The Washington times., 1924-11-14
IS
TO Al TER
BILL
Postal Pay Measure Also
Likely to BE Kept on Ice.
Battle Over Railroads
BY WILLIAM HARD.


viii be back with us in the APP
preaching "short session" Of Con-
gress; but the best opinion here
abouts at this time, subject to
revision, is that nothing much
win happen to it except that the
distinguished legislative facial
surgeon from Pennsylvania, Sena-
tor George Wharton Pepper, viii
putso to speak-a new ear or
two on it and new dimple into
It's cheek and win part its hair in
. new place and will ask his col
leagues il now they like it any
better.
It's chances of actually getting
cut of the Legislative operating
room back into the arms of Score.
tary Hughes are at this writing
quite small.
Postal Pay Bill On Ice.
Our old friend the postal EN-.
ployees' increased pay bill win be
waiting on ice just where it was
left when Congress recessed. 1t
then had been vetoed by the Presi.
dent and the next step in its life
was an opportunity by Congress to
pas it over the Presidents veto by
q two.thirds majority.
An attempt to embrace that
opportunity will presumably be
made as soon as Congress re.
It Is believed that an effort will
also be made to render this bill
more palatable to Calvin Coolidge
~ simultaneously passing a bin for
increasing the revenue of the Post.
office Department by charging
higher prices to the users of the
mails.
At this moment there is the
usual talk of making those higher
prices fall on the publishers
I which ultimately means the readers
-%of newspapers and magazines.
Likely TO Fail. EtD
This talk is likely, as usual, to
be !, over-borne by the customary
argument that no additional tax
should be laid on the transmission
Of information.
There remains the fact that il
the Governments products and
In price with the prices Of other
e rpfr - 4NrV aGsrk
postage stamp would now cost at
leiLst two-and-a-half-ce cents.
There being, h, viewer, no 21z-cent
place the difficulty of arriving a:
Justice In this matter is complicated
by difficulties OF the coinage.
1t may be that ultimately az.
cent piece will be coined simply to
enable the Postoffice Department
to increase its charges by a normal
raise in harmony with other raises
IN the prices Of other products and
services and by a raise no greater.
In that way, or IN some other
way, theoretical justice may be &C.
complished both for the Postofflce
Department and for the postal EN-.
ployes who abundantly have con-
WINGED Congress that their pay has
not gone up tremendously with the
increased incomes Of most other
people.
Other "Old Friends
So in time that good old friend
Of ours, the postal employees In.
creased pay bill, may get disposed
Of and may depart from the scene.
Virtually all the other IDEAS and
projects which may appear in this
approaching short session" of Cor.
Eress are similarly old friends.
The outstanding feature Of the
legislative national SITUATION Is that
we are tying up the loose ends OF
old tangled skeins and that no great
new ideas, no great new Legislative
era can be said to be upon us.
We. are going to drone along
working out the details OF IDEAS al
ready current and already familiar.
The star performances, so far as
this approaching short session" 81
Congress Is concerned, are likely
to be those not by the advocates OF
the world court and not by the ad-
vocates of taxation reform, but these
nv the farmer, whose grievances and
claims were recounted in the pre-
scedinR article in this series, and those
by the aggressive unioniEed railroad
employe. e
81 This person-the railroad employe
Lin considerable numbers went out
into the political wilderness to sup
port Robert Marion La Toilette for
President In direct consequences of
dissatisfaction with the relations be-
tween employers and employees Of rail.
roads.
Not All AItTuism.
The present writer does not wish
to accuse the. railroad employee of
any especially inhun1an quality; and
for that reason---precisely for that
reason--and out of observation lie
believes and contends that the pas.
sion OF the railroad employee for a
new party and for reform in general
has a deep root in his desire for a
new arrangement for himself in his
uelations with his employers In the
course of his daily work.
No mass of men in the whole
known history Of the world has ever
Our Stairway Will Save
L. $50 y l.