being notified of this meeting, but I am treasurer of that organization. Its headquarters are St. Louis, Mo., 704 Victoria Building. (The paper referred to is printed in full as follows.)

NEW ENGLAND SHOE & LEATHER ASSOCIATION,

Boston, Mass., December 30, 1916.

To whom it may concern: This will certify that Mr. Frank W. Whitcher, of Boston, has been duly appointed by President Harry I. Thayer as the official representative of the New England Shoe & Leather Association to attend the forthcoming congressional hearing in Washington, D. C., on the subject of the Newlands bill, and that Mr. Whitcher has full authority to present the views of the association thereon.

Very truly,

Attest: [SEAL.]

THOS. F. ANDERSON, Secretary.

This question of transportation and the possible blocking of transportation is one which is of such grave importance and which is causing so much consternation throughout New England that on the 22d of November our Massachusetts State Board of Trade held a meeting to consider this problem. Realizing the gravity of the situation, we decided to call a mass meeting of the business interests of our State, and that meeting was held at Springfield, Mass., on the 28th of December. I have with me a program of the meeting, giving the names of the speakers. The governor of the State, Hon. Frank W. McCall, presided, and there were men representing the manufacturing interests, transportation, railroads, and labor all present. The meeting was called for hearing from all sides, not to favor the railroads, not antagonistic to labor, but to ascertain the facts and to act for the good of the people of our Commonwealth.

I will pass this program to the stenographer.

Senator CUMMINS. Is it intended that all these things are to be published in full? I object to that.

Senator POMERENE. What benefit is that going to be to the committee?

Mr. WHITCHER. Simply to show the intense interst in the minds of the people of Massachusetts.

Senator POMERENE. So far as I am concerned it may be assumed there is an intense interest on both sides of the proposition.

Senator TOWNSEND. These are all one and the same thing? Mr. WHITCHER. Yes, sir; there is just the one program. The result of that meeting was that resolutions were passed by the resolutions committee, and in the preamble it was stated that the proposed railway strikes or lockouts should be subject to investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission. As a part of the resolutions, it was resolved that the Congress should enact such legislation as would prevent the stoppage of the business of the country through the machinery of strikes by railroad labor organizations or lockouts by the railways, and that such legislation should give to the Interstate Commerce Commission complete authority to conduct investigations into all contentions between the railway employees and their employers before a strike or lockout shall be ordered by the railway or labor-union organizations or their representatives.

I will pass a copy of these resolutions to the reporter, and wish especially to call attention to the resolution at the bottom of page 4. These are the resolutions in full.

(The resolutions referred to, here printed in full, follow.)

MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARDS OF TRADE.

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS FAVORING FEDERAL REGULATION OF RAILWAY RATES, INTERSTATE AND INTRASTATE FEDERAL CONTROL OF RAILWAY SECURITIES ISSUESPROPOSED RAILWAY STRIKES OR LOCKOUTS SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO INVESTIGATION BY THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION-THE NEW HAVEN SHOULD RETAIN CONTROL OF ITS BOAT LINES-FAVOR INCREASE IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP TO NINE.

The Massachusetts State Boards of Trade, comprising 53 commercial bodies representing a membership of 15,000 substantial business men, in convention assembled at Springfield, December 28, 1916, preamble the Congress and the President of the United States as follows:

Within the past few years the banking laws of the country have been thoroughly remodeled and a central agency established whereby the merchandizing of credit has been put upon a sound economic basis and the incongruities of the past done away with.

Not so with the railways. They are subject to 49 masters-the Federal Government and 48 individual State governments. Despite the fact that the railway business has grown essentially national in scope, railway regulation has remained local in character. It is true that the Government, through the Interstate Commerce Commission, controls the railways in so far as interstate traffic is concerned, and that State regulative commissions assume control merely of intrastate business. But the distinction between the two-interstate and intrastate has become more artificial than real and serious conflicts have become more and more frequent.

Probably the most serious charge to be made against the dual system of regulation, as employed in the United States, is its inefficiency. It is unnecessarily costly, both to the Government and the railways, and consequently to the people. Conflicting regulations and laws are passed by various States through which the railways run, and it is often difficult and sometinmes impossible for a railway to obey the law of one State without conflicting with the regulations of another. A prodigious waste of energy has resulted and a corresponding loss of power to serve the public.

