Evening star., 1933-06-18
RAIL. CO-0RD|NATOR
BRANDE|S' PROTEGE.
independence of Thought Is
Dominant Trait of Joseph
B. Eastman.
BY J. A. FOX.

In the appointment Of Joseph Bart
| lett Eastman as rail co-ordinator, Pres
ident Roosevelt has chosen a protege Of
Justice Louis D. Brandeis, whose pre-
dominant trait is the same independence
of thought that characterizes the noted
jurist.
Quiet and unassuming, Eastman's Sc
lection for position, whose Importance
cannot be estimated is traceable
directly to the intellectual ability
demonstrated during his IA years as
member of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. The regard in which he is
held in public life is best evidenced by
the fact that the appointment just
made was viewed as a foregone con-
clusion as soon as it became known
the President was going outside the
ranks of rail operation to fill this post.
Eastman, a bachelor, will be 81 years
old the 16th of this month. The son
of a clergyman, he was born In Katonah,
N. Y, and in 1904 was graduated from
Amherst College, the alma mater of
Calvin Coolidge. In 1905 Eastman re-
ceived the Amherst fellowship in South
End House, social settlement in Bos-
ton, and for seven years, there he
worked, this continued contact with the
underdog firmly implanting the regard
for public welfare that has been his
lOde-Star.
Represented Workers.
From 1906 to 1918 Mr.. Eastman was Sec
retary of the Public Franchise League Of
Boston, and then, in 1914, he first came
into public notice by representing the
workers in q series of wage arbitration
cases with street railways. The next
year he was appointed to the Massa-
chusetts Public Service Commission by
Gov. David 7. Walsh, now a member Of
the United States Senate, and when
his term expired was reappointed by
Gov. Mccall.
1t was during these years that East
man attracted the attention OF Brandeis,
then winning the fame that was to
elevate him to the Supreme Court, and
when, in 1919, vacancy occurred in
the Interstate Commerce Commission,
the-by this time-Justice recon-
mended his appointment to President
Wilson.
The commission is chosen by party
lines and is composed, for the most
part, of lawyers. The only party"
label Eastman bears is independent"
and he Is not lawyer. Furthermore,
he was only 81 years old when Wilson
made the appointment, and when the
fastener was confirmed by the Sen
ate, he became the youngest man ever
to sit in the commission. His first term
expired in the Harding administration,
and once more he was chosen. Again
under President Hoover he was re-
appointed, this time In the face OF
opposition by some powerful rail
interests.
Favors Public Ownership.
And now a fourth President has
honored him.
In becoming physician" to the all
ing rail structure, Mr.. Eastman, who
was one of Mr.. Roosevelt's advisers in
drawing up the new rail legislation,
will be confronted with an arrangement
conforming to his own expressed views
in favor of greater cooperation be-
tween the carriers. AS matter OF
fact, he is believer in public owner
ship. It is interesting to note, how
ever, that while arguing for this prin-
ciple in the past, Eastman has stood
firmly ON the premise that adminiStra-
ton should be vested in executives
trained for such responsibility which
indicates that theorists have no place
in his calculations.
No phase of EaStman's s administration
will be watched closer, or with more
interest, than his attitude toward what
he has referred to as the financial
overlords" of the railroads. He has
been consistently critical Of the control
exercised over industry by the great
banking interests, and had his views
prevailed, the railroads probably
wouldn't have been able to borrow the
proverbial thin dime from the Recon-
ctr E1iv,o rny,protfN,, ~
off obligations owed to this class Of
lenders.
Dissents on Rail Loans.
This issue was joined right at the
outset of the Reconstruction Corpora
tion's operations, when the Wabash and
Missouri Pacific, both Of which now are
in receivership, applied for approx
mately $20,000,000 to discharge debts
to Eastern bankers, including J. P.
Morgan, Kuhn-Loeb and the Guaranty
Trust Co. The Interstate Commerce
Commission, charged with the duty
of approving such loans, opposed the
principle they embodied, but deferred to
the policy of the Reconstruction Cor
poration, which was willing to make ad-
vances up to so per cent of the total
sought. The commission took the stand
that after all, the r. F. c. was the
agency designated by Congress to say
where the Government funds should go;
that is, the commission with Eastman
in his familiar role Of dissenter His
terse summation was that he saw no
reason for the Government to bail
out" the banks.
Eastman faces tremendous task and
one that is not lightened by the fact
that neither the rail operators nor rail
labor is enthusiastic over the new set