Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-09-14
Taking Over the Railroads
Was a Move in the DireC-
ton of Government Own
erShip, Harding Declares,
CUMMINS-ESCH BILL
IS HIGHLY PRAISED
Senator Claims It Is best
Measure Congress Could
Work Out In the Time Al
lowed For the Work.
lsr MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED WIRE,

NIAA iOlty Va ANpN' 49, 49, 'A'
ing his support of the Cummins-
Esch act restoring the railways to
their owners Senator Harding
charged in a speech to delegation
of railway workers late today that
by assuming control of the roads at
all the Wilson administration had
sought to promote a policy based
on permanent government opera
tion.
Had the experiment proved n
success, the republican nominee
declared, the administration would
have favored the retention of the
transportation lines and other pub
lie utilities under government con-
troll. The war, he said, had offered
an opportunity to try out the
scheme only because it permitted
administration officials ITO take
of the anxieties of the
people" in asking authority to take
over the properties.
The senator also assailed as $50
cialistic" and revolutionary the
plan supported by some labor lead
ers to put the railways at the dis
DOSdI VI lile 1dllNdy WI hNi -
Cummins- Esch bill, he said, was
the best measure congress could
work out in the time allotted and
gave to both railway owners and
employees just guarantee or
rights.
Several Hundred Callers.
Several hundred union men,
the Harding and Cool
idge Railway club of Marion, were
in the delegation and they cheered
the nominee as he hit at class rule
and lauded the labor provisions of
the act.
They carried banners expressing
their support in such Inscriptions
as 1.-THE Government Must Change
Harding VIII Not
U.s." and safety FIrst
Elect Harding"
J. w. Rosebury, past president OF
the local unit of the Order of Rail
way Trainmen, presented the dele
cation to Senator Harding, and tod
him they hoped to prove by coming
to prove the fallacy of 1.-The impress
sion that railway workers are OPP
posed to your candidacy because OF
your support of the Cummlns-
Esch act"
Act Is Not Perfect.
Concstling that the act was mot
perfect" Senator Harding charac-
terized it as "the most considerate
piece of legislation ever enacted IN
the protection Of any group CT
workmen in the United states.
when the war came on. ne
continued, I'VE had gone so far IN
restriction and regulation that the
response to much OF
he railway batting made 1t ditti-
cult for the railway management 10
Keep pace with the expanding re-
of the country. 1t Is not
important to discuss now Wnetner
he railway service was breaking
lown under the great strain put
Ipon it for war service. The coun-
nv was apprehensive and we were
Iii deeply concerned in putting
everything that we possessed at the
command of the government for
he winning of the war. WIN sucli
/ feeling manifest throughout the
county the railroads were taken
,ver for the war. Undoupteuly
here was back of the movement
he insistent forces in our country
Who believe in government owner
hip of railways. War seemed 10
,ffer the opportunity for the ap-
,lication of their theories of gov
.rnment and l sometimes suspect
he taking over of the railways was
more impelled by the thought Oh
our government pollcy
han the developing of a better
ervice for the conduct of the
var.
suggestion Was Confirmed.
"This suggestion was later on
onfirmed by the insistence OIL the
administration that it be given au-
hority to take over the telephone
nd telegraph lines. When congress
oted a grant of authority to take
yer these lines 1t was expressly
tipulated that no such seizure
,ould be made unless the exgen-
les of war urgency required IL,
ut after the authority was given
,ithout a new exigency having
risen and without a single new |
ondition of peril, the telephone
nd telegraph lines were seized be-
ause an administration was IN
over which was disposed to take
dvantage of anxieties Of people
-hile involved in war, to complete
' revolutionize the government
oliey in dealing with these pub
C utilities.
Experiment Failure.
eft the experiment with the rail-
avs and these communication
mes had been successful, 1t rea-
onably may be assumed that the
olicy would have been made per-
Such was the undoubted :
Sc0ptnusd on Page Twol II