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Show Sit Signature Is Affixed in Private Car at the Railway Rail-way Station; Few Witnesses Wit-nesses Present; Pen Used Is to Be Presented to the Brotherhood Chiefs by the Executive. Execu-tive. RATE ADVANCE IS IMPROBABLE Democrats Will Not Have Time During Short Session; Progressive Progres-sive Republicans Certain Cer-tain to Fight; Much Speculation as to What the Outcome Will Be. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, Sept. 3. President "Wilson Btopped at the Union station here tonight cn route from Shadow: Lawn, N. JtJ to Hodgenville, Ky., long enough to sign the Adamson bill, which 'tabliehcd an eight-hour day, effective k January 1, 1P17, for union employees , on interstate railroads. ; , The ceremony was performed in the president's private car, the Federal.. The only witnesses "were Mrs. Wilson, John Boiling, Mrs. Wilson's brother, and Rudolph Forster, executive clerk at the White house. Four pens were used in signing the bill. One each will he presented to tho brotherhood chiefs' at tho White house next Tuesday. i At 10:30 o'clock the president, ac- J companied by Mrs. Wilson and Senator : Newlands of the interstate commerce committee, continued the journey to. Kentucky, where- tomorrow he will ac-: cept on behalf of the government the humble birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. Lin-coln. The president desired Senator Newlands to go along that they might discuss plana for the enactment of the remainder of tho legislative programme affecting railroads. Trouble Predicted. Now that the eight-hour day has been established by congress all sides appear to be afraid of it. Nobody Beeins to know just what the law means in its present form. It specifies that ' ' eight hours shall constitute a working work-ing d:iy for contract labor." A strict interpretation of this clause is expected to cause trouble. , Tho brotherhood leaders are of the opinion that congresa may have overstepped over-stepped its constitutional authority iu fixing wages. On tho other hand, ad ministration leaders have been informed in-formed by the railway officials they will expert the president to keep his promise of legislation looking to an increase in-crease in freight rates. . President Wilson is understood to feel that he has placed himself under Rn obligation to tho railroad interests! by forcing tho eight-hour law on them. I No Chance Next Winter. i .Senator Newlands planned to toll him! that any additional legislation on the sub- , Jeet could not bo taken up at this session. ses-sion. Senator Newlands pointed out that the short session, which bruins in December De-cember atul ends automatically fn March, will bo. very much occupied with matters mat-ters vital to t ho administration. These include. In addition to appropriations. Die Immigration bill, corrupt practices settlement settle-ment of t he Colombian, treaty controversy and the Danish treaty. The Progressives, among; whom senators sena-tors Iba Volte tte, I!orah, Cummins, ctapp and Norris are prominent, will field to the end any move to increase freight rates or increase the membership of the interstate commerce commission. President Responsible. The TV"iiocrats are not optimistic over the outlooic. They consider that tho president pres-ident Is responsible for the present situation situa-tion which confronts congress and expect 1dm to suuwest some way out of the difficulty. dif-ficulty. An announcement of some definite defi-nite plan is expected from t he White house as soon as the president returns. Tho brotherhood leaders did not express I pl desire (o be present at the sk-ninc of the eiizht-honr bill. They were entirely , satisfied to have the president affix his eicnature oti Sunday. v President Wilson directed Secretary (Continued on Page Five.) PRESIDENT SIGNS f RAILWAY MEASURE (Continued from Page One.) Forster to notify the brotherhood leaders as soon as the bill was signed. Garret- S son's comment at the time was: 2 "I try to be a good loser and do not like to rub it in on the other fellow when g I win. All I can say is that we are very B happy.' I It was learned that the brotherhoods would have been satisfied to rescind the strike order if congress passed the eight- j hour law wiil-out attempting to fix wages, i The fact that congress established a j precedent for an eight-hour day law is 5 considered a big victory. Elisha Lee Mystified. Elisba Lee, chairman of the railway managers' committee, left Washington j today for his headquarters in Fhiladel- j phia. He said he had not been able to jj determine where the effect of the Adam- n son law would begin or where it would jj end. He added that he had been unable to find anybody else who could make "head or tail" out of the measure. p A. P. Thome, attorney for the execu- tj tive advisory committee, said: S "The larger issue is whether or not the g orderly process of government can be ob- g structed by the threats of calamities to B the general public by a few people." i The advisory committee of the railways, g it was learned, will meet in New York Sj at an early date to determine what data fej and evidence will be submitted bv them n to the commission created by the new law to make an investigation and report i the effects of the eight-hour day. A test 1 of the law will be matter for discussion i at the same time. The railroad repre- J sentatives were much interested in the i report that President Wilson had been R advised to abandon the remainder of his s programme. p Position of Railroads. jj The position of the railroads was thus outlined by one of their foremost spokes- H men: - "The brotherhoods cared little about the principle of the eight-hour day. They g wanted more money, and that is what con- 5 gress has attempted to give them, al- s though under duress." 1 The brotherhoods have succeeded in S having the standard yardstick shortened. S It gives them ten hours-' wages for eight ig hours' work. Whether this shortening of ? the yardstick is fair matters little. The principal question is: Can congress com- if pel a merchant to give a full three feet 9 of cloth for a yard when it shortens the 5 yardstick? The railroad executives, however, will ( approach the problem from the broadest 5 standpoint. They recognize the right of a congress to establish a legal workday. That principle was established when the Z maximum number of hours railroad em- S ployees may work in one day was passed, The executives will take into eonsidera- ?, tion future problems, looking with vision J to the future relations between the rail- S roads and labor on the one hand and be- 4 tween the railroads and congress on the l other. ! The government regulates the Income of the railroads now. It ought to regulate the outgo as well, to relate them, so that It may intelligently and justly pass upon g rates and other questions it undertakes S to regulate. 1 There were said to be three ways in R which the fight on the wage feature of fj the act may be opened: a 1. By the railroads refusing to pay the employees affected by the law the wage prescribed in the bill, which amounts to ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, with pro rata pay for overtime. 2. An amendment of the law at either the short or the next regular session of congress, or repeal of certain provisions in the act. 3. By Injunctions brought by railroad stockholders to prevent the companies from paying tiie men at the rate prescribed pre-scribed by congress. Brought Bill to Station. The Adanison bill was not signed at the t'n Ion station in connection with anv prearranged pre-arranged plan. The train to which the private car was attached readied Washington Wash-ington at 7 : In o'clock. Secretary Forster was there to meet the party and tell the president that the bill was at the White house- awaiting him. Mr. Forster was informed that the president pres-ident was still sleeping. The secretary -waited around awhile and, fearing (hat j there would bp a serious dMav. hurried back to the White house, placed the bill in his pocke: and returned to the station. sta-tion. President Wilson was awake hv this time and announced that ho would si mi the measure as soon an he had breakfast. break-fast. l.afcr the president and Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Boiling tovk a. motor ride, slopping slop-ping for a few minutes the ' White house. There !:,- met Secretary Wih-on of ihe department of kibor. who offered ,-nn-gra tula; ionS over the outcome of the railroad rail-road controversy. Tod;iy the brotherhood leaders were busy preparing a cir-'ulnr to hp sent to members. This document will explain the settlemetit of The strike will expialn the pent the provisions of the bill. The fifteen or so vie? chairmen who remained as representatives of the select committee are leaving tonight or tomorrow. tomor-row. W. i. lee went to Ills ho-:.e in Cleveland tonight. Stone and Carter leave tomorrow. Century Printing Co.. Snlt Lake's pouters, 23 l-o-" Edison st rcet, (Advertisement.) |