New Britain herald., 1918-09-05
SOLDIERS HAPPY AT
 LONERGAN MEASURE
How It Was Accomplished and
 How It Is Appreciated

Details incident to the great task Congressman Augustine Lonergan had to overcome in putting through his measure so that soldiers and sail ors, when granted furlough could travel at reduced rates on the rail- roads, are being published in service newspapers published for soldiers It was no mean task and was not done in the twinl1ling of a. second. Here is what had to be done:
 l. The Interstate Commerce Com mission had no means or method of granting the reduced fare Neces- sarily Congress had to enact 3 law to this effect, 4 bill was then intro duCed by Mir. Lonnergan
 2, Tn order to convince congress of the advisa biIity of this change in sta tute. concrete ia cts from other coun- tries had to he brought forth So Congressman Lonergan went 10 rep resentatives Of England, France and Italy. got them to tell what their countries had done for travelling sol diers, and then presented the matter to the House of R representatives
 3. Secretary of War Baker and
 
 to be convinced that the proposal plan would be worthy of adoption Five separate and distinct reasons convinced them.
 I. The new director general of th.> railroads, William Gibbs McAdoo. had to be shown that granting so many re- duced fares would not put a crimp in the pockGtbook of the railroads stock holders. As the war department keeps, no record of the total number of mon on turlough 1t any one time. this ne cessitated more digging for facts
 ,. The president of the United States was visited by the congressman from Connecticut. The comn1ander-in-ch of the army and navy was heartily in sympathy with the proposed legisla- tion, and gave his support The bill went through and the mem bers of the army, navy. marine and nurse corps can now visit the old folks without suffering the loss of any too great an amount.
 At present this reduction of rail- road rates to soldiers amounts to one- third of the actual fare. which in some states. brings the fareA to ap- proKlmately one and a. third cents a. mile. MT. Lonergan is now conten1- 2, form rate of one cent a mile will be established throughout the Union for all soldiers, sailors and nurses going home on furlough.
 The latest copy of Where Do We Go from Here.' published August IS at San Antonio, Texas, by the War Camp Community Service of that city, one of the largest military establishments in the country, devotes half a page to the story of MT Lonergan's successful fight for cent-a-mile transportation for soldiers, sailors and nurses on fur tough.
 Every day at Washington the con gressman is the recipient of letters in appreciation of his work. One of them, recently, was a round robin let ter of thanks signed h4. more than 200 men of the Kelly Field aviation, from every state in the union
 A recent edition of Stars and Stripes" just received in this country from France, where if is published as the official organ of the American Exp editionarr Force. contains on it's editorial page a copy of Congressman Lonergan's speech in the 1 House of Representatives in May on Mothers Day. The soldiers paper re- N1eWS the congressman s efforts to l have the plan originated by it's editors adopted by the Secretary of War and also extended by the Secretary of the | Navy to the Fleet.
 As 8 result hundreds of thousands l Of letters were written to their moth 1 CTS by the soldiers and sailors in the | service May 18th last.
 Many of the camp publications 1 h e~h stories on MT. Lonergan's legislative 1 work at Washington in behalf of the ] soldiers. 1
 Mr Frederick Harmon has m nnvAd 1