Fate of Roads In Commerce Board's Hands New Aet Makes Commission All-Powerful in Every Vi? tal Interest of Nation's Transportation System Can Kill or Rescue Lines Success or Failure of Pri? vate Ownership Hinges on the Policies of 11 Men By Stanley Frost If the new transportation act is signed by President Wilson and goes into effect next Monday there will be? gin an era in raiiroad affairs in Amer? ica which will he changed in the most vital ways from any that has pre ceeied it. On its success will de? pend whether the cry for government ownership will revive in reeloubled and perhaps overwhelming force after a few years, or whether the roads will become reestablished on a firm basfp free from the evils both of the period of unrestricted competition which brought about the great anti-railroad movement, and of the period of "un? restricted restriction" which almost wrecked the entire system of transpor? tation. Through the new act the United States: Plans to assure to the railroads mair '.( nance, credit and a fair profit, as well i.s to control and restrict them; to consieler the interests of investors us well an those of shippers. Increases its control over the roads in all directions, making it possible to override almost any selfish interest that may arise, and insures honest, tiealing with the public, especially in regard to the issue of securities. Acts Once Illegal Now Proper. Abandons the policy of enforcing Competition, exempts the roads from the Sherman anti-trust act, and actu? ally encourages the same kind of cen? tralization and cooperation which has heretofore been illegal. The policy of support of the roads, however, is an intentii n? not a guar? anty. The government takes no re? sponsibility in the enfetter; Congress merely announces a change of policy, and leaves the carrying out of it to the interstate Commerce Commission. There is no provision for doing more for weak railroads than to tide them ? ?ver a crisis. So the whole success of the railroads in the new era depenels upon the commission. "On March 1 next private ownership of the railroads enters upon its lina! test," says ('. A. Prouty, former ment? it ?. r of the commission and now direc? tor of the Bureau of Valuation of the Railroad Administration. "If it s_uc ce'erls it will become the permanent policy of this country, [f ir fails in e tim ition of the public, povern tt ? - ; itii n must result. Whether it . tie i ci or fails must depend largely up< n ?: com m ission. "It i. often charg d that the decline ?r railroad credit has been due to the ?sufficiency of earnings, but this taten ni !< not warranl ed. The troubli ' 5 1 oejrj I he unce rtainty, The ] iblic has come to realize that the ; vernment holds these carriers ? n ugh its ne... t to dict?t? their rates i:: the hollow i ?' its hand an I the doubt of wha I Ihi p icj ol Un .?>'.-. "ment is to !? h? - b< ? the disturl in?? factor." Public \\ M! W nil for Proof. The i>":icy has been announced, but ? ';?? ur.cei ti intji ? 11 main till ?t is . en thai the commis 'ion both wishes ; "-: i- able to carry it out. It i: u ? pi tver of the commission to kill the railroads, just as it is in its power to .:.., them. And thei^e are powerful ntere?ts which wart the roads killed. vant private operation to fail, so that ? the P i mb p?a n or governme nt ownersl ip v I result. These interests I m; ke themselves felt on the com m ?ssii How great is the power of the eleven commissioners to kill or cure is seen "Vom a glance at the new powers which are given them in the transportation act. The first of these i-4 the keynote of the new policy, the power to fix rates at a level that will insure the carriers a fair return upon their actual value. This return is fixed at 5% per cent, for 'wo years. After that the commission itself can determine whal a fair return ought to he' and establish the rates accordingly. Also, the commission is to determine what is a fair value o? the- roads. So the entire earning power of the' railroads, taken as a whole, is at the mercy of the commission. It need not seek to deetroy, it need only make a few bad guesses, to insure bankruptcy. Judge Prouty spoke of tho public's ' uncertainty. The commission, under | the new law, has power at* any time to ? change the valuation, the percentage ? which shall be considered a fair re 1 turn, and the rates themselves. None 1 of these things need be any more stable than the commission wishes. It will be the commissioner, rather than the roads themselves, in which investors will have to have faith. Can Give Succor in Emergency Further, tho commission has con? siderable power to help the roads sur? vive a pinch. There is a fund oi $300,000,000 provided from which it can make loans to the roads imme? diately. Tho contingent fund, to be built up from the excess earnings oi the strong railroads that are sine tc follow an increase in rates, will alsc j be under the commission's control j From this fund it can make loans. Il ? can, too, buy equipment itself, and I rent it to the carriers. All this means nothing in the waj lof a guaranty to any individual road 1 though the commission has the right j to issue direct orders that may cost i j road millions. It has no power t< help beyond lending the road monej ; at such rates of interest as it deem; | fit, and on such security as it chooses 1 Beyond that it cannot go. The execs; yearnings in tho contingent fund do no ; go