Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-31
CONDITION OF RAILROADS
BEST SINCE WORLD WAR
Manufacture and Farm Progress Cited.
Few Political Surprises Result i'm
Confidence to Industry.

tereSted in the economics of War-debt
payments and some are concerned
with the vast amount of money being
J lent to European countries. whose
I need for an outlet for their products
+ is held up as Il reason for tariff
changes.
The attitude of the Washington ad-
mjnistration toward mergers and
trusts is one of the influences little
noticed, but nevertheless important in
any retrospect of what has happened
or forecast of what is going to hap
pen These are days of mergers. The
| Government recognizes more fully,
| perhaps, than ever before that it is
most disturbing to an industry sud
denly to haul it before the courts in
an antitrust suit II was considered
good political strategy in the old days,
especially when large corporations
were owned by a relatively small
group of men.
Today as securities are sold in a
big merger, the people ultimately buy
| these shares. and in fact own more
F, than a majority of the stock, indeed,
in some instances. as much as 90
per cent of the stock. To prevent en-
barraSsment all around, the Depart
ment of Justice endeavors now to as
certain the facts about a proposed
merger and prevent its contamination
if it appears likely to be so organized
as to violate the Sherman antitrust
law. What the Government is doing
in this respect corresponds to what
the doctor does in the field of pre-
ventive medicine.
Trade Board Criticism Ends.
The work of the Federal Trade Com
mission has during the year come in
for criticism and debate on the part
of those who think unnecessary inter
ference with business has been prac-
ticed. The commission is still doing
business and the demand for its abo-
lition has died down. For the COM
mission has been recognized as an in
strumentality which can protect the
small business man as well as the big
business man against unfair compe-
tition.
In the matter of shipping. the Gov
ernmentS policy is unsettled and will
continue to be for some time to come.
The relationship Of this problem to ma
tional defense and the desirability of
keeping an American merchant ma
rine, even though private capital is
not yet ready to enter the field with
out a subsidy of some kind, makes
the whole thing difficult to settle.
Broadly speaking. the attitude of
Government toward business has been
one of tolerance. Radicalism, which
in years gone by meant endless in
vestigation and constant meddling,
has been reduced not to the point
which the business interests would
like to see, but they concede it is not
as perplexing as it used to be.
This is not saying that the school
Of ioI, haI iy.
regulatory eye on business has lost
its momentum. The inquiry fever
can be aroused overnight, but the
truth is that customer ownership has
bred a peculiar conservatism if not
caution in governmental circles.
Few Political Surprises.
Politically the year has been hardly
a surprise. The Autumn elections
brought the expected increases in the
Democratic membership of the Senate
and House. But the Democrats are
by no means radicals. They have
among them conservatives and liberal
conservatives.
Thus. on the major economic issues,
there is comfortable working ma
iority of Republicans and Democrats
who together give a certain confidence
to business that nothing fanciful or
experimental will bes tried which in
terferes with the processes of bust
ness.
The spectacle of the Democrats
clamoring for a reduction in corpora
ton taxes when they are a minority
party is unusual to say the least. The
steady reduction in surfaces indicates
the conservatism typical of the re-
construction era as whole. The
readiness to accept foreign debt agree
ments which amount to cancellation
of large portion of combined prin-
cipal and debt is a sign of the growth
of the economic rather than the po-
litical idea at the seat of government.
But the significant thing is that it
is growing. And under such circum-
stances the assurance may be derived
from all that has happened this year
that nothing radical or revolutionary
may be expected from the Government
in it's relation to business.
fCopyrigNt 1921
mn TYTH"