The Washington herald., 1920-03-24
W.R.& E.TODROP
SUBSIDIARY
i LINES
Will Get Rid of White
Elephant" Rather Than
Go to Receivers.

That the Washington Railway
and Electric Company will drop its
white Elephant" subsidiary lines
sooner than go into the hands of
| receivers was told to the Public
Utilities Commission yesterday by
William F. Ham. the roads presi-
dent, at a hearing on the company's
request for increased fares.
Ham also declared the company
Is planning to spend nearly s1,OOO,-
0O0- on improving it's roadbed this
year. and like amounts for the next
five years. provided they are granted
an increase in fares. Neither these
improvements nor any increases in
wages to employees will be made If
their request is turned down, he
said.
Asked About Absorption.
Hams statement about the sub
sidiary lines was made after W..
Mckay Clayton. attorney for the
Federation of Citizens Associations.
had asked him why the Washington
Railway and Electric Company. in
absorbing all of the smaller lines as
authorized under the act of 1900,
did not make them an integral part
of their system as provided by the
act?
Indication was given by Engineer
Commissioner Kutz, president of the
commission, that the question of
zone fares on both the Capital Trac-
tion and Washington Railway and
Electric Company would be given
consideration in the latter's appeal
for relief. Ham declared any in
crease in fares given his company
shoSld also be given the Capitar
Traction line.
Explains the Need.
Asked by George a. Ward. of the
Columbia Heights Citizens AssocIa-
tion, how he arrived at such a con-
clusion when the latter company
had indicated that it was not seek
ing increased revenue and did nor
need it, Ham declared that increased
loads on that line would so deprecf-
ate its equipment as to injure its
value to the public.
Ham declared that his company
absolutely had to have more revenue
in order to exist and told the COM
, mission that it was just as much
required by law to increase rates
| when the company revenues de-
manded 1t, as II was to see that the
company did not gouge the public.
He said the public's attitude to-
ward the company in the last
eighteen months had ruined its
credit and that the 4 per cent bonds
are now selling at SO and its per
cent bonds at Ss, the par value
being 100. He further declared that
althoush the company is now earn
Ing ia per cent net on its yalua-
tlon TINS amount does not take care
of the fixed charges. He also de-
clared prices on supplies had in
| creased from to 20 per cent since
! last fall.
Has Improved Service.
1t seems inconceivabIe to me-" he
| said, that the commission would
permit the company to operate
without sufficient revenue"
He stated that the company had
been spending money to improve Its
service on the assumption that the
commission would grant increased
revenue.
I'm the fourteen months between
September. 1918. and Octobe- 81.
1919, we have been almost continu-
ally before the commission asking
for relief. In that time we have
served the public as best We knew
how and our revenues have been
sS36,565.S1 less than enough to give
| us a sc per cent return.
Employees have been treated lib
orally and as far as the public is
concerned we have spent money and
| EFFORT to give them good service.
, In the last few months accidents
have decreased 40 per cent and de-
tentions SO per cent, and / think
J there is a disposition on the part
of our employees to treat the publ C
as the public should be treated
Might Give StiIi Better.
|. When asked by Clayton if the
| company could have given any bet
ter service to the public had il re-
ceived the $eS6.565.s1 required to
| aggregate a 6 per cent dividend,
Ham declared it might have been
able to give better service in the
matter of increased facilities.
q. Thomas Dunlop. attorney for
the Capital Traction Company, ap-
peared before adjournment and
asked that, to save time. the COM
mission take the testimony of Cap
ital Traction officials at the former
hearing as part of the record for
this.