The railways and the public suffer from present conditions. Railway development has come to a standstill, practically. The future of the country, and particularly during the next few years, demands a more enlightened policy. In the interest of New England as well as in the interest of the whole country we offer the following: Resolved by the Massachusetts State Board of Trade in convention assembled in the city of Springfield, December 28, 1916, That the act to regulate commerce shall be so amended as to confer upon the Interstate Commerce Commission final authority over all rates and regulations which affect interstate commerce, whether such rates apply to interstate or intrastate shipments, and that in the event of conflict of jurisdiction between the Interstate Commerce Commission and the railway commissions of the several States that the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be final and conclusive. Resolved, That in order to attract the necessary capital and to provide for the development of transportation facilities to meet the rapidly growing commercial needs of the country, and to develop its resources. Congress should enact such legislation as will restore the confidence of the investing public and guarantee the transportation service required to meet the needs of the public and that this confidence can only be secured by giving to the Interstate Commerce Commission final and conclusive authority in the matter of issuance of all railway securities.

Resolved, That Congress should enact such legislation as shall prevent a stoppage of the business of the country through the machinery of strikes by railway labor organizations or lockouts by the railways and that such legislation should give to the Interstate Commerce Commission complete authority to conduct investigations into all contentions between the railway employees and their employers before a strike or lockout shall be ordered by the railway or labor union organizations or their representatives.

Resolved, That we favor an increase in the membership of the Interstate Commerce Commission from seven to nine members as provided for in the bill which has passed the House of Representatives and is now before the United States Senate for final passage.

The Interstate Commerce Commission in a report just submitted to Congress says: "The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad system is made up of various formerly independent lines of rail and water carriers. By purchases and consolidations the New Haven company has become the owner of various water lines, operated

mainly between New England points and New York Harbor, which compete directly with its rail lines between the same points. There is no question as to the competition, but the record is replete with evidence from shippers and representatives of communities in New England to the effect that the service is in the interest of the public, is of advantage to the convenience and commerce of the people, and if the present ownership and operation is discontinued there will be no reasonably adequate service to take its place and the communities will be deprived of the benefits of the water transportation and the competing routes, thus inflicting upon them irreparable injury and benefiting no one.

"We think that these facts should be brought to the attention of the Congress, so that in the light of those facts it may determine whether or not authority shall be conferred upon the commission to permit, in such cases and under such circumstances, a continuance of the railroad ownership, control, or operation of the water lines, subject to such further and different orders as the commission may subsequently enter upon a further hearing and a showing of substantially changed circumstances and conditions."

There is no need to add to the statement of the Interstate Commerce Commission which discloses that the sentiment of the New England public is in favor of giving to the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to continue the present situation of railroad control both of the land lines and the Lake lines as well: Therefore be it Resolved, That the Massachusetts State Board of Trade urge the Congress to pass the following amendment to the fourth paragraph of section 5, as amended August 24, 1912, of the act to regulate commerce, as follows:

"If the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be of the opinion that any such existing specified service by water other than through the Panama Canal is being operated in the interest of the public and is of advantage to the convenience and commerce of the people, or that such extension will neither exclude, prevent, nor reduce competition in the route by water under consideration, the Interstate Commerce Commission may, by order, extend the time during which such service by water may continue to be operated beyond July 1, 1914."

Resolved, That a copy of this preamble and these resolutions be forwarded to each member of the House of Representatives, and the United States Senate and to the President of the United States.

JOHN H. CORCORAN,

Chairman, Representing New England Dry Goods Association. Other members of committee on resolutions as follows: William Henry Gleason, Winchester, Mass., representing associated industries; Joseph Wing, Brookline, Mass., representing National Wool Manufacturers' Association; George F. Willet, Norwood, Mass., representing Norwood Board of Trade; Hon. Frank E. Stacy, Springfield, Mass., representing Springfield Board of Trade; F. Alexander Chandler, Boston, Mass., representing New England Hardware Dealers' Association; George L. Avery, Framingham, Mass., representing Framingham Board of Trade.

Senator BRANDEGEE. You say passed by the committee. Were they adopted by the conference?

Mr. WHITCHER. The report of the committee was received and the resolutions were adopted by the mass meeting of the business men of the State.

Now, the question arises, is it possible that the wheels of transportation can be stopped, and speaking for New England, where we are obliged to have imported from other parts of the country or brought in from other parts of the country 75 per cent of our food products and 75 per cent of our raw materials, as is stated, I think, in the last census, 1914, any stoppage of the wheels of transportation for a single day would work a great hardship both for want of food and for materials to run our factories. The milk supply is practically but one day; the community depends upon the daily running of the trains to bring the milk supplies into the city. The perishable foods we have a supply of for about a week. Those are the nearest I can ascertain to facts relating to our section, and our supply of nonperishable food would last in the vicinity of three to four weeks.

It was stated by the mayor of our city only a short time ago, if I recollect rightly, that the meat supply would only last three days he found after examination.

Senator BRANDEGEE. Did you get any statistics about the coal supply?

