Evening star., 1935-12-20
HEALTH MENACE
ON CARS CHARGED
Utilities Commission Hears
of Germ-Laden Straps
for Passengers.

veteran chairman OF Lne PuDllc OCl-
tiles Committee of the Federation OF
Citizens Associations, at the hearing
before the Public Utilities Commission
on Washington's transportation serv-
| ice
Questioned about the standard of
cleanliness in cars and buSses bv Peo-
pies Counsel william A. Roberts,
| Clayton said sanitary conditions are
not what they should be; that floors
and windows are dirty: that windows
on some of the cars are wedged and
Will not open; that sunshades are
missing on some of the Capital
Transit Co.'S equipment and that
some fastidious men wash their hands
after holding a strap.
Clayton also declared that In his
many years of bus and street car
riding he had never seen a discourte-
Gus employe, although he had wit
messed conductors and motormen suf-
fer embarrassment from quarrelsome
passengers.
Trade Board Views Presented.
Roberts read into the record a let
| ter from S. D. Ashford, chairman Of
the traffic subcommittee Of the Wash
ington Board of Trade, listing a num-
Der of complaints against the Transit
Co. He said bus drivers failed to OBJ
serve traffic signs and some Of those
on the Connecticut avenue line exceeded
80 miles per hour on Taft Bridge,
where the speed limit is % miles. He
also condemned the wooden, poorly
lighted car loading platforms and
safety zones and urged erection of per-
manent loading platforms suitably
lighted and marked.
Brig. Gen. o. B. Rosenbaum of Pei
ham Courts presented two petitions
containing the signatures of 1873 resi-
dents in the vicinity of Twenty-flrst
and P streets, urging adequate bus
service on P street and improved trans
fer facilities at Dupont Circle.
A resolution asking for extension
of the Eleventh street car line to
Georgia avenue. adopted by the Pet
worth Citizens Association. was read
to the commission by w. Y. Boyd, a
member of that organization.
Southeast Plea Heard.
A plea for transportation service
for the outlying sections Of Southeast
Washington was made to the Com
mission earlier today by George H.
Ganaway of the Marshall Heights
Citizens Association.
Ganaway, the thirty-second Of $50
civic representatives who asked for
an opportunity to discuss Washing
tons street car and bus service, told
! the commission the residents of Mar
shall Heights have to walk a mile to
the nearest transportation line.
I'VE are all working people out
there" he declared. and are entitled
to some convenience"
Seeks to Drop Subsidiaries.
The resumption Of the hearings on
public transportation service was de-
! layed for more than an hour while
the commission considered an appli-
cation of the Capital Transit Co. to
dissolve four subsidiaries which 1t ac-
quired after the time of the trans
portation merger. These are the Wash
ington g. Maryland Railroad Co.,
which operates a rail line from Four
teenth and Kennedy streets to Ia
koma Park. Md; the Washington In
terurban Co., which formerly operated
rail line on Bladensburg road north
east; the Washington Coach Co.,
which operated chartered bus serv-
ice, and the Washington Suburban
Coach Co., which never operated.
The liquidation of these four COM
panies was urged by the transit COM
pany on the ground that they now
have no particular function. The
transit company itself will bear the
cost of dissolution.
Subway Again Discussed.
Street car subways were discussed
for the second time during the afterx
noon session yesterday when w. Z.
Hoffheins, chairman of the Utilities
Committee of the District Federation
of Federal Employees, said sentiment in
favor of such a project had grown
to such an extent that sit Is the
opinion Of many that the only solu-
ton of our future transportation diff
cultieS lies in construction of adequate
underground transportation.
SeatleSS busses for passengers who
are unaccustomed to sitting in over
loaded vehicles were suggested by
Edna Rankin McKinnon of Kew Gar
dens in the 2700 block of @ street.
Just before she took the witness
stand, Harry L. Keebler, representing
both the Columbia Heights Business
Mems Association and the Citizens
Forum of Columbia Heights, declared
that it is impossible to prevent COM
municable diseases in crowded cars
and buses. Keebler also said some
of the buSses on which he had ridden
were foul from gasoline fumes and
advocated raising the exhaust pipes
to the top of the vehicles.
Wants Dividends Held Up.
H. G. Clark, 2021 Hillard place,
urged that the transit company be
prohibited from paying any further
dividends on its stock until it has
provided improved service. He said
satisfactory public transportation had
been an objective in Washington for
years, but it had not yet been reached.
Improvements in transportation
service in the LIE Droit Park section
were urged by Frederick B. Pelham Of
the Howard Park Citizens Association
He said there had been tendency to
"Slur" that area.