to the weak roads except as loans which must he repaid with full interest ; The new policy does not even guaran tee anything to the roads as a whole except as the commission's acts back i up. It simply means that the commis sion has power to make the railroad as a whole prosperous, and is expectei '. to do so. To justify the new policy of suppor , the commission is given many nev and drastic powers over the roads Almost no function remains outside it control; on the most important one the roads cannot move without its per mission. It is now permitted to establish mini mum as well as maximum rates, to em all rate wars. It can force a road t i build certain extensions, and has powe to decide whether new trackage shut j be built, or old trackage abandoned. I j can force a road to increase its equip | ment of any kind, and it is speciticall ' given the authority to order the road ! to install automatic train-control o ' train-stop safety devices?an improve | ment that would cost hundreds of mi' | lions. Finance Control Absolute. Its control over railroad finances i complete. No securities can be issue | withput its approval, though this doc not insure buyers of such securitie I against loss if the commission shoul make a mistake. It will pass on th financial arrangements of any consol ' dations that t.-kt- place. It will dete] mine how much can be spent from h ? come as a fair amount for the upkee ? of the property. If already ha th I power to prescribe the system of a< : counting. Its control over traffic is greatly i it can direct tl ? routing of all traffic which the shi; per himself does not direct- a pow< that can ea ily destroy roads by tur: ! ing large part? of their best payii | business to other lines. It can ordi ' the diversion of equipment from oi live to another when it sees tit. But greater powers are in reser\ The commission can declare, at its to Dr. Bevan in n 1 ol ' he d i'. ghter's death. An ai nuity of $25,000 is left the wide w, . gether with a farm near Bar bi i ton. Sajre Votes Against Smith \i.i.'\\ ' Feb. 25, -The Senate to ;. *i5We?t-i'24it Women Made Members Of College of Physicians First of Sex To Be So Honored; Chicago Convention Hears Plea for Higher Fees CHICAGO, Feb. 25.?Two women phy? sicians, Dr. Anna Weld, of Rockord, 111., and Professor Leila Andrews, of the University of Oklahoma, to-day Were admitted to membership in the Ameri? can College of Physicians, the- first women to be so honored by that body, which is meeting in conjunction with the congress on internal medicine. The medical profession is one of the hardest worked and the least paid of all, according to Dr. Joseph H. Byrne, of New York, associate secretary gen? eral of the College of Physicians. "It is not uncommon for a lawyer to get a fee of $10,000 to $20,000, and fre? quently surgeons obtain large sums for their services," ho said. "Yet you sel? dom hear of such a thing among phy | sicians. They simply are not paid what they are worth." Dr. Byrne defended the old-fashioned ! country doctor, saying he was often I better qualified than many newer prod? ucts of medical schools. Shmworkers Join Strikers BALTIMORE, Feb. 25?Four hundred machinists employed by the Baltimore Dry Docks and Shipbuilding Company went on strike to-day in sympathy with the 1,100 men of the plant who walked out last week because of an order is? sued by the company prohibiting labor union representatives in its service wearing their badge of office in the shipyards. The walkout to-day caused stoppago of work on seven vessels, four of them 10,000-ton tankers under con? struction for the Shipping Board. Long Senate Fight on Dyes_Tariff Predicted Finance Committee Accused of "Flagrant Favoritism" by Poindexter WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.?Prospects of a prolonged fight on the House dye stuffs tariff bill developed to-day when the measure was taken up by the Sen? ate. Senator Kenyon, Republican, of Iowa, characterized the bill as "most unusual in its application of the pro? tective tariff," while Senator Borah, Republican, of Idaho, preelicted thai the Jbill might require as much debate as the peace treaty. It is the intention to lay the bill nside to-morrow to take up the treaty, which then is to be kept continuously before the Senate until a final vote is reached. Necessity for early passage of the bill was urged by Senator Frelinghuy sen, Republican, New Jersey, who said the President even had seen (it to rec? ommend such legislation in order to protect the American dye industry from Germany. While favoring the bill Senator Poindexter, Republican, of Washing? ton, opposed its consideration until some kind of an understanding could be reached as to other tariff bills af? fecting magnesite, surgical instru? ments and other things. He accused the Finance Committee, in ordering a favorable report upon magnesite and then temporarily withdrawing its re? port, with "most flagrant discrimina? tion and favoritism," and asked what "influence" hael been exerted upon it. Senator Smoot, Republican, of Utah, said if lie had his way there would be a complete revision of the tariff, but the President would not approve such a measure. -.