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Show SEN. LA FOLLLTTE ASSAILING THE RAILROAD BILL WASHINGTON, Dec. 11. Attack-' Ing the Cummins railroad bill as a measure :-), u, n , d.sicned to help' the roads with their return to priviiu-ownership. priviiu-ownership. Senator LafoUette, Republican, Repub-lican, Wisconsin, declared in ihe sen-j 'ate that Its enactment would "constl-j tute the greatest -"tain on legislation In the history of the American na-I ion." "There s nowhere in this bill one! clause in the interest of the people " said Senator Lalollette, who charged'' that the measure soucht to -.alidatei "all the chicanery of 17 ears of rail-road rail-road Jugglery" and fasten it on the people. Contending that Koxernmc-nt own. r-1 Snip was the ultimate solution of the railroad problem, the Wisconsin senator sen-ator declared the plan had not been Civen a fair test because there had been an organized press and railroad 1 .attempt to discredit It. In framing 1 'he bin to meet conditions arising with 'he end of war-time federal control : Senator Lafollette said that the sen'i ate interstate commerce committee! had not given a full hearing to the , an.ij oi railway emplovep, vitally con Icerned in the future polio of dealing I with the great tiansportation systems. sys-tems. j When the senate recessed at night Senator Lafollette had not concluded his address and he will resume today There was no indication as to how ! much more time he might require and lenders said the) now had no id.-a when the bill might be passed Senator Talks Two Hours. Senator Lafollette held the floor continuously through the session and alter he had been talking two hours Senator King. Democrat, Utah, went to ins rescue with a demand tot B quorum, which gave him a twenty i minute breatjhing Bpell. When the government took over the' roads, Senator Lafollette declared,! 'he whole system was honevcombed v ith inside gran - Examination or i every system from the Pennsylvania' own.1 he said would show that or' flcials were financially interested In supply and construction companies with which the companj . mploj Ing them dealt. " I Public and Stockholders Robbed "And as a result of this we imd he concluded, "thai .stockholders and the public were robbed because of the! payment of outrageous prices for sup- ! Plies The country must expect to get ' bad service from anv concern infested : With erraft a.wi n.... : ., I r "-- explanation (lor ine condition of the railroads at the time the goernnient took theni 1 over." While Senator Lafollette was as sailing the Cummins bill Robert Lovett, Lov-ett, president o' the f nion Pacific j -'om, m a statement sent to member of congress, declared the measure "had Dieril at least of recognizing th-61 th-61 th( railroad situation and the courage of grappling with them in an honest attempt to solve the problem." Lovctt Reviews Bills. Judge Lovett described what he considered con-sidered as the good and bad features ot the Cummins and the Esch bilN declanng that the "most amazing pro' 'i-i-m of the Esch measure as amend cd by the house dealt with labor. "It effectually perpetuates every lucres e and even working rule or regulation ,ade b the railroad ud ! ministration -hiring ihe stress of the war and abnormal conditions resulting therefrom,'.' he said, i -Mr Lovett objected to the section joi the Cummins bill declaring rive and la nail per cent on the value 0i the j railroad property as determined by the interstate commerce commission as a "reasonable return" and confiscating all m excess of 6 per cent upon such alue. "i deny thai our people are jn favor of confiscating the net earnings of a railway company saved bv it out of res -nable rates established or approved ap-proved by the government itself Mr Lovetl said 'Further increases in freight rates undoubtedly are neces sary as the government's own experi ence with the railroads shows" he said, adding that no well informed pet -son could expect railway wages to be materially reduced under existing conditions. con-ditions. The chamber of commerce of the' 1 Aited States in a statement today ailing attention to Its referendum last ; yeai on needed railroad legislation said that unless the goernment adopted a railroad policv that would 1 'mihl. private corporations to meet I expenses and obtain necessary capital J "corporate operation will fail, and the government will ju1V(? ,r, ,osun, ,hfc burden of operating and probably ot owning the roads " |
