Evening star., 1927-05-06
c. OF c. OFFICERS
! FOR YEAR ELECTED
Lewis (. Pierson Chosen as
+ President, E. B. Parker
Chairman of Board.

Lewis E. Pierson of New York City
was elected president of the Cham
ber of Commerce of the United States,
and Judge Edwin B. Parker Of Wash
ington and Houston, Tex, was chosen
chairman of the board of directors by
the board yesterday afternoon after
the closing session of the fifteenth an
nual meeting.
NJ. &iiarson, who is chairman of the
board or the American Exchange,
Irving Trust Co. of New York, sue
ceeds John !. OLeary as head of the
chamber. He is a former president of
the Merchants Association of New
York and of the New York Bankers
Association and the American Bank
ers' Association.
Judge Parker fills a post created by
an amendment to the bylaws of the
chamber adopted yesterday. He Will
serve continuously as director of. the
chambers activities with successive
presidents and will handle great
number of matters heretofore done by
the presidents:
Headed Liquidation Commission.
Judge Parker served as a dollar-a-
wear man throughout the war as q
member of the War Industries Board
and as prioritieS commissioner, and
following the war went to Europe as
chairman of the United States Liqui-
dation Commission, In 1928 he gave
up his law practice in Texas to be-
come umpire of the Germa american
Mixed Claims Commission, which Is
now concluding its work.
The board named A. j. Brosseau of
New York vice president for the
EASTERN division to succeed Mr.. Pier
son. Robert r. Ellis of Memphis
Tenn, was reelected vice president
for the Southern division; William NJ.
Butterworth of Moline, Ill.,, for the
Northern Central division, and Paul
Shoup of San Francisco for the West
ern division.
The chamber at its closing session
adopted resolutions affecting Hood
control, farm relief, tax reduction, the
merchant marine and other important
problems. The flood control resolution
called on the President to muster the
best engineering and economic talent
in the country to study the question
and recommend steps to prevent re-
currence of the disaster now affecting
the Mississippi Valley. The fullest
cooperation Of the chamber was prom
ised to this end.
Fight Over Farm Relief.
A lively fight was precipitated with
the presentation of the second resolu-
ton, which postponed definite state
ment of the chambers stand on the
farm relief question until a report is
received from the business mems COM
sion on agriculture, which has been
studying the problem under the
auspices of the chamber and which is
TO report its findings within SO days.
c. W. Ewing of Decatur, ILL.,, in an
impassioned speech demanded that the
chamber put itself on record in favor
of protection TO the farmer to a de-
gree commensurate with the protec-
tion now given to labor. He declared
that the organization was in honor
bound to recognize the farm relief
problem and to take a decided stand
on IL. The supporters of Mr.. Ewing's
resolution became SO persistent in their
demands to be heard that President
OLeary temporarily suspended par
liamentary rules.
Proponents Continue Efforts.
After heated, and sometimes bitter,
debate the resolution committees
resolution was adopted, with only a
rev dissenting VOTES. me proponents
of farm relief continued their efforts
to force their resolution on the cham.
Der, even after it had been defeated, up
to the closing minutes of the session.
Other resolutions called for reduc-
ton Of the corporate income tax, re.
peal of the Federal estate tax and |
the remaining war excise taxes, and |
revision of the law, rulings and prac- |
tices with respect to the administra-
ton of Federal taxes; opposed Govern |
ment operation of the merchant ma
rine, indorsed proposed reformation Of
Americal legal procedure, urged re-
of business and advocated granting
the President authority to centralize
all public health activities of the Fed
eral Government exclusive of those
of the Army, Navy and Veterans
Bureau.