Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-08-10
LABOR HOPES ID END ALL GRANT
 AND PRIVILEGE: Plumb Plan Won't Be Imposed on Others Unless They
 Desire It.
DENIES THREATS OF
 FORCE BEING USED
Says Great Railway Leaders Not Ad- vanced By Employees Wish But Because of Value to
 Employer.

w aShlngtOn, Aug. 9.-OrganlZed labor will not attempt to impose the Plumb plan for railroad control on other industries unless employees and the public desire it, and it's fight for public ownership of utilities will not stop until it has reached that point where "grant and privilege cease" This was the message delivered today by Glenn E. Plumb, speaking as labor's representative to the house interstate commerce committee, which for three days has been holding hearings on tri-partite control of the transportation systems. It was spoken calmly, after the witness, worn out by the long ordeal on the witness stand, but still smiling, had denied that the plan was socialistic.
 Again today, Plumb pounded the table and denied in terms calculated he said, to brook no repetition of the charge that the railroad brother hoods had attempted by threats of violence or strikes, to force congress to adopt his plan for control of the railroads by the public. operating off cials and employees. The denial was made first in statement from Plumb's office and signed by the heads of the 15 brotherhoods and while Plumb was arguing hot fire of questions from Representative De- Walt, democrat of Pennsylvania, who wanted to know where the new idea would stop,
 Denies Threats.
 "We unite in a definite assertion that we have no desire and have had none," said the statement, and also Plumb, who paraphrased it, "to impress upon the public, by violence or by threat, our proposal that the railroads be nationalized under 'tri- partite' control" Labor would be blind to it's own interests, Plumb added, with emphasis, if it attempted such methods.
 When Plumb left the committee room during the afternoon, to re- turn again Monday, he went into conference with number of men and women invited by him to attend national conferece on railroad con- trol. Later he announced, informa- tion would be put before the com mittee in support of his charge that there had been systematic plunder-- ing of the great railway systems of the country.
 Representative Merit wanted to know if the plan would be extended to gas plants, trolley lines and the like. and Plumb said it would-that he had in mind all corporations doing business on privileges which the individual could not enjoy.
 Greater OnnOrtunity.
 Plumb cited the case of the post office department, "the only great in- dustry politically managed" and said it's efficiency would be greatly in- creased if the employees had a voice in it's management, Tor Ii It were op- erated under the democratic prln- ciples of this bill." It would absurd, he declared, to suggest farmers might come forward with demand for tri-partite control, but if they wanted it and the public said so, they should have it. There was scarcely a reference during the days hearing to the high cost of living. The trend of Plumb's testimony ran constantly in another direction-toward great CT opportunity for the laboring man. Citing the case of railway execu- lives who had advanced from the ranks, Representative Montague ask. ed Plumb if he had found evidence of undue repression which would halt the upward march of the underman. He quite agreed that a majority of the highest paid railroad men to- dav went up from the bottom, but insisted nni that they were not advanced through vote or voice of employees, but by railroad autocrats, who n',,,. fels e t they "were extortioners of human a effort" He wanted employees to mass on a mans right to go higher:
 Carrying out the same line of thought, Plumb said in the army there were many able officers but there would have been larger num- Der of good ones, had the prlvates been given voice in thelr seiectioh' Belgians Begin Big I