Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-09
SUBURBIA
Continued From Page B-1

NVAuCu EIVm rage D.
County. near Wisconsin avenue
a short distance north of Be.
thesda. are $l10 a month.
Their house has three ued.
rooms and two baths, a Twin.
room, a separate dining room
and a large kitchen.
The utilities. which they nov
pay themselves. average $40 9
month, including gas heat in the
winter. This brings their basic
housing bill to $40 a month
above the apartment rental.
In addition, there are taxes ci
1921 due each fall. and the an
nual bill for fire and storm in
surance on the house, and ire
liability insurance which the
apartment owner handled before
With only one dependent, a
substantial part of Mr.. Barton s
weekly pay check goes for Fed.
eral income tax.
Income Tax Higher
His Maryland State income tar
is higher than the tax he paid
in the District. Also. he feels
it more keenly, because. since he
works in the District. he must
pay it in quarterly installments
rather than by having it de-
Quoted from his pay check.
When they moved in there
was an immediate outlay of
money for extra home furnish
ings. The furniture from their
two-bedroom apartment in the
District was not sufficient to fill
their new six-room house.
I'VE expected all Of that-the
taxes, the insurance. the higher
housing cost and the new fur
niture." Mr.. Barton said. land
we planned for it."
But If someone had told him
a year ago. Mr.. Barton would
not have believed that his trans
portation costs to and from work
alone would be SIG a week, as
opposed to the 50 a week he
spent in the District.
When the Bartons lived in
their apartment, Mr.. Barton
most frequently used public
transportation. The Connecticut
avenue bus took him within a
block of his Office. and his trans
portation cost him 40 cents a
day.
Modest Cab Fare
When the weather was bad
and he didn't feel like walking
two blocks to the bus stop in the
mornings, Mr.. Barton took a
taxicab from the hack stand in
front Of the apartment building
He was in the second zone and
that cost him so cents.
The occasions when he drove
and paid SIPS or $50 to a
parking lot, were rare.
From his new home, cab fares
are prohibitive. 1t would cost
him nearly SO to take a cab from
his house to his office.
II he uses the bus, 1t costs him
40 cents each way-the same as
he paid in the District when he
took a cab to work In the morn
ing and the bus home at night
But going by bus takes much
longer. so Mr.. Barton drives to
work every day. His weekly park
ing bill is about 81. Added to
this is the estimated 10 cents a
mile for operating his automobile
along the l2-mile trip to the Of
flee and back.
That brings his weekly trans
poration bill. for a five-day week.
TO $l9.
Some Of his neighbors use a
car pool. But since his working
hours run later than most Of
those Of his neighbors, Mr.. Bar
ton has been unable to find a
satisfactory car pool.
Mr.. Barton, of course, is pay
ing for convenience.
He would rather spend his $40
. week than use public trans
portation. Life is busy In subur-
bia. and by driving TO work he
spends only seven hours a week
travelling as opposed 10 the l1la
hours 1t would take him on the
bus.
Mr.. and Mrs. Barton like con-