The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-12-26
Washington Letter.
TOWNSEND SUPPORTS
CUMMINS r. r. BILL

y
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the Railroad
bill submitted by the Senate Commit
tee on Interstate Commerce would
protect the public interest without
favoring either the railroad owners or
the employees, was asserted by SEN
ator Charles E. Townsend, Of Michi-
gan, recently, in an address in the
Senate. During all of his years in
the House, and corresponding SER
vice in the Senate, Townsend has
been a member of the Interstate Com
merce Committees and has been a
close and impartial student of railroad
problems. Speaking in support Of the
bill, commonly referred to as the Cum
Minis bill, Senator Townsend said, in
part.
II want to pay my tribute Of re-
spect and gratitude to the chairman
of the committee, (Mr. Cummins)
who has manifested infinite patience,
industry, and intelligence in the long
and tiresome consideration of this
measure. Each of the hundreds of
men representing every interest and
phase of the railroad question who
appeared before us was given full op-
portunity to express his views and
was treated with uniform patience
and courtesy.
"The committee framed and report
ed bill which does not meet in every
respect with the approval of any SEN
ator. It is seldom that such bill does
meet the ideal of its proponents. It is
however, a measure, which, in my
judgment, will solve approximately
correctly the railroad problem. It has
for its cardinal principle protection
of the peoples rights. There is moth
ing in this measure which has in
view the serving of any special inter-
est. 1t recognizes the fact that the
railroad question must be solved in
justice to the people, who pay divi-
dends and wages. It is known that
there are what are called weak roads
and strong ones. The latter require
regulation and restraint principally,
while the former require support in
addition to regulation. The commit
tee. has attempted to- preserve, to
make it possible to preserve, all of
the necessary roads and to enable
them to furnish adequate transporta-
tion at the lowest possible compen-
sating cost
"The bill is not what the railroad
| owners wanted, and a statement to
the contrary is in reckless disregard
of the facts and the evidence as they
have been disclosed. We have not
sought to, do anything contrary to
the lawful and proper interest of the
railroads, because we have known
that any other course would be against
the general welfare. We must have
prosperous railroads in order to have
general prosperity But we never
consciously lost sight of the fact that
common carriers should serve and not
control the public interest.
ut is not bill framed in the in
terest of the railroad employees, al
though every one of their rights is
protected in harmony with the same
principles which have been applied to
owners. We provide new and some
what radical provision for handling
disturbances between operators anG
their employees which disastrously
affect the general welfare. We have
in the bill what is known as an anti.
strike provision. 1t was thought alb.
solutely necessary that Congress
should do something to protect the
people of the United States against
threatened disasters which were i'm
pending at that time and which are
now impending.
"The owners is entitled to a reas
enable return upon the property il
which he honestly invests for the pub
lie welfare. The laboring man is en-
titled to a reasonable wage for wha'
he actually contributes to the success.
of the road. But it is unthinkabl,
that any longer in this country EN-
ployers and employees should be abl,
to get together and fix wages. ant
prices without regard to the right o.
those who pay them. 1t is to me /;
monstrous thought that capital ant
labor can, without let or hindrance
starve and freeze and ruin the peopl,
in a struggle for supremacy"