Evening star. [volume], November 02, 1945, Page A-11, Image 11

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
The Great Game of Politics
Unions Pictured as Wanting No Change
Even if Legislation Is Not Anti-Labor
By Frank R. Kent.
On the eve of the labor-manage
ment conference the attitude of
labor as reflected by Its Journalistic
and political spokesmen Is not en
couraging to
mose wno nope
the gap between
the two sides
will be narrowed
at this meeting
and the con
eededly bad ln
d u s t r 1 al-labor
situation In the
country Im
proved.
Nor has the
President's
speech bright
ened the pros
nect. Much he
said was fair Fr*nk K. K«nt.
and true, though trite. But he
failed to touch the realities or pro
pose a program. While present laws
and boards do not protect the public
interests, he offered no new sugges
tion that would.
His were fair words but. In
essence, not different from those of
his predecessor, whose CIO link was
very tight, indeed. Mr. Truman's
utterance had a surface impartiality
but, nevertheless, was weighted on
the labor side.
What the labor bosses want is
clear enough. It can be summed up
in two words—no change. They
want concessions from industry but
they want no new legislation and
no new governmental machinery,
They are, they think—and with rea
son—doing very well under the ex
isting setup. One of the far-left
labor publications a few days ago
declared the main reliance of labor
at the conference would be on
strengthening collective bargaining
and that any agreement to amend
present statutes or repeal even so
silly a one as the Smith-Connally
law would be opposed. Also, any
effort to limit strikes before, during
or after "negotiations" will be re
garded as wfcked.
Hopes .for Labor Peace.
That is the labor position as made
plain in various ways—notably, by
the violent labor denunciation of
the House effort to impose some de
gree of responsibility on the unions
to keep a no-strlke contract after
they have made It.
There came from Mr. Truman no
hint of leadership along this line,
Nor along any other sound line.
Instead, he took the unsound labor
line that wages can and must be
raised, but that prices, except in rare
instances, cannot and must not be
raised, He suggested no alternative
in the ineffectual existing laws. He
expressed hope, though he had no
plan, that Industrial-labor peace can
be achieved. His notion that thii
can be done by both sides sitting
ground the conference table and
everybody being nice is naive.
It does not allow for one or both
sides being unreasonable and irre
concilable. If Mr. Truman haj
nothing more than that to offer
then, in effect, he acquiesces in the
labor wish for—no change—unless
the changes should be the flim-flam
ones proposed in the McMahon bill
which the labor politicians want the
conference to Indorse. Possibly, it
will, but if it does that will mean
no change, too.
Richberç's Viewpoint.
Perhaps, it was too much to ex
pect of a politician but how refresh
ing it would have been had the
President made on Tuesday the
speech Donald Richberg made Wed
η ptH a ν
Mr. Richberg was the deputy di
rector of the old NRA in the early
New Deal days. He is a lawyer, not
nn industrialist, and he is not a can
didate for anything. His record is
one of friendliness to labor and ir
his Chicago speech he made it cleai
he does not favor compulsory arbi
tration; that he does favor collective
bargaining; that he believes in the
right to strike. What he does favor
though, is establishment by law ol
a rule of reason in labor disputes
whereby both sides are required tc
listen to reason before they beglr
to fight.
Mr. Richberg wants the Govern
ment to provide a machinery oi
mediation, voluntary arbitrator
end public fact Adding as an aid
in adjusting controversies that af
fect the public interest.
"Any proposed law." he said, "that
does not prohibit strikes, lockout:
or any one-sided action during the
period of required negotiation anc
mediation will be a sham and a
delusion. Every time you hear of s
so-called voluntary peace program
in which no legal duty is imposed
on labor or employers to refrain
from fighting until all reasonable
efforts at peaceful settlement have
been exhausted, you are entitled tc
laugh out loud or to boo."
Distinguishes in Strikes.
This Richberg statement is indis
putably true but it is one few men
In politics have the courage to stand
behind. True, also, is the distinc
tion he draws between political
strikes and economic strikes.
