New Britain herald., 1916-09-21
PLAN ND ASSAULT
 ON 8-HOUR LAW
Some Railroad Heads Will Vote
 for Wilson's Reelection

New York, Sept. 21.-The Railway Executives Advisory Committee, com posed of executives of the fourteen ,. largest railroad systems in the United States, met at 61 Broadway yesterday, but the announcement that the rail- road presidents were going to plan way to nullify the eight-hour law proved an error. The eight-hour law received only perfunctory attention at the meeting. and the railway heads spent the day figuring on how to pre- sent to the Newlands transportation committee of congress case strong enough to get the federal regulation act they hope President Wilson will put through at the short session. a. It became known that not a small percentage of the railroad presidents in the committee who were bitter against Wilson three weeks ago when the eight hour law was passed to head off the railway brotherhoods from a national strike will vote for the presi4 dent in November. A1 E. P. Ripley, president of the Santa | Fe, was still in a belligerent mood about the eight-hour law but the only action taken in reference to it was4to l ask the national conference committee | of railways to complete statistics show 1 ing how much it would cost in actual operation, whether trains could be speeded up to make present ten-hour runs in less time, and other details of l the application of the eight-hour day. l A soft pedal has been put upon the | talk about the "outrageousness' of the law which was indulged in whenythes railroad presidents left Washington '0Il l September 2.
 Two reasons have been suggested for this change of attitude: First, Senators Newlands and the majority of the members of his transportation conn 1 mittee are members of the majodty | which passed the eight-hour law, and it is from the Newlands committee that the railroads want the recon-
 mendation for Federal regulation; sec- | ond, President Wilson promised whenl | congress adjourned that at the short1 | session he would advocate the passagel | of the remainder of his strike settle
 ment program, which included com
 pulsory investigation laws and an~as-.
 surance for the railroads that they
 would be able to recompense them
 selves by higher freight rates for tho
 additional cost of the eight-hour daya
 In neither of these promises would
 bitter attacks upon the eight-hour law,
 and it's passage aid the cause of the railroads. It is known that this argu- :,
 ment has been put forward by several
 of the conservative railroad presidentsi !
 If the eight-hour law Is attacked~ and
 declared unconstitutional the railroad < face the same crisis with the brother !
 hoods as that which took them to| Washington at the call of the presi- L | in Wnn1d more, have little chance of getting al democratic congress to pass any fa7 vorable legislation in compensation fod
 the law if it were thrown out. If<thd
 law were attacked and upheld, thenj , these presidents argue, the railroads would have hurt their case at Wash1 5 ington. Some of the railroad presidents .f1gA ure that if they can get federal regu1
 lation and compulsory investigation the eight-hour day might not be suck bad price for such progress, in vievs
 of the fact that they have an excellenE
 chance of getting higher rates an
 thus forcing the public to pay whaA
 the eight-hour day would cost in an 1 event.
 It can be stated on the best of au
 thority that the chief efforts of thN
 best brains of the two railroads wiz
 be devoted in the next two month
 not in framing an attack upon th#
 eight-hour law, but in framing a gooE
 case for Federal regulation, to whicM
 they regard President Wilson as conI&
 mitted.
 The Newlands committee was crea
 ed in response to suggestion k
 President Wilson's address to copgreN
 last December for an inquiry into tlM
 whole transportation problem and t1a
 efficacy of present railroad laws. TI#
 joint committee will begin it's vol E.
 on Nov. 20, with Senator Newlands N
 Nevada as chairman. NJ