The Washington times., 1921-01-14
Each Day Reveals New EUil
in the Esch- Cumnlins LalU

pairing engines and cars, the Amerl-
can people must pay the railroads
one thousand million dollars more
money in order to pay the dividends
of 61a per cent. But it always costs
about three times as much in the
price of goods to the people as the
increase in railroad rates.
Railroads are controlled by their
boards Of directors who elect the
president and executive officers.
The president and executive officers
are nothing but the lackeys of the
directors, especially the directors
who represent the banks which
make the loans to the railroads and
control the proxies that elect. The
various New York banks, according
to Mr.. Lauck, control 270 of the di-
rectors of these railroads which are
declared to have entered into this
repair scheme. The same banking
group controls at least fifty-four di-
rectOrships of the leading private
companies which make railroad re-
pairs and supply railroads with
their equipment.
Now The Times has often called
attention to the fact that one of the
phases of railroad graft was in the
supplying of equipment to railroads
by private companies. This is the.
kind Of graft for which any mayor,
legislator or other public official
would go to Jail. 1t has been no
torious ever since the civil war. In
President Wilson's first Admins
tration for the first time feeble
attempt was made to correct it by
provision of the so-called Clayton
act.
This law provided that no rail
road should make a contract with
any company where the interest be-
tween the officers of the railroad
and the other contracting company
was substantial. We say that this
was feeble attempt on account of
the presence of the weasel word
substantial. There was no need
of there being ANY identity of in
terests between the two contracting
parties.
However, it was better than moth
ing, and has proved some embarrass-
ment to the railroads bent on COM
mon dishonesty, for they are now
attempting to have the time in
which that prohibition goes into
effect extended. They did not dare
ask for its repeal. They only ask
to have it extended until, presum-
ably, the time for the locking of the
barn door is too late, the horse al
ready having been stolen.
So a bill extending the time pass
ed through the House of Represen-
tatives and the Senate, but it was
fortunately vetoed by the President
either in one Of those flashes of his
old spirit of progressiveness or in
pride concerning one of the good
laws of his Administration which
would have been emasculated by the
passing of this bill.
But one of the characteristics of
the great exploiting interests of this
country is that they are never dis
couraged. While they are feeling
out the possibility of putting this
law over the Presidents veto, they
are stealthily advancing another bill
by Senator Frelinghuysen which
seeks to utilize the weasel word "sub-
stantial' in the Clayton act. This
bill re-cnacts the prohibition of the
Clayton act of railroad officials deal
ing with themselves in these repair
and equipment contracts, but re-
quires the Interstate Commerce
Commission to inquire what consti-
tutes substantial interest,"" and
then, by the lcgerdcmain of Ian