Evening star., 1924-05-05

lIotIi 81 dSt.I
and Electric Company beginning next
Monday. Senator Mcclellan said that
he was perfectly willing that ali
should have full and fair hearing,
but he called attention to the fact
that il is about four months since the
hearings on his bill had begun. He
intimated that he desired action on
his proposal at the present session of
Congress no matter how long the
hearings were to run.
In the discussion of the purchase of
the Washington and Georgetown
Company by the Rock Creek Railway
Company. Mr.. Hamilton said that the
late Senator NewlandS, then a repre-
sentative from Nevada and the late
Senator Stewart of Nevada, had been
interested in the Chevy Chase Land
Company; that they had seen the ne
cessity of transportation to that sec
tion and that Congress had granted
the charter for the Rock Creek Kali
way Company. which ultimately pur-
chased the Washington and George
town Company.
senator Mex ellar suggested that If
a senator and a member of the House
today should so interest themselves
in District affairs financially there
would be another senatorial lnYeSu-
cation.
Says Whole Deal Open.
Mr. Hamilton replied that the whole
transaction had been open; that 1t
had resulted in greatly assisting the
development of Washington. and that
Congress itself had authorized it.
Early in his testimony today Mr-
Hamilton referred to testimony gwen
by Conrad Syme, who was engaged as
special counsel for the Public Utili-
ties Commission in the street railway
valuation cases now before the courts,
to the effect that it would be i'm
possible for the street railway com
panieS to live under existing condi-
tions in the District on scent fare.
Mr.. Hamilton argued that the Con-
gress had set up the Public Utilities
Commission as its agent to determine
the fair value of public utilities in
the District and to fix rates; that it
would be unfair for Congress now to
disregard the findings of this agency
and arbitrarily cut the street car
fare to cents; that Congress has
no right to destroy the property of
the street car companies without
Hamilton charged it would do if the
fare was cut below figure which
would enable the companies to live.
Cites Congress Power.
Senator McKellar said that Con-
gress had full power to amend or
repeal the law creating the Public
Utilities CommisSion< and that the
agency created by Congress could
not be considered greater than the
body which created it. Mr.. Hamilton
agreed that Congress has power to
amend or repeal the, law, but he in
sisted that Congress had no right
to say that it intends to compel the
companies to give ten-cent service
for a five-cent fare"
Senator McKellar said:
Congress is not going to destroy
your property. If you go back TO a
scent fare in six months you will
be coming around to thank Congress
for bringing il about. The com
panies in practically all the cities
and towns in New Jersey have had
this experience in going back to a
scent fare"
Disputes Statement.
Mr.. Hamilton replied that the testi-
mony given did not show anything
of the kind.
Replying to charges by Senator
McKellar that the Public Utilities
Commission had merely been a rub
ber stamp for the street car COM
panies in matters of accounting and
Mr.. Hamilton said that this was far
mission had agreed to certain ac-
counts of the|company. but only after
carefully checking them over. He
said that the commission had set a
tentative measure of depreciation,
and that it had modified this on sug-
gestions from the company.
Mr.. Hamilton will complete his
testimony at the hearing next Mon
day.