The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 4, 1918, Page 7

. law, the Torrens system of land titles and an equit- able system of taxation.” And to. make their attitude perfectly.clear the Montana Equity went further and declared, in un- mistakable terms: “We indorse the plan "and purpose of the Nonpartisan league and welcome its comlng to Montana.” All of this happ'ened before Governor Frazier of .North Dakota and President Townley of the League .had arrived at Great Falls. ‘Montana saying to the League leaders: It was the farmers of LEAGUE LEADERS GIVEN i ‘GREAT OVATIONS “We know you, we know what you are working for a.nd we approve and welcome you.” Governor Frazier and .Mr. Townley spoke at a- night session at the largest theater in Great Falls, The theater was crowded to the doors with farmers before the speakers arrived. Governor Stewart oc- cupied the platform and introduced the farmer gov- ernor of North Dakota and papers unfriendly to the League acknowledge that the ovation given by the Montanans to Frazier was one of the most remark- able greetings ever given to a visitor to the state. Governor Frazier’s straightforward, homely talk of the struggles of the farmers of North Dakota and the remedy that they had hit upon was punctuated throughout by applause and eheers and he was given another great ovation when he concluded. Mr. Townley made one of his usual patriotic speeches, told what the farmers of North Dakota had done’ to help- the government in its war pro- gram and commended ‘the record that had been made by the fafmers ‘of Montana. Like Governor Frazier, Mr. Townley -was received with applause and cheers. The Great Falls Daily Leader said of the speech: ¥ “Mr. Townley gave an hour and a half of whirl- wind talk, keeping the audience in an uproar of ap- plause.” After telling of the work that labor and the farm- ers have done to help their government Mr. Town- ley said: “Patriotism to me means sacrifice. My picture of.a patriot is a picture of a soldier at Valley Forge, his feet bleeding in the snow, for labor and democ- * _racy. My picture of a patriot is not the picture of men who. make billions today where they only made millions before the war. I do not know how men can be patriotic and at the same time, by autocratic control of industry, rob a people blind.” Rail Heads Accused of “Sabotage” Tralnmen s Representatives Charge That Transportation Magnates Are Attempting /(‘;3.\ Washmgtc;n Bureau Nonpartisan Leader \ AUGUST 1916, the heads of the four brother: oods of railway train operatives served notice on the gavernment that if there was no way by which the eight-hour day could be estab- }lshed for them by law, they would establish it for themselves by strike. When congress saw that four hundred thousand men stood ready to make good this promise, the eight-hour law was passed. Since that time the country has had a peculiar " faith in the statements of the heads of these four labor organizations. That is why, when W. G. Lee, president of the ° Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, accused some of the “higher-ups” in the railroad and financial world with committing sabotage on the-government in the operation of the roads during the war, there " was instant alarm in the camp of the railroad mag- nates. They have challenged Lee to bring proof, and he promises to bring.abundance of it. He is going to submit sworn testimony from men in the train service that will show where and when and how the deliberate slowing-up of the trains has taken place. Lee’s testimony was given to the railroad wage commission in Washington last month. He came before the commission to ask for an increase in the wages for the-128,000 men in his union who are employed on rajlroads within the United: States. ‘OBJECT TO PRESENCE OF RAILROAD LAWYERS When he arrived, with A. B. Garretson; president of the Order of Railway Conductors, they found a group of railroad lawyers and representatives of - railroad managements seated in the room. The heads of the two brotherhoods at once. objected. They told Chairman Lane that they had been told, on the outside, that the same old crowd of repre- ~sentatives of the companies, whom. they had met in arbitration proceedings for .many years past and Dlrector General MeAdoo and hll rallroad advlsory board. whose operatlon of the roads for the government has cauled the. raiiroads to practice “sabotage.” Left to right, seated, are A. H. Smith, _assistant in charge of- transportation .on ; . Eastern-lines; John Skelton WIlllams, controller of the currency; Henry Wal- ters, president ‘A. C. L.