The Washington times., 1922-07-29
HARDING LEANS
TOWARD STRIKE
HALT|NC LAWS
Favors Speedy Enactment OF
Legislation to Prevent
Labor Strife.
BY J. BART CAMPBELL,
international News Service.

international News Service.
President Harding is in complete
accord with the Senate today that
legislation must be enacted as
speedily as possible to prevent q re-
currence of the coal and railroad
strikes.
Although Republican and Demo-
cratic Senators entertain conflicting
opinions as to the form the proposed
legislation should take, they agree
with the President that Congress
must provide an effective and lasting
remedy for the existing Industrial
situation.
The desire the President expressed
TO Senator Borah, chairman of the
Senator Labor Committee, that the
settlement of the railroad tie-up be
made to harmonic with prospective
legislation intended to avert future
strikes of railroad workers, met with
the approval Of Senators.
To Consult Both Parties.
1t is the belief of Senator Com
minis of Iowa, chairman of the SEN
ate Interstate Commerce Committee,
that the President will not only con-
suit both Republican and Democratic
leaders of Congress regarding the
remedial legislation he has in mind,
but that he will make it the subject
OF a special message to Congress
before long.
While Cummins and other Re
publican leaders do not anticipate
that Congress will be called upon
to take any immediate legislative
action to meet the criticisms and
failures which the Esch -Cummins
transportation act, and the Railroad
Labor Board created by 1t, have en-
countered, they are convinced that
the big issue at the next session
will be legislation embracing tn,
entire coal and railroad situation.
The impression prevails among
Senators that II sweeping changes
/ in the Esch- -Cummins law, and the
operation of the Railroad Labor
Board, are agreed upon by the rail
road executives and their employees
as basis for the settlement of
the shopmen's strike, as the Pres
ident desires, 1t will have a power
ful moral influence upon Congress
to amend the law in accordanc'
with the changes proposed.
Cummins Not Alone.
!, Cummins is not alone in the Sen.
ate in agreeing that teeth" shoul,
be put into the law, and the board
given power to enforce its deci-
sions. but 1t is pointed out that /,
is one thing to decide to inser
teeth" in legislation, and anotht
thing to agree as to what kind .
teeth" should be used.
Cummins said he had no intentiC:
OF proposing any amendments to Il,
transportation act at this time. a.
until after definite announcemrr
that the railroad strike was settl,
had been made. although he wa.
evolving plan for the estabiishmei
of the principle of the living wage.
which he hoped to have Incorporate,
| in the law at some future time
the bass for fixing wages by Il
Railroad Labor Board.
The chief difficulty in successful
sponsoring an amendment to the ac
he explained, was that flood q
other amendments was certain t.
rest upon Congress, and the deman'
that the law be repealed entirely OF
Section l5a-its guaranty clause
and others of its disputed provisions
stricken from il, be renewed.
Would Cut Rates.
Senator Capper. of Kansas, is a
leader Of the movement to eliminate
the guaranty clause, and to bring
about a reduction in freight rates,
while Senator Poindexter. of Wash
ington, is among the Senators who,
stand for anti-strike legislation. and
| Senator La Toilette of Wisconsin. is
but one of many who are unalter
ably opposed to 1t in its usually aC-
cepted sense.
These were but some OF the
aspects of the situation, Cummins
said, which were not unlikely to
lead to a renewal Of the bitter con-
troversy, which marked the passage
of the Transportation Act itself, and
in view Of the prevailing legislative
jam he secuted the idea that any
effort to change the law at this ses-
sion would make any headway.
Future legislation to amend the law.
| in view OF recent developments in
the railroad strike situation, he con-
ceded as highly probable, but ne ap-
peared skeptical that any such
legislation could be successfully and
satisfactorily provided without the
customary Congressional battle.