Evening star., 1953-04-08
Doubts Raised
On Transit Bill
Johnson Backs
Lohmun Fuvors
Study; Legal
Fight Forecast

creation of Metropolitan Area
commission to take over regula-
ton of mass transportation here
has arisen while Senate District
Committee action is awaited.
New items in the controversy
include:
A statement by Joseph D. Lob
man. chairman of the National
Capital Planning Commission.
that while this plan might be
useful as a holding action, it
should be subordinated to a high
level study of the whole problem.
A warning by a spokesman for
the Alexandria, Bancroft g.
Washington bus operation that a
court fight against the regional
commission measure would be
made on constitutional grounds
of conf1scation.
A statement from the Virginia
State Corporation Commission
denounced the plan to set up an
area transit commission as
wholly unnecessary" The 'Vir-
ginia body fled its protest with
the Senate committee yesterday.
Taxi Monopoly Seen.
And a warning by a spokesman
for a Washington taxicab insur.
ance company that a cab mo-
nopoly could be expected If the
regional commission plan became
law.
There have been indications
that the bill, already unanimous
ly reported from the Senate
Commerce Committee, would not
encounter opposition from the
Payne Subcommittee of the Sem
ate District Committee.
The subcommittee was to meet
yesterday. but failed of a
quorum. Senator Payne. Repub-
lican, of Maine, chairman, said
he would try again today. A
meeting of the full District Com
mittee is expected to be called
once the subcommittee makes its
findings.
Doubts about the regional
commission bill, sponsored by
Senator johnson. Democrat, Of
Colorado. were raised in a letter
from Chairman Lohman of the
Planning Commission.
Asks Study First.
He said the regional commits
sion proposed in the johnson
bill and a similar one proposed
in the House by Representative
Hyde, Republican, of Maryland,
may. or may not be the best
permanent solution of the prob
lem"
He said that before testing
any experiment of a more or
less permanent existence, the
(planning) commission urges
that a broad, complete and high
level technical survey should be
made for the whole city, which
now includes portions of nearby
Maryland and Virginia"
He noted that such a study.
commission bill had been offered
by Representative Broyhill, Re-
publican, of Virginia. He added:
"Of course, any well-developed
study will require a period Of
from eight months to a year.
II, therefore, the Congress
should conclude that some in
terim holding action is needed
at once to prevent any further
increase in what seems to be a
gradual deterioration in the
public transportation system, es-
pecially in some of the outlying
areas, the commission believes
that the provisions of S922 and
H. r. 3771 (the johnson and
Hyde measures), modified to
some extent, could be useful IL
enacted as a part of a bill such
as Representative Broyhill's H. r.
2236."
Defective Bill Seen.
The A. B. & w. Transit Co..
through counsel, S. Harrison
Kahn, contended that the john
son bill was hastily drawn and
was defective in reasonable
regulatory standards"
Mr.. Kahn, in a brief filed with
the District Committee, said the
johnson bill would confiscate the
property of the A. B. & w. Co.
without due process of law. On
this point he argued that under
the johnson bill the company's
certificate of convenience and
necessity, issued by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission,
could be repealed by the new
commission though the bill out
lines no standards for such
action
The brief said that the
A. B. & w. was giving reasonable
service. and added:
"Is it possible, therefore, that
the seeming discomfort with the
mass transit operator within the
District Capital Transit co.. has
unwittingly spurred Congress
sional interest unnecessarily into
reasonably satisfactory service
between Virginia and the Dis
trict?"
Jack Dolton, for the Amalga-
mated Casualty Insurance Co..
said he thought the roots of the
evil" here was that the District
had an understaffed Public Util-
tiles Commission. There is an
insufficient number of clerks to
handle the taxicab regulation, he
declared in his letter to the Dis
trict Committee.
The Virginia State Corpora
tion Commission stated in its OBJ
jections that the proposal would
and encroach upon
State regulatory powers. It said
the plan was detrimental to the
best interests of the public.
Meanwhile, the Arlington Civic
Association took the opposite
view at its meeting last night,
passing a resolution favoring
of an area authority.