Evening star., 1949-08-16
WoIfson Group
Assai|sICCon
Transit Report
Good Faith, Motives
Declared Impugned BY
'Fontostic Suspicious


mission today had before it a
statement by the L. E. Wolfson
interests assailing an ICC exam
iner's report recommending that
they be denied authorization to
acquire control of the Capital
Transit Co.
The group of nine Jacksonville
fla businessmen. headed by Mr..
Wolfson asserted that adoption
of the examiners report by the
commission would be nothing less
than a fragrant abuse of admins
trative discretion and would per-
petrate an intolerable injustice. -
They said that in the report
unfavorable to them, evidence
is ignored or diSregarded, and
the veracity, good faith and mo-
tives of the witnesses is impugned
without any basis" Instead OF
evidence, they said. fantastic
suspicious or 'presumptions' are
called upon to justify an unsound
and untenable conception Of pub
lie policy and regulation"
45Ho of Total Shares.
= The Florida group is seeking
to buy 109.458 shares Of Capital
Transit stock for $2.189.160. The
shares are 1851 per cent of the
total outstanding and. therefore,
give effective control of the COM
pany. They are owned now by
the North American Co.. which
has been ordered by the Securi-
ties and Exchange Commission
to dispose of them.
ICC Examiner Vernon v. Baker,
in a report last week, held that
acquisition of control of Capital
Transit and it's subsidiary. Mont
gomery Bus Lines, Inc. "by per-
sons so Unqualified by knowledge
and experience. and whose sole
purpose is to obtain reasonable
return on their investment. would
present definite hazards to con-
tinued performance by the carriers
of adequate transportation serv-
ice to the public"
Mr.. Baker also held that the
businessmen live in places
far removed from the territory"
of the two local transit companies
and presumably have no knowl-
edge of or interest in the prob
lens of the public in that terri
tory"
Exceptions to the report were
filed yesterday by John r. Turney
of Washington and John j. Man
ming of New York, attorneys for
the WoIfson group.
Deny Hazards Exist.
Referring to the statement con-
cerning hazards to adouate trans
portation service here, the Wolf
son group said:9A II
"The report does not state what
these hazards are. Whatever
they are, they exist with respect
to every large public utility, in
transportation companies,
local as we'll as inter- city. within
the United States.
1T is a new look in administra-
tive law that a citizen cannot in
vest, at least to the point of con-
troll, in the securities of a local
bus company. without first be-
coming experienced in transpor-
tation. Had that been a neces-
sary qualification. there would be
few. if any, investors in the stocks
of transportation companies. and
still fewer successful transporta-
ton companies.
Non residence also Is a novel
ground for disqualification. Ninety
per cent of the stockholders of
large transportation companies.
city and inter-city. would fail to
pass such a test. We submit that
neither the examiner nor this
commission should make any
such sweeping findings where
there Is not a scintilla of evil
dence in the record to support it"
The Florida group comprises
businessmen it is stated.
who realize their investment in
Transit would not be safe
unless the management was good
and the public was given efficent
and adequate service.
Contending that the recon-
conclusion is unlawful,
the Wolfson group asserted:
Nowhere in the Motor Carrier
Act is there any provision which
vests in the commission the dis
cretion to establish the physical,
financial, business, social,
experiential or resi-
Dental qualifications of a nom
carrier stockholder Of a carrier" :"