Evening star., 1939-01-15
BY JOHN C, HENRY.

drawing clear distinction be.
tween the problem of concentrated
control and that of concentrated
ownership of property or of wealth,
Assistant Secretary of State Adolf
L. Berle. jr., one of the original
New Deal brain trusters," has ad-
vlsed the Government MONOPOLY
Committee that study of the al
lance between the Aluminium Co.
OF America, the Niagara Hudson
Power Co. and Canadian power in
terests would be pertinent to it's
inquiry.
Mr.. Berle's proposal, contained
IN comprehensive memorandum
on the Nations business structure
submitted to the committee in the
recess since its initial set of public
hearings in December, cited this
alliance in connection with his dis
cussion of the country's industrial
geography"
Among those deeply curious about
the alleged relationship is the State
Department, Mr. Berle said, al
though he did not amplify the rea-
sons or the nature of its interest.
Criticizes Shotgun Technique"
AT the same time. the Govern
ment adviser, critical Of the tech
nique OF the New Deal as an in
dulgence in Shotgun imposition
OF regulation without adequate def
milton OF Standard cautioned that
legislative efforts to refine the con-
trols affecting the business struc-
lures should be worked out with
extreme care and long distance
vision
The Aluminium Co.." Mr.. Berle
wrote, has pre-empted certain
great areas in the United States
through its alliance with the power
companies. In this connection, let
me say that it would be an assist
ance to the State Department if
more were known about the alh-
ance between that company and the
Niagara Hudson, and that company
and the Canadian power interests,
than is known today
I'VE know the result well enough.
No industry can buy power in the
st. Lawrence area without making
terms with that particular group of
interests.
Control Through Supply.
Very much the same thing Is
true in the rayon industry. Here
there is practical control, through
control Of the supply, over knitting
and weaving rayon. That, under
stand, is one Of the few country
wide blankets sharing distinction
with the block booking in the movie
industry and until recently the fol-
low-the-leader steel price"
In the course Of drawing his dis
tinction between ownership and con-
! troll, Mr. Berle remarked:
Concentration of power in New
York or Boston has nothing what
| ever to do with the private fortunes
OF individuals. The Van Swerin-
gems were no less powerful at the
end Of their lives, when they we're
bankrupt, than they were in mid
stream, when they had between
them a fortune worth on paper two
or three hundred millions.
There may be strictly social rea-
sons for having no individuals with
large incomes, though rather doubt
this; but such reasons have little
to do with industrial organization.
Unity of Interest.
Il have observed that the con-
centration of power is more likely
to come from unity of interest than
from any legal device. This seems
almost beyond legal control. You
cannot prevent men whose interests
are about the same, and whose
minds run along similar lines, from
doing about the same thing at about
the same time
1T by no means follows that some
concentration of power may not be
desirable in certain industries. I
am by no means clear that. in some
(See MONOPOLY, Page AID