Mr. WHITCHER. I have information direct from the railroads upon that, sir. The anthracite coal supply was so short upon the Boston & Maine Railroad that an embargo was threatened, and I, as president of our Massachusetts State board, with the secretary and with one of the coal dealers from Waltham, called upon the president, Mr. Hustis, the acting receiver, perhaps you might say, of the Boston & Maine road; he was out, but we saw their traffic manager and told him that any embargo upon coal would create suffering and want if it was only carried out for a couple of days, as we had investigated the situation with the coal dealers and they told us that they were obliged to deliver small amounts, even down to 500 pounds of coal, to sprinkle it around amongst the people in order that they could be kept warm. That was early in DecemberI think I am correct about the date when we called upon the railroad officials and got the embargo removed. The soft coal was in fair supply, but the anthracite was in such short supply that there would have been suffering if that embargo had continued.

Senator POMERENE. Due to what cause?

Mr. WHITCHER. Because of lack of transportation. There were cars at I forget the junction point-but they could not transport it. Senator POMERENE. Why not?

Mr. WHITCHER. Because they did not have means sufficient to transport it.

Senator POMERENE. Do you mean motive power? Do you mean they did not have sufficient motive power?

Mr. WHITCHER. No, there was so much congestion at the junction and at certain points of the road that they could not transport it all, and that was held up because of the congestion. But it only shows what would occur if the wheels of transportation were stopped. If we were unable to obtain food supplies you gentlemen all know what suffering there would be in a community like New England, where all these supplies, or a large portion of them, have to be brought into the section.

The CHAIRMAN. What proportion of the food supply do you say comes from without?

Mr. WHITCHER. Seventy-five per cent.

The CHAIRMAN. And what proportion of the materials?

Mr. WHITCHER. Practically the same proportion. Our coal, of course, has to be brought in, our hides have to be brought in, our leather has to be brought in. Take the shoe factories, with which I am closely allied, they run so close to their supplies that even a day's delay in delivery of the materials which we supply to the shoe industry causes a shut down of the department where those goods are used. If the materials could not reach the mills to be used in time and it shut down those mills it would throw thousands and thousands of employees out of work. It would not only be so in the shoe industry, but it would also be true in other industries. The action of any body of men which would stop the wheels of transportation would act right against their own people detrimentally by throwing those people

out of work, and many, many times more than the body of people who would act to stop the wheels of transportation.

The industries of New England are, of necessity, obliged to run close to their supplies. Many of them depend upon the daily flow of transportation to their mills to receive the goods, and also, of course, to get them out and ship them over the country, and the injury which any stopping of the wheels of transportation by a small body would be multiplied and multiplied to a very large number of times that body which stopped the wheels of transportation. It injures their own people.

Gentlemen, we all know that the railroads started in a small way; they ran through a locality, a town started, and then they went on just like the branches of trees, a leaf comes out, so a town comes out and the whole country developed, and those towns and communities depend upon the whole of the transportation over the entire country just as the leaves of the trees depend upon the whole of the sap that flows through the branches of the trees to keep them alive, and the stopping of the sap or the stopping of the transportation makes the leaves wither and will make the towns suffer and the people in those towns suffer.

I can not urge upon you too strongly, gentlemen, the need of enacting laws which will absolutely prevent the stopping of the wheels of transportation. There are no bodies in the country who would be more fair to labor and do all that could be done for labor, but it seems to me, gentlemen, that this is a matter which goes beyond their own petty service. They should be broad enough to realize that the public health can not be made to suffer, that our whole fabric in this country is built upon these railroads, and that the whole transportation is absolutely necessary for the preservation of life. That is a different thing from a private enterprise where the public does not enter into it. It seems to me, gentlemen, that there should be some way by which men who go into that employ could sign up and make a contract, that, realizing the full situation, they enter into the contract beforehand, and that there should be no act on their part which would prevent the flow of transportation.

I am afraid I am taking more time, perhaps, than I should, but the seriousness of the situation, not only for New England but for a great many other parts of the country, is so great that such a condition should not be permitted as to have these wheels stopped and this flow of food, particularly for the infants, and this material for the mills, which would result in throwing out of employment their own people, thousands and thousands and thousands of them, more than can be thrown out or affected by those working upon the railroads. Such a condition should not be permitted, gentlemen, and I believe I am voicing your own feelings in this matter when I state that some law should be found which would absolutely keep the railroads running, and therefore I am here to favor the amendment offered by President Wilson, which will give the opportunity of investigation before it is possible for any strike to be called.

I do not know as I have anything further to say, gentlemen, excepting that I desire you to realize the feeling which we have in New England of the gravity of this situation and the great harm which would come, not only on account of health but to the workers them