Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-08
DEBATED IN SENATE
Discussion of the Gallinger
Public Utilities Bill.
WILL BE TAKEN UP DAILY
Proposed to Push It to 9 Final Vote
at Early Date.
CONSIDERED FOR TWO HOURS
Common Use of Tracks, Ownership
of Stock and Depreciation Fund
Occupy Attention.
FOR TWO HOURS

AS the unfinished business OF the Sem
Of a public utilities commission to the
District Commissioners and imposing
strict regulations for the public utilities
in the National Capital will come up each
day in the Senate for consideration. MI
merous amendments to the bill, suggest
ed by different senators, are to be put
into proper form: and Senator Gallinger
in charge OF the bill, has announced that
he will push it to a final vote within a
short time.
The bill was considered by the Senate
for two hours yesterday, the committee
amendments-one excluding steamboat
lines on the Potomac from the operation
of the bill and the other eliminating the
prohibition against the acquiring of stocks
or bonds of one public utility by an
other unless authorized by existing law
or in writing by the proposed public util-
ity commission-were agreed to and the
bill was read in full.
Suggestions that another cross-town
line to accommodate lines from Wire in a,
to run between F street and U street
that the Pennsylvania avenue tracks
should be used by more than one street
railway line, that the existing interoWn-
ership of public utilities should be dis.
continued, and that the pubic utilities
commission should be separate and DIS
tinct from the board of District Com
mssioners enlivened the proceedings yes.
terday. But none of the suggestions was
acted upon by the Senate.
Common Use Of Tracks.
Senator Williams Of Mississippi was the
first to question a provision of the bill
as it came from the committee. 1t was
in connection with that provision thai
every public utility in the District hav-
ing tracks, conduits, subways. poles
wires. switchboards. exchanges, works Oh
other equipment snail for a reasonable
compensation permit the temporary use
of the same or permanent use for q dis.
lance not exceeding $500 feet by any
other public utility. when necessity re.
quires.''
why did the committee limit that pro.
vision to $50 feet?" Senator Williams
wanted to know.
That is an arbitrary distance" Sen.
ator Gallinger replied. ION the one hand
there were those who contended that We
ought not to compel one company to &C
over the tracks of another, and, on the
other hand, there was q contention tina,
they ought to be permitted to do SO with.
out restriction. After very careful con.
sideration on the part OF all parties in in.
terest it was decided that there Nigh,
we'll be a restriction. the Commissioners,
contending, however, that they thought
1t ought to be 5000 feet, because thai
would serve the purpose In q particula,
place in the District where they wanted
one, c0mpany's cars to run over the track.
of another, but it was finally determined
TO put $500 feet In the biI-which Is al
most half a mile-thinking that woul(
ansW'es every contingency that mighl
arise. -
Senator Williams was not satisfied
The reason l asked the question wa.
this, he remarked. THE bill pro
vides that when one company does us,
the tracks of another, temporarily o,
permanently, it shall pay due compen.
sation for 1t. The distance from thu
Treasury building, let us say, to thu
Capitol is much more than $500 feet
1t is very probable that very man,
lines may in the course Of time have
to run over that space, because it form.
the central artery of the town, from
the White House to the Capitol, and II
would be out of all reason to allow any
more tracks to be laid on Pennsylvania
avenue or on 18th street than are al.
ready laid. There is double track
there now. 1t seems to me the limit
fixed in the bill ought to be sufficient
at any rate, to cover that distance"