The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-20
Underwood's Contention Is Gaining Favor Among
 Nations Leaders
49 BOSSES CANNOT
 GET BEST RESULTS
Newland's Resolution Provides for a Thorough Investigation of the Subject for the Benefit
 of Congress
By HUGH w. ROBERTS

By HUGH W. ROBERTS Washington July 1s.-(SpeciaL)- )-The
 cry of railroad influence" which orig mated, it Is believed, either in Alabama. North Carolina or Tennessee, frequently ! reverberates through the halls of Con gress, but attracts as little attention as would an attempt in the states above
 mentioned to resurrect the long. dead is- sue
 It is apparent that the times have changed. There was a day in the south when railroad attorney was regarded as burglar in disguise, and railroad, as
 an octopus, bent solely on acquiring for | financial reasons, political domination of a territory.
 l In the present the national viewpoint l is that railroad is great developer, beneficent agent deserving the considera- tion and protection of the federal govern l ment, and requiring the regulations of l the federal government.
 THE OLD CRY But sometimes the anti-railroad flag is
 
 postoffices and post roads referred to the 1 interstate commerce commission the de- | mand of the postoffice department that railroads be remunerated for bearing the mails on the space rather than the weight basis, Representative Moon of Tennessee, and Fourth Assistant Post
 master General Blakeslee walled in ef feet, that the railroads had gained con trol of the Senate. Mr. Moon declared that the Senate committee had acted in accordance with the demands of railroads attorneys. and MT. Blakeslee added his own criticism that the committee had surrendered to the railroads. But the committee stood firm, and, after long and bitter fight in conference, it's atti- tude was sustained
 | The House has just indorsed the Feb
 ruary action of the Senate in enacting the
 Newlands resolutions requiring con-
 gressional investigation into the entire I railroad problem. The action of the House was without record vote. Nevertheless. | Mir. Mann. the leader of the republican | minority. declared the Congress had fallen into the scheme of railroad attor- neys who desired to break the control of the states over the railroads, and lodge such control in the interstate commerce commission.
 TO STUDY PROBLEM | The fight for and against the Newlands | resolution had it's incipiency in an ad- | dress delivered some summers ago in New York by Senator Underwood. Later, the address was repeated in Birmingham. As may be recalled, ex-Governor Conner. who, on an anti-railroad and local option platform had previously acquired the
 chief executive position of the state,
 more or less severely criticized the sem
 ator for his temerity.
 i But the senator, impressed with the
 sanity of his view that the prosperity of
 the nation was in great degree involved | in the prosperity of the railroads; that the railroads just as individuals, were entitled to show for their alley" and
 that the conflicting Jurisdiction of AS diff | ferent states was hindrance to the l development of the common carrier sys- tenn. contnued-silent under the attack to put his thoughts into legislation. | And as a result, Congress has appro- 1 priated the sum of $240OO for the use of | a special joint committe to study the
 railroad problem during the ensuing re- cess The report of the committee must | be in the hands of the Congress early l in January
 WILSON SPONSORS IDEA | In the beginning of the present session of Congress the President, preparing to
 write his first message. conferred with I Senator Underwood-who, the previous
 session. had enacted the tariff legisla- ! ton.
 | Senator Underwood put before the Pres | ident his own idea that a prosperous na-
 tion must have prosperous railroads, and l that a strong central government should l be substituted for 4S separate and dis | tracting governments. President Wilson recognized at once the strength of the | senator's position, and in his message. he called upon Congress to provide for
 the proposed investigation. Senator Newlands as chairman of the committee on interstate commerce, in which committee the Presidents sugges-
 ton was considered, drafted the New
 lands resolution. It was put through the Senate in February. It was recently put through the House with an amendment | instructing the committee to investigate
 also the feasibility of government own ership.
 As yet. the President has not signed the Newlands resolutions. Of course.
 the committee on investigation has not been appointed But it is confidently be- lieved in congressional circles that the
 committee will find and report that the l railroads, in the interest of the people and themselves, can more sanely and sat isfactorily be governed by central body, l the interstate commerce commission. than by 48 state organizations, the rules and regulations of which necessarily diff fer in many respects. and the laws of the states of which in many vital re- I spects also differ.
 l The view of Congress seems to be that | the railroads are more in fear of the
 interstate commerce commission than of any single railroad commission, and that as result. justice to the people will be
 more certainly guaranteed. The rail- roads, on the other hand. will be re- lieved of the perennial strain incident to
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