The political strike, Mr. Richberg
said, has been used to destroy gov
ernments in other nations. Several
times in recent months it has slap
ped its ugly threat across our faces
It has nothing to do with wages
It is called to gain some special
advantage and control wholly un
connected with wages.
He gave the recent telephone
strike and the recent coal strike a?
examples. A political strike is a
revolutionary act, an attempt to
control government by force and
should be prohibited by law. That
can and should be done. Also, he
believes that in strikes which a
fact-finding board finds impose
severe hardships on a community
by the stoppage of an essential
service, such as a public utility, or
of a vital necessity, such as food 1
and fuel, compulsory arbitration i
should be provided arter all other
means have failed.
Mr. Richberg said these things 1
and a lot more, most of which are '
to be found in the Hatch-Burton- '
Ball bill, with which he had a good
deal to do, and which many think ι
the soundest, fairest, most construc
tive piece of labor legislation intro
duced in Congress in a long time.
Yet, it has slight chance of passage. '
The labor lobbies are intensely hos- :
tile and it has no administration I
support. It Isn't antllabor but that 1
makes no difference. Labor is ι
against it just the same. Labor 1
wants—no change. ]
Answers to
Questions
A reader can get the answer to an?
question of fact by writing The Wash
ington Star Information Bureau. 31 β
I street N E . Washington 2. D. C.
Please Inclose 3 cents for return
pcstage.
By THE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Is It possible ior an alien to be
come a commissioned officer in the
United States Army?—R. G. N.
I A. The War Department says
i there are no statutory limitations
on the rank that aliens can reach in
the Army. A friendly or a neutral
1 alien may become an officer in the
, wartime army. However, one of the
requirements for holding a commis
sion in the Regular Army is United
I States citizenship.
[ Q. Has the Navy Department an-!
nounced the number of battles in
which the U. S. S. Idaho participated I
in 1944?—Μ. Κ. , i|
A. The U. S. S. Idaho participated
in the operations in the Aleutian;!
Islands and in the capture of the^
Gilbert and Marshall Islands. This
ship also participated in the inva
sion of Iwo Jlma in February, 1945.
Q. What is thp significance of the
square patch with a laurel wreath ;|
worn by soldiers on the right sleeve j
of the uniform?—D. L.
A. The square patch with a laurel
wreath is the Meritorious Service;
Unit Insignia. This is worn by j
members in a unit that receives the j
Meritorious Service Unit plaque,;
awarded to outstanding Army or-;
ganizations.
I Q. What would be the pay and !
allowance of an unmarried veteran:
who decides to take the course of
I training offered by the Navy at Its!
shore establishment?—C. G. E. j
A. An unmarried veteran applying j
; under the GI bill for training in a
shipyard as apprentice, 4th class,
would receive $4.64 a day, the normal
pay rate, plus an additional $50 !
monthly from the Veterans' Admin
istration. This daily rate of pay
would Increase as he progressed
; through the ranks.
Q. My son who Is pharmacist 1/c
j in the Navy has a wife and son living
temporarily in San Diego, California.,
1 Will he and his family be entitled ;
! to transportation to their home at ;
Government expense after his dis
ί charge?—M. C. L.
A. An honorable discharge of an
! enlisted man in your son's pay- i
'grade in the Naval Reserve, in
cluding Fleet Reserve and inductee,
entitles him to transportation of de
: pendents to the place which was his
I home at the time he was ordered
I to achieve duty or to some other |
I point of equal or less distance.
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McLemore—
Telli Railroadmen
How to Run Traini
»
By Henry McLemore
You know, If a man answered all
he questionnaires sent to him by
ndustrial concerns he wouldn't have
.ime to visit the poolroom more
; h a η two or
.nree limes a *
veek, and, as a
■esult, his earri
ngs would fall
>ff and his wife ,
vould have to I
ake In more
vashlng.
