The Washington herald., 1920-12-22
MACHIlllSTS' HEAD
HAYSkIEASUREAS
LOCALIZED THEFT
johnson, Labor Chief,
Asks President to Veto
Rail Amendment,
PASSED IN HURRY
Claims Neither House Of Con-
gress Took Needed Time
For Perusal.
PASSED IN HURRY

Presidential veto of an amend
ment to the transportation act
which would permit the railroads to
purchase equipment and supplies
from concerns which they control,
was asked yesterday. by william H.
Johnston, president of the Interna-
tional Association of Machinists.
The amendment which sets aside
for a year section ten Of the Clayton
antitrust, would. according to the
communication which Johnston sent
to the White House simply legal
ize a great steal from. the American
public" and in the opinion of the
union leaders II Is the intention of
the railroads to use the anne ndrueEt I
for the purpose OF increasing the
amount of money that they may get
from the government in the form Of
guaranteed income.
sLegali.es Great steal,
This amendment" said Johnston
simply legalizes q great steal from
the American public. In filling this
protest II is our purpose to afford to
the President an opportunity to ex-
ercise his constitutional right to
protect the people against the dis
asterous effects of a measure which
has been slipped through both
Houses without debate and with
out the members having had a
chance to ascertain what was back
of the legislation.
1T is amazing that such a resolu-
tion permitting great railroad in
terests another year of unlimited
opportunity to prey upon the public
could have been passed without de-
bate. without any information as ia
the sinister intent being allowed tc
leak out to the public. The. very
fact that only half a dozen mem
bers of the Senate were present
when 1t passed renders an opportu-
nifty to reconsider the matter essen.
tial.
Section 10 of the Clayton act is
one OF the most important pieces OF
protective legislation ever adopted
by the representatives of the Ameri'
can people. 1t has been the estab-
lished custom for railroad officials
| and directors to be heavily inter
ested in concerns from which rail-
roads buy their supplies and equip
ment. Through private deals by
these boards of directors and on.
cials. free from public scrutiny
prices were paid which netted mill
lions of dollars in profits to these
railroad interests. By Section 10 OF
the Clayton act, Congress in 1914
intended to forbid these acts OF
piracy.
Says Public Must Pay.
when this act was passed IL was
the small stockholders who were
protected against such deals from
which they alone suffered But to-
day under the guaranteed returns OF
the Esch-Cummins bill every family
in the country must be protected
for every family Is assessed to pay
the bill.
Recent deals between railroad
and equipment concerns with which
they are allied have come to light
These have involved unwarrantet
charges for the repair of locomotive.
and cars which will mount up into
the tens of millions of dollars. This
money has been extracted from thu
public.
This is not mere hearsay. Evi
dence as to these contracts through
which enormous profits have beer
realized at present is in the posses.
sion of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. This shows that wort
has been charged for at rates two
three and four times Legitimate
costs as shown by the actual cost OF
similar work in railroad shops.
with such evidence before US we
are certain that if the American
public had been given a chance tc
express itself every real represen.
tative of the people in the Senate
and in the House of Representatives
would have been lined up agains,
the passage of this sinister measure,