The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1920-07-09

committed their 100000 members
to the Plumb plan of government
Ownership and the democratic opera.
ton of railroads. There was the
crossing of the Rubicon for the move
ment which had been so carefully
shepher,led by Samuel Gompers
through 40 years, away from the idea
the labor could control the political
state. One of the biggest men in the
conyention-Secretary Green of the
United Mine Workcrs-tleclared that
the time had come when labor must
take it's share of political burdens, and
that he welcomed the program Of
government ownership because it
eave a new reason for active and
united political work by the organized
workers. Democratic operation meant
self reliance and training and initla-
tice. The workers must develop, their
full faculties to solve the problems
involved in railroad operation. They
must make the operation of the roads
democratic in fact, and this meant
that labor must be in politics as Il
unit, and for it's own program:
DISABLED SOLDIERS STUNG
Disabled soldiers who have under
gone vocational training are the lat
est class to be made victims of u jok-
er in an act of congress.
These crippled and injured veter-
ans were led to believe that the new
law would give an increase Of $40 a
month in pay to those who were in
training under the vocational educa-
tilon board. That was what the law
was drafted to give them. But after
it had been signed someone discovered
that it had been changed somewhere
in its route through congress so as
to limit this payment to such men, in
course of training, as are living
"where maintenance and support is
above the average and comparatively
high"
that as the new law does not give it
any means of determining what is
comparatively high" or of getting
the average cost of maintenance, the
payments must be delayed until it
has arranged some rough and ready
way of determining these points.
There must first be made nation
wide survey Of the cost Of food and
shelter, and this will have to be done
through district officers. Then the
board will have to guess at whether
congress meant comparatively high"
to refer to localities or to times.
There are 3G5 lawyers in congress
and only dozen farmers.
SHIPPING TRUST MOVES
A conference has been held here
during the week between the ship
ping board and private advertising
agents, to prepare for IL big adver-
Using campaign for the sale of gov
eminent ships to private corpora
lions. A director for this advertis-
ing drive has been appointed. The
game is to get the American public.
and especially the chambers OF CON-
mewe in the cities, enthusiastic over
the profits to be derived from ship
ping companies, and to induce them
to form such companies, buy ships
from the board on partial payments,
and 20 out and develop trade routes
At the same time, the big shipyarl
with the shipping board and refusing
to continue the uniform national
agreement as to wages and hours and
conditions of labor in the shipya,ls.
The industry is slumping, and the
shipyaUt owners have decided to
break away from union agreements
and each try his luck at breaking
down the conditions secured by the
unions during and since the war.
As there is a fairly close bond of
sympathy between the trades that
make ships and those that load and
sail them the advertising campaign
may yet prove very necessary indeed
to persuade canny investors to try
their fortunes in the game.