Evening star., 1928-05-15
CHAMBER CHANGES
FOLLOW TAX FIGHT
0pponents of Administration
Replaced in Executive
/ Offices of Organization.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Behind the scenes of the recent an
nual meeting of the United States
Chamber of Commerce in Washington
some hish politics was played, the true
inwNrdness of which Is just coming to
linlat. Not only did the Nations big
ccst business body install new executive
leadership. but in doing so 1t threw out
the influence which during the past
wear brought the chamber into violent
conflict With the Coolidge adninistra-
ton, Lewis s. Pierson. New YORK
banker, was retired from the presidency:
after single year in office, in favor OF
William Bitterworth. Moline, ILL.,, agri-
culture inaplement manufacturer.
II was Mr.. Pierson who conducted.
In the Chamber of Commences name
and with Its support. the tight against
the Coolidge Mellon tax program. the
chamber, following Nation~wide reier.
endum. called for tax reouction OF
S4o0. 600 900. roundly twice as much as
the administration favorS. the result
was an uncommonly bitter chastsenlent
of the chamber by the President, who
not only objected to its bad economies,
but publicly reproved it for fomentlng
what Mr.. coolidge considers to be un-
iustifiable national expenditure.
Called TOP Heavy"
II is understood to have been internal
Chamber of Commerce affairs. rather
than the feud with the White HOUSE,
that led its l.500-odd organization
members and S50oo0-odd individual
business men and firms to decide upon
a sweeping change in command and
nniicies. A few weeks before the an
nual meeting i'm washington, state
ment was given private, but widespread.
circulation 10 the effect that the cham
Der was too heavy" in its c@'4''n'S'''a.
tive control and lacked "gyroScoplc"
reeulati~l. 1t was intlmatea that pu-
reeucracy was creeping into the or
caTizatson,s nanacement. and. in the
opinion of some of its older and active
members. was interfering with the
borsv's national uTefulrcss.
Hundreds of Chamber OF Commerce
leaders from all over the United Stat"
came to Washington last week under
the influence of these allegations. There
was no unseenly airing Of the gr1ev-
ances held in certain quarters but the
result of the ensuing election OF officers
has been generally interpreted as in
dicating that the new men put at the
helm will proceed to carry out new
policies. BY a coincidence two Hlinoi-
sans are now in principal charge
President Bu:terworth and Joseph H.
Defrees of Chicago. Mr.. DefreeS sue
ceeds Judge Edwin B. Parker. umpire
of the German American Mixed Claims
Commission. as chairman of the cham
bers board of directors. No criticism
appears to have been attached to Judge
Parker's craftsmanship in 1928. The
Texas iurist served In purely legal
advisory capacity without remuneration.
There is now talk that the old
Guard is again in command of the
Chamber of Commerceis destinies.
President Butterworth for some years
has been an honorary vice president.
and Chairman Defrees has held num-
Der of high chamber Offices. including
the presidency for two terms. Appar-
entity one of the new policies 10 which
the incoming regime win adhere is
more harmonious working with the
United States Government on major
issues. both domestic and international.
See Progress for Chamber.
As tc the foreign field. there has been
iu some executive quarters at Washing
ton feeling that the Chamber of Com
nierCe was not wholeheartedly in line
with the Coolidge Administrations for