The Butler County press. [volume], August 10, 1945, Image 1

About The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
\7*
/*!L V: v~
I THE
The report was highly critical 'of the
government's lack of preparation to
meet postwar domestic problems and
particularly condemned the slow pace
of reconversion.
The committee's warning of whole
sale unemployment ensuing after V-J
Day sounded especially omnious to
labor because of the failure of Con
gress, itself, to take any action on
President Truman's recommendations
for emergency increases in unemploy
ment compensation.
Highlights of the committee report,
made public by Chairman James Mead,
follow:
"Although progress is being made,
reconversion has not proceeded as
swiftly as it should have following the
cessation of hostilities in Europe. Re
tarding factors include delay in plan
ning, delay in announcing and making
cutbacks, lack of both raw and semi
finished materials and tools, insuffi
cient information available for in
dustry to make plans far enough in
advance, and lack of manpower in
some key places.
"There has not been sufficient help
from the government to industries and
business desiring to reconvert.
"The fact that we have escaped se
rious unemployment up to this time
should not mislead us-into the belief
that all is well.
"Should the war in the Pacific end
soon, it will find us largely unprepared
to overcome our domestic problems.
Reconversion will not have progressed
far enough to absorb the manpower
which will suddenly be released. Gov
ernment work programs will not have
been established. Unemployment on a
large scale will ensue. Once this oc
curs, it creates an inertia which is
very difficult to overcome and will se
riously interfere with achieving pros
perity.
"The anticipated schedule of cut
backs in war-production programs to
be put in effect at the end of the war
were announced late and too close to
the end of the war in Europe. They
have been slow in being consummated
with the resultant delay in releasing
facilities and materials.
"We must now utilize and divert
into peacetime channels our productive
capacity that is not needed for our
military production. Our first respon
sibility is the winning of the war as
soon and completely as possible. For
that reason there should be no diver
sion of production capacity of man
power that would conflict with this
program. On the other hand, the war
production and military manpower
needs should be reviewed with the ut
most care from the point of view of the
earliest possible relief of bottlenecks
in the reconversion of industry to
peacetime purposes. There should be
the most careful consideration given
to, and the coordinated efforts of all
war agencies concentrated on, the re
lease now from the armed forces of a
limited number of men whose services
are essential to early reconversion of
industry. Small numbers of men re
leased now for this purpose will make
possible sooner the employment of
much larger numbers of workers who
will be released from war production.
Among the principal industries need
ing workers in this category are lum
bering, transportation, coal mining,
cotton textiles, and, to a limited but
important extent, steel. War produc
tion programs should be cut back as
soon as possible, with more advance
notice to industry than in the past.
"In order to direct workers to the
places where jobs will be available
and to provide the types of workers
needed where industry is short of la
bor, accurate information must be
gathered and made available to work
ers and employers throughout the
country.
CHUCK ROAST
PURELEAFLARD
GROUND BEEF
Vast Unemployment, Business Crash
May Come With Y-Day, Senate Warns
Washington, 1). C.-—Large-scale un
employment creating business paraly
sis will hit America should the war
against Japan end soon and suddenly,
the Senate War Investigating Com
mittee warned the nation in its annual
report.
Critical of Government's Lack of Preparation to Meet
Postwar Domestic Problems
CHICAGO MARKET CO.
Front and High Sts.
A
1
VOL. XLV. No. 18 HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 10,1945
"Surpluses must be declared and
moved more expeditiously and with a
more definitely coordinated policy con
cerning the objectives to be attained
in this disposition.
"Attention must be given to the con
servation of the country's resources to
the accumulation of stock piles of
strategic materials, and to technologi
cal research."
Victory Won by British
Labor Party May Halt
Reactionary Trend Here
Washington, D. C.—The landslide
victory of the Labor Party in the Brit
ish elections will have a profound ef
fect upon the American scene, political
observers in the nation's capital are
convinced.
Enemies of labor, who hoped for a
reactionary field day in this country
after the war, were stopped in then
tracks by the overwhelming repudia
tion by the British people of the Con
servative Party's do-nothing policies.
