Evening star., 1925-04-23
BOARD ROW INTENSIFIED.
o'Connor Said Not to Have Dis
closed Coolidge Letter.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The row inside the Shipping Board
is becoming more tense right along.
Now it develops that Chairman
O'Connor declined to let other mem
bers of the board see a copy of Presi-
dent Coolidge's letter inquiring about
certain procedure of the board. And
there is resentment expressed pri-
vately that the President is endeaNor-
ing to influence the course of the
board, though by law he has no more
jurisdiction over the board than he
has over the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
The power of appointment is, of
course, a broad jurisdiction in itself,
and Mr.. Coolidge can decline to reap
point a man who does not follow his
wishes. Rumors and charges have
been made that certain members of
the board are asking the White House
how to vote before doing so.
O'Connor for Coolidge Views.
Mr.. O'Connor is a Republican, and is
one Of those who brought a delegation
of laboring men to the White House
during the last presidential campaign,
and it was afterward argued that the
expenses of the delegation were paid
by the Republican organization. The
chairman is in full sympathy with
the Presidents policies, and is said to
be ready to carry out Mr.. Coolidge's s
desires with respect to shipping.
The division of opinion on the board
itself with respect to policy is non
political, however, because Vice
Chairman Plummer of Maine is a Re-
publican and is out of sympathy with
the latest move of the board to sell
five big ships to the Dollar line in
terests of the Pacific Coast.
Mr.. Coolidge has never made de-
tailed statement in public of what he
thinks should be done by the Ship
ping Board, but some members of the
board seem to be agreed that his views
would be welcomed by the country
because the amount of public prop
erty held by the Government as a
consequence of war construction is so
great that its disposition constitutes a
trusteeship Of prime importance.
Comparison With Oil Lands.
The oil lands of the United States
were disposed of as a consequence of
legislation which vested power in GER
tain Government departments, but the
President was held to be in a sense
responsible for the policy pursued.
And Mr.. Coolidge appointed a COM
mission to study the question of oil
conservation. So, too, with respect to
ships Mr.. Coolidge has an informal
consulting commission outside of the
Shipping Board TO provide him with
advice.
He has almost from the start of his
administration interested himself in
solution of the shipping problem.
There is no indication, however, as to
what progress he has personally made
with the question. So far as the public
is concerned he was merely inquiring
as to what members of the board were
supposedly joining in court action
against the board, an Interpretation,
however, which was not justified by
the facts, as Mrs. Coolidge found out
on looking into the matter closely, for
the board was unit in defending its
four-to-three decision on the sale of
ships when once that decision was
made.
The big fleet of ships which was ac-
auired at a cost of billions of dollars
Is to be disposed of to private interests
under the present law, which provides
that safeguards be given that mer-
chant marine be maintained and GER
tain routes guaranteed.
Private operators have not been
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