The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-11
IOWA LAWYER IS PROBABLE CHOICE
 AS RAILROAD BOSS
James E. Davis, keokuk, It Is Believed, Has Best Chance to Land Director General
 In Harding Regime
By ROBERT T. SMALL

St. Augustine, Fla, February 10.-- (Special) )-With the return of Pres ident-elect Harding to his Florida centered about the new director gen. eral of railroads, for while the rail- roads ostensibly have been returned to private ownership, the federal gov ernment. under the guarantee law is exercising paternal over-1ordship re- which gives to the director general power not to be despised.
 The man who stands out at the mo- ment. for the directorship under MT. Harding is James E. Davis, of Keokuk, Iowa, at present general counsel to the director general John Barton Payne. Judge Payne became director general quite long time ago and re- tained that commission when he was appointed Secretary of the Interior By the retention of Judge Payne as director general, President Wilson fol- lowed the precedent he set originally, when he vested in William Gibbs Me- Adoo, director general of railroads, at the same time that his on-in-law was serving as Secretary of the Treasury.
 FLOCK TO FLORIDA
 Florida has been more of mecca for railroad executives this winter than ever before and there are now half a dozen private cars parked in and about the St. Augustine sta tion. It generally has been supposed that these railroad officials were here to confer with Senator Harding as to the present state of the carriers, the contention being that the railroads are in desperate straits and need further assistance from the government.
 As matter of fact, the railroad ex- ecutives merely have been anxious that the government should pay them at the present time a part of the guarantee fund based on the general guarantee for a l2-month period. The authorization of this payment is being taken care of by Congress and it has developed, therefore. that the railroad executives, in addition tos enjoying tiseir usual outings in the south have been interested in more than the railroad policy of the next ad- ministration that is immediate procure ment of funds, no matter how pressing the latter desire may have been.
 CENTRALIZE CONTROL
 Generally speaking, it may be said that some of the leading railroad presidents O. the country would like to see the en- tire federal direction of the railroads placed in the hands of the interstate commerce commission. They appreciate the fact that they must deal with the commission in any event and they would like to have the authority over the car riers centralized as much as possible. This cannot be done without congress sional authorization, however, and there is no desire at the moment to throw the railroad situation once more into tho two houses of Congress.
 Senator Harding is confronted with the necessity of appointing director gem eral of railroads immediately he is in- augurated Secretary Payne goes out of office at the moment of the inauguration and with his retirement as Secretary of the Interior he naturally will give up supervsonship over the railroads.
 DAVIS ACCEPTABLE
 To railroad men in general. it is said that Mir. Davis is entirely acceptable. MT. Davis is an experienced railway lawyer and has been connected with the railroad administration ever since it was esta ablished. For time he was with the regional organizations, but with the re- turn of the roads to private control and the abolishment of the regional director, he was taken to Washington as general counsel to the director general, posi- tion Judge Payne himself held. MT. Davis at one time was general counsel for the Chicago and Northwestern rail- road in the Iowa territory. Being an Iowan he has the backing of Senator Cummins, chairman of the interstate commerce commission of the Senate for the director generalship.
 MT Cummins has been an associate of MT. Harding on his houseboat cruise for the last two weeks, and it is gen. orally conceded that anything Senator Cummins desres respecting the rail- roads he can have.