Evening star., 1916-09-20
Holds Charge of Surrender to
Force in 8-Hour Law Weak,
Because False.
SAYS PUBLIC SENTIMENT
DEMANDED ACTION TAKEN
Sorry to Behold Spectacle of "Mr.
g. Hughes, Hard Driven, Appealing
to Special Interests"

CHICAGO. September 2o-"A Word
About the So-called Eight-Hour Law
MS Related to Railroad Operatives" by
William J. Stor.. United States senator
$rom Missouri. was issued by the west
ern national democratic headquarters
he-, today. Accompanying the state
ne, r-s an assertion that senator
stone was representing the thougnt OF
the. administration on the subject. ihe
statement said, in part:
,.Messrs. Hughes. Roosevelt. Root
Lodge. Penrose, Crane. Pierpont MOT
ran. George w. Perkins and that en-
fire genus maintain that the Presioeht
and Congress surrendered to force anu
thereby discredited public authority
and weakened the foundations Vi Jul
governmental institution.
.ore weakness about this charge IS
that il is false. Nobody tnreateneo
the President or Congress- nUoous u
manded anything OF them. a, Ine
M controversy between the government
and the railroad employees. nor between
fhe government and the railroad man
axements. The controversy was pulelS
Industrial, waged between severai nun
1r.d Thousand men who actually oper-
ate trains on the one hand and the
anaaers of the railroads on the other
Trouble Reached Acute Point.
..rbe trouble had reached point so
..,,te that these hundreds of thou
,,,ds of men were on the verge OF a
strike. they were about to quit work.
and thus leave the entire railroad
transportation of the country tieo up
for an indefinite period.
The statement then points gu. .na d
while the crisis existed senators and
renresentatives and members OF the
administration were receiving commu-
nications from all sections OF tne
country. indicating that Ihe pupiis
aentiment almost universally Favored
any reasonable means of averting this
The senator pointed out the possible
effects Of a strike on the fruit growers
of the far west, on feeders Oh llVe-
stock. farmers shipping grain on con-
tracts, manufacturers of steel and tex
tiles under contract TO be shippeo; on
the fuel supply of the country and on
the mining and timber industries anu
their allied interests and dependents
..The fact is" he continued, the very
threat of this nationwide lookup
caused a big jump In the prices 0!
food. coal and all the necessarfes OF
life and Industry and il is worthy OF
note that when the danger passed
prices went back to normal
Faced Task Periodically.
These are the things the President
faced, and such the calamity he bravely,
patiently, patriotically sought to avert
Who biames him? Mr. Hughes says he
should have Investigated the questions
n issue before acting. They seem to
think that although the house was on
1re the President should have inquired
into the cause of the fire before put
ting 1t out, instead Of first putting 1t
out and then Investigating the cause.
Il can understand this argument
when made by men like ]. PferPont
Morgan, George w Perkins and others
Of that type, but 1 am amazed that
Mr.. Hughes should adopt It am
Mr. Morgan-multimillion prince
Of Wall street. maker and wrecker OF
railroads. lord of the British ex.
chequer in America.
is that really the issue Mr.. Hughes
presents to the judgment of the Amert-
can people? For myself. proclaim this
achievement. considered in it's imme-
diate and patent blessings. as one OF
the greatest in the history of the re-
public.
Will Not Shrink From Issue.
Mr.. Hughes. hard driven, Is appeal
ing TO powerful special interests. I am
sorry to behold this spectacle in our
public life l am sure the President
will not shrink from this issue. He has
other things of vastly greater impor-
tance to talk about. but he can meet
this issue without shadow of appre-
hension.
. -.I would turn from Morgan. Perkins,
Roosevelt. Root, Lodge, Penrose and an
such as these. who preach these strange
d0ctrfneR and ask the great masses OF
the people whether the President was
right. Moreover, when powerful, opu-
lent, sinister. special interests assail
the President because Of this fine act Of
Christian statesmanship, I would ask
the workingmen, who, with the Prest
dent; must bear the brunt Of these at
tacks-for they are aimed at the great
labor interests Of the country-what