Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1919-08-16
AMERICAN BOLSHEVISM


bitration Of their wage demands, issued
a strike order, and then held the watch
on the Congress of the United States
until, under this form Of duress and
Just in time to avert the strike, that
Congress passed bill hosting railroad
wages, have returned 10 Washington.
The total advance of all railway labor
charges since that day has been ST.
200.G00.000, an annual expenditure
in excess cf interest charges on our
total war debt.
This time again the Railway Broth
erhoods demand legislation, but FuI-
ther wage advance Of billion is ac
tuaIly the least of their demands. The
Brotherhoods' leaders now state hal
Congress is to legislate The railroads,
now under government operation ans
losing $50O,O00.OO0 this year from th3
U. S. Treasury, actually into govern
ment ownership. If this is not done,
labor leaders publicly threaten ma
tion-wide strike. far more serious than
that threatened in 1916.
They also make it clear IN public
statements that this itself is merely
step toward naturalization of all In
dustry, whether factory or mine or
farm. In other words, the control and
ultimate ownership not only of rail-
roads but of all little industries it is
proposed to vest in the working class
es. This was proposed in Russia, and
has been tested there during the past
two years. with results which are suf-
ficiently familiar TO anyone able to
read.
The start is the Plumb Plan" This
railway measure seeks to refinance
$l8,000,000,000 railway securities by
government bonds (this total is about
three-fourths of the total bonds of our
war loan) thus eliminating all private
capital. 1t would combine all railroads
and administer them by board equal
ly selected from labor, government,
and managers. 1t would divide excess
profits between labor and government,
but a deficit would be borne by the
taxpayer. The board would determine
wages and working hours.
Lenine and Trotsky in their state
ment to Russians proposed handing
over the large estates to the. peasants.
The Brotherhood program proposes to
start by handing over the railroads to
the wage-earners. The Russian scheme
provided for the transfer of all au-
thority 10 the Council of Workmcn' 5
and Soldiers Delegates. The Broth
erhoods' Council will be controlled by
the Brotherhoods. Lenine's policy
enunciated time and again looked to-
ward an exclusively proIetariat repub-
lie" The Brotherhoods are moving in
the same direction. One of these re-
volutions was devised for ignorant
Russia; the other has been proclaimed
for the United States. which We hold
to be highly intelligent nation. There
is no attempt to conceal the true state
of affairs, and it should be recognized
that our own country is face to face
with the reality: Do we want Boil
shevist American If we do, then the
Railroad Brotherhoods offer a program
that is intended TO speedily pave the
way toward so-called naturalization
of all industry.
A few days before the Brotherhoods
broke loose, the President asked Con-
gress to provide Federal Commission
along the lines of the Interstate Com
meree Commission, with power to fix
salaries of railroad wage-earners. Even
before the war. the Brotherhoods made
frequent demands upon Washington
and they always got everything they
asked for. Matters were made so easy
for them that it is clear that the Broth
erhoods have come to regard Congress
as easy" and instead of respecting il
for its helpfulness, the leaders of these
organizations have become arrogant by
reason of their successes. This is evl-
denced by the comments Of one of the
labor spokesman concerning the sug-
gestion of President Wilson for a study
of the railroad problem. He says:
The Railroads. will be tied up SO tight
that they will never run again if thai
legislation is passed.
There is nothing in that statement
or in the proclamation Of the Brother
hoods that pretends to deal with laboI
settlements in the way recognized By
law and free civilized governments. In
stead demand is mae upon the coun
try for an entire change in its manne
of conducting its affairs. CongressmeI