Evening star., 1919-11-16

rentals for the short lines which are
not under federal control.
1T opens the doors Of the fede..s;
Treasury to the railroads in order
| that they may be refinanced with
public funds.
"If similar scheme were proposed
for the purpose of aiding the farm
ers or the city workers those who
sponsored it would be denounced as
bolshevists and the country would be
told they were attempting to overturn
/ republican institutions.
IF the people of this country-the
farmers the small business men. the
professional men and the organized
| workers-could be informed concern
ing the provisions of this bill. such a
protest would go up from all parts OF
the nation as would insure it's defeat
That its authors fear just that kind
of a result is evidenced by the at
; tempt to jam it through the House
Prepared in Secret"
"lt must be remembered that this
| measure was prepared in secret con-
ference. Presumably no one outside
the membership of the committee was
familiar with what was taking place
behind the closed doors of the COM
| mittee room.
THE bill was reported to the House
last Saturday. A special rule making
! it Immediately in order was adopted
| on Monday. and on Tuesday morning
! at 10 o'clock the bill was taken up
I, for discussion with the announcement
| that night sessions would be held un-
I til final vote was secured
| Not a dozen members Of the House
aside from the members of the COM
mittee had read the bill when the dis
| cussion opened. That statement will
not be questioned by any one.
so far as the labor provisions of
| the bill are concerned, they are mQre
vicious, because more subtle. than the
labor provisions in the Cumniins bill.
! ''The Cummins bill brutally an
| nounces what is in it's authors minds.
They want to shackle labor and frank
| ly say SO.
| "The men who framed the labor pro-
visions of the Esch bill have the same
object in view, but they seek to at
tain it through a maze of legal ver-
biage.
Labor Men Unconsulted.
While these labor provisions cover
| several pages of the bill, it is a sig
nif1cant fact that not one representa-
| tive of organized labor w\S consulted
| in their preparation. We are convinc-
ed that the same hand that wrote the
financial provisions. giving Wall street
J everything it asked, also drafted the
| labor clauses.
| This travesty on legislation reveals
| the fundamental weakness of all
| schemes to return the roads to their
| former owners. The fact is that pri-
| vate ownership of the means of trans
portation has broken down. The Esch
/ bill seeks to resuscitate it by granting
] outrageous increases in rates and ex-.
| travagant government subsidies.
And Congress-, without having read
the bill, is preparing to accept what
Mr.. Esch and his associates on the
committee have offered.
Apparently our craftsmanship is as
bankrupt as our railroads.
Labor. having studied the problem
in all its phases. again submits what
| it contends is the common-sense solu-
tion Of the problem:
THE railroads should be held under
federal control for at least two years.
This will afford thorough test of the
efficiency Of government operation and
! will give Congress and the American
people an opportunity to study this
| most important of issues.
Labor is willing to accept the sober
| judgment of the American voters as
expressed at a general election"