Evening star., 1946-05-23
Mediators Give
Arnold Drivers
12-Cent Boost
Several Issues Still
Undecided; Union
Member Dissents

NlSIIIOST OISSSNCS
Union employees of the Arnold
operated buslines have been awarded
a 12-cent hourly wage increase by a
three-man arbitration board, which
Is drawing up a new contract.
Eli L. Oliver, representing the
union-the Amalgamated Associa-
tion of Street, Electric Railway g.
Motor Coach Employees of America,
AFL, Local 1919, dissented in the
settlement, which was 18 cents un-
der original union demands.
Voting for the award were G.
Allen Dash, jr., chairman of the
panel, and Douglas l. Hatch, COM
pany arbitrator.
Undecided Issues.
Issues still to be decided include
drivers demands for free transpor-
tation, free uniforms, company
paid insurance and severance pay
The increase was made retro
active to May 18 and raises the
employees pay to $1.10 an hour, as
compared with $114 for Capital
Transit Co. operators. The recon-
mendation will be forwarded to the
Wage Sterilization Board for ap-
proval.
The company has notified the
Interstate Commerce Commission Of
its intention to raise the present 10
cent zone fare to Is cents. The pro-
posed increase amounts to 21z cents
more for all zones If tokens are
purchased and 5 cents more for
cash fares.
Opposition to the proposal has
been voiced by Arlington civic
groups. who have requested the
commission to suspend the increase
pending public hearing.
OPA Ready for Hearing.
Meanwhile, the Office of Price
Administration informed the COM
mission in a letter today that it is
willing to have the commission set
an early hearing on the matter after
suspending the fare incrase.
Declaring that the company has
requested the commission to permit
the fare increase to become effective
without hearing, Harry R. Booth,
OPA utilities counsel, said:
The conduct of the company is
not such that it deserves special
consideration, for to do so would re-
quire ignoring and disregarding the
substantial rights of another Fed
eral agency, that of the price ad-
ministrator, in this matter"
Mr.. Booth said in his letter that he
company has failed to comply with
an Act of Congress by denying the
OPA the financial information re-
quired under the law.
Doesn't Meet Requirements.
"Only on May 20 and as part of
its reply to various protests on file
with the commission did the COM
pany supply this Office with certain
financial data" Mr. Booth asserted.
However, this does not conform to
the requirements of procedural
regulation IL.
while required to give notice and
consent of our intervention by an
act of Congress, the company now
seeks to nullify its consent by re-
questing the commission to deny the
OPA a hearing before the increased
fares become effective
Mr. Booth also pointd out that
the companys contention that it
suffered loss in 1945 sis not borne
out by its reports, which show it had
a net operating revenue of $9,4O6
after expenses are computed by it in
Its reports. This is after all of its
so-called operating costs, including
direct payments of $4,000 to Leon
Arnold, president, and $43,758 to
Joseph Arnold, vice president"
PUG Recommendation Denied.
In another development, three of
the five members of the Arlington
Public Utilities Commission today
denied that their commission had
recommended that the proposed fare
increase go into effect Immediately
pending an investigation by the
Interstate Commerce Commission
and charged PUG Chairman Milton
E. Diehl with making an unauthor-
lied statement to that effect.
MIR. Diehls statement, according
to R. C. L. Moncure, Glen B. Wall
and w. Glen Bixler, was contained
in letter to the ICC following a
recent meeting of the Arlington
PUG. They declared:
1--WE have just learned of the con-
tents of Mr.. DiehPs letter to the
Interstate Commerce Commission
and are surprised at the statement
which he made. His statement that
the Arlington Public Utilities Com
mission recommended that the pro-
posed increase in fares for the Ar
mold lines go into effect Immediately
pending an investigation of the
matter by the Interstate Commerce
Commission was wholly unauthor-
lied by the Arlington Public Utilities
Commission.
THE Public Utilities Commission
took no position whatever with re-
spect to this matter. What we did
do was to request that the Inter-
state Commerce Commission inves-
tigate the capital structure and the
financial operations of the Arnold
lines in order to see what, If any,
increase should be granted.
The commission authorized Mr..
Diehl, as its chairman, to write
letter to the Interstate Commerce
Commission in line with its views as
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