Evening star., 1937-06-16
LAND VALUES SET
BY TRACTION CO.
MEET OPPOSITION
Member of District Board of
Assessors Fixes Worth
at $1,975,489.
DISCUSSION DELAYS
ARGUMENT ON FARE
Five.Cent Rides Would Be Ruin
Gus, Officials of Concern
Declare.

Declare.
Land values set by Capital Transi
Co. experts were disputed today b,
Harry Scantlin, member of the Dis
trict Board of Land Assessors, before
the Public Utilities Commission a!
arguments over a scent fare were
temporarily sdetracked.
Scantlin submitted a new set Of
charts to the commission which placed
q 81 ,975. .489 value on transit company
land. both used and useful, within the
District. The company has claimee
the value of this land is $2,8l0,3l0.
Traction officials invited battli
royal over scent fares late yesterday
and met the issue squarely. To
question as to its probable effect or
the income and operating expenses
Of the company, they had one
word ruinous."
William NICK. Clayton. utility
chairman of the Federation of Citi-
sens' Associations which is sponsor
ing the scent fare proposal. indi-
Gated. however. that the last has not
been heard about it Meanwhile, the
commission decided to go a bit into
valuation matters for the time teine
and return later to the controversial.
rate question.
Effect of Cut Estimated
The row was precipitated when j
E. Heberle, Capital Transit Co, con-
troller, put into the record an ex-
hibit tending TO show the company
would be worse off, under a scent
fare than it is under existing rates
Heberle said the company would be
agreeable to such a fare if It could
operate satisfactorily under it, but
added that 1T just isn't in the cards.
He referred to Claytons position
saving the matter, while not actually
before the commission. had been pro-
posed by the federation spokesman
in the public press and added
where Mr.. Clayton usually conducts
mos, Of h.s cases"
Federation Support Cited.
The vhite-hared Clayton, veteran
g. many rate battles al the District
Building, arose 10 explain his position.
He asserted that the Federation of
C.t.zens Associations has studied and
vo.ed n favor Of scent fares as an
experiment.
Il IS no. the proposition Of Mr.
Clayton alone, but Of the federation" ."
he corrected. 1t was not done in any
spirit 10 hurt the company or put it
OFT OF business, but simply n an en-
ceavor 10 help il
The company, which hopes to receive
e334.476 IN additional revenue from
increasing tokens to four for 35 cents,
had this to say about the effect of the
suggestion:
If the adult fare on street cars and
buses were made cents and the
weekly pass abolished, but no change
made in the Scent school fare or in
miscellaneous fares such as the Haines
Point line, 1t would be necessary to
carry 36.6 per cent more revenue pas
sengers on bus lines at cents and
297 per cent more scent passengers
on rail lines to produce an amount of
revenue equal to that produced by the
existing rates of fare in the District
OF Columbia.
Requires Increase in Service.
ANY such additional load on the
street car and bus lines would require
substantial increases in service that
would add to operating costs and make
the net position of the company worse
than it is under the existing rates"
Chairman Riley E. Elgen of the
commission displayed an unusual
amount of interest in the question and
inquired at length on questions enter
ing into it. He wanted to know, for
one thing, if a scent fare would not
produce more riders during the mid
die of the day.
The transit controller replied that
he doubted it, but that the load of
riders during the rush hours would be
so great that the company would have
to change routing and put additional
cars in service. He reminded that now
WIG Idl dlC SlOWuSu W ldpdIlly.
THE weekly pass, which is a pro-
motional rate, would create more pas
sengers than Scent fare, in my
opinion" he added.
Figures submitted late yesterday
estimate it would cost s45,2O4,3 300 to
reproduce all the used and useful
properties Of the company, less depre-
citation.
The valuation has been brought up
to December 81, 1885, and in connec-
ton with the rate case additional tes-
timony will be given bringing 1t up to
April 80, 1887.
Return Ratio Estimated.
The company estimates now, with
increased taxes added. its net income
under present rates this year will be
e770,592. With the increase in reve-
nues from higher token fare, it esti-
mates the net income for the year at
approximately $1,042,O00.
That would be equivalent to per
cent return on s2o,O00,00O valuation
which is admittedly 50 low as hardly
to be considered. On $50 100000 val
uation it would represent return OF
about 3la per cent.
No matter what valuation is deter
mined, the company contends, it could
not expect to derive fair rate OF
return on the increased fares it is now
seeking. Clayton yesterday admitted
as much.
From the commissiu..'s viewpoint
the question is not one Of valuation
but of whether the increase in token
fare would be sufficient to help the
company financially and at the same