The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-10
ORGANIZED LABOR WILL NOT ATTEMPT
 IMPOSE PLAN ON
 OTHER INDUSTRIES
Fight for Public Ownership of Utilities Not to Stop Till Grant and Privi- lege" Cease, Declares
 Plumb
By Associated Prsss


 Washington, August 9.-Or- ganized labor will not attempt to impose the Plumb plan for railroad control on other in- dustries unless employees and the public desire it, and it's fight for public ownership ot utilities will not stop until It has reached that point where "erant and privilege cease
 This was the message delivered today bs Glenn E. Plumb, speaking as labor representative to the House interstate commerce committee, which for three oays has been holding hearings on tFi- ,aFtite control of the transportation
 Again today Plumb pounded the ta- fia and denied in terms calculated, he said. to brook no repetition or the tnarge. that the brotheThoods haa at- tslnpted by threats of violence or .,,ikes. to force Congress to adopt hls ,lan for control of the railroads by 5aa public, operating officials and efn f,foyes. The denial was made llfss III q statement from Plumbs office anu s;gne6 by the heads of 15 brotherhooas, Y4d while Plumb was answering no' fire of questions from Represeh htatlNe Iewalt democrat, of PennsyiVanla' |lo wanted to know where the new ldea would stop. 4.a,,
 eve unite in a definite assertion tbar ve have no desire and have had none.Y said the statement of Plumb, wfo paraphrased it, Ito impress upon tbe public. by violence or by threat our proposal that the railroads De ha tionalized under 'tri-patrite eonei9r ,
 Labor would be blind to it's own ln- tesresfs. Plumb added with emphasis II it attempted such methods.
 CAN SUPPORT CHARGE
 when Plumb left the committee room dpring the afternoon to return agalh Nqandav. he went into conference with :, n,,nber of men and women invited bvlbim to attend a national conference on railroad control. Later, he an nounced. information would be put De- fore inc committee in support of his ci,sree that there had been systematic phlndering of the great railway systems Of the country
 Plumb stood his ground while Rep resentative Dewalt, Pennsylvania, Montague. democrat Virginia, Merritt, reDublican. Connecticut, and others asked questions which they intimated were intended to point out defects m fhe Plumb plan. Representatlve Mon tae1le particularly wanted to know IT, in buying the railroaos, the govern r,ent would pay for tracks and lines built out of profits. Plumb said 1t VVorld not Representative Dewalt in- ol1fred if the Plumb plan was leading 10 socialism. Plumb said it was not. Representative Merritt wanted to know if the plan would be extended to gas D1snts trolley lines and the like.and Plunb said it would-that he had in mind all corporations doing business on privileges which the individual could not enjoy.
 CITES POSTOFFICE CASE
 Plumb cited the case of the postof- flee department, the only great ln- ,lustry politically managed" and said it's efficiency would he greatly increased if the employees had voice in it's man aoement, or if 1t were operated under the democratic principles of this bill" Ii would be absurd, he declared, to suggest farmers might come forwarc with demand for tripatrite control, but if they wanted it and the public sad so. they should have it.
 There was scarcely 9 reference dur ing the days hearing to the high cost Of living.
 Citing the case of railway execu- tives who had advanced from the ranks, Representative Montague asked Plumb if he had found evidence of undue repression which would halt the upward march of the underman He agreed that a majority of the highest paid railroad men today went up from the bottom, but insisted that they were mot advanced through vote or voice of employees but by railroad autocrats who felt they were extprtioners of hu- man effort" He wanted employees to Iass 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 number of good ones had the privates been given voice in their selection.