Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-08-11

Plumb DENIES Elan !,
70 FORCE CONGRESS ]. I
IhROUeH STRIKE METHOD
w..Ainsses. Aas. s.-orsaaissd 'isber
WIN not attempe 70 impose tbs Plumb /
plan for railroad control on other In /.
dustriss unless employees and the puEaic !
desire II. andsits tisht for public ownes- I,
snip Of u.iIities win not stop until il.
mas reached that point where grant
and privilege ceases.'ss.sa:gg IS
tnls was the messass delivered today
~ Glenn E. Plumb. speaking % laber,s
representative es' to the 1aouss' :intsrst8ts
commerce Committee. which for three
GAS mas been holding hearings on TIL
partite control of the transportatisn
systems IT was spoken calmly, after
.Ae 'wiSness' worn out by the long or
ueai on the witness stand, but stial stnii.
ms, had denied that the plan was So
cialistic. ~ "a.
Again today Plumb pounded The t.
BILE and denied in terms calculated. she
saad, 20 brook no REPETITION of the charSe
THAT the railroad brotherhood had At.
tempted BY threats Of violence or
strikes to force Congress to adopt his
plan Tor control Of the railroads by the
public. operating officials and employees.
The denial was made first in a state
ment from Plumbts office and signed by
the heads of the Is brotherhoods, ana
while Pfamb was answering a hot IRE
Of questions from Representative De-
weld. Democrat. Of Pennsylvania, who
wanted to know where the new idea
would stop. t..-, t.
I'VE unite in a definite assertion that
we have no desire and have had none"
said the statement, and also Plumb,
who paraphrased It, ito impress upon
the public by violence or by threat our
proposal that railroads be nationalized
under tri-partite control bee 't'rf
Labor would be blind to its own inter-
ests, Plumb added with much emphasis.
X 1t attempted such methods. ~
When Plumb left the COMMITTEES
room during the afternoon to1retusn
again Monday. he went into con-
ference with q number Of men and,
women invited by him to attend q
National conference on railroad con-
troll. Later he announced that infor.
nation would be laid before the
committee In support Of his charge
| that theer had been systematic
plundering of the great railway sys-
| TENS. So -
Plumb stood his ground white
Representatives Dewalt, Montague,
Democrats, Virginia, Merritt, Repub-
Leans. Connecticut, and others ask
ed questions which they intimated
were intended to point out defects
in the Plumb plan.
Representative Montague particu.
larly wanted to know II. in buying
the railroads, the Governmeut
would pay for tracks ana lines built
| out of proftS. Plumb said IL would
not. Representative Deyalt tnq1ir-
| ed II the Plumb plan Was leading TO
Socialism. Plumb said It was not.
Representative Merritt wanted 10
know II the plan would b extended
to gas plants. trolley lines and the
like, and Plumb said It wouId-that
he had in mind all corporations do
! ing business ON privileges which the
Individual could not enjoy
Plumb cited the case Of the post
office department the "onIy great In
dnstYy politically managed" and
said its efficiency would be greatly
increased II the employees had voice
4 in its MANAGEMENT, or II 1T we're
4 operated under the democratic pyin-
ciples Of this bin"
! It would be absurd. he declared, 70
| suggest that farmers might come
forward with q demand for tri.par-
tite control. but II they wanted It
| and the public said % they should
have It. - 49,.
There was scarcely q ,refsrence dur.
Ing the days hearing 70 the high cost
Of living. The thread Of Piumb's ~.
timony ran constantly IN another
Airection-toward greater opportA.
nifty for the laboring man. s,r
Citing the case Of the railway e.
ecutive who had advenced from the
ranks, Representative Montague
asked Plumb II he had found svi.
dence Of undue repression which
would halt the upward march Of thu
underman. He quite agreed that a
majority Of highest paid railway
men today, went up from the bottom
but insisted that they were not adj
vanced through vote or voice Of en-
ployes, but by railroad autocrats
who felt they were extortionersiof
human effort" He wanted employees
to- pass on q mans right to %
higher. ~. a,.f
Carrying out the same linst OF
thought. Plumb said. that In the
army there were many able officers
but there would have been q large.
number Of good ones had the prfvates
been given a voice in their selection.