Evening star., 1922-02-25
11TH-HOUR APPEAL
FOR TROLLEY FARE
OF 4FOR 25 CENTS
Clayton Claims Commission
Has No Right to Discrim-
mate in Rate.
SAYS UNIFORM CHARGE
WOULD END COMPETING
Declares Capital Traction Patrons
Should Not Pay Because W.
R. & E. Co.'s Costs Higher.

An eleventh-hour. appeal for re-
duction of the fare to four tokens
for 25 cents on the lines of the Cap
ital Traction Company was made to
the Public Utilities Commission to-
day by William NICK. Clayton. chair
man of the utilities committee of the
Federation of Citizens Associations.
Mr.. Clayton told the commission
in a memorandum filed this morning
that it has no legal right to regard
the two companies as one for pur-
pose of fixing a rate Of return or es-
tablishing a fare. His petition ar
gued:
THE public utilities law nowhere
the law a matter of public policy as
controlling the text of the law itself.
Chartered aS Competitors.
''The two railway companies were
chartered as competing companies
and have always been so recognized
by Congress and have always claimed
to be so when before the commission
any act of the commission tending
to destroy the competitive character
of the roads is against the interest of
the public and against the spirit of
the letter of the law.
The law nowhere directs the COM
mission to protect one company
against the competition of the other.
The law expressly forbids dis
criminatory rate, and to fix fare
higher on one road than the evidence
and the law justify in order TO permit
the patrons of the other road TO OBJ
tain a lower fare than the law di-
rects is fragrant discrimination
against one class of utility users in
favor of another.
I'm the formal case now before the
commission the Capital Traction
Company admits that it can during
the year 1922 earn a rate of return
justified under the law am, the rul-
ings of the commission and sell tok-
ems at four for 25 cents.
The Washington Railway and
Electric Company, if it considers the
uniform rate of fare at this time
more necessary and more vital than
Take the Capital Traction Company
rae of four tokens for Is cents. or
take fare to produce rate Of re-
turn the law would sanction.
Paid Between 8 and Per Cent.
'In 1921 the car riders paid a rate
Of return of between per cent and
per cent on the valuations OF $32,-
100000 of the two companies-valua-
tioEs in part those of the commission
and in part those of the companies.
I'm three successive years, 1919.
1920 and 1921. the car riders paid
not only war wages to the employees
of the Capital Traction Company. but
an average rate of return otto per
cent. TIE Capital Traction Company.
under the present team work of the
two companies for uniform fares.
passes on to the Washington Railway
and Electric Company the wages
permitted by its inordinate rate of
return"
A slight reduction in the rate of
car fare to be charged on and after
March l probably will be ordered by
the Public Utilities Commission Mon
day. The commission had not reached
a final decision today.
In it's forthcoming order the COM
mission will declare its policy with
regard to the future of one-man cars
Testimony of William F. Ham. presi-
dent of the Washington Railway and
Electric Company, showed that that
company would save close to $50. 900
this year by operating all of its one
man cars for the twelve months.
The commission is understood to
be agreed that there should be one
rate of fare for both companies