Evening star., 1923-02-04
COUzENS TELLSD.C.
CAR LINE SOLUTION
SECT Ballot First and Fight
for Federal Ownership
in Congress-"
FIRST ADDRESS HERE
New Senator From Michigan Says
Conditions Here Are Most
Unusual.

was tn6 message uSliNCiCa W siAS I
residents of the District by Senator
James Couzens of Michigan, in his
first public address in Washington at
a meeting last night Of the Fedora
tion Of Citizens Associations in the
District building.
Unmercifuliy Senator Couzens at
tackled tho public utility corpora
tons. and in one instance inferred
that the banks are running the street
railway lines. He also assailed the
public utilities regulations as the |
poorest possible to have among |
free people: deplored the inadequate !
public school facilities. and criticized
the ''intolerable' street lighting con-
ditions.
The only remedy I can see" said
Senator Couzens, lis definite or |
ganization Of the users of the utlli- |
right kind Of service al the proper |
rate, which in my Judgment Will be |
only through the government taking |
over the property. Perhaps the best |
way to approach this whole problem !
IS to first get some voice in your |
local government, at least three |
hfths OF a voice anyway. / hope that i
You will have the courage to be real |
Americans and fight for your liberty, |
because | do not believe you have !
il now.
Unusual Conditions Here.
Il demurred somewhat at coming
here to talk tonight. realizing that no
matter what l might say it would do
no good, or that any conviction |
might carry to you in what | say
would not be able to be expressed in
the ballot boA," said Senator Couzens
in opening his address. II believe that
IS the most unusual condition of al
fairs existing anywhere among free
people. Certainly If I were resident
of Washington l would not content
myself to be governed and taxed
usual that 1 can hardly find words to
express myself, which leaves me to
wonder why you stand for it.
1t would appear to me that you
ahouid have at least SO per cent of
the say of what your laws should be-
and that the amount of money YOU
should be taxed and how the money
should be expended. If controlled
these citizens organizations I would
conduct q. strenuous campaign with
Congress to permit some sort of rep-
resentation.
From the press l gather that you
nave entirely Inadequate school IA
cilities and I know from personal OBJ
servance that you have the poorest
lighted city in the United States
am also of the conviction that you
have the poorest public utilities reg
ulations which it is possible TO have
among a free people"
Studies Situation Personally.
The Michigan Senator explained
mat for more than week he has
been studying the street railway sit
nation and it is beyond his compre-
tension why il is permitted IN nor
petuate itself.
Take the Capital Traction Com
pahy, consisting of a capitalization
at the rate of s275.0o0 per mile. while
DSetroit ~ mas as capita lization Of less
yerp t,,F H. -
There should be some slight CON
*lderation given to the fact that they
nave forty-eight miles of under
ground lines. which is somewhat more
expensive, but nothing like an aver
age of two and three quarter times
as much capitalization as the Detroit
system.
Perhaps it is too ancient to saw
tnat the records show plainly that in
1895, s5.155,000 worth of water was
put into the system. Some of this
water may have been absorbed. he
cause ] find that in June. 1919, your
Puplc Utilities Commission valued the
property at some s2l7O00 per mile"
The Washington Railway and Elec-
trio Company with 12s miles Of single
track, OF which sixty-three miles is
has more modest capitalization, be-
ing about s125.00o per mile, witt a
capitalization of % per cent in ex-
cess Of its value
SshaIol touzens SAID that he had
heen informed that twelve of the sal
aries of eighteen officials of the Wash
lngton Railway and Electric Company
are are charged jointly to the Potomac
four are charged entirely to the rail-
way company and that two arc
charged entirely to the power com
pany. The totals show" he declared.
that over one-half of the total sal
aries, s60.750 out of s117,0oo IS
charged to the power company alone
and of the twelve jointly charged
general officers. the power company
Pays sfl.23o OF the aggregate of s77.-
500, or 53.2 per cent"
"Attempt to Raise Rates."
1T must occur to YOU" he con-
tinued, that the pro rata of these
salaries In this manner is an at
tempt to raise the cost Of power to
"xcessive rate. and you may answer
that it automatically reduces the sal
aries of the railway company, and
thereby saves car riders. but i'm that
connection l wish to say that the
Washington Railway and Electric
Company, with only 12S miles of line,
are supporting decidedly excessive
overhead in the way of salaries.
Take the Capital Traction Com
pany, which has only sixty-four miles
TO operate. The president OF the com
pany alone gets $4,000 and the vice
president in charge of operations gets
$4,000: the secretary and treasu rer,
$1,000, and lawyer to look after
their interests. $4,000 We in De-
sroit do not have such salary as this:
in fact. all We have is claims coun-
sci. at $4,000 per year for a railroad
nearly three times the size"
If the railroads cannot combine and
the management be required to furnish
Iar fares at cents fare, with possibly
n cent extra for transfers. Senator
TouZens asserted that then both
companies should be abolished and
the systems taken over by the gov
ernment, so that YOU might have
unified and simplified management at
minimum of cost"
My attention has been drawn to
The fact that out of the fifteen direc-
Ington Railway and Electric Com
Nany. consisting of 12S miles, twelve
are directors in the banks and trust
companies OF Washington / do not
know whether this has any signifi-
canoe II seems to me that the banks
And this may be good or bad; 1 do not
know
Sale Of 1880 Shares.
"The newspapers recorded last No
Scmber that a group of investors con-
aIected with the North American Com
Dany, public utilities holding COM
Dany, with holdings in many public
utilities throughout the country, pur-
chased 27.500 shares Of the common
stock at a price of s1,500.D0O, which,
am again informed, was due to save
The banks which had made consider
able loans secured by this stock. 1t
was further said that the purchasers
of this stock hope to reap large profits
sn the event of favorable decision in
~ suit of the Potomac Electric Power
company which now has impounded
:. fund OF ss.ooe,eeo, which, am in