Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-10
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN.
Associated Press Financial Writer.

House members who initiated the con-
greSsional investigation ordered this
Winter into the circumstances Of hold
ing corporation and investment trust
ownership Of railroads are now pressing
the preliminaries Of the inquiry in sew
eral directions. Although it will be
probably well into March before the
House interstate commerce committee
summons its first witnesses the employ
ment of special council, the investiea-
tion of certain Of the organizations and
the compilation Of data already gathered
in the field by the Interstate Commerce
Commission now Is being undertaken.
This hasn't been a partisan matter
at any stage, and the inquiry we are in
shutting was particularly asked by the
Interstate Commerce Commission" re-
marked Representative Rayburn, Texas,
Democrat and ranking minority men,
Der OF the House committee which is in
charge OF the inquiry. I'VE are ap-
preaching the subject with a good deal
OF care, and yet without any disposition
to make sensation out of the subject.
"AS see It, the United States is
eventually going to find the large num-
Der OF railroads it now has consolidated
into a limited number of systems. That
seems to be the direction Of progress,
and yet In order to maintain eficiency,
and to safeguard the public, 1t will be
desirable to have these new and en-
larged systems under separate owner
ships and free to compete. II it proves
to be true that some of these immense
new financial constructions in the ma
lure OF investment trusts and holding
companies are acquiring railroad owner
ships Unfortunately, the safeguards
to the public in the consolidation OF
railroads we foresee may be lacking,
That Is why this inquiry Is going to
be pushed, first, to determine to lust
Wnat degree the ownership of railroads
mas now passed into these institutions.
and, second, to determine whether there
Is any need for Federal legislation in
the matter. It is fact that these new
institutions. though they partake of
the character of banks and of trust
companies in some Of their aspects, are
practically outside of regulation now.
some proposals for the application of
this regulation may be advanced before
we have finished with the inquiry"
American taste for sweetstuffs as
expressed by national candy consunp-
ton, varies little from year to year and
TENDS TO bring about demand for candy
manufacture increasing in exact pro-
portion to the population. This Is one
OF the findings of careful inquiry into
the candy trade during recent years
which the Commerce Department has
just completed.
Candymaking proves to be a business
OF goodly size on the showing of figures
arrived at, as the country annually dis
poses OF 1887 100000 pounds of sweat
meats or nearly 10 pounds per capita.
r. L. Purdon, the departments Special
list who conducted the inquiry, concludes
that candy trade tendency exhibited
since 1925, which has operated to in
crease the number of wholesale and
retail outlets for candy sales, has not
been justified by business results. In
this trade, as in a number of Others,
these special inquiries are beginning to
cast doubt upon the efficiency of dis
tribution when the number Of enter
pr1ses engaged in 1t is multiplied. AS
to candy, Mr.. Purdon says definitely
that the experience Of the trade since
1925 reveals very clearly that the
multiplication Of accounts did not in
crease the aggregate business and that,
furthermore, every time the number of
accounts was increased the average sales
per account fell off,"
Chairman Legge of the Federal Farm
Board, who is being faced by hostile
critics OF his organization with the
assertion that the centralized products
Is uneconomic, will take q new avenue
OF response shortly. He can be ex-
pected to declare that, in view Of GEN.
tralized buying practices now set I'D
In international trade, the American
producer has little choice except to CEN
tralize selling as well.
That is the view Mr.. Legge has al
ready expressed in private letters and
conversations. He has particularly been
stuoying the European methods of pur-
chasing wheat supplies now In erect.
and has formed the opinion that prob
ably one or two organizations dominate
the whole picture, and under most con-