Evening star., 1921-07-22
Committee Adopts Amend.
ment Barring Power Inter-
ests From First Combine.
WOULD ALLOW. ELECTRIC
COMPANY TO JOIN LATER
Efforts to Get Favorable Report on
Woods Bill Fail Under
Opposition. -

Efforts to get favorable report on
the Woods bill to induce q voluntary
merger Of the. street railway COM
panies in Washington through levy
ing an excess profits tax on the earn
ings OF the companies failed today
after the bill had been amended and
approved paragraph by paragraph
up to the last section.
The point Of order that a quorum
was not present was then raised by
representative Hammer Of: North
Carolina. because some Of the mem :
bers strongest in opposition to the
Woods bill had left the committee. and
final action could not be taken. Con-
sideration of the Woods bill was
made the order Of speciaH business at
the next meeting of the committee
on Monday morning at 10 o'clock.
Strong opposition to the proposed
merger of the Potomac Electric Power
Company with the Washington Rail-
way and Electric Company or a mer-
ger Of both street car companies was
voiced at the meeting both by repub-
lican and democratic members. Rep
resentative Walters of Pennsylvania.
republican. was one of those strongest
in opposition to the merger of public
utilities performing different kinds Of
service.
For Better Service.
The most important amendment pro-
posed to the Woods bill was fathered
by Representative Lamper: 6: Wiscon-
sin. who said that he ls opposed to
the Woods bill and that his object is
to get legislation passed which will
give better service at lower street car
farce to the people of Washington.
The Lampert amendment would pro-
hibit the meXser of the Potomac Elec-
tric Power Company and the Wash
ingtoH Railway and Electric Com
pany and allow the Potomac Electric
Power Company to come into a merger
only after the street car compa Iins
had been merged. The vote on this
amendment was 9 to L. Those in ia
vor were Representatives Focht of
Pennsylvania. Wheeler of Illinois.
Zihlman of Maryland. Lampert of Wis
consin. Walters Of Pennsylvania.
Sproul of Illinois. Fitzgerald of Ohio.
Hammer of North Carolina and Kunz
Of Illinois. The four who voted in
opposition were, Representatives Reed
Of West Virginia. Millspaugh Of Mis-
s0uff. Woods of Virginia and BFowu
of Tennessee.
Representative Woods. author Of the
bill, fathered an amendment. which
was unanimously adopted. writing
into the measure specific provision
that the Public Utilities Commission
would still have full power to pre-
scribe rates for the different kinds
Of public utility service.
Woods bill would relieve the street
car companies from the cost of MAIN
tanning traffic policemen, and from
the cost OF paving the roadway with
in their tracks 1t also allows the
street car companies a net earning
Of per cent on a fair valuation of
the property as determine ed by the
Public Utilities Commission before the
excess profits tax Of 80 per cent is
levied.
Would Dispose of Stock.
Representative Walter endeavored
to put through a substitute for the
Lampert amendment. His proposal
would direct the Washington
Railway and Electric Company to disa
pose of the shares Of stock it now
holds in the Potomac Electric Power
Company, either by sale, approved by
tributed pro rata among thenstockhold-
ers. He said: 1T is not right to have
two public utilities giving different
kinds Of service united. 1 think it
would be better for the street car COM
pany not to have the earnings of a
prOntaDle utility uSeu 10 Keep allVe III
Improbable utility"
Representative Hammer of North
Carolina argued that If the Potomac
Electric Power Company is allowed
to merge with the street car COM
pany it only means an opportunity for
increasing the charge for electric
lighting to forty-five thousand pa
irons in the National Capital.
Representative Woods gave two
principal seasons for urging his bill.
He said that the chief inducement to
the Capital Traction Company to join
in a merger of the street car COM
panies would be to get the valuable
part of the Washington Railway and
Electric property, which Is the Poto-
mac Electric Power Company. In re-
gard to the change in system of tax
es, he said. it was not right to allow
one company to receive an unreason-
able return, now 10 or IL per cent, so
that the other company could be kept
alive -
I'VE ought to put the saddle on the
horse that Is able to bear it and in
justice ought to bear it: relieving
some Of the load from the weaker
concern" said Mr.. Woods.
Representative Blanton of Texas
argued that the Woods bill offers sub
sidies to the street car companies in
an effort to induce them to MERGE
A number of other amendments
were made to the bill, but they were
in the nature of perfecting amend
ments in conformity with the princi-
pie of the amendments mentioned
above.
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