Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-12
Public Lacks Courage.

Public Lacks Courage.
The strange influence of unfulf1lled ex-
pectations is patent factor ofttimes. and
rarely more SO than during the muddle OF
the last six weeks. On the surface there
is little that is awesome, but somehow the
nerves Of the average men tingle al
months and years Of non-performance.
The country was never richer and ex-
penditures never greater, yet the lack OF
courage on the part Of the multitude to
go ahead and perform is plain to the
comprehension of the onlookers. It IL
that commonly felt yet dimly appreciated
sense Of fogginess that retards enterprise
and chills courage.
The enactment Of the tariff law has
thus far failed untterly as a stimulant.
In that respect 1t has been an obvious
disappointment, and now when doubt-in-
fected men discuss probabilities they In
Quire why they should be bullish over
future miracles when past prophecies
proved misleading. The question Is one l'
that is difficult to answer convincfngly.
especially when imminent confusion con-
fronts us on every hand. True We have
a new tariff law. but 1t will be year
before its workings are appreciated Tor
what the enactment is actually worth.
and business men are waiting for the
realization. A new and ideal banking law
was to be slipped through Congress In the
wake of tariff, but suddenly a noisy OPP
position to the Wilson program springs
up and a veritable riot OF views 1s al
ready in progress.
The charge is made by the pioneers and
veterans Of high finance that the latest
Wilson creation is amateurish and must
he refashioned by skilled artists before
II can be safely adopted. The President
has gone against the most obstinate and
powerful opposition he has yet encoun-
tered and in the opinion Of the wiseacres
of Wall street it is by no means certain
he will win out
The offensive personality Of not a few
of the most vociferous advocates Of the
Wilson program has intensified the an
tagonism of a majority of the old school
financiers, who feel it their first duty to
protect the banking institution from un-
tried theorists. New York, Chicago and
Boston are not the only centers of op-
position, but these cities are active ager1-
cies of the aggressive anti-Wilson cru
SADIE. Its rise as an aggressive hostile
force is growing rapidly, and although
the President Is slow to acknowledge 1t
his original and supposedly fixed views
are generally believed, in the financial
district, to have undergone change.
Clamor for Federal Control
Another disturbing factor is the in
creasing volume Of noise for enlarged
government control of corporations and
of the ownership of such Of them as are
tinged most strongly with public in
terest. The list grows longer every day
and includes railroads and fractions, tele-
graph and telephone companies, electric
and gas lighting companies, and every
other line Of industry owned and operated
by individuals or combinations. 1t Is by
long odds the most comprehensive pro-
ject Of political, financial. Industrial and
social hQtChld
though the truth is not appreciated where
1t should be the "progresSiveS' are max
ing themselves felt more noisily every
day. and contributing to the uneasiness
of the markets. Few men of affairs will
yet admit that weight should attach
to this phase of political and social activ-
ity; none the less it is already pesti-
lential force in the stock market and
general business situation. One conten-
ton is that a prolonged currency discus
sion as a paramount issue will detract
radical agitation from more dangerous
specialities.
Within the coming week the Interstate
commerce commission will be deluged
with petitions and statistical data from
fifty-two eastern railroads. setting forth
the merits Of the plea for an increase in
freight rates. By tacit preagreement
this mass of copy" will be turned over
to the commissioners about the 10th, and
by them to their experts for varification
and condensation. Each of the fifty
two reports will contain a record of the
details of the material growth and
performance of each system for the
ten years Q9O2-1912), going into a be-
wildering mass Of figures. A concen-
tration Of these half hundred basic
tables will be the matedial for the
greatest history of actual railroad con-
struction and operation ever attempted.
How long it will take the interstate
commerce commissioners to assimilate
the substantial facts in the elaborate
collection of tabulated reports Is strict
ly conjectural at this writing. 1t may
take two or four weeks, or as many
months Application for nearly 100000
schedules will rest on the foundation of
facts and figures to be supplied on or
about the 18th instant.
On the ultimate decision will depend
the issue of about $4O0OO.00O additional
annual income. Reserse action will
leave the railroads in a worse position
than ever, and in MANY cases would
probably result in physical deterioration
and bankruptcy. A favorable ruling
would vitalize the whole business struc-
ture, and fill it with going force for