The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-10-15
CITIZENS ASK
GUT CASH
FARES
Traction Heads Offered Al
tentative to Selling 3 Tokens
for 20 Cents.
Continued from Page 16J

to whether the forecast Of the COM
,pany heads was accurate.
The association representatives
declared that the sale Of six tokens
for 40 cents penaiized hundreds OF
car riders. They declared that
many persons who usN the street
cars do not have 40 cents handy
and thus pay an Scent fare. They
said that il tokens could be bought
for twenty cents, the tokens would
public, enabling them to make
saving. in car fare to- which they
were justly entitled.
Ham produced figures showing
the earnings OF his company aTsi
the combined earnings of the twp
large railway companies in Wash
ington
1T would be improper at this
time to consider seriously any
action that would reduce the earn
ings of the two companies, as they
are now earning less than the
amount the Public Utilities Commits
sion has set as a reasonable re-
turn upon the fair value Of their
properties Ham said.
Ham declared that the slowed up
service which would result from
the three token for 90 cents sale
would not be satisfactory to the
great mass of car riders in Wash
ington who are primarily interested
In service.
The Capital Traction Company
introduced in testimony letter
which it sent on March IL, 1922, to
the Commission regarding the sale
Of tokens.
"Our particular objection to the
sale Of three tokens for 90 cents is
the fact that this practice would
materially increase the number of
transactions between conductors
and passengers" the letter said.
Involving the sale Of tokens with
the necessary change making, and
that would slow UP service and
interfere with the promptnesS and
convenience of handling passengers,
particularly during rush hours.
I'VE believe that il tokens should
be sold at three for 20 cents, a
considerable number of our pas
Sengers would still continue to
purchase them in larger quantities,
so that 1t Is quite difficult, il not
impossible, to estimate even APP
proximately the effect which the
proposed change would have
Other Citizens Protest.
Clayton answered all of the
arguments put up by the railway
companies. He declared he did
not believe that the change would
materially affect the revenues OF
the company, nor slow up traffic
to an appreciable extent.
Others who appeared were Major
D. S. Fletcher, Takoma Park Citi-
zens' Association: c.. j. Richardson,
Conduit Road Citizens Association,
and Evan H. Tucker, Northeast
Citizens Association.
The hearing was enlivened by a
verbal clash between Clayton and
Hamilton, the latter charging that
Clayton never gave the true facts to
the Commission.
THAT may be your opinion" was
Clayton's only reply to this charge.
The question of merger was also
discussed by Clayton, and Hamilton
interjected with this question:
''Mr. Clayton, just what do you
favor? One time you say one thing
and another time something else. ]
don't even know now what you arc
talking about"
Clayton then came back with an
emphatic declaration that he favored
Congress passing law directing the
railway companies to merge within
six months or lose their charters If
they failed to do so.
The argument was brought to an
end by Commissioner j. Franklin
Bell, chairman, who advised those
testifying to confine themselves "a
the token question.
During the course of questions put
to him by Mr.. Clayton, Mr.. Ham ex
pressed it as his opinion that an &
cent cash fare with two tokens for
Is cents would be an ideal fare rate.
"It would benefit both the public
and the company about equally
Mr.. Ham said.