The demands of the British people for
postwar progress, as evidenced by
their votes, has strong echoes in this
country, AFL President William Green
declared. He said:
"The Labor Party's victory in Great
Britain must be interpreted as the out
come of the insistent desire of British
workers to gain higher living stand
ards and a greater degree of economic
and social security.
"The same aspirations for a better
life after the grim experiences of war
are moving workers in our own coun
try.
"The results of the British elections
should not be viewed as a repudiation
of the brilliant war leadership of Win
ston Churchill, but rather as a popular
rejection of the stand-pat domestic
policies of the Conservative Party."
The British Labor Party is a com
pletely separate and distinct organiza
tion from the Briitish trade union
movement, although it derives most of
its votes from Britain's working mass
es. The Labor Party includes among
its leaders a heavy sprinkling of in
tellectuals, college professors, Social
ists and liberals. The highest rank
ing trade union leader in the new
British government is Ernest Bevin,
who was named Foreign Secretary.
Bevin, a forceful and courageous trade
unionist, is not regarded as a left
winger.
Among the changes expected to be
advanced by the Labor government
are higher wages, better working con
ditions and a far broader social se
curity program for the common people
of Britain.
"hit'
i» X. .»•
If this program is put into effect and
operates successfully, it is believed
here that Congress will be forced by
public opinion in America to enact
many of the progressive measures,
like the Wagner-Murray-Dingell So
cial Security Amendments, which it
has thus far delayed acting upon.
Likewise, reactionary legislative pro
posals, such as the Ball-Burton-Hatch
bill, would be doomed.
Navy Praises Labor
For Aircraft Output
Washington, D. C.—A tribute to
naval airpower, and to labor and in
dustry whose part made that power
possible, is contained in a report by
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Air Artemus L. Gates, who disclosed
that navy contractors turned out 29,
113 aircraft in 1944, a figure which
nearly equals the total previous pro
duction since Pearl Harbor.
Despite some manpower and criti
cal material shortages, Mr. Gates said,
these contractors and their employes
have managed to meet almost all
their schedules "in a manner deserv
ing of the greatest credit."
Don't wait until Peace comes—buy
Union Label goods and use Union ser
vices now!
Phone 5000
FANCY
BEEF £b.
29
15c
27c
.Lb.
..Lb.
nr
3
.?
Jv* -i 4 ^:\~~*yxi' •-!f"-'.-' rf*«wv u ...
few
wfaccmijp
•Coza
(WNU Service)
Washington, D. C.—The national
wage freeze is on the way out!
This good news for American work
ers was obtained exclusively by the
AFL Weekly News Service just be
fore this edition went to press.
It was learned that the public mem
bers of the National War Labor Board
have approved a new wage policy to
be put into effect during the "partial
reconversion" period now under way.
This new policy provides:
1—That voluntary wage rate in
creases arrived at through collective
bargaining will be permitted even
though they extend beyond the limits
of the Little Steel formula whenever
the employer certifies he will not seek
or require corresponding increases in
prices.
2—That the NWLB be given au
thority to order wage rate boosts above
the formula in exceptional cases, even
if higher price ceilings are required,
whenever downgrading, loss of incen
tive pay and reduction of overtime
earnings cause real hardship to work
ers and impair their living standards.
These NWLB recommendations will
be submitted to Economic Stabiliza
tion Director Davis in the next few
days. If he approves them he will ask
President Truman to issue an execu
tive order to put the new policy into
efect.
American Federation of Labor rep
resentatives on the National War La
bor Board declined to comment at
this time on the recommendations of
the public members. It was learned,
however, that they regard the recom
mendations as an important step for
ward, although not entirely fulfilling
labor's demands for relief from the
wage freeze.
Apparently, the- public members of
the NWLB are not suggesting com
plete abandonment of the Little Steel
formula but partial relaxations from
its rigid limits to meet new conditions
facing labor and industry during the
reconversion period.
Until now the board has refused to
allow voluntary increases in wage
rates above the Little Steel formula
regardless of whether such adjust
ments could be made without increas
ing the price of the employer's prod
uct. The board applied these limita
tions on the theory that such pay in
creases might indirectly cause infla
tion by allowing competitive bidding
for labor at a time of manpower
shortages and by expanding consumer
purchasing power when consumer
goods were scarce.
