Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1919-08-28
BUT SOON GOT SOAP AND WAT
Err INTO ACTION TO HEAR
UNCLE TED'S STORY

| WELL, said Jack, Mr.. Jones,
that big fat engineer, told me I'd
better learn all about railroads and
| trains because the men who run the
trains are going to fix it soon so that
they will get half the fares and do
just as they please"
Just as thought" answered
Uncle Ted. Now run along and
wash your face and hands, get
your sister and hurry back here and
while you're eating supper I'll tell
you the true story of the railroads"
Jack wasted little time in wash
ing, and after calling Ruth, the two
children sat quietly, eagerly wait
ing for the story.
Now children" began Uncle Ted,
first of all I must explain some
thing about the clubs that the rail-
road men belong to before telling
you about their plan to own and run
the railroads. You see the engin-
GERS who run the engines, the fire
men who keep the fires going in the
furnaces under the big engines, the
conductors who take your tickets,
the brakemen who take care of the
red flags and lights and let the en-
gineers know what is going on in
the back of the trains, and all the
men who work in the railroad shops
fixing broken engines and cars, be-
long to a club called the Railroad
Brotherhoods. These brotherhoods
or clubs are divided into four class
es, one for the engineers, one for
the firemen and so on"
But why do they have clubs?"
asked Jack.
They have clubs so that they
can decide Just how much money
they will get and how many hours
they will work. You see the rail-
road men are paid by railroad COM
panies who have to pay all expens-
es of the roads. These companies
are headed by presidents and bodies
of men called boards of directors.
They are responsible for what the
railroads do. Whenever the men
belonging to the railroad brother
hoads want more money or shorter
hours they tell the railroad heads.
II they don't get what they want
they have what is called a strike.
That is, they all refuse to work I'M
til they get Just what they are ask
ing for. Sometimes men from the
heads of the railroad brotherhoods
get together and make a plan that
suits everybody and then the men
go back to work"
Daddy says these railroad heads
didn't have much to say during the
war" interrupted Jack.
mo, during the war the govern
men ran the railroads and will con-
tinue to run them for some time or
until the president says otherwise.
When the government first started
running the roads President Wilson
put Mr.. McAdoo, who was secretary
of the treasury at the head of all
the railroads of the country. That
is one reason there is trouble now.
You see, during the war we had to
move our soldiers and food Just as
fast as possible. President Wilson
thought the best way was to have
the government do it. Mr.. Nc
Adoo had so much to do already
that he couldn't worry much about
the railroads. Whenever the rail-
road workers wanted more money
he let them have IL without ques-
ton. He didn't want any strikes
because 1t would look bad for him.
But because he let them have their
way during the war, whether IL was
right or wrong, these men now want
the government to buy the railroads
for them so they can get all they
want and just kick the railroad
heads out without asking them
whether they want to go or not"
81 don't think that's nice" said
Ruth.
mot very" replied Uncle Ted.
Now here's what the railroad men
want our congress in Washington to
do. They want law passed that
was written by one of their own
men, man named Glenn E. Plumb,
that would cause a new company to
be formed to run all the railroads in
the United States. 1t is called the
Plumb plan because Mr.. Plumb
wrote 1t. They want the govern
ment to buy the railroads and then
turn them over to the railroad men
to run. They say that half of the
money made by running the roads
under this new plan would go into
the treasury at Washington, which
means 1t would go to the people of
the country, and the other half
would go to the railroad men them
selves. Just think of that! There
the 100, 100000 people in the Unit
ed States and il such a law were
passed one-half of the profits would
have to be divided among 100 ,000,-
600 people while the other half
would go to the railroad men, and
there are only about 100000 Of
them, even when you count each
railroad man as representing a fam
lily of FIVE people,"
You mean," said Jack, that the
railroad men would run the rail-
roads with government money and
that they would get half of the mon
e. made and that all the people of
the country whose money would
help buy the roads would have to
divide up the other half?"
That's exactly it, And because
there are one hundred million peo-
pie in the United States and only
five million railroad people you see
how unfair the plan is. Why, if
such a plan were allowed to exist
each man belonging to the railroad
brotherhoods would get twenty
times more of the net earnings than
any other citizen besides getting his
share as one of the 10000, 900 cit
liens. The railroad men might
hive some excuse for such a plar
they were paying for the roads but
they demand that the government
buy them at once and let each one
OF them make twenty times more
money out of them than anw other
citizen. And they say that II con-
gress don't pass this law they will
stop work and fix it so the trains
can't run at all"
do you think our congress will