Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-08
Plumb Explains Plan
OF Railroad Control

| VI Railroad Control
Continued From Page One.)
ment takes back to itself these pub
lie highways. 1t is proposed that
the courts shall determine the
amount of the investment actually
made, and we would leave it to the
courts to determine the compensa-
ton. We would authorize the Sec
rotary of the treasury to issue bonds
/ on such terms that they would, be
accepted at par and thus we would
get the railroads back to the people.
we might want to have some of
the present executives remain, but it
would be under a different system;
it would be system in which
temptation to be dishonest would be
removed. We create a corporation
for service, rather than for profit.
May we not safely trust our trans
portation service to a corporation
composed only for the public serv-
ice? The plan is that the govern
ment, the railroads and the en-
ployes shall each name one-third
Of the board"
Society, Capital and Labor.
He asserted that the three funda-
mental principles Of a railroad are:
The needs of society for Transports
ton service, the capital invested in
the enterprise and the labor neces-
sary to make that capital profitable
and to give society the service it
needs.
"The grant is the peoples part of
the investment" Mr.. Plumb con-
tinued. Capital is the unexpended
surplus of yesterdays labor. We
have been accustomed to think labor
is something paid for in wages, but
labor is any form of human effort
expended for production. Labor's
power to produce is a living, vital
force.
"The three principles I have re-
ferred to in the operation of a rail-
road are equal in importance, be-
cause if any one is missing, the other
two can not exist. When you have
three interests equal in importance,
then they should have equal au-
Pthority."
Discussing the present upward
trend of wages and prices of COM
modities, Mr.. Plumb explained that
an increase of wages is accompanied
by increase in commodities or ser
vice, and thus the circle is complet-
ed and the worker is not benefited
by the increase of pay he receives.
He added that the cost of transport
tation affects the prices of all COM
modities, regardless of whether they
may be actually transported.
. Cost of Beans.
Even if the article is manufae-
tured at your next door," he said,
you would pay the price fixed in
New York, plus transportation
charges. / was in Grand Rapids
recently and farmer gave me an
illustration of this case in the ship
ment of beans. He sold the beans
for 1917 cents a pound and forgot
to keep a sack for himself. The
next day he went back to the store
and explained his plight. The store
man looked at his Chicago price
sheet which showed beans at 10
cents per pound. The dealer added
" cents for freight charges, al
thought the beans had not lett Grand
Rapids, and then added 2H cents
for his own profit"
every man who produces is a
consumer, and if he consumes he
should produce" he added. The
two classes that do not produce are
those in the poor houses and those
in the rich houses. A man who lives
on the interest of his money lives
on what someone has produced.
How can we fix it so that an in
crease of wages does not cause an
increase in what we produce, or
the service we perform?
"The losses of industrial warfare
are as useless and unnecessary as
any other form Of warfare"
Capital Committing Suicide"
"The present capitalistic regime
has nearly committed suicide" Swas
another characteristic Plumbism.
Referring to the railroads in
another line of thought, he said:
"The railroads said to the men, "lf
you don't like our terms get another
Job And then if the men quit, the
railroads would say to the public
We can't give you service because
these men won't work on our terp,s.'
"And then, as we all know, the
railroads would seek the police
powers of the country to help run
their business"
Mr.. Plumb was greeted by an at
dience which filled the main floor
of the hall. He was frequently
cheered.