The Washington herald., 1921-01-15
RAILROAD HEADS
DEMAND U.S.. PAY
PROMISED MONEY
Withheld by Treasury
Evasion of Clayton
Act Charged.

Legislation directing the Treasury
Department to turn over to, the rail-
roads funds provided by the govern
ment as guaranty against losses
incurred in the six months follow
ing their return to private control
was asked by Daniel Willard, presi-
dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road Company, and Samuel Rea
president of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, before the House Committee
on Interstate and Foreign4 Com
merce, yesterday.
Both officials declared the roads
are vitality in need of the money to
relieve their financial distress which
has been caused by the exhaustion
of credits and the diffidence of in
vestors in absorbing their securities
They argued that the Treasury
Department is Withholding the
money on q technicality, and that
Congress in passing the Esch-Cum-
mings transportation act containing
the guarantee intended that II
should be paid the roads upon. de-
| mand.
Treasury Asks Accounting.
The fund involved in the contro-
versy amounts to $600,00O,O 900. In
refusing to turn it over to the rail-
roads the Treasury Department has
contended that the Esch-Cummins
act provides that they shall not be
reimbursed until they have made
a complete accounting of their
| losses in the six-months period COW
cred by the guarantee
The roads complain that II will
take from two to three years Ia
deliver this accounting and in the
meantime the government is hold.
ing from them money to which they
are entitled and which they need.
Thomas Dewitt Cuyler, chairman
Cf the Association of Railway Ex.
eCutives, who appeared before the
committee in support of the appeal
made by the railroad officials, saiC
the Southern Railway is contem.
| plating a suit against the govern.
ment for the recovery of $S4, 900. .OOt
in damages suffered by their lines
! during wartime control
Says L. $. Price Was Unfair
The damages, he declared, result.
ed from the failure of the govern.
ment to maintain the roads and al.
legged unfair price paid for their
use.
Absolute separation of the rail,
roads from equipment companies
was urged by Glenn E. Plumb. coun.
sci for railway organization, in tes-
| ttfying before the Senate Interstate
Commerce Committee which is con.
| sidering the revision of the Clayton
| act. Neither the Clayton act MOI
the Frelinghuysen bill which were
intended to effect the dissolution, he
said, have been successful because
OF the many opportunities they pre-
sent tor evasion.
The Frelinghuysen bill to regu-
late the practice of throwing or
| ders to subsidiary companies is So
full of exemptions that 1t is prao-
tically nullified." Plumb asserted
Plumb declared that the charges
OF Representative Huddleston, Ala
bama, in recent speech to the
House, and of w. Jett Lauck, on
behalf of the machinists' union be-
fore the l. c. C, will be amply
proved by investigation.
Their assertions that the rail-
roads, while having in their own
shops adequate man power, facilities
and tools to repair cars and loco
motives, farmed out great quantities
or work to interlocking companies
and threw out of work more than
100000 men, are fully borne our
by the facts said Plumb.