Evening star., 1929-01-01
d. c. MEASURESDUE
IN COMMITTEES
Developments Looked For in
Senate Bodies When
Meetings Resume.

Developments in Senate committees
on a number of questions affecting the
National Capital are looked for during
the final two months of the short Ses-
sion, beginning Thursday.
Among questions of strictly local
nature, the greatest interest centers in
the fate of the street railway merger
proposal. The merger is IN the hands of
special subcommittee of the Senate
District committee, which has received
detailed studies of the consolidation plan
from its own experts and from the COM
panies. The Bureau of Efficiency and
DR.. Milo r. Maltbie, the subcommittee
consultant. are preparing their comment
on the letter received from the COM
panies Saturday. in which they made
several concessions on points raised by
the experts, but defended their conten-
tion that definite valuation, rate base
should be included in the agreement. 1t
was suggested that revaluation could
be undertaken following the merger
Some Indication Expected.
The meeting of the subcommittee. to
be called as soon as the comment of DR..
Maltbie and the Efficiency Bureau are
received, is expected to give some indica-
ton as to the outlook for merger legis-
lation at this session.
Aside from the merger. the Senate
District committee has several other
matters before it that are likely to be
taken up shortly after the session is
resumed, including the nomination of
Col. Harrison Brand jr., for another
term on the Public Utilities Commits
sion; the Capper bill to authorize an
airport for the National Capital, and
the condemnation bill, already passed
by the House, which would give the
Federal Government an improved meth
cd of acquiring land needed in the Dis
trict of Columbia for the various de-
velopment projects planned for the
near future.
Plaza improvements Up.
The Senate public buildings and
grounds committee is to meet within a
few days to consider the measure au-
thorizing the carrying out of the long
awaited Union Station plaza improve
ment. The street railway companies
will be given a hearing to outline their
views regarding the Encouragement of
car tracks between the Capitol and the
station, after which the committee will
be ready to act on the bill This legis-
lation has passed the House, and if
Senate action can be obained before
March 4 leaders hope to have some
work done on the plaza this year.
A subcommittee of the Senate public
buildings and grounds committee is
ready to report to the committee the
recently modified Shipstead bill to pro-
test the appearance of certain large
Federal reservations by regulating the
design of private buildings fronting on
the Capitol. the White House, the por-
ton of Pennsylvania avenue fronting
on the triangle building development
and the frontage along Rock Greek and
Potomac parks and the Rock Greek and
Potomac connecting parkway. In it's
original form the bill would have had a
more general application. AS rewritten
the bill also leaves to the District Com
missioners the bringing about of rea-
sonable compliance with such recon-
mendations as the Fine Arts Commits
sion may make regarding plans for
structures in the areas mentioned.