The Washington herald., 1920-04-20
SCENT FARE
WAR ON TODAY
Woods to Introduce Bill in
House Demanding Trac-
ton Merger.
PEPCO ALSO INCLUDED
Measure Imposes Heavy
Tax on Profits and Cuts
Gross Return Levy.
PEPCO ALSO INCLUDED
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

relief from the Scent fare granted
by the Public Utilities Commission n
are being held up pending the re-
turn of Senator Lawrence Y. Sher-
man, of Illinois, chairman of the
District of Columbia Committee,
Senator Jones. of Washington, hav-
ing withdrawn his merger resolu-
ton of few weeks ago pending
full discussion of the subject by
the Senate.
Members of the Senate District
Committee, before whom the Jones
bill to limit fares in the District to
81 cents will come, expressed them
selves practically unanimously in
favor Of either the Jones bill or
some other form of relief from the
street car situation. which, they de-
clare. is fast becoming intolerable.
VIII Fight to Finish.
Emphatic declarations of their in
tention to fsbt the Scent fare to
4 the limit were made yesterday by
Senators Dial, of South Carolina;
King. of Utah; Thomas, of Colorado;
Sheppard. of Texas; Calder. Of New
York, and Jones. of Washington.
Jones declared he is convinced the
only method under which local street
railways will operate efficiently and
economically will be in a unified
system under government control
and that a 6k cent fare will yield
sufficient revenue.
Senator Dial. of South Carolina,
declared he could not express an
opinion as to what the proper fare
should be, but that he believed a
zone system should be established.
1T is question of service rather
than compensation" he said. 'T have
been something of a machinist for
twenty-five years. and 1 know the
whole method of handling the cars.
and the condition in which their
machinery is left is atrocious. No
man could board a street car under
present conditions with any assur-
ance that he would not be held up
anywhere from fifteen minutes to
an hour en- route. Something is al
ways breaking down.
Loss Not Necessary.
II don't want the street car COM
panles to carry me at a loss, and it
Is not necessary. If the Washing
ton Railway and Electric Company
can't get some OF the water out of
its stock. and cease to be a drag
on the other independent companies,
1t is time it gave up the ghost and
went into the hands of a receiver. !"
Senator Thomas, of Colorado. de-
clared the people of the District,
many Of whom are low paid govern
ment employees, cannot stand any
more taxation, especially to save
the carcass of a moribund traction
company. suffering from the effects
OF its own mistakes in piling up
nominal capitalization. while ap-
parently nothing was done to i'm
prove service" Continuing. he said
The situation is scandal and
demands prompt investigation and
action on the part of Congress.
Foresees Ten Cent Request.
Senator King. of Utah, declared
an eight cent fare is too much, and
thinks it is a forerunner to a de-
mand for an increase to nine or
even ten cents.
Il will certainly support legisla-
ton looking to Improvement of the
washington traction situation" he
said, whether the Jones bill is the
most desirable form for this legis-
lation or not"
NoA ser ice is unQueStlOn- -
ably bad" said Senator Pomerene.
OF ohio. Il have not yet had an
opportunity to investigate the yari-
Gus plans for bettering the situa-
ton, but will support any good
measure for the Improvement of
the service"
The new fare increase to eight
cents seems excessive" said SEN
ator Calder. of New York, land
would be an unfortunate addition
to the burdens of working reople
and government employees who live
In the suburbs and must use the
cars. 1 have not yet had a chance
to decide what is best to do about
the matter"
sherman's Views Unknown.
Senator Sherman has not vet
made his attitude known. He has
on former occasions expressed doubt
as to the desirability of public
ownership or operation of any pub-
lie utilities.
Il am not fully acquainted with
the merits OF the case" said SEN
ator sheppard, of Texas, but il is
unquestionable that the traction
system Of the District needs con-
siderable Strengthening out"
Damage suits filed in the Dis
trlct supreme Court show the Can
ital Traction Company has far less
accidents proportionately than the
washington Railway and Electric
Company. This fact has been cited
as one of the reasons for the finan-
cial difficulties of the latter com
pany.
In 1918. when congestion was at
its height ninety-eight suits for
total of s1,314,00O were filed
against the Washington Railway
and Electric Company. During the
same period the Capital Traction
Company was sued twenty-four
times for total of s302,o0o, or less
than one-fourth that of the for
mer.
With the decreasing traffic shown
in 1920 fifteen suits have already
been filed against the washington