Omaha daily bee., 1919-12-21
SAYS men WOULD
Defer RELEASE
OF RAILROADS
Brotherhoods Have Asked
President to'Retain Control
of Roads for at Least
Two Years.
written for Universal Servicee.
By WARREN S. STONE.
Grand Chief of the brotherhood OF Rail
way Locomotive Engineers.

Grand Chief Of the brotherhood Of Rail
Y way Locomotive Engineers.
Washington, Dec. 20.-What we
4 are trying to do at the present time
is to defer or prevent the release o1
the railroads.
We have asked the president te
retain control of the roads for a.
least two years to give us chance
TO demonstrate that, under norma
conditions, government ownership
al the roads can be made success
full.
Furthermore. anything that is of as
vital importance as the principle Of
guaranteeing the earnings of the
roads, proposed in the Cummins bill
means an increase in both freight
and passenger rates, various estl-
mated as between Is and 80 pei
cent that will add to the already
high cost of living, now at the
breaking point. The American peo-
pie can't stand much more.
Do Not Understand Bill.
We want congress to take time al
least to study and understand this
question instead of taking snap
Judgment and rushing bill through
that even many senator's have con-
fessed they have not analysed and
do not understand themselves.
The question of transportation
vitality affects the welfare of the
whole nation and legislation OF this
character should only be enacted
after the most careful study.
The anti-strike provisions of the
Cummins bill are of course objec-
tionable to all union labor. 1t
means turning the hands back on
the clock at least 100 years and
makes of the working man slave
once more, regardless of the fact
that many workers sleep in Fland-
ers fields today after fighting to es-
tablish democracy.
The greatest objection to the
Cummins bill is that it does not dis
pose of any question. 1t is but a
makeshift at the best; it is vicious
In the extreme.
Based on the Sky.
1t guarantees to the railroads
3H per cent, which may be in
creased to s per cent on the book
value of the railroads of which ap-
proximately $4,000, 100000 represent
no real value except the paper it is
written or printed upon, the clear
sky and the hope of the future, but
which at once becomes par, the
minute the government guarantee of
) s per cent is put behind it.
Twenty-Five millions of Ameri-
cans raked and scraped and deprived
themselves Of not only luxuries, but
of necessities as we'll, in order sto
buy the $2l, 000,000,000 worth of war
bonds.
These paid from 3M to AZ per
cent, owing to the different issues,
while the Cu1nmins bill proposes to
pay the holders of railroad securi-
ties $8,000,000,000 of which are
shadows, a guarantee of E per cent.
At the Rate of 81 a Minute.
Why should 81 invested in rail-
road securities be guaranteed 6 per
cent, while the holder of war bonds
is only guaranteed from 3 to AZ
per cent?
We are used to talking in millions
and billions. Few realize how
much 81 ,0OO.000,000 really is.
If a man had stood beside the
cradle when Christ was born and
counted out the money at the rate
Of 81 per minute, from then until
now, he would still have to keep
on counting for eight years to come
in order to count out $1,00O,00O,00
If he would undertake to count
$000,000000, which we propose to
give the railroad stockholders by
guaranteeing a 6 per cent return on
1t, it would take him 10000 years to
count it at the rate of 81 minute