The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-09-03
-C0LUA1BA GRAF0NOLAS AND

joint session on Tuesday suggesting legislation. which included the provi- sions of the bill but went much far ther to provide means of preventing fu- ture difficulties and for handling mili- tary trains in the event of a strike.
 Committees of both houses went to work at once and the President paid daily visits to the capitol to see, as he put it, that things are kept mov- ing" They were kept moving rapidly hut not altogether to the liking o1 the President in the House, which on Friday passed only the eight-hour bill providing for the Investigation -The Senate interstate commerce committee first drafted tentative bills covering tho Presidents whole programme but eventually abandoned all of it ito sub- stitute the House measure.
 NEWLANDS FOUGHT
 The bill was passed in the Senate fol lowing determined efforts by Senator Newlands, chairman of the interstate commerce commission, Senator Under wood of Alabama and several other sena- tors to amend it. The democratic sena- tors mentioned insisted that Congress should provide as President Wilson had urged some measure to prevent such a crisis from ever arising again. They declared Congress was showing the Wnlte feather, that it was afraid to go 1artheI than merely to prevent the threatened catastrophe of the moment. They pro- posed that the interstate commerce com mission should be given authority Tn the future to fix wages and hours of service of railroad employees, thus for ever taking the question of labor dis- putes out of the strike danger zone. They fought vainly to the last against overwhelming odds.
 COERCION CHARGED
 Republican senators and a few Of the democrats declared unhesitatingly that Congress was being coerced, dictated to, driven under the gun to the passage of the eight-hour bill without any provision of permanent character. Senator Boran asserted that the railroad trainmen'Would not dare to order the strike if Congress should abandon the bill and adopt a resolution merely to provide for a thorough consideration of the whole sub ject. Senator Underwood declared the strike would be as dead on Monday morn ing if his amendment would be added tc the eight-hoYr bill as it would be With out. Senator Newlands insisted that Con gress did not dare to do what President Wilson had dared to do and enact legis- lation that would serve to stand as Q permanent barrier against such threat ened industrial disasters.
 Other senators, chiefly progressive re publicans. among them Cummins Ken yon and Norris, said that labor was getting bad bargain, ia brassy golc brick" a 'humbug' and that they were conceding to Congress the right to legis' late on the question of. wages, con cession which in their opinion the 400,0Ol trainmen of the organizations affected would not approve if it should be put to them for vote.
 But champions of the Adamson bill said in reply that to amend the bill would mean that the strike would not be stopped. They recalled to the Sen ate the declarations of the brotherhood , leaders that nothing would serve tc stay the strike order except the pass age and approval of the bill givina them the eight hour day and the pro- posed investigation.
 "NO QUORUM" MENTIONED Senator Reed, taking un the cudge!i for the brotherhoods in the closing hour of debate, asserted that quorum of tha House was not In Washtngtoni