Evening star., 1951-06-02

been unsuccessful in attempts to
reach company officers to inform
them Of the appeals court deci-
sion and chart the future course
of the long drawn battle over
the broadcastS.
e He said, however. he would ad-
wise his clients to carry their case
to the high tribunal.
Ben Strouse. president of Wash
ington Transit Radio. an affiliate
Of Station WWDC-FM, which fur
nishes the broadcasts, said I'VE
have no alternative but to take
the case to the Supreme Court.
Sees Broader Challenge.
1.-THE decision is so broad that
it not only challenges transit radio
broadcasts." Mr.. Strouse said, "but
Is an implied challenge to all in
dustry-supported commercial ad-
vertising."
If the appeal is made it seems
probable the broadcasts will con-
tinue until the case finally is de-
cided. Mr. Await sale he will seek
an order holding up the appeals
court order to send the case back
to the Public Utilities Commission
"for further proceedings. 1t
seemed unlikely that the Supreme
Court could act on the case before
next fall.
There was general agreement,
however, that if the appeals court
ruling against commercials on the
radio programs is upheld it will
mean the end of the broadcasts.
Two-Year Battle.
Yesterdays decision by the
Court of Appeals marked a win
ming round in the battle for a
group known as the Transit
Riders Association" which has
fought the transit broadcasts since
they were started here more than
two years ago.
Claude N. Palmer, president of
the association, hailed the ap-
pellate decision as recognizing
an entirely new area of human
rights" and Hector G.. Spaulding,
counsel, said it represented lone
of the greatest advances in re-
cent years in the field of personal
freedoms"
Mr.. Palmer said the associa-
ton was fully prepared" to assist
in continuing the fight through
the Supreme Court if necessary,
although it saw no reason to be-
lieve there was much likelihood
of a reversal.
The first round transit radio
fight went to Capital Transit
Co. and Transit Radio, Inc,
which sells the equipment and
arranges for the broadcasts.
That was in December, 1949, when
the PUG dismissed a petition to
halt the broadcasts. Round 2
was fought in the District Court,
where Judge Edward. A. Tamm
rebuffed the transit riders suing
to silence the offending broad
casts.
Rights Held Violated.
The Court of Appeals, however,
disagreed whole-heartedly with
Judge Tamm and the commission.
A salty opinion, written by Judge
Henry w. Edgerton, with Judges
David L Bazelon and Charles
Fahy concurring, states in no un-
certain terms that the broadcasts
invade the constitutional rights of
riders and deprive objecting pas
sengers of liberty without due
process of law"
Lawyers for the Transit Riders
Association expressed cautious de-
light at the decision.
One of them, Franklin S. Pollak,
admitted he was naturally very
pleased" pointing out that the
present success "was made possible
by all those who have contributed
money to pay the expenses" of the
long legal battle.
When finally decided, the Capt.
tai Transit case will affect the
status of transit radio all over the
country. At the last count, Ia
cities were reported to have radio
programs in public transportation
vehicles