New-York tribune., 1919-09-20
Plumbing the Steel Industry

experiment in the way Of Bolshevizing
American industry. 1t is an attempt on
the part of a minority of the steel and
iron workers to get control of all the en-
ployes in the steel and iron plants and
then organize them into another minor
ity labor unit, to hold up the government
and the people of the United States for
special economic privileges.
Mr.. Fitzpatrick, organizer Of the
strike, said in Pittsburgh on Thursday:
eve are going to socialize the basic in
dustres of the United States" Ques-
tons Of wages, hours and working con-
ditions are of minor Importance in
venture like that Such questions cease
to have more than an academic interest
when industries are socialized under the
Plumb plan. If Congress buys out or
seizes by condemnation the railroads and
the other basic industries, and the work
ers in them not only continue to draw
wages (Which they will have the power
to fix through their representatives in
the directorates), and also receive a
share Of the profits without assuming
any liability for deficits, then there can
never again be any problem of keeping
the wolf from the door for the workers
engaged in these favored vocations.
The Plumb plan beats anything that
Lenine has ever devised--for those who
get in on it first The trouble with it is
that there is not enough money in the
Federal Treasury to go ali the way
round in subsidizing those who work
for wages and at the same time draw
down excess profits and enjoy an air
tight exemption from liability for oper-
ating losses. Fitzpatrick is in a hurry
TO get in behind Plumb Trailing after
him are the labor organizers in the fuel
production field. The government print
ing presses would be oveYworked turn
ing off bonds enough TO socialize the
transportation. fuel and iron and steel
industries--that is, if : fair price is to
be paid to the present owners and the
transition is to be a peaceful process
under the sanction of law. But the
bigger the rush the better, from the
point of view of demonstrating the prac-
teal difficulties of an application of the
Plumb formula.
Mr.. Plumb thought that he was an
peallng to weakness Of the public
when he brought forward his scheme for
the soclalization of the railroads. Gov
ernment regulation of the railroads had
been conducted for years on the theory
that private ownership in them had very
limited rights and that they ought to be
run primarily for the benefit Of the
travelling and shipping public, even if
they had to be half starved in order to
keep rates low for their users. Congress
has often exhibited tendency to drive
private capital out of the railroads and
to take them over at a sub normal valu
alton, because other industries, benefit
ing 10y low rates, seemed to subscribe to
that short-sighted policy.
But if the sort of treatment which ell
couraged Mr.. Plumb to evolve his cele-
brated plan is to be extended from the
railroads to the other basic industries
and then to industries like agriculture
and to the processes of distribution. So
ciaiizatlon brings up against q dead
wall Are all the farms of the country
to be taken over by the government and
operated for the benefit of the farm la
borers, who are to have the right to de-
termine their wages to draw profits. if
there are any. and to be secured against
the losses and risks incident to agri
culture? Then food production wilY
dwindle below the danger point, distri-
button will fall into chaos and the chief
function Of the government will be to
print and circulate phantom currency
like Lenines
The prospective steel strike shows
again the temper of Bolshevist labor
leaders like Fitzpatrick and Plumb. They
still regard Lenine as the master econo-
mist and Russia as the Land of Promise
The theories behind their crusade are