Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-16
Recruiting Without Merger.


of unified operation of the street car
lines have always been held out as the
chief benefits to be expected from
congressionally authorized merger.
Under a merger there would be plan
of rerouting involving, the joint use
Of tracks by what are now the two'
separate street railway lines, together
with possible construction Of new routes,
extensions and switches. But even dur
ing the consideration Of a merger, and
when the plan showed promise Of ma
terializing, no complete plan of rerout-
ing was ever approved by the Public
Utilities Commission.
The commissions statement yesterday
routing plan as separate and distinct
from formal merger Of the companies
to find what economies Of operation and
conveniences to the public can be ex-
pected, and, If there is no merger, to
use the power of the commission to put
changes of routes and joint use Of
trackage into effect.
The commission possesses, under the
authority Of the Public Utilities Com
mission act, the right to order the joint
use of public utility equipment In the
District for a reasonable compensation
whenever public convenience and ne
cessity require such use and such use
will not result in irreparable injury to
the owners or other users Of such equip
ment," and there are several instances
where the joint use of tracks by the
two car lines have been ordered for the
sake of convenience and necessity, such
as at Union Station, on Delaware ave-
nue., around the Capitol and in Poto-
mac Park. In some of these cases the
tracks are maintained on a $3.50 basis
between the lines. It seems reasonable
to believe that there are other cases
where the joint use of tracks could be
ordered on the grounds of convenience
and necessity to the ,car-rtding public
and that rerouting could be effected in
a manner that would bring economies
Of operation.
How far the Public Utilities Commits
sion can go in this direction is prob
lematical. The plans for rerouting street
cars that have been drawn up by ex-
perts and considered from time to time
involve the abandonment Of some track
and the construction of new track. The
street railway companies, in case of OBJ
lection to the commissions orders, have
recourse to the courts and If any plan
of rerouting were ordered by the COM
mission that involved loss of revenue
or expenditure for new trackage objec-
ton on the part of the corporations
could be anticipated.
The commission has not stated that
it will propose rerouting as an al
tentative to fare increase. But the
tone of its statement indicates that it
Will be ready to consider the advantages
Of rerouting along with the petitions
for fare increase, and that the amount
OF increase proposed by the companies
is not the only one that will be con-
sidered. The commission evidently
plans to show that economies to be eff
fected under a rerouting plan that does
not require sanction Of formal merger,
plus possible revision of rates, may
be more logical and equitable solu-
ton of the car companies problem than
the mere grant of a blanket fare in
crease with no Improvement in service
and no sharing Of benefits on the part
Of the public.
The commission Is giving renewed
evidence of it's determination to con-
slider the rights of the public as much
as it considers the rights of the corpo-
rations. In the end that policy will
solve the most intricate of the local
public utility problems.