The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-05-26
R | A J VALUATION BODY |S FORMED. BY PR0GRES ESS|VES
Lafollette Is Chairman And Fight For Protection Of
 Public Is Aim

CHICAGO, May 25.-Railroad labor leaders, repre- sentaiives of the pro gresSive bloc" in Congress, members of various agricultural organizations s and proponents of government own ership of the railroads. meeting here today organized the conference on railroad valuation" for the announced purpose of promoting and protecting public interest in the valuation of railroad property"
 Approximately 300 invited dele gates from all sections of the coun- this afternoon. following two-hour public gathering this morning, named Senator Robert NJ. La.Follette of Wisconsin Crepublican) perina- nent chairman of the conference. and Representative W. T. Logan, South Carolina (democraD, secretary.
 O O O
 HuddIeston Committee Chairman
 Representative George Huddleston, democrat, Alabama, was elected chairman of a committee on perma- nent organization, and Warren $. Stone, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers of C1eve- land, was named to head the com mittee on finance.
 The meeting today was the out : growth, Senator LaFollette said at the public session, of conference "of the progressive leaders in the halls of Congress-
 The purpose of the conference, he said, was
 l. To promote and protect public interest in the valuation of railroad property now being made by the in terstate commerce commission, par ,icularly for the purpose of prevent ng excess appraisal of the properties which will result in unrea sonable charges for tranSportat ation.
 2. To take steps, through the in- Jterstate commerce commission and the courts and elsewhere, to require the commission tC act in strict ac- cordance with the provisions of the interstate commerce act in determin- ing the valuations of the railroads. 3. To organize, maintain and sup port such proceedings as may be nec- lssary to accomplish the foregoing aims. Congressmen and Governors Present.
 Among the delegates are three United States senators, three gover- nors, eleven congressman, representa- tives of railroad or utility commits sions of four states, personal repre- sentatives of the governors of four additit nal states, leaders of virtually all labor organizations affiliated with the brotherhoods and the Amer lean Federation of Labor, sponsors of the Plumb Plan league, and spokesmen of various associations in transportation.
 Mayor Hylan tf New York and Governor Sweet of Colorado were the speakers at the public session today Mayor Hylan said operation and unification of the railroads was the only solution for the crisis before the ct untry and that he was heartily in sympathy with the aims of the conference.
 Governor Sweet attacked the trans portation act of 1920, fixing the rate of return on railroad investments as un- just, branding as opposed to public interest the principle enunciated therein that value of property used in transportation should form the basis of rates.
 He did not suggest a basis, which, in his opinion, would be more equi- table. Until two weeks ago, he said, he was "as ignorant as babe of the questions involved" but he had made a study of valuation and it's relation to rates since receiving his inYita- tion to the present conference, and had concluded that real crisis con fronts the nation" The governor was introduced by Senator LaFollette as new voice from the vest
 Conference Called Menace.
 Following the public meeting, Senator LaFOllctte received by mes senger from ]. r. Haynes. traffic di- rector of the Chicago Association of Commerce, a statement in behalf of leading business men of Chicago, and large shippers" branding the confer ence as a 'meance to all the people" and asking if the gathering was mot staged to prejudice the people against the railroads, and thus promote the political advantage of the so-called progressive block
 The statements requested answers to eleven specific questions as to the attitude of the conference toward various political and economic ques- tions involved in valuation. The questions were taken into the eXecu- tive session this afternoon but the official announcement of the proceed ings behind the closed doors, con- tained no mention of the considera- tion.. Delegates to the conference in timated that they had not been presented. In the main. the state- ment challenged the intmation of speakers before the conference that the public interest was mot being properly represented in the valuation proceedings before the interstate