Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-21
KLOTZ is BUSTED
AS ENGINEER FOR
CAR FARE LETTER
1continued FROM FIRST rage.l

Continued From First Page.)
war. the Capital Traction Co. received
the benefit of an increase in fare
granted at the request of the. Wash
ington Railway & Electric Co. This
increase, he said, favored the traction
company with substantial earnings,
the excess of which beyond the dividend
requirements was shrewdly held and
prudently used In later years when the
higher fare had severely reduced its
carefully nurtured profitable short haul
business"
I'm the meantime. the settlement of
the Potomac Electric Power Co. case
has placed the washington Railway 81
Electric Co. in q position where, al
though the earnings from its railway
operations are still far below anything
like q reasonable rate OF return on
fair value, it is, considering. the oper.
atoms as a whole, on firm footing ana
not Immediately compelled to request an
increase In its rate"
Might Postpone Increase.
Then. speaking of the request that
will probably be made for revaluation OF
the company before the fare Is changed,
the letter continues: THE carrying out
of such a procedure might possibly post
DOne IOT a I1IflS bIIC ulCACdoCf W4AiSAh -
so obviously necessary, but may IN the
end prove a rather unsatisfactory pro-
cedure.
"The scale of service to which the
public here has been accustomed has
been maintained over a time OF actual
inadequate return by way OF the some.
what freakish circumstances outlined
above. How much longer the companies
can maintain this scale at rate OF fare
hof iS hyf RNYnnnHn2ilTafA
Herewith is matter Of complete uncer-
tainty.
"The logical procedure then, appears
to settle upon an arbitrary rate OF
fare which may be regarded as about
what the traffic will bear as promising
to provide the companies with the maxi
mum return which, in the absence OF
any hope for a theoretically adequate
revenue, 1t is practically possible for
them to obain.
what these rates should be depends
to some extent on what adjustments 1t
may consider desirable to make in trans
fer facilities. The transfer situation
here is at present describable as wild
and woolly. g@
Universal Transfers. 5-.
Much of he feeling In favor of n
merger of the two companies has been
founded on the hope of q universal
transfer system. What the result OF
that arrangement, in so far as il might
affect the revenue, would be, is matter
for speculation. 5TzIr
whether the public would gain or
lose through an actual merger of the
present companies Is q matter Of con-
siderable doubt.
In view, then, of the present rather
clear indication of the need of an in
crease of fare, If reasonably good
grade of service is to be maintained
and the chaotic state of the transfer
situation solved, the most logical pro-
cedure appears to be the granting Of o
substantially higher and logical rate Of
fare, accompanied by complete over
haul of the transfer situation and the
establishment of free, universal, inter
company transfers, with restrictions
SUFFICIENT only to avoid abuse.
The following appears to be as sensi-
bic an arrangement as could, taking all
the factors into consideration, be de-
vised.
Uniform fare for all street cars and
busses, except as noted below.
,"Ten-cent cash far. three tokens for
IS cents.
school tickets. IL for IS cents.
Free intra and inter company trans
fers between all car and bus lines, with
only SUFFICIENT restrictions to avoid loop
riding and other abuses.
Bus Connections.
''Bus connections to be graded as fol-
lows:
Feeder lines-B ladensburg, Potomac
Park, Massachusetts avenue, Randle
Highlands, Chevy Chase loop, Benning,
Park road. Woodley road, East Wash
ington, AnacoStia-fares to be the same
as on street cars, with free transfers
to and from cars.
Auxiliary lines-Burleith, Trinidad,
Conduit Road, Rhode Island Avenue
fare 10 cents straight. free transfers to
cars and free transfers from cars to
BUSES on payment of cash fare.
Special lineS--Chevy Chase coach,
Cleveland Park coach. Rains Point
busses-fare to remain the same.
What the Anal effect of this schsd-
ule will be, Is somewhat problematical
The proposed school rate, not being in
creased, would have the effect of a re-
duction.
Since there is no apparent doubt
that an increase In fare Is needed. and
badly 10, the sane and sensible pro-
cedure Is unquestionably to establish q
substantial rate which will provide for
convenient and rapid transit on the
cars and win insure continued good
service for the public, and to grant with
1t long desired and long sought :cr
complete transfer system, devoid of ex-
ira charges and unnecessary complica-&