The sun., 1919-05-12
POLITICS FIRST
UNDER WILSON,
PEEK CHARGES
Retiring Chairman of In
dustrial Board DenOunces
Administration.
ALL EFFORTS BALKED
Attempts to Adjust Prices and
Bring About Resumption
Of Business Fail.
ALL EFFORTS BALKED
Special Despdfch TO The suS.

WASHINGTON, May 11.-George n
Peek. who up TO two days ago was
chairman OF the Industrial Board OF
the Department of Commerce which
sought to stabilize prices and stumbled
on steel, sang his swan song to-day
and roundly scored the Administration
for putting the business of politics
ahead of the business OF Government.
He paid his respects to Director Cen
eral Of Railroads Hines and referred
to Secretary Of the Treasury Glass
and to Attorney General Palmer In n
manner that could not be regarded as
complimentary.
Mr. Peek gives his personal views as
to the reasons for the failure of the
board TO accomplish the end sought.
He intimates that 1t was due either to
the fact that the Administration real
lied that the results the board accom-
rlished would be too great to leave
outside the Administration or that the
Administration planned a platform of
State socialism for 1920 that was in
consistent with the policy pursued.
In one passage there is an indirect
reference to Director-GeneraI Hines as
"a quibbling lawyer with an imasina-
tioh infamsd with interest" In
another Attorney-Genera Palmer's ofY,-
cial opinion Is derided. The statement
follows:
THE Industrial Board has resigned
The plan TO make an immediate reduc.
tion in the cost OF living, to remove the
cloud of buying uncertainty and to an
ticipate by several months the return to
normal business conditions has been
abandoned
Found UnreasoninR Oppositfon,
The plan was very simple: In
voluntary cooperation with business In
terests to arrive at a level OF prices
upon which business activities would be
more actively resumed and the Railroad
Administration and other spending
agencies OF the Government would be
justified in buying literally In so doing
1t planned to study costs OF production,
10 add additional profits and to an
nounce the resulting price an fair
basis for buying.
I'm theory the plan has been approved
almost unanimously by business men and
associations and by editorial and press
comment the country over: in practice
the plan has been proved by the order
books of steel producers and the buying
revival which Immediately followed an
ont ~ gtA
Immediately upon the Railroad Admins
tration's rejection of those prices.
Weary OF the details of the contro-
versy between the Railroad Administra-
ton and the board. the public will yet
demand an explanation OF the wreck
ing. apparently on the obstinacy Of a
single official. of a plan OF such ap-
parent national value.
II can only conjecture an explanation.
Throughout the battling controversy the
board has found itself checked by forces
in opposition which 1t could neither
understand, reason with nor overcome,
but which grew In strength until they
rendered further progress impossible and
forced abandonment of the plan.
The Case of the Railroads.
1T is lnconceivable that the Railroad
Administrations unsubstantlal objection
to the price Of sttA rails alone was
sufficient TO Justify the abandonment OF
policy of such Importance. Nor toward
the end has the Director General been
alone in thwarting the purpose OF the
board. The Secretary of the Treasury
has taken stand in direct contradlc-
tion with his message to the President
urging the creation of the board The
Attorney-General has rendered an opin-
NAW. NI.nN
venes the Sherman act, but the facts
assumed as the basis OF that opinion are
so inconsistent with the actual course
OF conduct of the board rs to render