Evening star., 1953-05-21
Plans for Area
Transit Board
Stir Argument
Hyde on Stund First
As Hearings Open;
Tuubin Also Heard

elgn commerce COmmlCCee.
Representative Hyde, Repub-
lican, of Maryland, the first
witness, opened testimony which
is expected to run for two days.
Mr.. Hyde was questioned at
length by the committee on his
measure to give the new COM
mission control over all pas
senger carriers in the Metro
politan Area.
He also approved a provision
of another bill by Representa-
tive Broyhill, Republican, of
Virginia to make an overall
study of all area problems and
told the committee he would in
troduce a new bill to authorize
the regulatory commission to
make such overall studies.
d. C. Heads Hit Hyde Bill
Chairman Wolverton of the
committee made public a letter
from the District Board of Com
missioners strongly opposing the
Hyde bill.
From the Interstate Commerce
Commission the committee also
had received a letter making sew
eral suggested changes in the
area commission bill, but aside
from these criticisms. said it had
no objections to the measure.
The committee chairman an
nounced it is considering princi-
pally the Hyde bill and an almost
identical measure which passed
the Senate.
Listed witnesses expected to
testify were nine supporting the
legislation and four opposing it.
Among the opponents will be a
spokesman for the Washington
Board of Trade.
Hyde Plans Amendment.
Representative Hyde said he
would offer an amendment to
his bill to provide for the area
study proposed by Representa-
tive Broyhili.
Mr.. Broyhill opposes the Hyde
plan for three-man area transit
commission to be appointed by
the President.
The Virginia House member
prefers his own pending legisla-
ton for the long-range. sweeping
investigation of all area prob
lens, including transportation,
highways and bridges, by a
presidentially appointed commits
sion of nine members.
Mr.. Hyde declared that
"public transportation in this
area needs adequate regulation
promptly. The service is
whiting away fast. No action
can possibly be taken as the
result of a near-study under two
years time.
Moreover" he said, "it has
been my experience that the
surest way to buck-pasS, bypass
and kill a bill is to have the
subject matter thereof returned
to some commission for study"
Amend Senate Measure.
Mr.. Hyde's bill amends. the
Senate-passed measure intro
duced by Senator johnson. Dem
ocrat, of Colorado to clarity the
jurisdiction and strengthen it's
constitutionality, according to
Mr.. Hyde.
Mr.. Hyde told the committee
Senator Johnson had advised
him he had no objection to the
amendment. The Maryland leg
islator estimated the measure
would affect about is million
people in the Washington Metro
politan Area. While it would
regulate local carriers, it would
not cover bus and railway lines
engaged in through transporta-
ton out of the city, Mr.. Hyde
said.
The committee heard only two
witnesses at its morning session,
Mr.. Hyde and Harold Taubin,
representing the Montgomery
County Council. He testified at
length for the Hyde bill, but ran
into much more critical ques-
tioning from committee men,
bers than did Representative
Hyde.
Says 1t Is No Panacea.
Mr.. Taubin said the legisla-
ton was not considered a pana-
cea for transportation problems
of the area. But he claimed that
such a commission would i'm
prove possibilities to correct the
existing situation, whereas there
is no possibility of graphing
with the problem now.
He told the committee that
between 1948 and 1852 the Mont
gomery County Bus Line, an
adjunct of the Capital Transit
Co., had decreased 16 per cent
in mileage and "a per cent in
passengers carried.
Mass transportation, he as
serted, should play a stronger
and a more important part in
the area development, but could
not do so while divided and cut
into many separate jurisdictions.
He saw no conflict between
the Hyde-JohnSon bill and the
Broyhill measure.
Answers Subsidy Objection.
Questioned closely by commit
tee members as to whether the
new area commission might re-
quire improbable operation OF
feeder lines in some of the out
lying areas and thus lead to re-
quests for Government subsidy,
Mr.. Taubin responded that the
idea of the legislation, on the
other hand, was to foreStall the
necessity for a subsidy.
Representative Pelly, Republi-
can, of Washington said it was