Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-27
|CTCFranchise
Renewal Nears
House Action
Rules Committee
Allows Amendments,
Hot Fight Indicated
By DON S. WARREN


By DON S. WARREN
The House Rules Committee
today paved the way for House
action - probably next week y
on the bill recommended by the
House Interstate and Foreign
Commerce Committee to restore
the franchise of the Capital
Transit Co., with tax and other
concessions.
The committee granted an
open rule for consideration of
the bill by the House. meaning
that the measure will be open to
any amendment that is germane.
Indications are a hot fight will
judging from positions
taken today by some members of
the Rules Committee.
Blunt objections to the resto-
ration bill were voiced at the
Rules Committee hearing this
m orning by Representative
Brown, Republican of Ohio, who
denounced the Louis Wolfson
that controls the Cap
ital Transit Co.
marching Down Hill"
1--WE will be marching back
down the HILL" if Congress
restores the etc franchise" he
said. 1T makes Congress look
a little stupid and the Commits
sioners still more stupid" he
added.
He was referring to the act of
Congress in the dying days of
the past session to revoke the
etc charter and franchise, eff
fective next August Is.
AS Mr. Brown put it, "the
Wolfsons have made monkeys
out of the District and Con-
gress."
An entirely different position
was taken by spokesman for the
House Interstate Committee and
the House District Committee.
Representative Priest, Demo-
crat of Tennessee. chairman of
the Interstate Commi TT e,
strongly recommended enact
ment of the restoration bill. He
declared that the subcommittee
headed by Representative Harris
Democrat of Arkansas, had done
a very excellenet job" and had
come up with "the most practi-
cal solution"
Cool Toward Authority
Mr.. Priest said it became ap-
parent early in the Harris sub
committee hearings that there
was very little sentiment in the
committee for enactment of a
proposed District transit author
ity. recommended by the Com
missioners and the District Pub
lie Utilities Commission.
Representative Smith. Demo-
crat of Virginia, chairman of the
Rules Committee, commented
during debate over the restora-
ton measure that this bill was
designed to correct a mistake
made by Congress last year. He
said sit looks like Congress COM
mitted a boo-boo last year"
Mr.. Brown pressed the point
that the restoration bill would
give the etc terms that were
a lot better than it had in the
past.
Madden Questions Policies
Representative Madden. Dem
ocrat of Indiana, brought up the
question about financial pi-
rates" he said were going around
over the country to take over
transit concerns for the purpose
of milking them of their re-
naming resources and then
trying to dump the concerns on
the public. He wanted to know
whether Washington was a vic
tim of such thing, but said he
did not know whether the Wolf
son syndicate should be put into
the financial pirate" class.
Mr.. Harris, reviewing the eff
forts of the Commissioners late
last year to find a qualified new
private operator. said they had
failed and therefore had recon-
mended a public authority. To
get such a proposed public au-
thority operating on a tax free
basis, he said city officials pro-
posed a $40 million loan from the
Government.
On this point. Mr.. Brown said
I'D rather spend a little tax
payers money than to provide
for the continuation of service
by the etc j.. I just don't want
to be party to that"
Mr.. Harris said he thought
that Congress last summer wa,
justified in taking the action il
did. AS to the half dozen ap-
See TRANSIT, Page A.