Evening star., 1923-06-13
SCORES FEDERAL
] RAIL OWNERSHIP
AZ P. Thorn, in Transportation
plea, Condemns States
Traffic Control.
De the Associa ted Press.

De the Associate Press.
ATLANTA, Ga. June 13.-An ap-
peal for the protection of the trans
portation interests of the country
against threats of government own
ership, as well as against granting
to the several states power to dis
eliminate in favor Of their own traf-
hc against interstate commerce, was
made by Alfred p. Thorn, vice presi-
dent and general counsel of the Ma
tional Association of Railway Execu
lives, speaking before the convention
of the National Association of Credit
Men.
Other notable speakers before the
credit men, who opened their twenty
eighth annual convention here today.
included Gov John NJ. Parker of
Louisiana and former Senator Hoke
Smith of Georgia.
sToday's program will be devoted
largely to the subject of banking and
bank credits. with ]. II. Puelicher of
Milwaukee, president Of the American
Bankers Association, making the
principal address. Mr.. Puelicher also
Will address the Robert Morris Asso-
ciates, a group of bankers and bank
credit men affiliated with the credit
men, in the afternoon. Group meet
ings of credit men also will be held
in the afternoon.
Corner stone of Credit.
The institution of private proper
ty is the corner stone cf credit" Mr.
Thom declared in his address, point
ing out that automatic as the propo-
sition was. there has been no time
in the history of the country when
attacks upon it, either covert or con-
fessed. have been so constant and in
Sistent.
THE speaker declared the two prin-
cipal forms of attacks at the pres
cnt time to be: First. the proposal
of government ownership and the
contiscatory processes by which it is
ia be brought about; and, second. the
proposal to vest in the several states
tire power to discriminate unjustly
against traffic other than that which
moves solely within it's own borders.
thus in effect comforting the power
on the several states to abolish free
trade among them and on the more
powerful states. the power by dis
Criminatory and burdensome terms.
TO exclude the traffic of other states
from their markets
Both Held to Be Disastrous.
Both of them involve disaster to the
ration'S second largest industry" Mr..
Thorn said, but disaster cannot come
TO that industry alone and leave the
other great industries of our land or the
be no such thing as credit business. or
economic isolation of single essential
industry.
The ten billions of dollars of values
which it is proposed TO take away from
tile railroads are somewhere in the
credit system of our country Directly
or indirectly. this vast sum is repre-
scented in the assets of the insurance
companies. of savings banks. of busi-
ness institutions of all kinds. and of
a~great multitude of individuals.
1T would be wise for the credit men.
as well as for all interested in the finan-
cial stability of our affairs, to pause and
consider what the consequences would
be of the success of this vast scheme
of confiscation. In it's direful influences
IL. would enter every business enterprise
and every home. Then the distress of
the agricultural and of other industry
would be undeniable, for all would be
dealing in stricken and PROSTATE
ma rket."