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Show MONEY & MARKETS By James McMullin The Telegram's Etcluiive Observer Alone Will Street NEW YORK One of the biggest big-gest legal circuses of modern times will be staged In Madison, Wis., during the next few months. The federal government's effort to prove that 23 leading oil companies com-panies and their executives have violated the antitrust laws Implies a new and significant application of the new deal crack-down philosophy. The ca-ie hu been In preparation prepara-tion for more than two years. Attorneys for the defendants have managed to slave off the trial until now on various lrgal technicalities. If the government 'wtiu, it means the end of all dreams for self-regulation of industries in-dustries by voluntary codes of fair trade practira along N R A lines. Oil men complain that they are now being prosecuted for doing exactly what the government encouraged en-couraged them to do under their N R A code. "What they used to call desirable cooperation now becomes a conspiracy in restraint of trade. What used to be wicked chiseling is rechrtstened healthy competion. We don't expect the government to be consistent, but this somersault really takes the cake.'' Wisconsin seems an odd locale for a trial Involving the oil industry. in-dustry. No petroleum is produced in the state end that Is precisely one of the reasons the govern- ment chose it as a setting. If the contest had come off In Texas or Oklahoma or Illinois, for Instance, owners of oil royalties royal-ties and others whose interests are identified with producera could have mobilised considerable political pressure to hsmper the government's sction. There Is no such complication in Wisconsin, where the only public relationship relation-ship to the Industry is on the consumer end. One other angle Is worth noting. not-ing. The stste of Wisconsin contemplated con-templated similar action against the oil companies a couple of yesrs sgo under its own antitrust anti-trust laws. But its subpena powers pow-ers are limited and it found it couldn't get the real big shots of the Industry Into the picture. It wouldn't have been any fun chivying chivy-ing distribution managers snd other lesser fry, so state authorities authori-ties turned over the dope they had gathered to the department of justice and invited the latter to go to It. All hands are set for a probable six-month siege. The new wage agreement between be-tween the railroads and the big five operating brotherhoods Is in line with predictions made In this column. Six major points stsnd out behind the news. 1. The unions and the federal fed-eral mediation board were much more anxious to effect a compromise com-promise settlement than the railroad rail-road managements. The brotherhoods broth-erhoods did not want to present their case to a special fact-finding commission if they could help It. They privately felt it would bo difficult to sustain their contention conten-tion that their members were underpaid. un-derpaid. 2. The managements receded from their original give-'em-noth-ing position on the clear understanding under-standing that their cooperation will be tangibly rewarded by both the government and the brotherhoods. brother-hoods. 3. The quid pro quo from the government will take the form of substantial freight Increases to be authorised by the interstate commerce com-merce commission. The I. C. C. will probably bend a sympathetic ear to later applioations for permission per-mission to charge higher passenger passen-ger rates also. 4. The brotherhoods, for their part, will quit trying to promote legislation to limit the length of trains and raise minimum train crew requirements. That will be two less awords of Damocles hanging over the managements' heads. 5. Further drastic economies will soon be inaugurated as a partial par-tial offset to the latest jump of approximately $35,000,000 in rail wage costs. Thousands of employes em-ployes are due to be fired. These cuts, however, will not be at the expense of the operating brotherhoods. brother-hoods. The roads can't eliminate many engineers, firemen, trainmen, train-men, etc., unless they run fewer trains and no curtailment of service is contemplated. The nan. operating employes maintenance men, clerks, etc. will tske it on the chin. 8. The wage settlement In no way helps to solve the industry's urgent financial problems. Despite De-spite prospective rate increases, It will probably bring closer the Inevitable showdown on public ownership as an alternative to unprofitable un-profitable private operation. Liquor men have about decided they can get along without a cssr. It doesn't look ss if anyone would be named to succeed the late W. Forbes Morgan as president of the Distilled Spirits Institute although the boys refuse to ssy yes or no for publication. Some of the bright minds among the whisky makers thought they could made a ten- |
