The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 28, 1918, Page 8

e AR QTOMETIRIO e Interests Would Exploit Our Soldiers Reactionaries in Congress Show Their Hands in Weeks” Plan for Reconstruction—Railroads, Wires, Ships to Be'Handed Back Washington Bureau, . Nonpartisan Leader. ENATOR WEEKS of Massa- chusetts—the same Weeks who was caught by the federal farm loan board a few months ago attempting to hamstring the farm loan act in the in- terest of the investment bank- ers of New England — has proposed a joint congressional committee on reconstruction. The kind of reconstruction desired by Weeks of Massachusetts is indicated by some of the prob- lems which he proposes, in his resolution introduced in the senate on September 27, shall be dealt with by this joint committee. . For instance— “Utilization of discharged soldiers and sailors in civil employment (after the war).” Get the flavor of that word ‘“utilization”? It means that discharged soldiers and sailors will have ~ to be made use of. They are material—raw ma- terial—for the industrial and cemmercial enter- prises which interest Weeks. Five million Ameri- cans coming back to civil life, to a new and better and more democratic status in civil life? Not a bit. Just five million men who can be used by business. Just as though he had said “Utilization of waterpower,” or “utilization of left-over shells and guns.” We can use ’em. Later on he lists another problem—“Feasibility of erganizing permanent employment agencies.” The United States employment service is per- manently organized. It serves the whole country, but it tries to serve the human beings, the workers looking for jobs, as much or more than it tries to serve the steel companies, the construction con- tractors and the other profit-making employers. Weeks pretends that congress must study the “feasibility” of something already accomplished— and his reason is pretty evident. Next, he wants light on “Requirements for labor after the war, both in agricultural and industrial occupations.” With the Weeks backers in congress and. outside, it is not a problem of the requirements of the work- ers for employment that will maintain them and their families in self-respecting comfort and health. It’s only a question of what the investment-interest wants in the way of a labor supply. He emphasizes this business viewpoint of social preblems by asking about “Distribution of labor.” In other words, Weeks asks congress to determine for the nation, through a bipartisan committee, how the vast armies of soldier-labor and sailor-labor can be put to use, how much of this useful com- modity is really needed G by each business, and how /¢ The reactionaries in congress and throughout the nation are féeliqgf very badly because some of With the central powers well on the down grade, the problems. of the re- turning peace time become the vital .issue. We must prepare for the re- turn of the boys who have made the great sacrifice. We have promised them a better day and we must make good. We must show them that we meant what we said and were not merely. trying to “sell” the war to them. But the special interests are showing that they did not mean what they said when they joined the chorus of solemn promise, and it is the mani- fest duty of the people to force the political flunkies of these interests out of office. As Secretary of War Baker says in his new book, “The Frontiers of Free- dom”: ‘“When those heroes step off the boats and tell us that they have won the fight for democracy in Europe, we must be able in return to tell them that we have kept the faith of democ- racy at home and won battles here for that cause while they were fighting there.” : Which fight will be-won first? business shall proceed to distribute it around. It sounds like that familiar German war-aim—*“Prop- er allotment of raw materials.” America has moved forward in its social thinking a whole generation, during these months of the great war. We have taken over the railroads, and we shall keep them as a government possession. We have taken over the wires, and we shall keep them. We have built great manufacturing plants, great shipyards and a merchant fleet far beyond anything controlled by any other government. These things are now national institutions. The- whole spirit of this time of war, as exemplified in the four Liberty loan campaigns, the Red Cross work, the food administration and fuel administra- tion activities, and the fundamentally democratic changes that have taken place in the industries through the national war labor board—this modern unselfish spirit seems to have béen wholly forgotten by the banker senator from Boston. He wants a report upon “The establishment of a railroad policy after the war, and the relation of the interstate commerce commission to the rail- roads.” Also—“All questions relating to commu- nication by wire.” That is, he wants congress to i QOVERNMENT CONTROL e the mice feeding on give them back to private control. More than that, _he is interested in facts upon “The encouragement of private enterprise in the development of the re- -sources of the public domain.” No public owner- ship or development of these resources in the Weeks program! No government power plants to furnish electric current to operate government railroads, or government coal mines to furnish fuel for government railroads and government smelters and manufacturing plants—not at all! Private en- terprise is to be encouraged, when it grabs the coal and iron and copper and timber and the waterpower. The limit is reached when Weeks proposes that this joint committee shall report upon “Problems relating to shipping, including shipyards, and es- pecially in regard to the sale, continuance of ownership, or leasing of both yards and ships.” The suggestion is plain—that the:shipyards and ships should be sold or leased at once, so that the government shall get no experience in running the most profitable business enterprise in the world. This Weeks resolution provides that the joint committee shall consist of three Republicans and three Democratic: members of the senate, and the same for the house—the party caucuses to select the men. Under the present organization of the house and senate such a joint committee would probably be made up. in about this way, if the resolution were to pass: : Democrats—Senators Martin of Virginia, Sim- mons of North Carolina and Thomas of Colorado; Representatives Kitchin of North Carolina, Ferris of Oklahoma and Sherley of Kentucky. Republicans—Senators Weeks of Massachusetfs, Penrose of Pennsylvania and Fall of New Mexico; Representatives Fordney of Michigan, Kahn of California and Good of Iowa. Ten of those 12 men—possibly 11 of the 12—would be opposed to any progressive program for national reconstruction. They are afraid of public owner- ship. They stand for the old corporation game. Common folks must be. “utilized,” as soon as the khaki is off. The Republican caucus in the senate has named a special committee to urge the passage of the Weeks resclution, establishing this anti-progressive joint con- gressional committee on re- construction. The reactionary Demo- crats will naturally join hands with the others to put this over. them the safety of the nation and the welfate of the people are small ‘things compared with their assumed privilege to profit by any meéans. They are de- termined, as the story on this page shows, to put an end to the mousetrap as soon as the war is over and to bring a few dead mice back to. life.. The first move will be to get as many flunkies of special privilege as:possible in state and ‘national office this fall on:false issues " PAGE EIGHT the big cheese have been caught.. To . .4.\1\ e