The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1920-01-16
RAILROAD MEN \
REJECT SCHEME
Plumb Plan Is Abandoned By
All Except Ex-
termiSts
By John J. Leary, Jr.

Washington, Jan. l2-Except as a
talking point, the railroad unions are
through with the Plumb plan.
For time the Plumb plan league
will continue in existence and send
out literature, and Glenn f. Plumb
will be available for lecture dates, but
whatever hope there may have been
that the Plumb plan or anything like
it will become law has been abandoned
by all except the extremists.
The difficulty with the Plumb plan
is that it has not appealed even to
the railroad men for whose benefit
it was devised. To date none of the
brotherhoods has submitted it to an
official vote Of its members. In
officially, the membership has been
canvassed with requests to become
members of the Plumb Plan league
and send in their contributions.
The initial response was not such
as to encourage a ormal referendum
vote. More recently these individual
contributions have fallen off and the
leagues activities have been circum-
scribed in consequence
For a time. however. the legislative
representatives OF the railroad unions
ON duty here will say good word
for the plan whenever it seems advis-
able to do so. and when doing so will
not interfere with more importan;
matters, such as the anti-strike legis-
lation contemplated by the Cummins
railroad bill.
Center on Railroad Bill.
The conference committee which
will try and make a bill out OF the
house and senate measures tina: will
be acceptable to both houses will be
the immediate object of the atten-
tons of these representatives of the
unions, Following up the program
decided upon at yesterdays confer
encc all the arguments OF the un-
ions will be devoted to showing that
anything savoring of compulsory ar
bitration will serve to make, rather
than prevent. trouble.
Discussing this point today, one
representative of the railroad unions.
whose name appears on much of the
Plumb plan literature, asserted that
blunders had been made on both
sides and that from now on all energ-
les should be devoted to working out
a measure that will stand the test of
use.
ITO be entirely frank" said this
leader, those who let loose lot OF
strike talk erred. They made the
same mistake those who talk COM
pulsory arbitration and Jail for those
who strike are making. You can't
tell the people they must work any
more than we can get results by
making threats the sane majority
knows cannot be made good. So much
for that.
1t is mistake also to think of
compulsory arbitration as panecca
for strikes. 1t has been tried on a
large scale. 1t has failed. 1t was
hailed the great idea when it first
came out the Antipodes. Since its
adoption there they have had the
worst strikes in their history.
Willing to Forego Management.
The Plumb plan agitation was a
mistake. Nominally l have been for
the plan. Actually it has never ap-
pealed to the railroad men, Why
Because they are practical mem,
takes practical man to run a loco
motive or train or switching yard
What our people are interested in is
the contents of the pay envelope. Give
the men fair break there, and they
are willing to let somebody else have