New Britain herald., 1919-09-02
Strikes and Lockouts of Elm ployes Prohibited-Coun- try Split Into Regional Systems.
WAGE ADJUSTMENTS
 GIVEN ATTENTION


 and lockouts of railroad employes prohibited, is the plan for permanent railroad legislation submitted to the senate today by the interstate cont merce sub committee.
 Not Like Plumb Plan.
 A tentative bill embodying the sub committees recommendation Which bear no resem blance to the Plumb plan had been introduced by Chair man Cummins and referred to the full interstate commerce committee. The bill is the result of many months of hearings and work by the sub committee, which, besides Mr. Cun- mins, included Senators Kellogg, Min- nesota, and Poindexter, Washington, republicans, and Pomerene, Ohio, and Robinson of Arkansas democrats.
 Salient Provisions of Bill.
 Salient provisions of the Cummins bin include
 Term ination of goVernment control and return of the railroads to prl- Tate ownership on the last day of the month of enactment.
 Establishing the interstate com- merce commission with greatly in- creased powers as the supreme body over railroad affairs.
 Supervision and control of virtually all railroad affairs, including rates, l wages, operation and financing, by the government.
 Creation of a new railway transpor- tation board of five members appoint ed by the president to supervise rail- way development and operations, sub ject to- final action of the commission. Creation of a new committee of wages and working conditions, com- posed equally of representatives of employees and employers with wide authority in settling labor questions subject to decision of the transportA- ton board and comm ission.
 Strikes and Lockouts Prohibited. Prohibiting strikes and lockouts ot railroad employees under fine and inn prisonment penalties.
 Defining a new policy for concen- tration in ownership and operation Ot railroads. with federal incorporation | into not less than 20 or more than B 1 regional systems.
 No guarantee by the government of 1 future railroad income, but limita- 1 tiOns made upon revenue to fair div idends based on value of properties l fixed by the interstate commerce com 1 mission
 | The bill also provides that eXistins | railroad payment contracts with the 1 government shall be continued nO l longer than four months and that 1 present rates shall continue unti | changed by the commission with pro- visions looking to immediate action l towards readjustme
 20 to B Regional Systems. The keynote of the sub mittee's l bill Chairman Cummins stated in ar | explanation to the senate is the plar 1 for stablishm ent of 20 to 35 regiona 1 rail systems.
 The new method for settlement o
 labor disputes is a proposed commit
 tee of wages and conditions, Senator Cummins said, adding:
 Tt creates a committee of wage and working conditions which is tt
 be composed of eight members. fou l representing labor and four repre
 senting the railway companies. Fac!
 railroad craft is to nominate nandi
 t1zstv5 TOT this Committee and thu
 board is required to appoint fou l from among such nominees. Eac| railroad corporation is to nominate z ! candidate and the board is to appoin
 four persons from among such nomi
 nations. This commission is to con l sider all com mplaints submitted by rep ! resentative of the employees or of tn,
 carriers, and is to decide by a ma
 lority vote, and it's decisions are to b. certified to the transportation board ! If the comm issiOn of wages am 1 working conditions is evenly divided
 upon any dispute whole matter is t , be certified to the board and the de t cision of the board is final and cOnsti ) tutes a governmental judgment wit respect to the matters in controversy , Method Of Fixing Wages.
 It provides that the commission y and transportati tion board shall talk
 into consi0era tion the scale of wage N pald for similar kinds of work il
 other industries; the relation betwee
 wages and cost ot>living, the hazard
 oi the employment, the training an, , skill required: the degHse of responsi bllltN and C1e character hpd regular
 1ty of the employment.
 Ano1her provision of the Nl1 TO
 qu1re& that railroad corporations Aaus . have among their directors two rer resentatives of their classified en1 ! l ployes' and also two directors repre- f l senting the government , 1 7. Another clause would creat : through the new transportation boar ] ] an employees advisory council com (Continued on Eleventh Pagel