The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-12-08
ISSUE MUST Be SETTLED

iFaiHfneH Are Nor Able to Agree
Among Themselves Congress Will
Take Charge and Regulate the Busl-
ness-Public VIII Be Protected.
BY REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAM c..
ADAMSON
chairman of house committee on inter
state and foreign commerce.
l have no doubt congress will pro-
ceed In an orderly manner to consider
measures designed to accomplish what
ever may be necessary to secure to the
people prompt and efficient service by
Interstate carriers. If the railroad
companies and the men are not able to
agree among themselves and conduct
the business decently and orderly con
gress viii have to take it in charge and
regulate 1t for them which 1t will not
hesitate to do.
In the conferences between the rail-
road companies aud the trainmen the
railroads were perfectly willing that
the trainmen should have what they
wanted, and the trainmen in turn were
perfectly willing for the railroads un-
der false claim of increased expenses
to pile unconscionable charges In the
shape Of increased rates on the people,
but as the assurance of the increased
rates was wanting the agreement failed
The president then called the parties
before him and made a fair and decent
proposition to them to put In force the
eight hour law as to men who operate
trains, and, inasmueh as the railroad
companies insisted it would increase
the cost and demanded an increase in
rates and as the president had neither
the power nor disposition to grant the
increase, he proposed an investigation
to settle the m0oted question as to
whether there would be such an in
crease in expenses as to Justify the
enormous increased rates. The train
men promptly accepted the proposition
The railroad presidents refused unless
they could get the assurance of the In
crease of rates They were still per-
fectly willing to accept the eight hour
day ii it could be made the prcteXt for
an increase of rates. l notified the
railroad companies then that they
ought to accept the proposition and
sion and congress to take care of them
and gave them my opinion that con
gress would pass the eight hour law
the first thing it did when it took up
the subject They refused, and the
president threw mp his hands. Then
congress, at the suggestion of the presi-
dent, took up the matter.
Right here another monumental false
hood has been circulated to mislead
the people. The charge has been made
that the matter had not been consider
ed. The railroad companies and the
trainmen had already fully considered
1t and were ready to agree on it con-
ditionally. The committee of which /
am chairman had been considering the
subject of hours of labor for a gen
GRAFTON. We had passed the sixteen,
thirteen and nine hour law in 1907,
which prevented the railroads from
working their men anywhere from
twenty five TO forty hours President
Roosevelt signed that without hesita
ton, never once intimating that it was
u wage law.
There is no use for anybody further
to give currency to the fasehood that
congress was beld up. The railroad
companies were not held up, because
they offered to yield if they could Sc
cure increased rates. The president
was not held up, because all he offered
was what civilization approves, safety
in operating trains, and what the rail
roads were willing 10 accept on condi-
tion Of increased rates. The men didn't
go to the president until he called for
them, and he called for the railroad
presidents, and lie submitted his prop
osition to both of them, not a proposi-
tion of either one to the other.
When it came to congress the train
men not only didn't request legislation,
but positively requested that there
should be no legislation, but congress
couldn't afford to permit the row be-
tween the two classes Of public sery-
ants to jeopardize and suspend opera
tions Of interstate commerce when it
could be ayerted by merely passing a
law, we'll considered, which it could
easily approve and which both sides
had agreed to accept-one absolutely
and the other condtionally-and so we
passed what is understood and what
nobody objected to. For be it remem-
bered, in the face Of all traducers and
falsifers, that none of the railroads
nor the opposing senators fought 1t on
the ground of the eight hour law; they
based their fights on propositions for
arbitration and compensatory rates,
which we didn't have time to consider
then.
Please tell all traducers that when
congress deals with this matter it rep
resents the public and not trainmen
nor railroad companies, and that it,
legislation will be fair to both sides III
controversy, but the public is our client
and constituent and we intend to see
that the railroads are operated without
danger Of exploitation, destruction and
bankruptcy through the Vaccinations
Of unprinclpled speculating capitalists
and that, on the other hand. 1t shall be
made impossible for anybody to ignore
the courts and interrupt traffic by
strikes.