Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-30
Regulate or Destroy?

Democrats in the House have come
to the parting of the ways with Presi-
dent Roosevelt over the public utility
holding company bill. Representative
Huddleston of Alabama described the
position of himself and other Demo-
cratic members of the House in speech
Friday opposing the Presidents demand
for the death sentence" clause Of the
administration bill. He said that he
stood sqlarely on the Democratic plat
form of 1882, which declared: I'VE
advocate regulation to the full extent
of Federal power of holding companies
which sell securities in interstate COM
merce" There is nothing in the plat
form plank, as Mr.. Huddleston pointed
out, which calls for the destruction of
holding companies.
President Roosevelt, facing defeat in
the House over this death sentence
clause, dashed out against the public
utility lobby soon after Mr.. Huddleston
had completed his speech in the House.
The President, according to the pub
lished reports, is ready to veto any bill
which is sent to him by Congress which
does not contain the death sentence"
He is exerting all his political power to
control the House Democrats in this
matter. Never before has he failed to
whip them into line for New Deal legis-
lation. The only successful revolts in
the House have been over veterans
legislation to which the President was
opposed.
No one believes that the Congress
would pass a holding company bill over
the Presidents veto. If, however, the
President vetoes the bill and it is not
passed later by the necessary two-thirds
vote, the measure fails and there will
be no new law on this subject. 1t may
be that the President will prefer to lose
this fight in the belief that he may
win another day.
Government regulation of holding
companies is one thing, as Mr.. Huddles-
ton so emphatically pointed out. Their
destruction is another. The admins
tration, Mr.. HuddleSton said, is intent
upon taking vengeance for past errors
and ill-doing by utility holding COM
panieS, deeds done during the era of
great speculation. Other kinds of COM
panies engaged in business, spurred on
by spectators, weres guilty of similar
wrongs The vengeance which the
President now seeks will fall as Mr..
Huddleston said, upon the millions of
stockholders, whose only crime was
that they were too trustful.'
The charge has been made against
the administrations holding company
bill that it discourages enterprise; that
it does not lead in any measure to re-
covery. 1t discourages enterprise and
puts no single man or woman to work.
In that respect it resembles other New
Deal measures. Gradually it is sinking
into the American consciousness that
many of the New Dealers are intent,
not upon recovery of business and en-
ployment, but upon reform" The re-
forms are so far reaching as to touch
the very fundamentals of the American
system of Government and of business.
They grant vast new powers to Federal
bureaus. They destroy in part the
liberties of the people.
The Presidents charges against the
public utility lobby would bear more
weight If he had not welcomed SO
effusively the lobby which came to
Washington recently to demand con-
tinuance of Government checks to
farmers. The checks to the farmers
are part of the New Deal plan to reduce
production.