Evening star., 1936-02-19
Pitched Fight in Prospect
Over Demands by Peo-
pies Counsel.
RATE DECISION POWER
DENIED BY SPOKESMAN
Bennett, First Witness, Asserts
Public Would Benefit in Pur.
chase Agreement.
BY DON S. WARREN.

Capital Transit Co. spokesmen today
fatty rejected a proposal by Peoples
Counsel William A. Roberts for adop-
ton Of the street car token fare for the
bus lines of the Washington Rapid
Transit Co. as a part of the plan for
merger of the two concerns.
The declaration came from ]. z.
Heberle, vice president, and other off,
ciaLs of the street car company, Just
before the Public Utilities Commission
opened public hearing into the pro-
poSal that the Capital Transit Co. pay
S539,823 for the majority stock and
obligations of the W. r. T, which
operates the Sixteenth street bus lines.
As the hearing opened, William B.
Bennett, assistant to President John
H. Hanna of the street car concern,
declared, however. his company was
convinced great benefits would flow to
the public from the proposed merger.
Pitched Battle Indicated.
The peoples counsel had announced
he would demand a street car token
fare and free transfers to and from
the W. R. T. lines as part of the
proposed agreement. There were in
dications pitched battle would de-
velop over the point.
One commission spokesman, how
ever, declared the commission could
not make a rate decision as a part of
its action on the pending mel ger
question. The commission previously
had announced it would later hold a
general public hearing on proposed
greater uniformity in fares on all
street car and bus lines.
Bennett, the first witness, declared
the public would benefit from adop-
ton of the purchase agreement, which
has been approved by directors of both
companies, first and mostly because
of a great extension of the riding
privileges from payment of fare on
the lines of either company. The w.
r. T. now has some so miles of bus
service. Merger would add to this the
$50 miles OF BUS lines of the C. T. Co.
and the 152 miles of street car service.
Immediately and automatically
upon approval of the purchase plan,
he said, there would be free transfers
between the two units on the same
basis as free transfers now are given
between busses and street cars of the
Capital Transit system
W. r. T. Fare 10 Cents.
The fare on the W. r. T. now is 10
cents cash or use of the SIPS weekly
pass. The latter would provide use
of any lines of the merged system, ex.
cept the extra fare lines. Bennett ex.
planned the immediate effect of the
merger would be the adoption of be-
tween 65 and rs transfer points tor
the w. R. T, on payment of the 10
cent cash fare. t
Possibilities of rerouting of line of
the W. R. T. are also raised in the
plan. although not stated this morn.
ing by Bennett. The commission Will
consider extension of some of the
Sixteenth street lines to the TakoIna
area, it was predicted.
The present purchase offered by the
two companies is some S303,000 less
than the original price proposed in
September, 1888. That was rejected
by the commission as too high. on the
ground that it was based on calcu-
lation of a special, peculiar value OF
the w. R. T. lines to the Capital
Transit Co.
That concern today accepted the
commissions ruling on that point. G.
Thomas Dundap, Capital Transit Co..
counsel, announced it had based its
new price offer on the basis Of the
price a willing buyer would pay to a
willing seller and not on a value
peculiar to the street car system.
Commission Favors Merger.
The commission, as we'll as Peoples
| Counsel Roberts, is known to favor
merger of the two companies, which
was contemplated in the act OF Con-
gress permitting merger of the Wash
| ington Railway & Electric Co. and the
old Capital Traction Co., provided the
price is found proper.
Both the Capital Transit Co. and
the Washington Rapid Transit Co.
are under the financial control of the
North American Co., giant utilities
holding corporation.
This is clearly revealed in the pro-
posed purchase contract, which shows
that $212,370 of the proposed purchase
price would go for cash payments for
the 2l,237 shares of stock held by
J. E. Baker, New York broker. and the
remainder, or s327.253. for purchase
of a note owned by the North Amer.
| ican Co.
1t was brought out this morning py
Dunlop that dissolution of the w. r.
T. could not be accomplished until
the Capital Transit Co. was able 70
buy up the 375 minority shares Of
w. r. T. stock for the proposed stock
purchase price of $40 a share, which