The Washington times., 1923-11-12
FORCES GATHER
FOR RAILROAD
BATTLE
Executives, Unions, Coolidge
and Congress Getting Ready
for Session Fight.
by WILLIAM HARn.

Washington is going to sound like
blacksmith's shop with sturdy and
noble blows resounding every
moment on the good old anvil of
the railroad question.
The hotels today are filling up
with the advance guards Of the
innumerable sorts OF hammer.wield-
ers who on Wednesday will begin
to pound the railroad question from
the standpoint Of the railroad trade
unions and who on Friday will be.
gin to pound it from the standpoint
Of dense assembled masses of advo.
Gates and opponents of countless
railroad consolidation schemes, while
simultaneously the shippers of grain
and the consumers OF coal continue
to beat out their complaints on
rates before the examiners OF the
Interstate Commerce Commission
ana lawyers and accountants and
railroad presidents and United
States Senators are preparing to
make the sparks fly high in the
final fuss and fury over railroad
valuation which will begin before
the Interstate Commerce Commits.
/ sion and in conferences Of the
Senatorial and Congressional '.Pro.
gressive group" befcNe the month
is out.
Chiefs Petition Denied.
President Rea Of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company and Chairman
Kruttschnitt Of the Southern Pa
cific Railroad Company have pleaded
with Washington to let the rail-
road question stay on the railroad
rails and out of politics for g few
minutes. Their petition is denied.
This week is going to be railroad
week" in Washington, and this
winter begins to- look as If political
ly 1t would be railroad winter"
Senator Cummins, chairman of
the Interstate Commerce Committee
OF the Senate, cannot keep himself
away from the subject of railroad
consolidation. President Coolidge
cannot help comforting with num-
erous Senators, conservative and
progressive, who, on emerging from
his presence, are obliged to say
that the principal theme Of dis
cussion. between them and the Pres
ident was the fate of the railroads.
The railroads themselves, with
experts inhabiting a new building
called the Transportation building,
and with representatives helping to
cational endeavor called the Trans
portation Institute, and with one
of their chief managers of public
relations" preparing to leave his
home in New York and to come
down here to Washington to spend
the winter, are in fact not unaware
Of the truth that this winter looks
like q climax in the settlement of
the American railroad question one
way or another.
Unions to Meet Here.
Fifteen railroad trade unions, con-
shutting together the redoubtable
organization which did the labor"
part Of the "farmer-labor" political
effort Of last year and Of this year,
will meet in this city on Wednesday
to express their views regarding the
work to be done this winter bY-6on-
gress. Thew now are 'one Of the
great interests represented in Con-
gresS. II Senator Warren Of Wyo-
ming can rightfUlly be said to repre-
sent the sheep and wool Interest"
| and If Senator Smoot Of Utah can
rightfully be said to represent the
beet-sugar interest,"" then Senator
Brookhart Of Iowa and Senators
Shipstead and Johnson OF Minnesota
and Senator Wheeler Of Montana
| and Senator Dill Of Washington and
Senator Howell of Nebraska, all of
whom are in the Senate through the
"farmer-labor" effort in which the
labor" part effectively was railroad
labor, can rightfully be said today
to represent in the Senate the rail-
| road labor interest" Of the country.
Railroad Roard TarOaN
These Senators can be relied upon
to give expression forcefully this
winter to the views of railroad labor
in such matters as the proposed
elimination of the railroad labor
board clauses from the transporta-
ton act.
1t had been hoped that they
would not get a chance to ex-
press those views. It had been
hoped that the leaders of the Re-
publican party in the Senate would
De able to prevent all discussion of
the transportation act. That hope
is now pale and frail.
The reason is as follows:
some railroads are making good
money. The farmers look at those
railroads and demand freight-rate
reductions on agricultural products.
me farmers have more political
power than all the rest of the
electorate put together. Some rail-
roads, however, are Door. They
cannot afford freight-rate reduc-
lions. Yet Senator Cummins Of
Iowa, as chairman Of the Interstate
commerce Committee of the Senate
ana as a Senator from an almost
purely agricultural State, must DO
nucally do something. He must,
OF thinks he must; and the only
| .nlng SO FAR which has occurred to
him is to lump a poor railroad into
. rich railroad and hope that the
combination will be able to afford
me lower freight-rates which his
constituents insist upon having.
10 accomplish enforced consolida-
| tlon' however, the Senator must
open up the transportation act on
| the floor of the Senate and start
tlnkering with it's vitaIs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Waiting.
At that moment everv other ham
mer and monkey-wrench in the SEN
ate Will start to work on the trans
| portation acts exposed insides;
and every forge at every desk will
begin to produce new red-hot spare
parts for the Improvement of the
transportation act in the matter Of
| consolidation, in the matter of
valuation in the matter of rate.fix-
ing, In the matter of the partition
| Of repIIlotOru p01,,nnn LA.--1- 49,