-I Supply of Nitrate Assured WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.?Ample sup? plies of Chilean nitrate to meet farm requirements this season are assured under an arrangement made between the Department of Agriculture, the Shipping Board and nitrate importers for prompt action in supplying tonnage. Wilson Signs Bill to Lease U. S. Oil Lands Millions of Acres in West To Be Thrown Open foi Development Under 5 Fer Cent Royally Plan Naval Reserve Excluded Extensive Coal and Phos? phate Areas Also Are In? cluded in the Legislation WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.?President ? Wilson to-day signed the oil land leas? ing bill, which opens up for develop? ment millions of acres oC land in the ! West. The total area of oil lands thrown ; open for lease under the bill is esti? mated by the geological survey at more than 6,700,000 acres, while proved coal lands under government withdrawal : total approximately :!0,000,000 acres, ! with 39,000,000 acres still to be classi ! fied. Phosphate lands are estimated at 2,700,000 acres, with sodium and other ? mineral deposits equally as extensive. California Leads in Area California, with 1,189.200 acres of j withdrawn oil and gas lands, and ?Wyoming, with 1,151,629 acres, lead j the other states in the extent and rich ' ness of their oil deposits. Of the six additional states containing govern? ment oil lands made available to lease under the bill, Louisiana, with 407,000 acres, and Arizona, with 230,400 acres, are considered to have the most valu? able deposits. The naval reserve oil lands in Cali? fornia and Wyoming are not made available for public leasing under the bill unless the President so shall pre? scribe. Efforts to open up this land were largely responsible for blocking legislation in Congress for many years, I the Navy Department vigorously oppos i ing leasing of the rich oil deposits it holds in those states. The total area in California is <>8.000 acres and that in Wyoming 30,000 acres. North Dakota Leads in Coal In withdrawn eoai lands North Da j kota leads the other twelve states with j more than 11,000,000 acres, although its ?deposits are not considered as va >:a'??? as those contained in the 2,800,000 i acres of Colorado, which are appra.sed i by the government at an average of . S75 an acre, the highest valuation for i government coal ands in any s'.ate. Idaho ranks first in government phos? phate lands, with a little'more than 1,000,000 acres, and Wyoming second, ' with 900,000 acres. Authority for the administration of the oli leasing law is placed with the Secretary of the Interior. On oil lands the leasing rate will be 5 per cent of the oil produced, and this may be de : manded in oil or cash as the govern? ment may elect. For this year, at least, l the government is expected to collect : its royalties in oil. French Defeat Turk Forces Irregular Troop-; Suffer Heavy Losses in Svria | LONDON, Feb. 25. ? Heavy losses liave been inflicted by French troops 1 upon Turkish irregular forces near Marash, vilayet of Aleppo, Syria, it : was announced in the Louse of Lords by the Earl of Crawford to-day. ? General Gouraud has sent important reinforcements to the scene, Gillette Automobile Bill Meets Opposition Hearing Held on Measure to Make All Drivers Obtain Operators' Licenses ALBANY, Feb. 25.?Representatives of motorists' organizations spoke for and against the Gillett bill to-day at a hearing of the Internal Affairs Com ! mittee of the Legislature. The measure would extend to all Darts of the state I the law now in effect in New York i City compelling all automobile drivers j to obtain operators' licenses. Passage of the bill was urged by I Magistrate W. Bruce Cobb, of the ? Traffic Court in New York City. He de? clared the law had not had a fair ? chance in New York because it had not j been enforceel, possibly because of lack i of funds. Nevertheless, he said, its ? operation there had shown that 15 per I cent of the applicants for operators' | licenses, which are granted only after , tests of the applicants' ability, were not fit to operate automobiles. The Gi lett bill was prepared by the ; New York State Automobile Assocla ? tion arid was supported by the Automo | bi e Club of America, the Motor Truck i Federation and the New York State I Mayors' Conference. Among the op 1 ponents are the National Chamber of ! Commerce of Automobile Manufactur ers and the New York State Mot?. Federation. wr A bill to increase the protection of motor cars from theft and one fo *i? 50 per cent of automobile license fe?? back to the counties where the license? are issued met with little opposition ? Moesle Succeeds Erzberger Latter Retirement Said To Be Merely Temporary BERLIN, Feb. 25. -Under Secretary of State Moesle, who on January 27 was named by Mathias Erzberger deputy in the Finance Ministry, has been selected to succeed Herr Erzber ger. Erzberger resigned yesterday jj cause of testimony at hi3 libe? 5uit | against Dr. Karl Helfferich tending to ; show Erzberger had sent some of his ; private funds to Switzerland. The retirement of Erzberger is onlr I temporary, declares the "Deutsch? j Aligemeine Zeitung," in commenting < upon the minister's resignation. Various newspapers whose gym : pathies are with the elements of -ni | Right say his retirement is the first ? step in his fall. Belief is expressed hi ' the "Freiheit" that Herr Erzberger will : not return to his post. The new3pan?r ; says it "regrets the Nationalists should j have scored a triumph, although it 1 sheds no tears on his account." loi Studios Wk *^.-.UA,*A ?, Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler says