Ogden Daily Standard | 1915-04-09 | Page 9 | Advocates Another Member of Cabinet

ADVOCATES ANOTHER MEMBER OF CABINET Norwich. Conn.. April 8 The ei tablishment of a department of transportation trans-portation with a secretary of transportation, transpor-tation, who would be a member of the president's cabinet, was advocated by Howard Elliott, president of the New i York, New Haven & Hartford railroad. In an address bore tonight before the chamber of commerce and the mem bers of the Eastern Connecticut Development Devel-opment committee "The present conditions of the American railroads is due in part," he said, "to an effort on the part of the country to fix rates and service by regulation and ai the same time have i hem fixed by competition, thus creating an almost impossible condition condi-tion somewhat destructive of results and valnr-a "It Is a question how far it is to the pnhlir interest to apply the so-called so-called anti-trust law to the transportation transpor-tation business Well organized, pru dently managed and wisely regulated combinations ot railroads may In the long run. produce greater efficiency and service to the public than excessive exces-sive competition, with the resultinc duplication of facilities and increased expenses. "I believe it would be well to have a department of : ransportation with a secretary of transportation at the head of it. who should be a member of the cabinet. Such a man would of necessity have to champion somewhat some-what the rights and privileges of the transportation business, such as the secretaries of the treasury, commerce 'and labor speak for their particular j subjects. Such an officer would have the demands of the public and of the regulatory organizations on one side. ?X and any errors of policy and manage- F-'-V ment on the part of the owners of the property on the other side." j ReteiTing to the New England rail- r';'l road system. Mr Elliott said that with conflicting laws in the different states. if Vv'4 "it calls attention very forcibly to the I v desirability of a federal incorporation ' r SCt for those railroads, the majority ."'. of whose business Is interstate ' .