Evening star., 1927-11-18
BY DONALD A. CRAIG.

| Although many persons in Airing.
ton County tell you that the question
of whether the county shall become a
city Is not now before the people and
cannot be until the General Assembly
Of Virginia passes an enabling act to
put the question to popular vote in
| the county, the underlying issue, OF
course, goes directly to the compara-
tive benefits of city and county gov
ernment.
Opponents of the enabling act spend
most of their time pointing to what
| they regard as the disadvantages of
city form OF government for this sec
ton Of Virginia. Those who want
city are trying to keep that issue tenn
| porarily in the background. because
they do not wish to prejudice their
opponents against the enabling act,
| which they must have before the city
question can be decided, under the
| present plan.
The agitation for the enabling act
started as the result Of a conviction
on the part of many men and women
that the county form Of government
has outgrown it's usefulness in this
ra pidly developing region. They con.
| tend that Arlington County some time
ago reached a density of population
| and assumed an urban character
which rendered county form Of gov
ernment wholly inadequate.
Amendment for Arlington.
It appears that the principal duty
of the Arlington County delegate in
the General Assembly at Richmond
has been in recent years to obtain the
enactment Of special and local iegis-
lation pertaining to Arlington County
giving the county special powers pos
sessed only by cities and towns, In
order that the needs OF the county,
arising from it's urban character. may
be met.
One Of the amendments to the State
constitution, submitted to the people
of the whole State in the recent elec-
| ton, is for Arlington County's particu.
lar benefit. 1t gives the county the
same power to assess abutting prop
erty for the cost of sewers and side
wal ks as is now possessed by all cities
and towns and which the constitution
expressly denied to counties.
The last extra session OF the General
Assembly was facetiously dubbed by
the members the Arlington County
session." because a large percentage
of all the bills enacted were for Ar
lington County. These measures, say
the advocates Of incorporation. would
not have been needed il the county
had been a city.
Many advocates Of a city form OF
government say that the most I'M
portant reason why Arlington Coun-
ty should incorporate is the complete
lack of control, under the present
government, over public utility cor
porations. Gas, electric and teles
phone companies are rapidly extend
ing their mains and lines into every
part of the county.
The county government is abso-
lutely without authority to impose
franchise conditions upon these com.
panies." said Arthur Orr, member, or
| the Arlington County Better Govern.
| ment Commission, in a discussion OF
this phase of the question with The
Star correspondent. THE county IS
empowered to grant permits to occu'
| py streets and highways, but 1T can
| impose none OF the ordinary franchise
conditions for the protection or citi-
| zens, nor can ii levy any franchise
| taxes against the properties OF the
companies. City governments have
| complete control in this field, both as
| to imposing conditions and levying
franchise taxes"
Utilities Acquiring Rights.
| If the creation Of a municipality Is
much longer delayed, its advocates say
that the Public Utilities Corporation
will have completely occupied the
| streets and highways of the county,
and they will be forever free from
the imposition OF franchise condi-
tions by the city. as to- lines already
| laid, should the county incorporate.
for the reason that they will have ac-
quired vested rights which the courts
will not disturb" 1t is claimed that
| Arlington County, by default. is al
lowing the most valuable franchise
rights to "slip from Its control into
the hands of private corporations"
The losses to the county and its citi.
Continued on Page 10, Column -