OCR Text |
Show RAILWAY MEASURE GOES TOPBESIDENT ESCH-CUMMINS BILL RECEIVES APPROVAL OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE. Labor Leaders Who Oppose Measure Will Now Endeavor to Convince President That He Should Veto Compromise Plan. Washington The compromise Ksch-"iimmiiis Ksch-"iimmiiis railroad bill has been approved ap-proved by the senate and the house :ind is now before the president for liis approval. The house adopted the measure by a vote of L'oO to lot) a clean margin of 100 voles. By nearly three to one, the senate on February 111! passed anil sent to the president the modified railroad reorganization bill under which the carriers will attempt to adjust themselves them-selves to conditions arising with the end of government control. There was never any doubt as to what the senate would do, in view of the wide margin by which the Cummins Cum-mins bill, more drastic than .the compromise, com-promise, was passed. The bill goes to President Wilson, anil the general opinion was that he would sign it, all hough labor leaders will urge a veto. Discussion in the senate related largely to labor rale making provisions. provis-ions. Senator Cummins, with feeling, denounced widespread claims that in fixing freight and passenger charges calculated to give the roads a return of 5 per cent meant taking huge sums of money from the public treasury. treas-ury. The bill, he declared, would not take one dollar in that way. Such reports, re-ports, he said, were part of the propaganda propa-ganda put forth in an effort to defeat legislation on the eve of return of the roads to their owners, March 1. During the debate in the house, in which- more than a score of representative represen-tative took part, Chairman Iisch declared de-clared that the roads would be handed hand-ed back to their owners on March I, regardless of whether congress enacted enact-ed legislation meanwhile, but he warned the house that defeat of the bill at this stage would put half the roads of the country' in the hands of receivers in three months. |