The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-15
.-nr n[UUC1|ON Strongly WoTdtd Protest Made to the President AFFECTS 6,OOO,OOO PERSONS Think Maximum Prices of Beef, Pork, oil and Clothing Need Fixing
 More Tran Railroad
 Rates.

Washington, November 14.-An earnest protest was made to the President today against proposed railroad freight rate leg islation. The protest was filed by rep resentatives of the five great labor or- ganizations connected with railroads-the engineers, firemen, conductors. switch- men and trainmen. The members of the delegation which called on the President represented several organizations. They pointed out to him that railroad rate legislation logically meant the lowering of rates. This. they contended will be followed by a lessening of the earning power of railroads and consequently by | reduction eventually of the wages of rail- road employees. The delegation which called on the President came from twelve different states and represented all the larger sys- tems of railroads 1 George Huntley. of the conductors or ganization, presented to the President a statement of the character of the organi- zations represented and assured him that no taint of partisanship or political color ing existed in any degree among the members of the delegation.
 The statement presented by Mir Hunt 1 ley was as follows:
 Represent 6,ooo,ooo People.
 'The railroad employees and those de- pendent on them represent upwards of six million of people in this country and whose earnings approximately amount to one-half billion dollars annually, and we believe that there is no other class of l American workmen who present a higlpr l general standard of citizenship than the | railroad employees, and we also claim that we are entitled to fair and impartial con slderation in the framing or adoption of any legislation that threatens oui gAIl- | eral prosperity. Il We take keen and active interest in ! all matters that seem to conduce to q I higher and broader standard of condi- tions for the working men of this coun- try and therefore 1t Is not strange that since the inception of this movement for national legislation upon railroad rates, that all railroad employees have from time to time, and in various ways, ex- pressed their convictions.
 Unions Have Taken Action. For example the Brotherhood of Rail- | way Trainmen, with a membership of S0.000 members at their last annual meet ing in Buffalo, last spring, adopted reso- hitions of the most emphatic nature
 
 | The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Fire men have expressed similar views by official uttersnees, and the same can be said of the Switchmans National asso- citation. The Order of Railway Conductors at their biennial convention in Portland. l Ore, last May endorsed resolutions of | the same nature. The membership of | these organizations Is now a little more than a quarter of a million and there are still behind us another full million | of laborers in the railroad world who | would be similarly affected by any re- auctions in the earning capacity of tbe railroad lines of this country, and wi impresses us with more force than side of the is,iue, Is this: | "Why have the railroad ir'a particular been selected for | Why is the in ter-state con
 mission some similar co.
 to be clothed with the
 authority to fix the maxir
 beef, pork, oil. cl pthing, b, etc? In fact evslrything
 to buy every day? It sec
 such a step would be
 reasonable than t'4s
 railroad rates
 other cor
 leaps ar
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