Evening star., 1928-12-13
BLOCKING MER GER WILL HURT
CITY. WILSON TELLS CAPPER
Foes of Unification at This
Session Scored by
Its Sponsor.
MaItbie and Bureau Reports
Point Way to Solution,
He Says.

Pointing out that the street car COM
: panies are trying to meet the public
/ demand for merger which has existed
! for 25 years and that experts agree
consolidation will keep fares lower than
they would be under continuance of ex-
isting conditions, Harley P. Wilson,
/ sponsor Of the pending unification
! agreement, has written tt Chairman
| Capper of the Senate District commit
| tee expressing the belief that any one
{ who prevents a merger during the pres
ent session of Congress will be doing
the greatest diSservice possible to the
people of Washington"
! Mr.. Wilson states that further analy-
sis of the reports of the Bureau of
Efficiency and of Dr. Milo r. Maltbie
"convinccs me that with proper CO.
operation all around it ought to be pos
Sible to bring about the longawaited
mcrger."
The letter of Mr.. Wilson contains
summary of deductions which he has
drawn from the reports o.. DR.. Malt
bic and of the efficiency bureau. He
also declared that personal feeling and
misrepresentation have entered into dis
cussion of the problem, and he devoted
a portion of the letter to replying to
certain newspaper comment on the
merger plan.
DepIorcs Controversy.
In beginning his letter. Mr., Wilson
Dear Senator Capper:
mo one can deplore more deeply
than myself the controversy that has
resulted through my effort to unity the
transportation systems Of this city and
to better suit them to the present and
future needs of the community.
That the matter would have wide
spread discussion and paihstaking
analysis / anticipated and welcomed,
but that it might degenerate into a
matter of personal feeling on the parts
of certain noviates who, acting in the
best of faith no doubt, could do nothing
more than becloud the issues involved
and confuse that small portion of the
public mind which lacks opportunity
and facility to fully inform itself, is a
source of no little disappointment to
me.
Whether personal feeling is permit
ted to inject itself into matters of this
sort, it is inevitable that misrepresen-
tation and SANDER in varying degree
become the weapons employed to gain
d pOIilIt dlIG W QlSCiSulU lilS duIiS dIlQ
purposes of citizens of high repute and
sturdy character Certain newspapers,
depending for column matter, of course,
upon employees possessing intelligence,
industry and honesty of purpose in
varying degree, too frequently garble
the facts and color the argument to
suit the particular viewpoint of ire
sponsible and totally unimportant
writer's, and to impugn the aims
and purposes of the very bone and sinew
of the community as represented by
the Board of Trade, the Chamber of
Commerce. the Bureau of Efficiency
| the Federation of Citizens Associa-
tions, and its advisory council. the
| Public Utilities Commission and the
| House committee on the District of
| Columbia All of these bodies have
considered the matter in a serious way
| and that their conclusions should be
| subject to malicious and unwarranted
attack by certain publications whose
| fully disclosed purpose is to foiSt upon
| this community public ownership and
operation of its utilities only confuses
/ the effort of all citizens unbiased by
ulterior motive to analyze the merits and
to render fair and righteous judgment
Sees Cooperation Needed.
Further analysis of the reports on
merger made to your committee by the
Bureau of Efficiency and by DR.. Maltbie
| OF New York convinces me that with