Evening star., 1938-10-09
AresitaAntA far ana ARais

ArguhAtntS Tor ana against the long
pending appeal Of the Arlington 4
Fairfax Auto Railroad O.. to bring ita
auto railer" vehicles into the District
Of columbia In interstatA bus service,
will be heard BY the Public Utilities
Commission Monday, October II, with
prospects, Of \ lively oontroversy over
the Issues involved.
The auto railers. which operate on
either rails, like street car, or on
rubber tires, like bus, would be
routed into the District, under the
proposal, from Rosslyn. Va, across
Key Bridge, along NJ street, Pennsyl-
vania avenue. Twenty sixth street.
virginia avenue and Constitution ave.
nue., to the intersection OF Pennsylvania
avenue, and return.
The proposal viii be opposed princi.
pally by the Capital Transit Co.
Case Pending fer Year.
The case has been pending for more
than q year, and has been considered
in various forms BY the Public Utilities
Commission, the Interstate Commerce
Commission, District Court, the Court
Of Appeals, and Is now back before
the Public Utilities Commission.
Franklin X. Lane, president and
general counsel Of the company. ex-
planned the auto railer company now
operates about IS miles Of track from
It's terminal In Rosslyn. with one line
running to Fairfax, Va. and another
feeder line to Fort Myer, Arlington
Cemetery through Arlington County
to Green Valley. The rolling stock
consists OF Is passenger vehicles and
J work cars. The company Is largely
owned by stockholders of the former
Arlington Fairfax Railway Co.
Principle widely Used.
The Fairfax company will claim that
1t should have the right Of pick up and
delivery Of customers" Mr.. Lane said.
This IL . principle. he claims, which Is
widely recognized In transportation.
1t IL used, he said, by the Baltimore
d Ohio Railroad In taking passengers
into New York by means OF buses
crossing on Z ferry into Manhattan
for delivery Of passengers from trains
Passengers brought by the Fairfax
line from parts Of Virginia should not
Be required to transfer At Rosslyn in
order to get into the District, Mr..
Lane claims, but. should be given the
privilege Of riding on into the city In
the same carrier.
He pointed to the long tight Of the
Fairfax line to obtain entry to the
city. beginning with FIRST appeal to
the I. c. c., later Withdrawn. the re-
fusal Of the Public Utilities Commits
sion to take Jurisdiction. the loss OF
the lines case in District Court. and
refusal Of the Court Of Appeals to act
until administrative remedies" were
exhausted. The last decision of the
I. c. G. In July, he feels, opened the
way for final aItion by the Utilities
Commission on the merits Of the case
Transit Company Opposed.
The Capital Transit Co. will oppose
the petition, it was explained by Z. D.
Merrill, president and teneral man.
ager, for several reasons. Public con-
veniencA and neoesMty, he claimed,
would not require the entry into the
District OF the new service, because
the Capital Transit Co. is ready and
willing to furnish all service the pub
lie requires from the Rosslyn loop to
Washington. The transit line will
claim that the universal transfer priv
ileges obtained when . passenger
boards 4 transit street car In Rosslyn
gives him 4 ride to any part OF the
big consolidated system throughout
washington. The passenger coming
to Washington on the auto.railer
would not have such transfer privi-
lege, he pointed out. but would be able
to ride only along the route proposed.
About one.third Of the Capital
Transit business originating in Ross
lyn comes from tranSfers Of persons
to and from the Arlington and Fair
fax lines, he explained. Reduction OF