The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1913-01-11
CITIZENS CHARGE
FAVOR|T|SM SHOWN
ON FALLS RATES
Head of Road Admits Ex-
cursion Parties Furnish
Most Business.

When cross-examination of +. c.
Wright, president of the Washington
and Old Dominion Railroad. IS re-
sumed before the Interstate Com
merce Commission on Monday. Mr..
Wright will be asked why. on his
own showing. his road is carrying
diplomats from Washington to Great
Falls and back at lower rate than
he Is bringing and returning Great
Falls commuters. President Crowcll.
of the Old Dominion Citizens Asso-
citation. has asked John B. Daish. at
torney for the protesting commuters.
to put this question to Mr.. Wright.
Mr.. Wright testified that the prin-
cipal excursion business in the win
ter months from here to Great Fails
Is In carrying parties from the lega-
tons The rate is IS cents FOR the
and back the charge is As cents.
Transfer Clearing Houses.
Mr. wright's testimony brought forth
for the first time a statement that sew
eral little clearing houses for transfers"
had been established in Georgetown,
prior to the advance in rates, with
Cherrydale as the basing point, last
fall. He strenuously denied that Cher
rydale wkas chosen as the basing point
for rating Communication tickets, with
the object Of defeating the jurisdiction
Of the Interstate Commerce Commission,
and said that II was chosen on account
Of these transfer clearing houses having
sprung UP.
On the other hand the prosecution is
ready to point out that rates between
several Virginia suburbs on the line are
now proportionately higher than rates
from these points to Washington.
On cross-examination Mr.. Wright adj
mitted that his road was much more
extensively conducted than was neces-
sary. and said that had he built 1t he
would have used forty-eight..pound rails
instead Of the seventy-pound employed.
Determinations Admitted. -.
Several apparent determinations as
between the various kinds of commuta-
ton tickets, and also as between the
Communication tickets and the one way
and round trip tickets, were armitted
by Mr.. sWright. He sought to excuse
these on the ground that they were
necessary by elimination of fractions.
1t was shown that as between two
places. paying the same one way and
round trip ticket to Cherrydale, a pas
senger at one Of the places could, by
buying twenty-five trip ticket save "a
cents, while at the second place the pas
senger you'd lose q cents in buying
twenty-five-trip ticket. In other words.
the twenty-1ve-trip ticket is favorable
to certain localities while disadvantage
GUS to others.
OF the local rates, Mr.. Wright said
that they are within the maximum al
lowed by the Virginia railroad commits
sion in the Southern railway case In
that case the Virginia railroad commits
sion was eating under the law permit
ting 21a cents per mile.
Where Rates Differ.
While it was not distinctly pointed out,
yet 1t appears that the Interstate rate
between Washington and Cherrydale is
somewhat less than a cent per mile,
while the rate between CherrydaIe and
other points In Virginia on the same
line Is ~ cents per mile.
1t clearly developed that the copten-
ton Of the road is that Its rates cannot
be reduced because the road has not
paid dividends. This viii raise, II is
said. the interesting question whether
or not dividends are guaranteed by the
Constitution to a common carrier.