Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1920-01-08

When commenting on her trip, she
said that in making the drive from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, it had not
been her purpose to follow direct
line of travel, but to visit the most |
cities and places of interest. She
visited the Petri6ed Forest, spent /
several days in the National Capitol,
drove to Mount Vernon, visited the I
site of the Battle of Gettysburg, and
then after touring to some of the /
Atlantic coast cities made her way 7
TO New York.
She experienced practically no .
trouble with her car, although she I
pointed out the fact that she under (
stands the Ford motor and made her .
own adjustments. Before leaving
the Ford company, Mrs. Upton ex-
pressed the hope that her next Ford,
probably another runabout, will be
equipped with Ford starter.
Washington, Dec. 30, Especial cor +
THAT the Railroad bill .
submitted by the Senate committee
on Interstate commerce would pro-
tect the public interest without favor
ing either the railroad owners or the
employees, was asserted by Senator
Charles +. Townsend, of Michigan
recently, in an address in the Senate. /
During all of his years in the (
House, and corresponding service
in the Senate, Townsend has been a
close and impartial student of rail
road problems. Speaking in support
of the bill, commonly referred to as
the Cummins bill, Senator Townsend
said, in part;
Il want to pay my tribute of re-
spect and gratitude 10 the chairman
of the committee, Mr. Cummins)
who has manifested infinite patience,
industry, and intelligence in the long
and tiresome consideration of this
measure. Each of the hundreds of
men representing every interest and
phase of the railroad question who
appeared before US was given full
opportunity TO express his views and
was treated with uniform patience
and courtesy
NOlIiillllCC anu re-
ported a bill which does not meet in
every respect with the approval of
any Senator. 1t is seldom that such
bill does meet the ideal of its pro-
ponents. 1t is, however, a measure,
which, in my judgement, will solve
approximately correctly the railroad
problem. 1t has for its cardinal
principle protection of the peoples
rights. There is nothing in this
measure which has in view the serv-
ing of any special interest. 1t rec
ognizes the fact that the railroad
question must be solved in justice to
the people, who pay dividends and
wages. 1t is known that there are
what are called weak roads and
strong ones. The latter require reg
ulation and restraint principally,
while the former require support in
addition to regulation. The commit
tee has attempted to preserve, to
make it possible to preserve, all of
the necessary roads and TO enable
them to furnish adequate transporta-
ton at the lowest possible compen-
sating cost.
"The bill is not what the railroad
owners wanted, and a statement to
the contrary is in reckless disregard
of the facts and the evidence as they
have been disclosed. We have not
sought to do anything contrary to the
lawful and proper interest Of the
railroads, because we have known
that any other course would be
against the general welfare. We
must have prosperous railroads in or
der to have general prosperity. But
We never consciously lost sight of the
fact that common carriers should
serve and not control the public in
terest.
1T is not a bill framed in the in
terest of the railroad employees, al
though every one Of their rights is
protected in harmony with the same
principles which have been applied to
owners. We provide new and some
what radical provision for handling
disturbances between operators and
their employees which disastrously
affect the general welfare. We have
in the bill what is known as an anti
strike provision. 1t was thought alb
solutely necessary that Congress
should do something to protect the
people Of the United States against
threatened disasters which were inn
pending at that time and which are
now impending.
"The owner is entitled to reason
able return upon the property in
which he honestly invests for the
public welfare The laboring man is
entitled to a reasonable wage for
what he actually contributes to the
success Of the road But it is un-
thinkable that any longer in this
country employers and employees
should be able to get together and
fix wages and prices without regard
10 the right of those who pay them.
IL is to me a monstrous thought that
capital and labor can, without let or
hindrance, starve and freeze and ruin
the people in struggle for suprem-
scy.
See "Uncle Tom, Without the Cab
in"-Idlehour, Monday and Tuesday.