The Washington times., 1911-09-19
TRANSFER FIGHT
UP TO DISTRICT
COMMISSIONERS
Burden of Struggle Should
Be Theirs, Attorney
In Wood Says.
CONTINUED from First Page.)

(COQGnueQ FdBc.l
hitherto, notification has been attempt
ed at various times, but the creature
, has never yet succeeded in proving that
It was bigger than its creator, and II
never will.
''The suit now pending, is not merely
to enforce a private right Of the Balt-
but to compel the Capital Traction
Company to carry out public duty
imposed upon it, to carry passengers
over its lines and connecting lines Tor
one fare. This duty is owed to the
ton Company fails or refuses to per-
form it the body which officially repre-
sents the whole public is really the
proper one to see that the performance
of the duty is enforced as soon as pos
sible.
Cost of Long Delay.
'It is true that If the people must
wait for their rights until a final deci-
ZION is secured from the Supreme Court
of the United States at least five years
would elapse before the Capital TraC-
ton Company would be forced to per-
form its duty. That is, supposing the
courts should suspend the enforcement
Of any order they might make until a
final decision was reached by the United
States Supreme Court, meanwhile al
two fares from a passenger instead Of
ore.
In that case, supposing the final de-
cision was against the street railroad,
there would be no way in which tire Ak
ira fares collected could be returned to
the passengers who had been Illegally
compelled to pay them. The traction
company might. and certainly would,
damages, but also exemplary damages
to the complains nts. but that would not
reimburse the men who had paid 20
cents per day fer transportation which
Congress said they should have for 10
cents.
The advantage Of having the District
Commissioners join in the suit would
consist in the fact that then evidence
could be introduced TO show the damage
which would result TO the whole Of the
fUsal of the Capital Traction Company
to perform the 1uty imposed by Con-
gress, while If the suit is brought by
private persons the evidence must prob
ably be, confined to showing the damage
sustained by such persons only.
Case of Ticket Sale.
Congress has said that every street
railroad in the District shall sell and
accept six tickets for a quarter Sup
pose the Capital Traction Company
should conclude that on account of the
high cos; Of living, they would lose
money at this rate of fare and should
get the presidents Of the other roads
to agree that after today they would
only give three tickets for a quarter
instead of six. The roads would, OF
course, claim that to require them to
sell six tickets for a quarter was un-
constitutional and beyond the power OF
Congress, because it would be taking
the property of the roads for public
use without adequate compensation. The
roads in the case supposed would put
up exactly the argument they have ad-
Vanced in the present case.
IF that situation existed, does COM
missioner Rudolph believe 1t would help
matters, II the Commissioners, instead
OF taking immediate steps to compel the
roads to fulfil the duty imposed upon
them by Congress, should decide to
p wait and ask Congress to confer upon
the Commissioners the power to say
how many tickets the roads should sell
for quarter?
But should the roads conclude to
defy Congress by refusing to sell more
than three tickets for a quarter, does
Commissioner Rudolph suppose that tho
people Of the District would have to put
up with that imposition for five years
while awaiting a decision from the Su-
preme Court of the United States? There
are some remedies known to the COM
mon law, which while not often used,
yet still exist to prevent such a pal
pable absurdity. All that is necessary
Is to set them in motion"