Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-05-19
Next Transit Move
Scheduled in House
Conferees Will.
Be Named to
Seek Solution
BY HECTOR MCLEAN

Congressional action to solve
the Washington transit crisis
has halted over the week end.
Senate appointment yesterday
of 1ive conferees left 1t up to
the House to name a similar
group early next week. This
was expected after Speaker Ray
burn returns Tuesday from .
trip.
The Senate named its con-
fereeS yesterday. less than "a
hours after the House had
passed a bill to restore the fran
chise of Capital Transit Co..
which is scheduled to die by act
OF Congress next August IA.
Serious Conflict
The bill was Numerically OPP
posed to a measure passed in
previous weeks by the Senate
which would set UP a publicly
owned Washington metropoli-
tan transit authority which will
take over the transit system in
August.
Named as Senate conferees
were Senators Mcnamara Of
Michigan, chairman Of the SUBJ
committee which drafted the
Senate-passed transit bill; Morse
of Oregon and Bible of Nevada.
all Democrats, and Beall Of
Maryland and Case Of New Jer-
Isey. Republicans.
On the other side Of Capitol
Hill. Chairman Priest of the
House Interstate and Foreign
Commerce Committee predicted
appointment of a similar num-
Der of conferees early in the
week.
Yesterday afternoon, Senator
Mcnamara branded as "phony"
"a recent proposal by Daniel w.
Bell. president Of the American
Security g. Trust Co., to have
the Capital Transit Co. buy out
and retire the stock Of Louis
E. Wolfson, its controlling stock
holder
He charged that Mr.. Bells
proposal, made the day before
the House started debate on the
franchise restoration bill, came
in after half past the 18th hour"
And, he said, Il think all these
offers made 50 far by Capital
Transit are phony offers de-
signed to bail Wolfson out"
Bank Handles Accounts
He pointed out that Mr.. Bells
bank handles the funds of Cap
ital Transit and Of Mr.. Wolfson
and declared:
THE only conclusion I can
reach is that the Capital Transit
crowd is determined to create
so much confusion that it will
win back its disreputable fran
chise by default. One move in
this direction was the timing of
a so-called proposal by one part
of the Capital Transit gang to
buy out the other. The net re-
suit would be the same poor
service to the customers.
II won't 60 so far as saying
this offer was phony," he oe-
clared in a formal statement.
But believed 1t was made with
So bills and / don't have much
faith in the value Of SO bills.
THE people of Washington
don't. either. All they want is
q good transit system, and they
won't get it under the Capital
Transit gang. no matter what
smokescreen is raised"
Senator Mcnamara said he
approached the coming confer
ence with House members with
an open mind on everything but
making sure that Capital Transit
Co. actually goes out Of business
on August IA.
JitneyS Suggested
He said that public mass tram
sit service can be provided after
August IA without relying on
CTC equipment. He declared:
I'VE can put a jitney service
into effect overnight that could
carry all the people now carried
by Capital Transit"
Senator Mcnamara said he
wants to see the tax concessions
which are proposed for Capital
Transit in the House bill offered
to other prospective private oper-
ators.