} Dlreetor General Willlam G. McAdoo. Hale Holden;* presldent ‘C. B. & Q.; Edward chambera, formerly in- the: food, administration; Walker D. Hines, rallroad attorney; Judge John B Payne, Iegali b ldvller of the board; Olcar E.’Pr‘lce, noretary to the' dlrector genernl. 3 " tion to the ‘eral that the publicity who were their historic enemies on every issue of shorter hours or better conditions, would be brought in to heckle them and dispute all their statements. Chairman Lane said that the railroad officials were government employes now, and the govern- ment would ask them for facts, just as it would ask other government employes for facts. Mr. Lee called atten- statement made by the director gen- departments and other outside expenses of the railroads had been cut off. Yet, he said, he found the railroads sending out publicity to the public to the effect that the over- time expense, under the first month of enforce- ment of the Adamson eight-hour law, was .al- most double the overtime expense in the last month before that law took ef- fect. - “Figures. won’t lie, but liars will figure, and we are suspicious ofit,” Lee said. “Every practical railroad 'man in - this country knows that these gentlemen—at least some of them—have ‘laid down’ on the government, and they do not want public o'peration of the roads made a sticcess by the government, 'and there are reasons for it. That is why we are suspicious of this whole thing. “I am frank to say to you I am conceited enough ‘to think'I can pick out a few switchmen, engineers and conductors that could have handled some of these - divisions better - than they were handled in this so-called congest- ed’ territory, but they were not permitted to do so0. MEN ANXIOUS TO HELP GOVERNMENT ‘“I - am = making this statement public, and I can back it up by the sworn statements of ex- . perienced @men. They were not permitted ‘to railroad as .they know railroading. Why? There is a reason. ““If - the makes a success of oper- ating these railroads, do you think the public will let them go. back? No. And that is why. i ““I want to see the rail- roads make ‘a success of fit:, and that ls why I umbia supreme court; of the commission. Standing are govemment : to Discredit Government Control By Sinister Methods pledged the loyalty of my men. That is why the men, many of them who are here and thousands of them over the conntry, are ready to do every- thing they can to make a success of it. But you cannot expect it to be made a success if the roads - = Federal railroad wage commission, before which representatives of the trainmen _ charged that the railroads were intentionally promoting waste and inefficiency in order to discredit the eight-hour law and government control of transporta- ° tion. Left to right, seated, are J." Harry Covington, chief justice District of Col- Franklin K. Lane, secretary of the interior; McChord, of the Interstate Commerce commission; William R. Wilcox, former ‘chairman of the Republican national ‘'committee. W. A. Ryan, secretary of the commlsslon, and F. W. Lehman, general counsel C. C. Standing, left to right, are are handled and absolutely controlled by gentlemen who do not want to make a success, and who have .| all of these things in their own hands.” That was the opening skirmish. Lee had charged ' some of the railroad managements with daring to | hinder the operation of the trains, in time of war and of fuel famine, solely in order to discredit the eight-hour law and to make public operation of the roads unpopular. Later in the day, after Garretson had. shown that | the increased wages of rallway train crews, since | 1912, ‘had covered much less than two-thirds of the increase in the cost of living, Lee resumed his testimony. “I' think. I can prove conclusively,” he' said, in _ answer. to a question, “that the operating officials. - increased their costs unnecessarily. Om a ‘certain division of a rajlroad not far from this city, freight crews have been called to leave a terminal at a _certain time, ‘and the 16-hour iaw overtook them I before they left the terminal. Not in one instance, but many such instances. Paying the entire crew . for-the 16 hours on a side track. Why? To show the ' increased cost and to let the (Goethals) investigat- ing commission find that there is so much over- time, more by far than was necessary; more by far, in our opinion; than ever happened before. “ROTTEN RAILROADING” TO QUEER GOVERNMENT “On another railroad, one ot the largest ln the Bastern territory> (this he afterward identified as the New York Central), a crew is called to leave . Erie; Pa,, and the 16-hour law overtakes them at Ashtabula. Another crew is sent out to relieve that: -crew, and the 16-hour law overtakes them at Wil (Contlnued on page 23) TS R S