Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-04
BY WILLIAM HARD.

BY WILLIAM HARD.
Two powerful forces are working
| against immediate approval by the In
| terstate Commerce Commission OF the
proposed Eastern railroad consolidation
scheme.
No bigger business proposition has
been before the country in recent
years. Consolidation is said to be
needed If certain eminent railroad
| financial interests are to be saved from
danger From that point of view the
consolidation program agreed upon by
| the Baltimore & Ohio and the Penn
| sylvania and the New York Central
and the Nickel Plate receives support
here in many high, responsible quar-
ters.
On the other hand, adverse infiu-
ences are at work. as the plan awaits
consideration by the Interstate Com
merce Commission, which Is not by law
in any way bound to accept the ap-
proval given by the President.
4 = r
The first Of these forces Is the par
liamentary tangle regarding consolida-
attitude assumed by the organization
Of railroad labor. The two are inter
connected, but also have separate
The Senate last Spring directed its
Committee on Interstate Commerce to
Investigate the matter of consolidation
and uniflcation of railroad properties
and the effect Of such consultations
and indications upon the public in
| terest." This investigation Is under
way, but has not been completed.
Hearings have not been held. Certain
researches have been made by agents
of the committee and have been put
into form for the perusal of members
of the committee. The next step In
prospect has been the summoning OF
witnesses. These witnesses would in
clude railroad executives and railroad
bankers who would testify as to the
was clearly the intent of the Senate
that the hearings should be before fur
ther consultations were effected.
This intent was made clear by the
almost simultaneous passage OF reso-
luton by the Senate forbidding the
Interstate Commerce Commission TO
approve any consultations till March
4, 1881. That resolution went to the
House of Representatives and was there
amended by the House Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce and
is now on the House calendar. In, its
paragraph the whole Of the present
conflict which exists between capital
and labor regarding consultations ana
which Is bound to have o most I'M
portant influence upon the outcome OF
the present consolidation struggle In
washington.
The words employed by the House
Committee on Interstate and Foreign
Commerce, which Is an extremely con-
servative body, are as follows:
Resolved, That in any hearing upon
an application to the Interstate Com
merce Commission for authority to
consolidate the properties Of any rail-
road carriers, the employees Involved IN
the consolidation, or the representa-
tives of any such employees, may inter :
vene and be heard. AS q condition OF
its approval Of any such consolloa-
ton the commission Is authorized 70
require that hardships or losses I'M
posed upon any such employees as Q
result Of any such consultations snall
be mininized and compensated Tor by
the carriers, so far as the commission
determines that it Is just and reaSona-
BILE and In the public interest 50 70 40"
go
The same idea in stronger terms had
been contained in the Senate resolu-
ton which the House committee thus
amended. It Is, accordingly, clear that
the Senate and the House Committee
on Interstate and Foreign Commerce
had been in agreement on the PROPOSE
ton that the interests OF railroad en-
ployes were to be taken into considera-
ton before consolidation should De
sanctioned.
ENORMOUS interest was thereupon To-
cused by Washington upon the state
ment made by D. B. Robertson,
president of the Brotherhood Of Rail
road Firemen and chairman OF the AS
ISOLATION Of Railroad Labor Executives.
Mr.. Robertson issued his statement
through the official organ Of the unions
Of railroad employees, the magazine
called Labor. His views may be taken
to be authoritative from the standpoint
Of the railroad employees organizations
which in recent elections have proved
themselves to possess very large
amount Of decisive political power.
~ 4 \
Mr.. Robertson takes two positions.
He states In the first place that the
employees were not consulted by the
Eastern railroad presidents in the course
of their conferences for the perfecting
of the present consolidation proposals.
| He states. in the second place, that the
Interstate Commerce Commission has
not yet been clothed by Congress. with
power to protect the interests OF the
employees In the course of giving its APP
prevail to any consolidation proposals.
| He accordingly, in effect, demands
reinforcement of approval by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission until Con-
gress has further legislated.
This is precisely the policy Of Senator
! Couzens Of Michigan, chairman of the
| Senate Committee on Interstate Com
merce and legislative author of the Sem
ate resolutions above mentioned.
The fundamental nature Of the prob