The Washington times., 1921-07-17
q
D. c. HEADS
AT ODDS ON
FARE GUT
CONTINUED from First Page)

CONTINUED from First PageD
ton replied In the affirmative. asked
him what he meant when he told him
Thursday. after the last hearing on
the street car situation. to keep out
of a merger"
Clayton replied that he meant a
merger Of the Washington Railway
snd Electric Company and the Poto.
mac Electric Power Company. After
this answer Hamilton asked him what
the president of the Capital Traction
Company had to do with a merger OF
the railway and the lighting company,
and said that he understood him Ia
mean merger of the Capital Traction
Company and the Washington Rail.
way and Electric Company. and that
his remark to him could mean moth.
ing else but that.
Woman Attacks Board.
Mrs. Mary w. johnson, OF the Fed
Grafton of Women's Clubs, told the
commission that 1t exceeded it's power
when II allowed fare which gave the
Capital Traction Co. return of more
and only allowed the Washington Rail
way & Electric Co. 9 per cent. The
public utilities law, she said. made II
mandatory that each company get a
fair return, but the commission ex
ceeded its authority. she claimed, when
II gave one company 10 per cent and
the others per cent. She said that the
rates should be changed and made ef
fective at once. She also denounced
the dirty condition of the cars of the
Washington Railway & Electric Go.
In speaking for lower fare, Mrs
Johnson said that poor people could no
longer take an outing on the street
cars as had been the custom in former
years. because twas not an outing for
any woman to hang on to a strap with
several children clinging to her skirts
She said that the commission had dis
eliminated In the matter OF fares and
that the discrimination was not In
favor of the people.
r. r. Janson, representing the
navy yard workers, quoted Major
Oliver p. Newman in an article In
The Times. In which he said the ION.
system was nothing more than an
increase in fare. He said that Major
Newman had the right viewpoint, and
that IL was time for the corporations
10 fall in line with the Government 4
attitude of economy and not ask for
q larger fare. He said that the
workers I'm the Navy Yard, in adj
ton to losing the $40 bonus on July
I. were losing an additional 1900 u
year by being forced to loaf one day
"A week. He ridiculed the Washing
ton Railway and Electric argument
that II needed more money because
the population OF Washington had
been reduced by the loss OF war work,
and asked whether. IL the disarn,a.
neut plan went through for all ma.
tions, the Navy Yard was closed, and
the workers left the city, they would
again ask for an increase in fares
He said that he was not preachins
socialistic doctrines when ne told the
corporations that they must under,
stand the. attitude of the working
man better. He said the coming sys
tenn would destroy the hope of the
workfngman going into the suburbs
for a home.
Evan Tucker, president. of the
Northeast Citizens Association, argued
against the zone system and said his
organization was In favor OF equal
fares for both companies. He said
consolidation of both companies was
the only real solution of the problem.
Charles T. Clayton, chairman OF the
public utilities committee OF the
Columbia Heights Citizens Associa-
ton, said he opposed the consolidation
OF the Capital Traction Company and
the washington Railway and Electric
Company In any fare solution, and
that each should be considered sepa-
rately. Edward w. Turner, of the
Brookland Citizens Associa ton. pre-
sented brief. and other representa-,
tives OF citizens ASSOCIATIONS spoke.