New-York tribune., 1919-08-24
Plumb Plan Neither
Sane Nor Fair, Says
Governor Cornwell
Declares i'm Letter West
Virginia Would Be Forced
to Stop Building Roads
and Other improvements
Ne,r York. Tribune
WASHINGTON Bureuit

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23.-You are
fair nor sane,' Governor John J. Corn
we'll of West Virginia declared in re-
spending to an appeal to him. to sup
port the Railroad Brotherhood's plan
for government ownership, according to
a letter written by the Governor to
j. II. Williams. secretary of the Fed
Grafton of Railway Employees at Hun
tington, w. Va, made public here to-
day.
Governor Cornwell says if the Plumb
plan went through it would shift the
burden of some four millions in taxes
from the railroads of West Virginia
to the people.
at would stop road building, building
of schoolhouses and all public improve
ments," Governor Cornwell says. His
letter follows:
"Of course, regret that any Of my
fellow citizens should disagree with,
or feel aggrieved, with me because of
my views upon any public question, but
that cannot deter me from having and
exercising the same freedom of opin-
ion that you have. When you asked
for an eight hour day l was with you,
heart and soul.
81 was then, and am now, in favor of
your securing not only fair, but a
liberal wage; but when you ask the
farmers and the laborers in other lines
of work to 60 in debt twenty billions
of dollars through the medium of the
Federal government to buy the rail
roads and give them to you to operate
for your benefit and to use as you
please you are making a proposition
that is neither sane nor fair.
"To me it is little short of amazing
the trainmen | meet should be gulled
into making such unreasonable and out
rageous demands.
"lf the people bought the railroads
and gave them to you to run for your
benefit, telephone and telegraph en-
ployes would demand the same thing
OF those properties. They have as
much right to it as you have. Then
the coal miners would demand that the
names be purchased and given to them
aand they have as much right to make
the demand as you have.
"Then the farm ]aborers with even
better right, would say: 'We produce
the food you live on; buy the farms and
give them to u.s. Then we have, not
socialism,, but chaos. They are trying
to run things that way in Russia, and
we know the result
81 intend to try to present to the
people of the state what this plan
means. First, as to the shifting of the
burden of taxation, or some four mil
lion dollars of it, in West Virginia.
from the railroads on to the farmers
and home owners if the Plumb plan
was to go through. It would make
Cabell, Wayne Mcdowell, Mercer and
Mingo counties unable to pay the debt
they are creating to build public
roads. 1t would stop road building.
building of schoolhouses and all public
improvements.
II have been laboring man myself
carried a dinner buckct--for 81 a day.
Ny labor now is not regulated by
eight, ten or twelve hours, but often
sixteen and sometimes eighteen. am
not now and never expect to be a
capitalist, but l am an American, not
Bolshevik.
81 stand for law and order, and am
not asking somebody to buy property
and give it to me, but want to work
and give honest service for every dollar
receive.