Arizona republican., 1919-08-09
What Mir. Plumb Found

In his statement before house committee on Thursday, Glenn E. Plumb the author of the tri- partite plan for the ownership and control of the railroads said that he had found speaking tour of the country an Overwhelming sentiment in favor of radical change from the old system of railroad control"
 We do not think there many people who would endorse the old system in it's entirety. There were many things wrong with it. but the rates and the character of the service not among the evils when we compare them With the rates and service the roads have given under government control. We will admit that there was d scandalous manipulation of many of the roads under the old system. But the manipulation was not directed against the public Many of the roads wrecked and made bankrupt that a few capitalists might prosper but the way the public found that only by hearsay. It was served all the time. The roads continued to be ated under receivers without increase of the rates or decrease of the facilities No part of the public was hurt except that part which happened to own stock in the wrecked roads.
 We suppose that the roads under proper, honest management could have given even cheaper and a better service than they did but when compare it with what the government has given and is giving us we are inclined forget ancient grievances against the plundering private owners.
 But lattery there had much manipu- lation. The growing powers of the interstate com merce commission, pointing the way to usch thor ough regulation of the roads will undoubtedly be imposed when they returned their owners, had reduced the manipulation complained of will ulti- mately prevent it entirely.
 No doubt Mr. Plumb spoke truthfuly when he said that he found overwhelming sentiment in favor of his plan of control by the workers wherever he spoke He addressed, of course meetings of work ers not general public meetings meetings of busi-
 
 that the sentiment in favor first of government own ershp and later of wage earners' control existed the railway But outside of those circles MT Plum heard of until the other day when his tri-partite plan proposed.
 A few years happened to meet and talk with the secretary of the National Bar Tenders Union He addressed meetings of bartenders walters in all the principal towns in his itinerary. He was Z iublant Before leaving Cincinnati he said that alarming reports had reached him of the spread of prohibition in the west He happy to state that the sentiment expressed against prohibition at all the meetings at which he spoke overwhelming
 If there any serious disposition in the coun- try to adopt the Plumb plan there is one thing in President Wilson's letter to Director General Hines in the dispatches of yesterday that would set the country to thinking. That is the presidents refer to the repudiaton by the railway men who have already struck, of the authority their officers It is claimed that some hundreds of thousands of them are now out against the expressed orders of their officials and other hundreds thousands are threat ening to go out They are in defiance of the only authority tehy have pretended to recognize in connection with their occupation Their action is in the nature of revolt against the government which has conspicuousy favored the railway workers ever since it has had control of the roads has been endeavoring and is trying, find a way to meet z j. fha asrriaN oft Tho
 threatening strike
 And it is in the hands of these men that the Plumb plan would place so great share of the con trol of the countrys transportation system