The Washington herald., 1913-10-12

attorney Of the company. The road
however, was not completed according
to the contract and the bonus was never
| paid. When the line was merged with
the Central of Georgia system, Mr.. Nc
Adoo continued his relations with the
latter corporation. Thus began his ac-
tive interest in transportation.
Some OF his friends got control Of the
street railroad in Chattanooga. EIectri-
! city as motive power in the operation
Of street cars was then in the first stages
of its development. Mr.. McAdoo later
| joined a group OF men who bought the
horse car line in Knoxville. Electricity
was substituted for animal power.
| The undertaking was a failure Arma-
! lures cost $50. Seven of them were
sometimes burned out in a day. The
daily gross receipts OF the road amounted
to only 500 New York had come into
Mr.. McAdoO's thoughts recurrently. A
wider opportunity for lawyers and men
Of business, he believed, was to be found
there. The collapse of the Knoxville ex-
pertinent caused him to leave the South
and turn his face Northward.
Blue Days in New York.
Il pass over my introduction to New
York" he said. Il retained my interest
in the Chattanooga law partnership, and
| that was something. But the year after
1 settled in New York the panic Of 1893
hit the country. Banks blew up and fac
tories closed. I had weathered other
storms and emerged from the one that
overlook me in a new part of the cOUn-
try. among strange people"
Ten years after locating in New York
the thought OF connecting New Jersey
with Manhattan Island by a tunnel took
definite form in Mr.. McAdoo's mind
What made you think of it?' l asked
him.
My experience in Tennessee" he an
swered, Increased my interest in all
matters related to transportation. l used
TO ride across the Hudson River from
Jersey City to New York. The ferry
gate was often shut in my face. When
that occurred I was compelled to wait
ten minutes for the next boat. Once out
on the river, 1 was frequently delayed
by fog or ice. Hundreds of thousands
of persons. twice each day. in going to
and from their work. were losing a great
deal of time. ] thought that New Jersey
should not. in logic. be more than three
minutes from Broadway. Two attempts
had been made to dig a tunnel under the
Hudson. Neither had come to anything.
l concluded to try my hand at the job"
That a lawyer but ten years in New
York could obtain S4O0O.OOO for an enter |
prise which engineers and capitalists said |
was impossible Of being carried out is |
the most striking achievement in Mr.. Nc |
Adoo's strangely successful life But he |
could state his case and the tone of his |
voice and the magic OF his eyes must |
have done the rest.
Did any discouraging days follow" I
asked. after you got the work under
way"
PLENTY of them" he replied. There
were many dark days and even weeks
when we feared the project would have
to be given up"
WOuld Regulate Competition.
In the operation of the tunnels" I
said. you adopted the public be
pleased policy. Was that Your own
phrase?"
Yes. claim no credit, however, for
the phrase or the policy. Pleasing the
public is nothing more than common
sense. Selling transportation is precise
y like selling anything else. All sales
men should be fair and courteous toward
heir customers. The public is simply a
human being, having all the
of the average man.
when the public is treated as one
would treat an individual few nhsunder-
occur. We could not carry
passengers for cents. We went to the
)ubllc with all the tactS and were per- |
nitted to raise the rate to Z cents. The
,ublic will be fair when it knows the
ruth, but it must know the truth.
lave said more than once that Public
opinion, ESQ.,, ought to be a member,
nd a respected member. of the board of
irectors of every corporation in the
United States"
How would you regulate monopoly"
inquired
81 do not believe you can successfully
egulate monopoly Oy permitting 1t to
xist and by then passing laws to con-
rol it. Some men advocate this. promi-
entity among whom is Mr.. George W.
'erkins. There are others equally as
onspicuous. The only way to regulate
successfully is to prevent II.
believe in prevention. What We ought
} do is to regulate competition. By
nat I mean that we should pass such
gislation as will preserve the virtues Of
0mpetition and destroy its brutalities."
"Brutalities?" 1 interrupted.
Yes, brutalities. Competition is full
7 them, but they are not half so great
n evil as the brutalities of monopoly.
ct me give you an instance of what I
ean by the brutaIities of competition.
oppose you own an oil refinery in In
ana and are doing a sound and profit
Die business in your own zone, which,
t US say. extends within q radius OF hi
miles from your establishment. Ir
Now, suppose that the Standard OIL q
ompany, which has business through 81
It the United States, invadeE your ter ,!i
tory and finds that you are IN It's way, a,
h. ~