Evening star., 1935-01-23
HOLDING COMPANY
land BUS TERMINAL
PROBES LAUNCHED
Public Utilities Commission
Orders Reports and Sets
Hearing.
DATA SOUGHT ON LINK
WITH FOREIGN" FIRMS
Arguments to Be Heard March 4
on Plan for 0ff-Street
Depots.

The Public Utilities Commission to-
day launched two new Investigations
on distinctly separate matters, one to
determine how much money is being
paid by local utilities to their parent
or holding corporations. and the other
to determine if suburban and local
busses should be required to have off,
street terminals.
In the first investigation all local
utilities subject to control by the COM
mission are required to file at an early
date complete itemized statements
showing all payments made to their
holding companies, and in the second
! the commission fixed March as the
date for public. hearing on the routes,
stops and terminal points Of the sub
urban and local busses.
The Washington utility concerns all
are owned, at least in part, by corpOr-
| ationS foreign to the District" In
some cases the control of the holding
company over the District utility is
regarded by local regulatory officials
as being more or less dominant
Seek to Trace Payments.
The apparent objective of the COM
mission is TO ascertain in detail what
payments made by the local utility
to the parent company are charged
to the operating expenses of the local
concern and thereby passed on to the
local consumer. Furthermore, it is
apparent that the commission wishes
to have any and all information not
now available to the commission
which may be reported by the local
companies to their parent bodies
The order for the filing of data for
payments to parent companies was
sent today by the commission to the
Washington and the Georgetown Gas
Light Cos, which are owned by the
Washington e. Suburban Companies,
a Massachusetts common law trust
the Capital Transit Co.. 81 per cent
Of the stock Of which is owned by
the North American Co.; the Wash
ington Railway g. Electric Co, con-
trolled by the North American Co.;
the Potomac Electric Power Co., also
| controlled by the North American
Co.: the Chesapeake & Potomac Tel
ephone Co.. whose parent company is
| the American Telephone & Telegraph
! Co.
The order reads: "Please furnish
the commission at your earliest con-
venience a complete itemized state
ment showing all payments made 10
any holding or parent company,
trust. or others financially interested
in your company, and the manner OF
accounting therefor. Also, state
ment showing the cost of preparing
| reports made to the parties listed
hereinbefore, and any other expense
items incurred by you by reason of
your relationship with any of said
parties.
1884 Reports Asked.
ALSO furnish this commission a
| copy of each and every monthly OF
annual report which you have made
to such parties during the year 1884
or related thereto. In the future you
are requested to file with us currently
copies of any such reports"
The bus hearing order is continu-
alton Of a previous order by which
the commission required that all inter-
state busses operating here establish
off-Street terminals by April l, 1892
so far as the downtown congeSted area
was affected
At the present time, a number OF
suburban busses as well as those OF
the Washington Rapid Transit Co
now use the public highways at times
as parking place at certain stopover
points, During the past year CON-
mittee of District officials. including
the traffic director and representatives
of the Utilities Commission and the
Traffic Bureau of the Police Depart
ment. stressed the necessity of action
to stop this practice.