South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-02-23
PREDICT SPEEDY
ACTION ON RAIL
BILL IN SENATE
Measure Will Be Given Right
of Way Over Peace Treaty
Today.
EXPECT LITTLE OPPOSITION
By Assoclare4 Press

By Associate1 Press
WASHINGTON, Feb. %. - Final
fight on the railroad bill. 10 months
in the making. will shift tomorrow
to the senate with leaders predict
IN gifts speedy enactment by an over
whelming vote.
The conference report, a compro-
mise whipped together from the fun
.damentals Of the Cummins and Esch
bills. fresh from the house with a
clean margin Of 90 votes, will be
laid before the senate Immediately
after the reading Of Washington's
farewell address. It Will have the
right-of-way over the peace treaty
and all other measures, and while
the senate works according TO it's
own fancy. it could concur with the
lower branch IN half an hour or
hold up the bill by flibusteing meth
DDS until March l, the date fixed by
Pres't Wilson for return OF the roads
TO private control.
Plan Speedy Action.
But having come through the
house admittedly the danger point
in the view Of advocates of the
measure. the general opinion among
senator's tonight was that no seri-
GUS opposition would develop and
that the law under which the roads
will attempt 10 work out their own
salvation after the long period of
federal control would be in tho
hands OF the president BY the mid
die OF the week.
AS is always the case with i'm
portant legislation there was wide
discussion today over the possibili-
~ OF the wrecking Of the bill by
presidential veto. AT the same time
there was considerable interest in
the meeting here tom Orrow OF the
general committeeman OF all the
railroad labor organizations to dis
cuss the presidents proposal for set
tlement OF wage grievances. The
date of the conference had no direct
bearing on the plan Of Sen. Cum
mings for calling up the railroad
bill. Organized labor fafde its fight
i'm the house. with barying success,
according TO the individual view of
members for and against adoption of
the compromise measure.
Labor Has Little Hope.
The statement by Rep Kitchin,
democrat. Of North Carolina, who
voted against the bill. that labor
leaders had estranged at least a
dozen representatives was met by
the claim of labor leaders that the
$50 of votes against the measure
would not have been polleG except
for their fight in behalf of railway
employees and the union hosts.
While there still was much talk about
further efforts. designed 10 reach
the senate there were no indications
that organized labor hoped TO sway
the senate to the point OF defeating
all railroad legislation.
Few members of the state or
house were willing to go so far as
to predict that the bin might be
vetoed. In this connection state
ments made during debate yesterday
that failure 20 enact legislation be
fore March I. would put half the
roads in receivership in three months
and bring on financial distress more
serious than any experienced in
years, were on many tongues. II
was largely because OF this view, eX-
pressed 10y leading democrats and
by Chairman Esch Of the interstate
commerce committee. who has work
cd with and slept with the railroad
bin since last May that nobody. ap-
parently was disposehd TO predict
that the president might refuse TO
ign il.