The Washington times., 1920-01-09
Five Points in Bill.

Five points in the Commissioner
bill which tends to better street car
service in the District are:
A merger Of the street railway COM
panies.
A change in the form Of taxation
of street railway companies from one
based on gross receipts to one based
on operation income.
Creation of contingent fund TO
be made up of taxes paid by the rail
way companies. This contingent fund
to be used from time to time att the
direction of the Public Utilities Com
mission to lay additional tracks or
for any purpose tending to improve
car service.
To relieve the street railway COM
panies of the burden now imposed
upon them of paying the entire cost
of maintaining street railway cross
ing policemen.
To permit public utilities in the
District to finance needed extensions
by the issue of additional stocks.
The bill will also make it possible
for the consolidation OF the Washing
ton Gas Light Company and the
Georgetown Gas Light Company.
The portion of the bill relating to
tha-.merger is the most important
ers. The communication TO Chairman
Mapes explains the advantages in de-
tail of a consolidation of the two
street railway companies, and cites
the various petitions presented by the
Company for higher street car fare.
"The Commissioners are firmly OF
the opinion that ideal street car serv-
ice cannot be furnished in the Dis
trict until all the companies are
brought under one head" says the
letter of the Commissioners, either
through single ownership or through
single operation. To make this pos
sible the bill authorizes a merger
OF the street railway companies on
the basis of the valuations found by
the Public Utilities Commission un-
der the law creating that commission.
This legislation will also permit the
merger of the two gas companies.
These companies are now practically
in common ownership, but are hand
capped by the requirement of law
that each maintain separate cor
poration existence
VIII Improve Service.
The Commissioners are anxious tina
a fund be created, to be made up from
the taxes derived from the two rail
way companies, to be used by the
utilization commission to improve
iervice by spending the money on new
tracks or to make loans to the rail
way companies. In asking for the es-
tablishment OF this fund the commits
sioners also request a change in the
form of taxation.
Section 1 of the bill provides for
the repeal of the existing tax OF 4
per cent on the gross receipts OF the
street railway companies and substi t
tutes therefor a Graduated tax upon
operating income In excess OF per
cent on the fair value &, e property
of the company as determined by the
Public Utilities Commission under the
provisions OF the act OF 1919" says
the commission. "The new tax would
take one-half OF all operating income
in excess of per cent and not eN
ceeding per cent, and three-fourths
OF all operating income in excess OF
per cent on the fair value as so de-
termined. The term operating in
comes Is defined with precision.
"As the value of the privilege
which the various street railroads en-
Joy in the streets OF the District OF
Columbia is not in any sense meas
ured by the gross receipts, taxes
based thereon are ineduitable and un-
just. II Is true that this ineauity has
existed for a great many years. but
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