New-York tribune., 1919-01-14
Interstate Commerce Board
Member Tells Senate US.
Must Keep the Railroads
Offers Rate-Making Plan
Commissioner Defends Nc
Adoo Extension Plan De-
spite Colleagues Stand

to explain in detail why he is the only
member of the commission who favors
the McAdoo plan of five more years Of
Federal control of the railroads. Mr.
Woolley, who has been a member Of
the commission fifteen months, was di-
rector of publicity for the Democratic
National Committee in the 1916 cam
paign.
In lengthy statement he supple
mented arguments which he gave in
his original opinion dissenting from
his colleagues. His purpose. he ex-
planned, was to show that the present
freight rate structure Of the railroads,
as established by the commission, is
"unscientfic, illogical and laden with
preferences, and that a sufficient time,
with normal conditions, must be grant
ed for testing plan calculated to do
exact justice to the whole people,
rather than to the shipper and the car
rler as classes of the people"
Woolley Has Rate Plan.
He unfolded a plan of his own.
whereby the present rate structure
could be supplanted by one based on a
mileage basis with working out Of
terminal charges that would cover up
such inequalities as such a basis light
IN individual instances involve. Such
plan, he said, could not be worked out
o. mt Z
Under examination by Senators he
volunteered The information that Di-
rector General McAdoo had some such
plan in mind when he resigned, and he
understood that his successor, Walker
Hines, is in sympathy with the pro-
posal. He admitted having discussed
the matter with MIR. McAdoo, and said
that the latter explained that his, Mr..
McAdOo's plan was only tentative, and
that Mr.. Woolley's sounded good to
him"
Most of the questioning was by SEN
ator Cummins. While friendly, it was
a grliling one. When asked, in face of
his predictions as to the disastrous re-
suits that would come to the roads if
returned to private control, whether he
vi L.
McAdoo to turn them back at once if
the five-year period was not granted,
Mr.. Woolley replied
"As to that | should bow to the
judgment of the President, who, as
sumo, would act on better information
than have. l may say though that
| frankly told Mr.. McAdoo that l did
not think the roads should be turned
back"
Stock Prices Quoted
The examination of Mr.. Wooley will
be continued tomorrow. 1t is probable
that he Will be taken in hand at the
outset of the session by Senator Kel-
logg, OF Minnesota. who is pronounced
opponent of the McAdoo proposal. az
are most of the members of the com
mittee, Democrats as well as Repub
licans.
before he read his prepared state
ment Mr.. Woolcy submitted two ex-
hiblts, one show la the market Quota
tlons on various railroad stocks at
critical periods during the last two
years, the other showing the physical
and tlnanclal condition Of the 1872 roads
controlled by the government The
ilrst gave the quotations as Of july !,
1914, when the stock market first began
10 grow restive over the prospect of
war IN Europe; April T. 1917, the day
after the United States entered the
war; October 1, 1917, when the roads
reached point Of acute congestion
under the demand for the movement
OF war materials; November II, 1918
the day after the signing Of the armis-
tlce; December 2, 1918, the day the
fresident's annual message was to be
read; December 3, 1918, the day follow
ing It's publication, and December TO-
when the McAdoo proposal was sent
/ to Congress.
Kellogg Is Nettled
"Can you tell me-" demanded Sen
ator Kellogg, "what earthly relevancy
these quotations have to the subject
matter of this inquiry?"
Il desired to submit them to show
the ability Of the roads, or lack of
ability, to finance themselves under
private control, and how stocks were
depressed or discrcdited at certain
critical periods. In other words,
want to show the attitude of the Sc
curity owners toward the proposal to
turn back the roads"
Would it not be better" asked the
Minnesota Senator testify, of VIC
waited until the representatives of
the security owners themselves take
the stand ?"
In support of his contention that the
present rate structure was unscientiiic
Mr.. Woolley, in his prepared state
ment, quoted at length from the views
I of various courts, of various prede-
I cessors in the commission, letter of
complaint to the railroad administra
tion from counsel of certain shippers
/ Of Jackson, Mich
What was the reply of the railroad
administration to that complaint?' %
asked Senator Townsend, OF Michigan.
~ don't know, SIR" replied Mr..
/ Woolley
Mr.. Woollcy's paper went on to con-
tend that if Federal control were con-
tinued costly competition between
roads and water carriers could be
eliminated, cross-hauling avoided, ter
mlnal freight charges made more eco
nornical and the public protected.
Caused Political Issue
"ln conclusion," he read, II beg to
remind this honorable committee and
Congress that we read and see much
Of the concentration Of our population
in big centres, Of the consequent evils
thereof; poorly paid and badly housed
labor. congestcd tenement districts and
children growing up under unfavor-
able conditions; the increase Of the
criminal class girls on the streets, and
submit that our long existing i'm
proper plan Of fixing freight problems
would become inevitably the predcmi-
mating political issue. In the coming
Presidential campaign, or at least the
next; although Mr.. McAdoo in his
testimony explained that one reason
he had for extending fhc perind ~