Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-08-06
Wednesday, August 8, 1919.
"Ths plumb Plan"

n ns 20 * tne Fre $50; nvs eie az.
BY the CLASSIFIED employees.
Consolidation Of roads into a single
system. with. sub-divisions under.
:n q ~ boards s sona bseaGd
Of control and the operating on
Equal division each year Of surplus
between the .oovernment and, the
railroad employees. Surplus above
a certain per cent Of operating costs
to result In automatic reduction Of
Rate making power in the hands Of the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
Wage and working condition disputes
ops1ssing Oy un SSaro the Raro % Hd
have final. voice. Wages deter
mined by the Board of Directors.
ties benefited. Extensions Of no
benefit to the communities in which
they are located to be paid for by
the Government. from its snare OF
Endorsed and supported by the organ.
ised Railway employees. American
Federation Of Labor. various farm
organizations.
The above is summary OF The
Plumb Plan" coupling their unsup-
ported claims and generalizations-.
for instance, various farm organi-
cations" The author of this socialis-
tic insolence is a lawyer counsel for
some labor" group, some branch Of
the i've per cent. Of the country's
population which proposes to dictate
to and dominate the IS per cent,
through the power Of organization
and organized ability to tie up the
country's transportation system and
thus cause extreme suffering to the
20 to one Of the masses who are not
safeguarded by the strike fund" of
some labor organization. With the
threat to paralyze business and equal
in tragedy in America what the Hun
caused in Belgium. these hold-up or
CARNATIONS approach Congress with:
''Sign here; our terms to the country
are unconditional surrender"
That is the situation today-one Of
the most serious. II not most serious,
that ever confronted this nation. not
forgetting the Civil War and the
World War. It has been foreseen as
the sure inheritance Of the shame
that was inflicted on the country by
this same element in collision with
the administration and political Gus
sedness. three years ago.
In 1916 the railway brotherhoods
united In calling strike for septem-
Der 4. a. q protest against the refusal
Of the railroad managers to ALTER
THEIR CONTRACTS ("scraps Of
paper" to the union organizations)
SO as to provide for an eight hour
day instead Of the contract 10-hour
day. Disaster was escaped by Con-
gress passing the Adamson eight
hour law. In March. 1917. while the
constitutionality Of the eight-hour
law was still undetermined by the
Supreme Court. the brotherhoods
again Joined in a threat to strike UNI
less their demands were IMMEDI-
ATELY granted. Ito hell with the
deliberations Of the court provided to
deal with the affairs Of everybody
EXCEPT "organized"A labor!) The
situation was made the more serious
by the impending crisis in Americas
foreign relations. The country's
throat was exposed to the union"
thug. who has no regard for. the
American Union when selfish ends
are at stake.
At this junction the Presidential
backbone. previously notoriously
minus starch. collapsed altorether.
President Wilson gave the mediators
fun authority to grant the brother.
hoods anything they asked and the
strike was averted. by union with
draytal Of the strike order.
The Adamson law. signed BY tia
President September 3. 1915, in hi.
private car at Union station, WASH
ington. was q hold up. It passed the
y. s. Senate by . vote Of a. to %,
almost a strict party vote. The
Pfesident had ordered It Of his party.
He had thrown aside the principle of
arbitration. He wanted the friend
ship Of the organized labor vote for
his party. a friendship that had been
alienated largely in his pre- political
days by common sense writings in
his books.
On Sept. S. 1916. the Kennebec
Journal said. editorially:
Tn the railroad strike, after the
representatives OF the brotherhoods
had voted. to confer with the Presi-
dent Of the United States. Mr.. Wilson
ignored their purpose and sent an
Invitation that was In the nature of
D summons. He had no use for ad-
vice. He assumed to know that the
public had foresworn the principle
and spirit Of arbitration or invests
cation and consideration by respon-
bible disinterested party. When he
had discovered :, that the plan of
.sswinning 1abor's everlasting gratitude
eould Vt r. stamps6sd By isrand- q