Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-08-09
REV0L UTION AS ALTERNATIVE ()F RAILWAY REFORM Plumb Gravely Talks of Conse- quences if Congress Fails
 on Problem. CLINICS TO PLEA FOR INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY Workers Lawyer Reveals That Vast Sum for Promotion of Plan
 Has Been Raised By
 Men.


 Men.
 /! Washington Aug. 8.-All day, from q witness chair before the house in- terstate commerce committee, Glenn k. Plumb, counsel for the railroad brotherhoods, and author of organi- zed labor's plan for tri-partite control of the railroad, responded today to sharp questioning of committee mem- bers, who called on him to explain every phase of the labor bill.
 Through it all, MT. Plumb clung steadfastly to the assertion, number less times repeated, that the railroad unions aimed "to eliminate the mo- tive of operation for profit, and sub- situte the motive of operation for ser vice." to which he added the corollary that "it means democracy in industry without which democracy in politics is mere shell and sham.'
 Gravely, Plumb talked of revolution as an alternative in case the adoption of "some such plan" was not obtained by political action through congress.
 The income of the Plumb plan lea que, organized to forward the labor bills passage, he said, was Gin the neighborhood of $100,000 or $125, ,000 annually now" though only organized in July. He estimated that it's income shortly would be $500,O0 and implied that it might run up to five or six millions, all of it, he said. was com- ing from brotherhood members. sThe situation is that our men be- lieve they have come to 8 new day. Plumb told the committe, "They have spent their money and their lives to secure liberty, and have now found that without liberty and democracy in industry they have only the shell of liberty to live. We intend to get it lawfully, and through the constitu- tion by the ballot"
 1 Threatens Revolt.
 "But if that is not possible, what will be done ?" Representative Saun- ders, republican, Indiana, asked. l "Ah, there is no doubt in your mind or in mine as to that" MT. Plumb responded. eff the forces of react ion prevent the adoption of this pro- gram by lawful means, we know the way of history"
 Revolution is a word that should not be used lightly" MT. Saunders observed.
 "I hope never to live to see the day when the methods necessary go further than those I have outlined,' '' MT. Plumb responded.
 1 "In essentials, this is the Russian soviet plan of industrial operation is ot not? MT, Saunders continued
 q don't know anything about sov- jet plan,' MT. Plumb said, ':'or rath- CT, am not familiar with the popular misconception of what is the Russian soviet plan"
 "Misconception?" MT. Saunders bounced on the expression. "I am at loss to understand how you know the popular understanding to be a misconception of the soviet system unless you understand as well what the understanding should be-"
 + Billions Needed.
 "Well, in popular understanding the soviet is system by which a bunch of workmen grab all the prop erty and divide it up among them selves" Plumb retorted, "and can not believe that such state of af- fairs could actually exist in any SO ciety. It is inconceivable to me that this should be the fact about the Russian situation"
 Mir. Plumb insisted that there would be no difficulty in raising the money through government bonds at foul per cent to pay for the roads and es. timated the amount necessary at l: billions.
 When his estimate of the amount necessary was attacked, MT. Plumb asserted that "the commerce commis- sion valuation of the first five rail. roads valued shows that the cost o1 reproduction now would be only 5( per cent of the property account as they have it" <.
 These lines, Chairman Esch said were the Pere Marquette, St. Louis and San Francisco, The Wabash ter minals, the Rock Island, and the Mis- souri, Kansas and Texas.
 "All of them were roads supposed lily honestly financed" MT. Plumb in terjected, "and there are numberless cases of roads that weren't so finan