Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1920-05-31
POLITICS HOLD
MAIN Interest
Members Of Congress are
now plumb Daffy"
Over the Political
Situation.
RAILROADS A FACTOR
Ex-S0ldiers Neglect Dis
charges and Liberty
Bonds.
RAILROADS A FACTOR
BY ]. %. homes.

tilllC3tS hctU SOIlS DcCutSc IlOSJ Ol It's
members are plumb datfy over the poll
teal situation. The only diversion is
the performance of Honorable jose
plus Daniels and his s%ea-faring men
who are holding post mortems over the
part the navy performed in the war.
The chief interest in their quarrels
surrounds the telling OF secrets that
had better never have been told. Mr..
Bryan has Il habit of disagreeing with
the Democratic party leaders that is
%enliyening, and the Republican candi-
dates have made one another e%nviOus
by their tales Of the sizes of their
campaign funds. The pre-cOnvention
disclosures are proof to the old saw
about politics making strange bedfcl-
lows.
Breaking Railroad JAM
The interstate commerce commission
has been active in it's efforts Ia put
the. railroads back ''On the map" A
few days ago plans were iliaugurated
for rerouting thousands of loaded cars
that had accumulated in the princi-
pal railroad centers over the most
direct routes, regardless of >,costs or
fine references of individual c~Onsignees.
These, vigorous measures furnish
promise of breaking tile jam that has
been preventing operating the railroads
of the country in a h%ealthfpl manner.
Politics, and Railroads.
For Il dozen years at least the rail
roads of the country have been re-
garded among the assets of the poll
ticians, and the one who could block
the administrative plans of the great
est number of railroad lines was con-
sidered the most successful states
men" When the government itself
finally got the roads tied into Il hard
Knot through public operation, it was
decided that it was high time to give
tiie owners of the lines n new OppOr-
tunity to make II reak business out Of
r%ailroading. Howard Elliott, repre-
scntillg the rail executives, has point
ed out. TO the interstate commerce COM
mission the fact that freight rates have
been raised II per cent in England ;
$40 per. cent in France; 100 per cent
in belgium; 40 to 100 per cent in
Italy: 20 to 14O per cent III Holland !;
200 per cent in Sweden; and $50 per
rent in Norway. The increase in the
United States has been about 40 per
cent, as against increased operating
expenses of fully 100 per cent. Tie
railroads i'm asking an average increase
Of IS per cent in freight rates STATE
that the mount will enable them to
pay the additional billion dollars that
has already been granted in wages to
the railroad operators.
While the railroads are thus trying
to catch up through the interstate
me commission the trainmen are
pressing through the railroad labor
board. which is another government i'll
stitution, for an additional billion dol
lars increase in their wages. Doubt
less many railroad employees are under
paid, and there VIII necessarily be some
wage increases.
Chance to Draw dead Line"
The interstate commerce commission
and the railroad labor board appar-
emily have the opportunity to check the
everlasting circle of increased costs,
and to act in the interests of h public
in an effective manner by establishing
a definite and more or less permanent
basis of freight rates, and wages; first,
by raising the rates to a point. that
will make r%ailrOuding Il good business
proposition for investors; ana theh
by an adjustment OF wages that Will be
equitable. There are many people VINO
are hoping that these two federal
agencies will firmly n courageously
meet the issue, and furnish an example
for other industrial activities OF the
country in adjusting their affairs TO Il
very definite and specific standard.
Weights and Measures.
For a good many years we nave
been hearing about the Dement'S OF the
metric system ] have been reading
all about it in a bunch OF literature
furnished by both sides-and my first
49,. =. nat ,,-aiUlfc unfl mnn SllrpS
are well propagandized."
yhe fundamental unit of the metric
system is the meter, the unit of length.
II sounds well! a meter is 30."7
inches. Fractions always afford Il bum
start.-but that's ''methics," and the
metric mea surement is vOuched for as
being as correct as the wife of Lot.
Ever since British diplomacy taught
us how to get ..free tolls at the
Panama Canal, and freedom Tor
democracy on European battleiields
we have been prone to compare our
own standards with those Of Britain.
In weights and measures the BRUSH
gallon is approximately 70 per cent
larger and the British bushel three per
cent larger than those in the United
States. 4 ton in British weight Is
$40 pounds avoirdupois. There are
"ardebs" in Egypt; 'arshines' in u
sin: ccandy" in India: "catty' IN
China: trails in Spain; "rottlcs
in Syria and suns" in Japan. aho
nll these represent units of weight
The metric system is being urged
because it can be applied International
", just as we adopt Hungarian rhap.
sodies and German spasmpdics Tor
our musical Instruments. That's where
skill gets in its work. But when II
comes to using the new scheme vocal
" tbor, are snags, and it is u big un-
i~ertaking to make Americans substl-
tutc liters of milk, where quarts were
good enough before; or a dekameter
or denim for ten yards in the language
OF the United States.
Doubtless, the metric system mas
many strong points; but TO Il iol ol
,.,onle II yibrutes a good deal like the
international" psalms or hymns OIL
fha Socialists-and they sound like