The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-05-27
WOODLOCK AIDS
BIC BUSINESS
ENTERPRISES
Opposes All Govern
ment Interference

BY LELAND oLDS, Federated Press.
How Pres. Cooldige's appointment
of T. L. Woodlock to the interstate
commerce commission was part Of his
effort to knife government regulation
of big business becomes increasingly
apparent. Financial papers hail each
Woodlock decision supporting the
theory that the government should
leave private capital to run the rail
roads as it pleases.
Aids Chesapeake and Ohio.
Woodlock's first opinion to win such
approval concerned the Chesapeake &
Ohio railroads application to float a
$40, 621 900 bond issue. The question
involved was whether the road should
finance itself by the issue of bonds OF
stocks. Woodlock believes that the
financing should be done by sale of
stock but he says he would not in
terfere IL the road proposed an imme-
diate issue of bonds. He would only
consider whether the bond issued was
safe. He explains:
$50 many activities Of railroad car
riers are now directly subject to de-
finite control by this commission that
the zone of free action available to
management is considerable circum-
scribed. The portion of the zone
wherein lie questions Of finance is
perhaps the largest part Of the whole.
In my judgment it is our duty to avoid
entering upon that zone save upon
the dearest evidence of public neces-
city"
Journal Of Commerce Backs WoodIock
Commenting under the headline
Rare Self-restraint, the Chicago Jour
nal Of Commerce says, IF private
management is not to have some de-
gree of freedom, what is private man
agement for? Why not have complete
government control? These are ques-
tons which Commissioner Woodlock
goes on to ask. Excellent judge of
railroad matters tho he is, he does not
feel that he should take advantage of
his official position to impose his will.
In expressing this view, he displays
a largeness of mind which is rare in
deed"
Woodlock again spreads the propa-
ganda of big business while concur
ring in a decision authorizing the
Pennsylvania to sell bonds thru Kuhn,
Loeb & Co. without calling for com
petitive bids. His opinion is a direct
answer to the dissenting opinion OF
! chairman Eastman, who holds that
Kuhn, Loeb and ]. P. Morgan inter-
ests monopolize the marketing of rail
road securities to their substantial
profit.
Woodlock says the main duty of the
commission is to secure the lowest
cost of capital to the company He
makes the bankers leap with joy by
saying:
Bankers Leap With Joy.
EFF there is any business in the
world more highly competitive than
| the banking business in New York,
am unable at this moment to think
of it. 1t is the essence of competi-
ton that somebody is successful as
against somebody else. 1t is newt
ably the result of competition that
some are more continuously successful
and upon a larger scale than others.
Success of this sort does not nee
essarily imply unfairness on the part
of the successful competitor, nor is
the unsuccessful competitor necessari.
ly the victim of injustice"
Thus altho he has not yet rendered
decisions notably favorable to the
railroads as opposed to the public,
Commissioner Woodlock is creating a
body of opinion like that OF the SUI
preme court. His opinions mark a de-
finite turn from the tradition of reg.
ulation which has governed proceed
ure in the last 20 years. It means
the beginning Of a new tradition in
which railroad financing will again be
the sport Of scheming capitalists.