Scarcely a
nail fails to
>rlng a ques
ionnalre from
ι concern asking
h e poten 11 a 1
rnyer what he
vanta ma raaio, — '■«
! t Λ V · Hanr* Mul tmnr*
.ir-conditioning unit, chicken brood
r, electric iron or airplane to look
ike, and what refinements he ex
acts. Last week there was a Kelly
>ool sucker in town—dirty rich, too
-and the boys took him over, but
: didn't get a shot at htm. I couldn't
;et down to the corner because I
vas too busy at home answering a
>atch of questions from General
ilotors.
Today, it is the railroads. They
vant me, along with thousands of
ither travelers, to suggest improve
nents for the trains of tomorrow.
Veil, my first suggestion is stolen
directly irom in Article written by
Robert Benchley years ago. As
I remember the «tory, Mr, Benchley
said he was weary unto death of
rldlhg on trains driven by engineers
who were making their first trip
behind the throttle. He aaw It a·
a conspiracy; just as soon as he
bought a ticket on a certain train,
the experienced engineer was taken
off and a completely green recruit
substituted. As a result, each stop
and start was like a $3 visit to a
chiropractor.
Let us have engineers who can
start and stop a train without sub
jecting our bones and muscles and
sinews and tissues to the acid test.
Upper Berth Drinking.
There should be drinking water in
upper berths, even If plain, old
fashioned garden hoses are attached
to the water cooler and run like
snakes down the aisles. People in
upjj-t L MVi i»**0 |Vb fciiuoij UUIUIB bilC
night Juit as much as people In
compartments and drawing rooms.
But try to name me a man who ever
got out of an upper berth and
walked down to the water cooler?
Consider what a man would have
to do to accomplish this unheard-of
feat! He would have to dress in his
upper berth to begin with, and that
is a trick so difficult that it has
never been added to the Olympic
Oames. Then he would either have
to ring for the porter to bring a
ladder or, Tarean-Uke, he would
have to swing from the upper
branches of his rookery. Either step
would be insanity.
After 2 a.m., which is the time a
man gets thirsty, porters don't hear.
They are curled up on a pile of half
shined shoes, with wooden plugs in
their ears, and with paper stuffed
in the call bell. Any male more
than 13 years of age who trie· to
swing unaided from an upper berth,
is courting disaster, If he lands In
the aisle he run» the risk of break
ing an ankle. If he misses, he lands
on the gentleman sleeping In the
lower berth, and It has been my
experience that only large, thick*
necked, bull-muscled men get the
lower berths.
The upper berths go to the likes
of us who wear tortoise-rim glasses,
read the Saturday Review of
Literature and lead with our right
hands.
A Slap on the Head.
Another suggestion for the rail
roads: Stop conductors from stick
ing bits of colored pasteboard in
the hatbands of male passengers.
Lots of us don't look good with
bright, gay bits of paper in our hats.
Lots of us don't wear hats, but that
doesnt stop conductors. I have had
conductors moisten the ticket stub
as thay would a stamp and slap it
on mv forehead
Limit trains to a respectable length.
Many of us are tired of getting oS
a train and finding ourselves veil
outside the city which is our desti
nation. Way out here, midst switch
engines, four-way tracks and freight
cars, no red cap ever penetrates. He
would be a sucker to. For the same
price, he has all but to hire a cab to
reach the station proper.
Quit puting up those signs at the
end of each car explaining how safe
railroad travel is. Either quit it, or
quit selling accident Insurance at
the ticket windows. It makes a man
question his business Judgement to
buy a $25,000 accident policy for 10
cents, and then be greeted by a sign
which says he hasn't a chance in the
world of being injured.
One more thing: Whatever hap
pened to those glaw pistols'filled
with candy that the butchers used
to HUT And thoee UUa red lanterns
filled with candy. Shucks, buying
one of them was half the fun of a
train trip.
(DlnrlbutM br McNtutbt amdleiM, Xne.)
Proton's Weight Compared
The proton, a unit in the nucleus
of all atoms, Is Ι,βΟυ times larger
than an electron.
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