The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1920-01-16
Labor nade Courageous Fight
Against Return Of Railroads,
But Wall Street Lobby Too
Strong At Washington.
Workers Are Engaged In Desperate
Struggle Defending Pre-War
Rights And Privileges.

alton victory The ways are creased
for launching a second experiment in
private operation
Get Roads Back on Their own
Valuation
The Cummins (senate) and Esch
(house) bills have both been approved
by their respective branches Of con-
gress. Both provide for private oper-
alton, and both stipulate that the rail
road corporations shall be permitted to
charge rates sufficient I'd pay divi-
dends on their own estimate Of the
roads value, and to pay operating ex-
penses which shall also be controlled
entirely by the private managers.
It is pretty well understood that the
anti-strike clause was inserted in the
Cummins bill as a trading point-as
something that would be taken out IS
soon as organized workers should con-
sent to drop their fast-developinP
fight for the Plumb plan for railroad
democracy. 1t was fully comprehend
ed that organized labor would be a
dead or harmless" thing without the
right to strike, and that to retain that
right, the workers would probably
abandon the fight for additional adj
vantages
What Labor Wanted
The Plumb plan advocates had noG
expected that their principle would
Immediately be adopted by congress.
And their first reaction to the anti
strike maneuver was the petition,
signed by the brotherhoods, certain
farmer groups and Samuel Gompers,
asking for a two-y years extension of
government operation, pending the
perfection of a rational plan for per
manent adoption
Nominally, labor is still calling for
the two-years extension, but its lead
ers here are prepared to see the Cum
Minis and Esch bills merged and
adopted with no vital alterations ex-
cept the abolition Of the anti-strike
feature of the former measure
we Told You So
Beyond their right to exclaim We
told you so" when the higher freigh.
rates of private operation send the
cost of living up a few months hence,
the railroad brotherhoods and their
allies must set down as a total loss
their courageous advocacy Of the only
constructive plan to lessen the cost
Of living that has been advanced since
the war ended
The Kenyon-Anderson bills to di-
vorce the big packing plants from the
control of stockyards and refrigerator
cars will probably receive the coneen-
trated support of organized labor men
here as soon as the railroad and anti
strike legislation is disposed of. They
would be more effectively supported
if some of the older labor leaders dli
not adhere to a belief that wages and
shop conditions are the only matters
with which the worker should con-
cern himself. The movement to have
organized labor identify itself as a
consumer, thus forming a close work
ing alliance with the public" has
been hampered to the point of threat
ened failure by the older theory and
practice
Labor's Next Move
Within official circles of the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor plans have
been discussed for union with the
farmer and cooperative societies for
Joint action to elect members of con-
gress pledged to defend the rights of
the worker and to curb prices. The
old party politicians appear confident
that nothing dangerous to their own
control will ever come of such an
effort. They agree, however, that the
cost of living, apparently beyond con-
troll OF all conventional measures, and
the solid determination of the wage
earners to satisfy some of their ex-
panding economic aspirations will
both play powerfully into the hands
of any set of men who aim in the
right may to capitalize them in the
next campaign.