The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1918-02-26
By W. V. BYARS.

II IS not likely LnaJ compulsory
labor bill will be brought to vote in
either house Of the present Con-
gress. 1t is still less likely that the
Congress will pass any bill openly
multiplying the prohibition of "invol-
untary servitude" by the Thirteenth
Amendment, with its only exception
against duly convicted criminals.
Under two bills now pending in
the Senate, however, the attempt
might be made to evade this amend
ment. 1t might be evaded under the
McCumber bill, though Senator Nc
Cumber denies that the "conscrip-
ton Of labor" is the purpose in
view. His bill would make registra-
ton compulsory for all males be:
tween the ages of eighteen and
sixty-two years. Once registered
and supposed to be thus in the mill
tary service of the country, they
might be assigned "under martial
law" to any work said to be neces-
sary for winning the war"
Senator McCumber (Hon. Porter
J. McCumber, Ii. B., North Dakota,
Republican, spoke at length in the
Senate yesterday, with all his argu-
ments supporting the compulsory
registration system proposed in his
bill, which, however, he mentioned
only incidentally without dwelling
on it.
With the collapse of the Bolshe-
wiki in Russia and "profiteering" at
Hog Island as texts, he said that
the case of Hog Island, shameful as
he thought it, was not isolated but
typical of what had been going on
all over the country.
Nine-tenths of the people Of the
United States are not going to al
low the country to be held up by
one-tenth, he said. He described
this one-tenth engaged in the "hold
up" as drunk with power, swelled
with Importance, guided by no
standard but that of more and more
and more"
The time had come, he added, for
the people of the country to accept
this challenge. In connection with
the method of acceptance, he touched
on the history of lynchings by vigi-
lance committees and Committees
of safety" composed Of "law-abid-
ing men"
Connecting the recent past with
the era of vigilance committee con-
troll in California before the civil
war, he suggested long rope and
the short shrift, without using such
supplementary language.
He did not intend, however, to
threaten the eminent financiers of
the American International Com
pany with summary justice" ad-
by "law-abiding" men,
bers of a committee of safety. After
having condemned profiteering by
sufficiently for purposes
of impartiality, his speech was d.
rected against union labor, which,
on his indictment, was called to an
swer the charge of combination to
extort the highest war profits for
the least return of service.
As the Administration was
charged with permitting this, Sena-
tor Hollis of New Hampshire re-
sponded on that phase of the issue
and Senator Phelan of California
replied with Hog Island as a text.
The subject had been introduced
at an inappropriate time, Mr..
Phelan thought, as members of the
Senate Committee on Commerce
were mostly absent, investigating
Hog Island conditions by personal
No one challenged Mr..
proposition that the
hoggish element in human nature
was never better illustrated than in
the history of Hog Island. AS he
is not a member of the investigat-
ing committee, Senator Nelson sup
piled them with additional informa-
ton on financial "hoggishness."
Senator Owen spoke on conditions
now existing in our foreign export
business and on the most effective
remedy for them. As they are illus
trated by the discount on the Amer
lean dollar in some neutral countries,
IGdCilluS db lluSll do ID per CeUI, he
proposed a bank, devoted exclusive
ly to foreign business and to main.
tanning the parity of the American
dollar abroad. He thought that
American bankers may be at times
disposed to "kill the goose that lays
the golden egg" and that they do
not always realize that banking
should be dependent on commerce
rather than commerce on banking.
The McAdoo business control bill
was the unfinished business Of the
Senate. but was not called up. The
OVerman blanket power bill was
under consideration by the Senate
Judiciary Committee without a con-
clusiOn being reached. The King
judiciary subcommittee heard further
testimony from Gustavus Ohlinger
against the loyalty of the German
National Alliance. In an
5wer to questions by Senator King, he
said that the alliance represented
only a small fraction of the 30,O0O,OOO
Of the United
States. He replied In the affirmative
when asked II German-Americans as
4 rule we're not absolutely loyal"