The New York herald., 1921-12-09

tures by the board of control Mr.. Garri-
son said
Il say that can have only one mean
ing. namely. Mr.. Operator. or the three
operators. If you like. go TO the other
three members of the board of control
and they say: How much are you going
to let us have for operating expenses?
They control that 1t says so here in so
many words"
You are right. I think" said Mr.,
Shearn, "in stating il is not made certain
by the plan what limitations are placed
on the board of control. That board is
expected to buy the coal there is no
doubt about that. The commission ex-
poets 10 write the limitations into the
contract and is asking suggestions to
that end"
Chairman McAneny, addressing the
witness, said:
Judge. we do not mind letting you in
step further into our conclusions. Our
idea is that the operating companies
shall have all the present functions of
operating companies except that when
they have paid the costs of operation
and established their operating reserves.
they shall pay over to the board OF
control the surplus remaining; that
those surpluses shall be pooled and the
three shall be handled by the board
Of control, used for the payment of
interest and sinking fund charges and
for the maintenance of the contingent
reserve fund.
The board of control would not have
10 do with the employment of officers
or men, or the fixing of their wages or
their conduct. 1t might well reserve
the purchasing power in the purchase
Of commodities Of large Importance
where better prices can be secured
through the use Of central agency"
''For Regulation Only
MY reflections" replied Mr. Garri-
! son, can be all summed up in this /.
Unless you gentlemen are going to in
vite an inevitable tendency to have
these roads used to find jobs by way
of patronage for whatever political
party happens to be in office, you have
got to go further than the chairman has
suggested. You have got to confine your
board Of control to supervision and reg
ulation. / have long since passed the
point where | have any doubts amout
who controls ones actions. If you tell
me who controls the purse strings. /
have never yet found where a man con-
trolled the purse strings that he did
not control the action.
You are creating human agency
here, went on the witness, "the inevita-
BILE tendency Of which is as certain as
the tendency in twenty-four hours for
the night to follow the day. You are
creating. to begin with, an absolutely
anomalous body. 1t is not a public
body; the public does not control it. 1t
Is not private body, because a private
agency does not appoint and control it.
Unless you radically change 1t and go
even further than the chairman has sug-
gested, you are going to write into a
contract to endure thirty-five years
something you will find very trouble
some
UNLESS you define and cut out all
control features over operation you are
going to write in a body with which.
as long as politics controls human beings
and think that Is during their lives
you are going to have trouble unless
you are going frankly to go ahead and
say We'll, we are going to have munich
pal ownership"
'T think we appreciate that" said
Chairman McAneny. ".All the safeguards
that ought to be placed about the plan
will appear"
This Is public service and a lot
of public money Is invested here" con-
tinued the p. r. T. receiver. "It Is
proper that rhe public should choose. at
the instance OF officials appointed py
the city-should have absolute supervis-
ion and absolute regulatory power. and
there l would stop short, because think
that Is what they are entitled to and
that It what will protect then
1T did not arouse any particular re-
sponse In my mind when Col Williams
yesterday spoke of the possibilities of
corruption. In the last twenty-five or
thirty years municipal administration
has advanced so far in this country thai
graft and loot and corruption are such
rare examples we don't figure on them.
But this situation has not altered
that every political administration
from the national one down TO the little
township in the smallest locality in the
country, does use its political patronage
for party purposes. and always will. Just
so long as you have a control board that
las anything 60 do with operations
you will find the party In power prac-
tically operating that road through its
henchmen and followers"