare or eight
tickets for quarter, was adopted in COM
mttee of the whole, the vote being so to 3d.
Later in the House this vote was reversed
and the amendment was lost. But the tenn
per of the House on the subject or the local
street railway situation was very plainly
shown and only Representative Babcocks
promise that ample opportunity would be
given for the House to deal with the sub
ject next District day, two weeks hence,
kept the storm from growing in fury.
A Legislative Experiment Station.
After The Stars report closed Representa-
tive Champ Clark of Missouri remarked
that the debate, whether it accomplished
anything positive or not, had done a great
deal of good
There is just one way said Mr.. Clark,
''in which the chairman of the committee,
the gentleman from Wisconsin, can settle
this whole thing, and that is to agree 10
get his committee together tomorrow morn
ing and report general 3-cent-fare Dill, ana
then get the committee on rules together
and induce them to give us the right or
way for that bill, because that is Where we
are coming to-.
1T would be a pretty hard job to do
that" cried some member.
Il do not think it would be quite as hard
a Job as you think" retorted Mr.. Clark.
Il have always protested against Congress
sitting as the council of the city of Wash
ington, and l protest yet; but this District
for the rest of the country, and instead OF
this city's being behind all other cities In
all municipal Improvement, it ought to be
ahead of all the other great cites IN that
line. II you are going to continue it as a
legislative experiment station, you ought
to pass some legislation here that has some
good and some sense in it, 1t has been
demonstrated-it is no longer question TO
be debated-that a Scent fare in a great
city is good thing for the people and a
good thing for the street railroads, TOO, pc.
cause 1t increases greatly the numDer o1
persons who do the riding. II Tom John-
son never does another good thing while
he lives in this world. he deserves monu-
ment as high as Washingtoa's for having
forced that gang in the city Of Cleveland to
accept his theories on this kind Of legisla-
ton at least applause
There lie another thing about it that
might as we'll be said here as anywhere
else, and that is that no street railroad
charter in this city or any other great city
of the land ought to have ever been given
to any corporation under the shining SUM-
Every one Of them ought to have been put
up at auction and sold to the highest bid
der. Then Congress ought to legislate fair
ly on the whole subject.
Universal Transfer System.
This proposition of the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Sms), that there shall be
a universal-transfer law passed for the
benefit of the people of the District of Co
lumbia, ought to be agreed to by every man
in this House. 1t is a gross outrage the
way they run it. That is the plain English
of the whole situation For instance, you
ride two or three blocks on the street
line and you run somewhere into this other
line on Pennsylvania avenue-I don't know
the name of one of them from the other.
say that It is worth 5 cents to ride two or
three blocks on one of these cars? AM
other thing about it. You. Mr.. Chairman.
and myself and the most Of US here, II we
are in q hurry, can afford to psy two or
three fares to get eight or ten blocks in
this town and not miss 1t; but you take the
average citizen Of Washington, take these
clerks that they are always talking about
raising the salaries of, and whether they
have to walk half mile or dig down into
their pockets for another nickel to contrib
ute to these street railroad companies is
a very serious proposition for them They
have to count the nickels in order to keep
their heads above water, financially speak
ing. You can bowl this proposition out here
keep this proposition out of this House in
a way lat we will get fair crack at it.
and serve notice on you to that effect
right now"
Another Chance for the House.
II want to say" cried Chairman Babcock
of the District committee, that there is
bill pending before the District committee
that necessarily must be reported at this
session. to which all of these amendments
will be germane, and on which the sense of
the House can be taken, but not on little
suburban line like this. AS to the construc-
ton of this very line except for this Mary
land connection, l would oppose it and in
sst that one of the lines in Washington
build 1t. They will not do 1t unless they are
forced to do it, and these Maryland people
will. There is the situation. But l Will say
further to the gentleman, If you tack these
amendments onto this new construction you
stop it. No one will furnish money or take
the bonds of these lines to build roads on a
3-cent fare on suburban line. Now, l am
only one of eighteen members of the COM
mittee on the District of Columbia, but each
member of that committee will bear me out
in the statement when l say that there will
be before the House an important bill to
which all of these amendments will be ger
name and proper.
"When?" asked Representative Clayton Of
Alabama.
Just as soon as the committee can get it
out" replied the chairman.
"Oh," calculated the gentleman from Ala
bama. with wealth of meaning in his
tone.
81 want to say further" continued Mr..
Babcock that the bill would be before the
House today had it not been for the in
sistence of the different citizens associa-
tons in Washington for further hearings,
and refer to the leader of the minority on
that committee to confirm my statement"
Mr.. Sims Endorsed this statement, and the
following debate ensued:
Mr.. Clark of Missouri-"Mr Chairman
want to ask the gentleman from Wisconsin
question in order to get information.
When is the committee going to report this
general bill?"
Mr.. Babcock-'I am only one .lember out
of eighteen, and should have to have an op.
portunity 20 consult the other seventeen in
order to answer the question"
Mr. Clark-''Does the gentleman from
Wisconsin believe that the bill will be re-
ported?
Report Next District Day.
Mr.. Babcock-"I have every reason to be-
leve that that bill will be on the calendar
the next District day."
Mr.. Clark-"Another question. Suppose
that it turns out that these present princi-
pal railroad corporations Of this town re-
fuse to build this road with a 3-cent fare