Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-02
CAR FARE HEARINGS
HELD IN AbEYANCE
AT BRIDES REQUEST
Commission to Resume SEES.
sions on Increase Plea
Monday Morning.
TRACTION ENGINEERS
PREPARING ANSWERS
Detailed Statement of Items In
cluded in Operating Expense
Accounts to Be Submitted.

ASCUuAlS W DC 0uUM1LLEu.
The public hearings before the Public
Utilities Commission on the request of
the Capital Traction Co. for higher car
fare on all Washington street car lines
were in allegiance today on request of
Corporation Counsel William w. Bride,
whose assistant on utilities questions
Robert E. Lynch, was called out of
town.
They will be taken up again at 10
am. Monday. In the meanwhile, there
was much activity both at the Offices of
the commission and of the petitioning
company. At the commission the men,
bers, aided by their accounting and
engineering staff, were checking over
the facts brought to light in the four
days of questioning the company's wit
nesses, President John H. Hanna and
Chief Statistician j. E. Heberle
Many of the questions asked Of the
witnesses by Commissioner Harleigh H.
Hartman had to remain unanswered.
pending further study of the companys
books, and the company'S accountants
and engineers are preparing to submit
answers to some of these unanswered
questions Monday.
Detailed Statements Being Drawn.
In addition to this, detailed state.
mentS of all items included in six major
operating expenses accounts are being
prepared by the company for submits
sion Monday, under the terms of an
agreement reached that Commissioner
Hartman would suspend further ques-
tioning as to the handling of detailed
expenses until the accounts could be
transcribed and submitted to the COM
mission in the form of exhibits. Thus
far. Is exhibits have been filed in the
case. Three of them comprise the de-
cision of the Court of Appeals in the
companyS valuation case in 1925. The
remainder are tables of figures offered
in support of the companys position
that it is not making enough money to
give 1t a fair return on It's valuation,
and that it needs an increase in car
fare to 10 cents cash, four tokens for
80 cents
Two public hearings before the COM
mission will be held simultaneously on
Monday, one of the car fare case and
the other on a request by the Forest
Hills Citizens Association for safety
zones at car stops for cars in both d.
Albemarle street. One member of the
commission will sit at the latter hear
ing and the other two at the car fare
hearing. 1t has not yet been decided
which Commissioner will hear the
safety zone plea.
w. r. T. Ruling Is Awaited.
There is one motion pending that
will have to be ruled on next week. 1t
was made by William NICK. Clayton,
counsel for the Federation of Citizens
Associations, who asked that the Wash
ington Rapid Transit Co. be made a
party to the present car fare case. This
motion will not be decided until Harley
P. Wilson, owner of the bus company,
has had time to state his position on
the request. He was out of town when
it was made.
The request of John j. Noonan for
half fares on all lines for school chill
dren on their way to and from school,
which had been expected to be made
part of the present case, will be held
in allegiance until September, Mr..
Noonan said today. He said he wants
to avoid mixing the issues. if possible,
and Is anxious to have his half-fare
plea settled on its merits alone, rather
than taken in conjunction with another
matter.
An agreement was reached between
the commission and representatives of
the Capital Traction Co. yesterday aft
ernoon under which the company will
furnish a detailed analysis of certain
general expense and equipment &C
counts, about which Commissioner
Hartman has been asking searching
questions. The commission, on its part,
agreed to discontinue this line of ques-
tioning until the company has time to
make this analysis.
G. Thomas Dunlop placed in the rec
ord additional exhibits and excerpts
from the record of the first rate hear
ing last year. Other excerpts from the
former record were submitted in evil
dence by Commissioner Hartman.
Among other things, Mr.. Dunlop put
in evidence a CODY of the testimony Of
j. D. Murray, then acting chief &C
countant of the commission, showing
the valuation of the company as of De.
cember 81, 1927. j. E. Heberle, chief
Statistician of the company, who was on
the witness stand yesterday afternoon,
compared the Murray figures with the
company'S table in the present case,
showing that there was a difference of
only 80 cents in total of more than
$26,000,000.
Mr. Hartman asked whether Murray
had not copied the figures from the
method as the company employed in
making up its figures. Mr.. Heberle re-
piled that the company followed the
method prescribed by the District Court
of Appeals. MIR. Hartman read into the
record Murray's statement at the former
hearing that he had followed the COM
pany's plan.
Effect of Increase is Cited.
The company then submitted table
giving the estimated effect of the pro-
posed increase of car fare from the
viewpoint of the company. This table
was explained by Mr.. Heberle. He said
that for the IL months which ended
April 80 last persons paving cents
cash fare numbered 17,796,994. or 320l
37.798,877 used tokens at the rate of
six for 40 cents.
Under the higher fare, Mr.. Heberle
said the company estimated that 9,457,-
GLIB passengers would save u cent per
ride, or a total Of $47,288O7, because
that number of cash riders would be-
come token riders.
Mr.. Heberle sought to show that even
with the fare increased to 10 cents cash
and four tokens for 80 cents, money
actually would be saved the public, be-
cause many more persons would buy
four tokens at 80 cents than now buy
six tokens for 40 cents.
The company's table contained an
estimate of $408 ,308.19 as the total in
creased revenue which the company
would get from the higher fare. based
upon the most recent data available.
The witness said that deductions for
Federal income tax and fer the District