Evening star., 1936-10-20
REQUEST EXPECTED
FOR COURT RULING
ION ONE-MAN CARS
Likely Outcome of Public
Utilities Unit Ban on
Rehearing.
| WAY CLEARED TO TAKE
CASE TO DISTRICT COURT
Roberts, Clayton and 0gburn Had
Asked Reconsideration
of Matter.

A court decision on whether the
Capital Transit Co. has right to in
crease the number of one-man street
cars in Washington probably will be
sought as a result of ruling of the
Public Utilities Commission yesterday
refusing to rehear the case.
The commission recently granted
the transit company the right to add
40 one-man cars, 20 Of them to be
the new Presidents conference" type
and the others secondhand cars pur-
chased from Providence, r. I. Most
of the 40 additional cars already are In
use.
The commissions action cleared the
way for taking the case to District
Court. In fact, an appeal for rehear-
ing had to be rejected before the case
could be carried to District Court.
Attorneys asking the rehearing indi-
Gated when the motion was filed that
unless the case was reopened. court
action would be sought.
Three Present Petition.
William A. Roberts, retiring peoples.
counsel; William NICK. Clayton, attor-
ney and chairman of the Public Utili-
ties Committee of the Federation of
Citizens Associations, and Charlton
Ogburn, counsel for the American Fed
Grafton Of Labor and the Central Labor
Union, presented the petition for re-
consideration of the case.
Clayton appeared independently Of
Roberts when the case first was heard
by the commission. He argued then
that the hearing should be postponed
because two members Of the commits
sion were absent. Chairman Riley z.
Elgen was i'll and Col. Dan I. Sultan.
Engineer Commissioner and ex-oficio
member, was on vacation. The case
was heard by Richmond B. Keech, vice
chairman, but the decision was with
held until the other members returned
and had the opportunity of reviewing
the record.
Ogburn did not appear in the case
until after permission was granted the
Capital Transit Co. to convert two
man cars to one-man operation. He
represents the carmen's union, which
opposed the change on the ground that
employees would be thrown out of work
because of an automatic decrease in
the number of positions to be filled.
Meanwhile. number of street car
employees who had full-time jobs be-
fore the change was ordered have been
transferred to the extra" list and are
given work only when regular employees
take their days off or are otherwise
kept away from their jobs.
1t is expected that court action will
be taken as soon as the necessary
transcript of the Public Utilities Com
missions orders and other necessary
papers can be prepared.
Roberts, who submitted his resigna.
ton to be effective the first of next
month, has announced that he will
continue his association with the case
to its conclusion.
Labor Union Plans Fight.
Meanwhile, the Central Labor Union,
foe of the one-man car, made plans
to carry its fight against the one-man
car to the convention Of the American
Federation of Labor at Tampa, Fla,
next month.
The unions Public Utilities Com.
mittee was authorized at its meeting
| last night to send a strongly worded
protest to the A. F. of l.. against the
Capital Transit Co. 1t is to propose
that two-man cars be required by law.
w. w. Keeler. Utilities Committee
chairman, who brought the question
to the floor, explained that IS men
had been shifted from regular employ
ment with the transit company to the
extra list" since the last meeting Of
the Central Labor Union.
1t was reported that a Federal Judge
in 1927 had ruled that any Transports
ton company engaged in interstate
commerce must conform to Federal
law and operate all the cars in its
system by two men each.
1t was emphasized that the Capital
Transit Co. runs 81 cars over the line
from Seventeenth and Pennsylvania
avenue southeast to Rosslyn, Va, into
another State. Printing of the street
car passes in Milwaukee was protested
by Frank Lerch.