But during reconversion, increases
in labor supply and in production of
consumer goods will take place. So
the former arguments for keeping a
tight lid on voluntary wage increases
uow lose their validity. Furthermore,
increases in wage rates would not in
tpubo 4iwiwfr ftf vyocjkscs but
Cards From Vacationers
Wage Freeze on Way Out
NWLB to Change Its Rules
Voluntary Pay Boosts Okay If No Price Increase
Results, Board Says
would compensate them for losses in
take-home pay that have occurred
since V-E Day.
The public members of the NWLB
feel that the widest possible resump
tion of free collective bargaining
would be a healthy thing for the na
tion right now. First, it will halt the
tendency to look to the government for
decisions which, under the free enter
prise system, should be made by the
parties directly concerned. Secondly,
it is high time now to prepare for the
steps which must be taken by labor and
management to re-establish an ex
panding civilian economy adequate to
meet the nation's postwar needs.
i
i
$
i-'
z" 1.*^'
1
mmi
TmfCsm#
In dealing with exceptional hard
ship cases, the public members of the
NWLB are asking the President to
give them a free hand, instead of tying
the board down with hard-and-fast
regulations. They also seek more
flexible authority in administering the
"bracket" system of wage classifica
tions, on the ground that differing sit
uations in different plants and indus
tries cannot be precisely anticipated
or defined in advance.
Two casual golf acquaintances were
walking toward the green when they
sighted two women coming over a hill.
"I say," remarked one of the men,
"here comes my wife with some old
hag she's picked up somewhere."
"And here comes mine with an
other," retorted the other, icily.
Vacation Time
OUR STORE
WILL BE CLOSED
For One Week
STARTING MONDAY, AUGUST 13th
OPEN MONDAY, AUGUST 20th
THIRD COURT
A Goad Place To Inve»i Yeur Money
IA A A A A A A A A A A A A A a4A A A A. A,
-l "." '$ ft
PRESS
ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
AFL Executive Council
Meets in Chicago Aug. 6
Chicago.—The AFL Executive Cotm
cil will draft a special report to the
seven million members of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor at its quar
terly meeting which opens here Aug.
6th.
The report will deal with all the
great national and international prob
lems affecting the nation's workers,
emphasizing the measures necessary
to attain full employment after vic
tory over Japan.
Because of the fact that there will
be no annual AFL convention this
year, due to wartime travel restric
tions, the Executive Council will ad
dress its report directly to the mem
bership and seek to obtain the widest
possible circulation of it.
The AFL leaders believe that the
record of labor's accomplishments dur
ing the past year and its plans for
the future will serve as a unifying
force and help to mobilize strong
grass-roots support for the federation's
postwar program.
As usual, the Executive Council will
formulate policies and issue declara
tions at its meeting here on such out
standing issues as the urgent need for
higher wage rates, social security leg
islation, more adequate unemployment
compensation, speedier reconversion
and the prompt removal of government
controls over labor and business when
victory comes.
AFL Hero, Now Dead,
Awarded Highest Honor
Washington, D. C.—Private First
Class Carl V. Sheridan of Baltimore,
member of Retail Clerks International
Protective Association, Local No.
1315-A (AFL), lies in a hero's grave
in Europe. The Medal of Honor, the
nation's highest award, has been pre
sented to his father, Charles E. Sher
idan, in recognition of his son's final
fearless act in blasting an opening
into an ancient castle which was
strongly defended by German para
troopers.
The 20-year-old infantryman en
listed in the army on May 1, 1943,
and as a member of the 47th Infantry
Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, took
part in the St. Lo breakthrough and
the fighting through the Argentan
sector. He shared in the combat of
his division through Belgium and
fought in western Germany from Sep
tember 14 until his death.
The Union Label emphasises the
quality of an article—"Accentuate"
the Union Label and "eliminate" un
fair merchandise!
i
•. •cVjj**'*-
'A
'•-i
i
**4
'4
i
V
^9
•-J-A