The scheduled start of a national railway strike was a few hours away.
To forestall it, the Senate had passed and sent to the House an emergency arbitration bill. Now the time had come for the House to vote.
This would be the first time in U.S. history that Congress found itself forced to legislate compulsory arbitration to avoid a specific strike. The precedent pleased nobody. And although most Congressmen felt they had no choice but to approve the bill, few cared to have their names associated with it. Thus, when a demand was made for a roll-call vote, it was...