The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1920-02-06
PETITION UNCLE SAM
TO KEEP RAILROADS
MONSTER PETITION FOR THE
PERMANENT PUBLIC OWNER
SHIP OF RAILWAYS PRESENT
ED IN CONGRESS-NOT A
WORD IN REACTIONARY PRESS

Washington, D. C.-Grimy and dog.
cared from rough travel through fac
tories, shops, mines, lodge halls and
farmer meetings, a monster petition
for the permanent public ownership of
the railroads, was presented in the
-! United States House of Representa-
tives' recently, by Rep. James H. Sim
clair Of North Dakota.
Getting up a big petition to Con-
gress is difficult job. The Public
Ownership League of America, hav-
ing it's headquarters in Chicago, re-
Gently sent out to its members and
friends in 36 states, a petition calling
upon Congress to provide for the
permanent public ownership of the
railroads, under terms which should
be just to the public at large, to the
railroad workers, and to the present
owners. They asked for public owner
| ship with democratic control.
This petition went everywhere along
the railroad system. into remote farm
ing districts, into the mines, through
the factories and even into an occa-
sional city office.
Then it was shipped to Represen-
tative Sinclair of North Dakota, and
he presented the huge volume-it
weighed nearly 20 pounds-and laid it
on the Speakers desk, on the Satur-
day before the holiday recess.
Mr.. Sinclair printed in the Con-
gressional Record letter from the
Pablic Ownership League, explaining
that the petition, expresses the senti-
ment of millions of organized labor,
organized farmers, and other millions
of unorganiZed citizens who make up
the public at large.
NOT A WORD IN KEPT PRESS
This is the biggest single petition
presented in Congress in years, and
yet, so far as is known, not a word
appeared in anyone of the big newspa-
pers although all of them received the
item from their press agnts.
The text Of the petition is brief. 1t
reads:
"To the Congress of the United
States:
"Gentlemen: We, the undersigned
citizens of the United States, hereby
respectfully ptition and urge the in
PRODUCTION and passage by your hon.
orable body of such measures as will
bring about, under conditions in all
respects just to the American people,
the workers and present owners, the
acutal and permanent Public Owner
ship of the United States Government
of the Railroads of the Nation, to-
gether with proper guarantees of eff
cient operation and democratic con-
troll"
THE PEOPLE HAVE PAID FOR
THE ROADS-KEEP THEM
On the back Of each sheet Of the
petition is the legend: Keep the
Railroads. The People have bought
and paid for them twice over; the
People should own and operate them."
Then following statement setting
forth that-"The people of this ma
tion have invested over $9O0,O0O,00O
in rehabilitating the railway system
that private ownership had so ex-
plotted and plundered and misman-
aged that it was utterly inadequate.
'The People have invested another
1915 100000 in improving labor con-
ditions and pulling the railroads out
out of an impossible situation that pri-
vate ownership had created.
"The Government has rehabilitated
the delapidated system, unified it, eff
fected numerous economies, and guar
anteed the private owners their usual
dividends. And yet they are not sat-
isfed. They want the railroads back
again 1or further exploitation and
plunder.
"We protest. Now that the people
Continued on Page Eight)