Evening star., 1933-02-19

and courageously-and craftily-hght-
ing round four.
Round four. Mr.. Loree sells bonds
on the coal properties Of the Delaware
. & Hudson. He also organizes the rail-
road properties Of the Delaware &
Hudson into a separate entity called
the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Cor
poration. The Delaware & Hudson
itself thus becomes holding company.
1t thus, with its 100000 derived
from the bonding of its coal properties,
escapes from the Jurisdiction of the
Interstate Commerce Commission. It
thus and thereupon, in MI. Loree's
philosophy, acquires some freedom for
faith in the future-and for action.
Governmental bodies" says Mr..
Loree. "are the product of yesterdays
conditions; and they deal with the con-
ditions of tomorrow in terms of yester-
days passions and prejudices."
How's that for an archaic sentiment
in these days of economic planning
and of governmentalism? Mr.. Loree
exudes archaisns at every pore.
He thinks-and says-that there
should be no income surtaxes There
should be only an income tax of the
same percentage on all incomes. The
tax should not be on the man. It
should be on the dollar The per-
centage Of tax on each dollar Of an
income of a million dollars should be
the same-precisely the same-as the
tax on each dollar Of an income of a
thousand dollars. And let everybody
else in the country think otherwise if
he likes!
Mr.. Loree also thinks-and says
that every man should pay some tax
before he votes and that If he pays a
property tax in 20 localities he should
have a vote on local affairs in 20
localities.
He also thinks-and says-that there
should be plural voting in national
affairs. An ordinary unqualified voter
might have one vote. more educated
votes. A really superiorly educated
and therefore presumably supremely
effective voter might have 20 votes
Thus We might arrive at what might
be called educationally weighted voting.
Would Curb Voting.
Mr. Loree further thinks-and says
that all men and women who are pub
lie employees, and who therefore live on
the proceeds of taxes, should be exclud-
ed from the suffrage altogether. They
should not have the opportunity as
voters to increase the taxes which con-
stitute their livelihood.
Mr.. Loree, of course, thinks-and says
that the direct primary should be
abolished, but he goes further. He says
that all legal statutory recognition
should be withdrawn from political
parties. They should be private clubs,
as in Britain.
And he, Of course-of course-thinks
and says:
Elk the standards Of business con-
1 d,,cf l,y lox ND Ioovo ftn ont
of the law to the courts. Abolish all
administrative commissions empowered
to NEEDLE with the management Of in
dustry."
One cannot too much admire the
logically consolidated and perfected
Toryism of these views. 'Mr. Loree," :"
says an appreciative but whimsically dis
posed associate Of his, Should ultimate
ly be stuffed and preserved in the
Museum Of Natural History-hke mas
todon"
But also a modernistic mastodon!
He installed on the Delaware & Hud-
son system of dismissal payments, !"
which amounts to variety Of short
time unemployment insurance, an insti-
tuition certainly tainted with modernism
He wished to install labor saving
machinery in his car shops on the Della
ware g. Hudson. He nevertheless
rather Observation-Disclosures bothered by
the idea that his machinery would re-
place men. He noted, however, that
the natural shrinkage Of his staff Of
employees in the shops, by death and
resignation and SO on, was some per
cent per year. He thereupon calculated
that If he introduced his labor-saving
machinery at the rate Of not more than
100000 Of 1t per year, the displacement
of men would not exceed the Shrinkage
by natural causes and he would not be
obliged arbitrarily to discharge anybody.
Since then in those shops, according to
his reports, he has arbitrarily discharged
nobody. He has discharged nobody in
shem-except for ACKNOWLEDGMENT dur
ing. the depression. Nor, according to
his reports. has he discharged arbi-
trarily-even during the depression
any maintenance of way workers.
He additionally protests against the
widely accepted industrial idea that men
are not fit to work after 40. The Della
ware & Hudson has some 1900 en-
ployes. More than 5000 Of them are
over 40. Three thousand are over so.
More than 1900 are over so. Perhaps
he likes to keep them as busy in old
age as he is.
In any case he made the Delaware &,
Hudson good property and was al
ways ready to thrust it into the conson-
dation problem.
Accordingly:
!; Continuation of round four. Mr.
Loree takes numerous millions of the
Delaware & Hudson and buys large
parts of the Wabash and Of the Lehigh
The Wabash and the Lehigh are essen
tial to the consolidation plans Of the
four great trunk lines In Eastern rail-
road territory.
| Buys and Waits.
He buys these controls and waits fol
something to happen. Nothing hap.
pens Nothing. 1t is check and counter.
check. 1t is stalemate.
Then one day an intimation comes tc
; him. The intimation is from Wash
ngton. This state of stalemate, o1
, nothing, will get nowhere. Mr. Loree
!, would be wise to dispose of his controls
E OF Wabash and Lehigh
+ Mr.. Loree looks about. He picks the
+ Pennsylvania. He offers his control:
. Of Wabash and Lehigh to the Penn.
, sylVania. The market is at top. Mr.
i Loree and the Pennsylvania proceed tc
deal with each other on the basis o.
: pre-depression prices.
End OF round four. Mr. Loree lose.
the Wabash and the Lehigh. Agar
the big trunk lines and the Interstate
Commerce Commission have been tot
= much for him. He is knocked cleaI
i out Of the ring. But this time-thi
. time-he takes the purse with him
. The Pennsylvania is getting pattet
by the referee, but Mr.. Loree has tn
Pennsylvania money. The depressio,
Is about to begin; and Mr.. Loree. a.
4 the manager of the Delaware & Hud
!, son, has $60,000,000.
The Delaware & Hudson thereupo,
!, becomes the Little Giant" Mr.. Lore
II by now is-and, in fact, for a coupl
. . of decades has been-"Old Grizzly"
"a He is masSive-hm and even NOR
q massive-b bodied. His eyes glare an
= twinkle in the manner attributed-b
n romance, anyway-to those of a beal
y They shoot forth sparks of an inten
= ton that might be either formidabl
=, 70 or affectionate They have ferocit