El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-02-19

ments and highways Why. / can
remember in Indiana and Ohio when
we had toll gates on turupikes and
il you wanted TO traverse these
roads you had to drop money in a
can about every five miles We
wouldn't hink OF turning the public
highways back TO their former pri-
vate owners. would We2 How many
in this audience would want TO do
that2
Nobody seemed 20 want %.
Dir. ClaWson said the railroads
were public highways and had been
SO held by learned constitutional
lawyers and the supreme court. There
enact law that would correct the
evils Of private ownership it had a
right TO do so.
Would save Unfortuuates.
me speaker, VINO talked under the
auspices OF the Plumb plan league
said he wanted the government to
squeeze the water out OF the stocks
and bonds and then issue federal
bonds to the stock and bond holders.
If somebody buys from somebody else
a bond or some stock that proves to
be nearly worthless he ought 20 get,
not what be paid for the bond, but
what i is worth, he declared. and
the buyer has the right to go into
court and sue the man he bought the
bond from, that being equity. It
would take about twenty billions in
government bonds 20 take Up the
private holdings, in the opinion OF the
Plumb planner. This, Of course
would regire a lot Of worthless paper
and not further initiate the currency,
he explained
WORKERS to Have CharEe.
After the country got the railroads
It would then turn them over to the
workers under the Plumb plan. There
would be a place for the hlgher-ups.
the high priced operators. but the
81 aH
have charge and would share
with the operators and the govern
ment In the profits, saving the gov
eminent 30 percent Of the net and
Two parts, among operators and
among workers.
@Whenever net profits got
about five and a fraction percent
freiEhf and ether rates would be
reduced TO the publie.7
IS hat about q deficit. the speaker
asked and answered. He said that
in event Of a deiicit the government
would make il up, Just as il would
have 10 do under the Cummins act, Z
only. said the speaker. the deficit
would 90 into service and not to
build marble palaces on the Riviera /.
and at Newport"
Defends Plan.
1T has been charged the lawyer 4
said that DC would be conIscatory Z
20 take the roads and issue bonds
bearing four percent 10 the owners E
Well, u wasn't conliscarory 70 take
the money Of men, women AID child (
rem among them widows and orphans 4
during the war and give them 8 per- I
cent Tor their money. Then, i guess I
il wont hurt the railroad owners 10 /
take four percent Tor theirs Any
how the speaker said that a four per-
cent government bond was as good I
as a 10 percent Industrial inresrm ent ,
because IL wasn't taxable and be-
sides the government was the best /
security in the world
CHALLENGES Virtue CT Press
The owners Of the railroads were
called looters and prolteers- He said b
he press was kept and subsidized. /
Re declared that most Of the edi- I
-Orials were written bT corporation ]
lawyers who left the editorials on the I
editors desk He said the local pa
lers would say nothing about his
sDeech-that they never said any .
hing about anything that was for
The good q the people The editors,
be said, were two by four by exact
Everybodx, in fact. who didn't
agree with The Plumb uinus the
speaker put into the same class
and referred TO the class In I'M
complimentary terms.
Ernest o. 4. Ames OF the California
Cooperative league followed Mr.
Plumb and said he wanted 10 organize
he workers 20 take over business
ust q Mr. Plumb wants 10 take over
he railroads. II the workers owned
md operated all business, especially
ne grocery business the second
.peaker said Il would give the people
square deal and reduce the cost Of
wing