Evening star., 1928-05-20
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Right under Calvin Coolidge's eye
this Congress is putting the Fedora
Government Into business" on larger
total scale than any other peace-timt
Congress In our history. Such is Tho
conclusion borne in upon Washington
at this week end as it contemplateS
the bills which In this session have
gone---or are presently about to go
to the White House for signature.
The total new financial responsibility
to be assumed by the Federal Govern
ment under Congress four principa
business ventures would be approx
mately one billion dollars.
Additionally there is flood control.
The four new business ventures o.
highest consequence are ships, nitrogen
for fertilizers. electric power and tht
marketing of farm commodities.
In ships for foreign trade the prin'
ciple of public Federal financial re-
sponsibility is carried to great new
lengths by the Jones-White bill, which
has now passed both houses.
BY this bill the Shipping Board Is FOL
hidden to sell any more Government
ships to private interests unless at leas
five out of the seven members OF the
board agree to the sales. Additionally
the board is given an expanded au-
thoriZation to remodel and improve the
ships it already governmentally owns
Additionally, again, 1t Is directed tc
make recommendations TO Congress foi
the building Of altogether new Gov
ernment ships.
simultaneously the board is author
lied to accumulate funds of public
money amounting to 100000 ioi
the financing of private interests de-
string to build ocean-going ships
Finally 1t is authorized to pay as mucn
as $l2 per nautical mile to ships capa-
bic of making "a nautical miles pei
hour for the carrying of United States
mails. Under this provision the Ship
ping Board might pay as mucn as
500 900 to a ship for making one mall
carving trip from San Francisco 70
Yokohama and back.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the Govern
ment barges on the Mississippi River
and on the Warrior River in Alabama
the House of Representatives has IN
creased the governmental capitaIizatloI
Of our Federal Inland waterways Cor
poration from $5,00o,000 to l5.O0O,OoO
In the matter of nitrogen for Ter
tilizers the House of Representatives
has taken our Federal plant at muscle
Shoals (worth some S140, 0,OOO,OOO) ano
has turned 1t over for nothing TO pro-
posed new Government corporatlon
which will manufacture "hxed nitro
gen" and which for five years viii sci
II to farmers "at cost"-or else actually
give 1t away. 1t is authorized to make
free gifts of 1t to the farming interests
up to a possible total Of is per cent ol
Its production.
As q sweetener to the work OF this
new nitrogenous Government corpora
ton. the House of Representatives. be-
sides giving 1t $140, 0,000. 900 worth OF
plant. gives 1t $4,000. 900 for working
capital.
Finally. in the tail of the bill, anc
lust in order to show that there sui
can be more Of the same, the House OF
Representatives has committed thf
Federal Government TO build IN the
Clinch River in Tennessee new power
dam and power plant from which some
zoo, 900 electric horsepower can ulu-
mately be obtained.
For the power dam and power plant
in the Colorado River at Boulder Can
Won the appropriation Is to be $l25.'
00O. 900 This, however. IL Is to be un-
derstood, rests on quite different foot