Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-06
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS

The Federal Trade Commission.
which has long navigated through
storm-tossed seas, appears to be head
ed for quieter waters. For the second
time within the space Of a year Mr..
Coolidge has had a vacant place on
the commission to fill. A year ago
William E. Humphrey of Seattle was
named, and his alleged conservative
leanings and corporate viewpoint"
aroused much opposition in the Sem
ate, where his confirmation was long
delayed Judge Van Fleet, another
Republican member, has now resigned
to enter private law practice. with
two years of his term still to run,
and Abram r. Meyers. for more than
a dozen years in charge Of antitrust
cases in the Department of Justice,
has been named to succeed him. The
new commissioner was sworn in last
Monday. At the moment he Is the
only one of the five commissioners on
duty in Washington.
X X y
The term of Huston Thompson,
Democrat, prominent in his party
councils, formerly chairman OF the
commission and in a large degree
director Of it's policies, but latterly, in
spoken dissenter of the opinions and
decisions of the majority, will expire
next month. He neither seeks nor
expects reappointment, and is now in
his home State, Colorado, has pro-
spective Democratic nominee for the
senatorship. John T. Nugent, the
other present Democratic member or
the commission, is in Idaho, making
survey of the political prospects there.
Reports reaching Washington this
week say he, too, may soon shy his
hat into the ring for the Senate race.
X X X X
Since the law creating the Federal
Trade Commission stipulates that not
more than three of its five members
shall be of the same party, ana
Humphreys. Meyers ana Comm1s-
sioner Hunt are all Republicans, Mr..
Coolidge must find Democrats for the
successors to Thompson and Nugent.
When he has done this the commits
sion will be a Coolidge board with
capftal &c" It is no secret that the
President wants totput an end to the
dissensions and personal anlmosltles
which have marked the commissions
activities in the past. In TRANSFER
ring Mr.. Meyers from the Department
Of Justice to the commission ne mas
found a lawyer exceptionally quanned
by training and experience Tor the
commissions work.
Mr.. Movers, then a youngster OF
81. came to Washington in 1910 from
his home in Iowa, a protege OF Judge
William S. Kenyon, to serve the judge,
who was then in the Department OF
Justice, as law clerk. Judge Kenyon
shortly after went to the Senate, but
Meyers stayed on in the department.
He graduated from Georgetown Uni
versity in 1912 and won steady promo
ton, being successfully ranked at
torney for the department" senior
attorney assistant to the solicitor
general assistant to the attorney
general" and the departments ex-
pert in antitrust cases. He mas
, served under seven attorneys general
of widely divergent personality and
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS McReynolds.
Gregory, Palmer, Daugherty, Stone
and Sargent. Meyers was in charge
of the so-called anthracite cases"
against the Reading and the Lehigh
Valley railroads which started in 1914
and eliminated in the severance OF
| the railroads and the coal mines
which they had owned. The Standard
Oil cracking cases. and the recent
Ward Baking Co. case-"the bread
trust among the other notable
prosecutions he has directed. He is
now 81, still unmarried. a quiet
spoken, slender, blond chap of the
type sometimes described as a
bundle of energy" He is no mill
tant trust buster" but keen trial
| lawyer with a level head, who has
specialized In the relations of big bust
ness with the law and the Govern
ment.
| The current issue of nationally.
known business magazine carries an