Evening star. [volume], May 21, 1948, Page A-9, Image 9

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Coal Strike Declared
'Almost Certain' to
Begin on July 5
Injunction Won't Bring
Miners Back Without
Contract, Says Writer
By David Lawrence
It’s almost certain there will be
a coal strike beginning July 5 next.
Whether It can be ended by a
Federal Injunction seems doubtful,
for the circumstances will be some
what different from any that have
occurred before.
Back of the decision of John L.
Lewis to refuse to bargain with the
coal operators because they will not
let him veto the list of personnel
representing the employers in the
negotiations is a deeper and more
fundamental piece of strategy. He
objects particularly to any repre
sentative from the Southern Coal
Operators Association. This hap
pens to be the largest single group
of local operators in the National
Conference.
The total tonnage mined by the
southern group is about twice that
of any other single group. As a
matter of fact, they would like to
bargain as a separate group, anyway,
as they prefer differentials in wage
rates and different clauses in their
contracts, but inasmuch as Mr.
Lewis negotiated separately with
the northern group last year and
then compelled the southern group
to accept the same terms, the
southern companies decided they
nad better have a voice in the orig
inal negotiation.
Voice in Negotiations.
It Is technically true that last
year the southern group was not a
party to the original contract and
that they made a settlement along
the same lines separately. It is also
true that in certain of the previous
years the southern group Joined
with the northern group in making
the Initial contract. There is no
rule of law permitting * the bar
gaining agents to be permanently
determined through an agreement
between certain employer groups
and the union. Each year piesents
different questions. A contract can
be signed between unions and em
ployers agreeing to exclude others
from participating, but under the
Taft-Hartley Law sucii a contract
cannot supersede the collective bar
gaining responsibilities and obli
gations of a union. No private con
tract can supersede the law of the
land.
Whenever the operators wish to
bargain as a group they alone have
the right to say who shall sit in on
the negotiations.
When Mr. Lewis named three
men who, he says, have it within
their power to prevent a coal strike,
he is merely trying to get those same
.three men to take the responsibility
for an initial contract which could
be forced on the other operators
without giving the latter a voice in
the negotiations. But the three men
—Messrs. Fairless of U. S. Steel,
Humphrey of Consolidation Coal
Co. and Francis of Island Creek
Coal—are not likely to break away
from their own employer group and
negotiate a separate contract no
matter how Mr. Lewis may urge
such a course of disunity.
If any of the coal operators said
they would like to negotiate a sep
arate contract with miners in cer
tain States and negotiate with
another group of coal unions in
other regions and ignore the top
miners’ union, the speed with w'hich
the miners’ union counsel would run
to the Natonal LRbor Relations
Board to get an injunction would
be record-breaking. Although the
union bosses prate loudly on the
subject of injunctions, they never
seem to mention that the Labor
Board has been issuing injunctions
against employers under the Wagner
Act ever since 1935.
Notice on ( ontract men.
There is reason to believe that
Mr. Lewis really isn't interested in
early negotiations with the opera
tors and that he never would have
begun negotiations at all had it not
been for the notice given by the coal
operators of the termination of their
present contract. The rumor is
that Mr. Lewis never intended to
give notice of termination as re
quired under the Taft-Hartley law,
but tvas forced into it because the
operators did so, as they were ad
vised by counsel that both parties
had to give at least 60 days’ notice
when a contract was approaching
its end.
The present contract in the coal
mines ends June 30, but from June
26 to July 5, the present contract
provides for a “vacation" during
which time the miners get $100 each.
Since there are 400.000 miners, the
vacation money amounts to $40.
000.000 which the companies really
contribute toward financing the
miners on their “holiday" or on their
strike if the “holiday" is extended.
But once the miners are out and
the contract has expired, how can
the Government by injunction get
the miners back to work? If there
has been no settlement in accord
ance with the Lewis demands—and
he probably will raise the pension
issue again—the strike will continue
through the summer. -There is talk
of another Federal injunction on
the ground that the union can be
held responsible for the fact that
the miners stay away and that Mr.
Lewis can be ordered by the courts
to instruct the men to go back pend
ing the usual negotiations required
by the Taft-Hartley Act.
But there's a strike ahead and
It will come just before the President
is up for renomination at the Phila
delphia convention on July 12.
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This Changing World .
Russian Maneuvers Put U- S. on Spot
Here and Abroad, Officials Believe
By Constantine Brown \
The White House, and to a greater
extent the State Department, are
angry over Moscow's skillful ma
nipulation of Ambassador Walter
Bedell Smith’s
state ment of
M a y 4 and
Prime Minister
Stalin's subse
quent Indorse
ment of Henry
Wallace’s 8
point program.
Although offi
cially the Rus
sian statements
have been de
bunked and re
duced to their
actual value as
Soviet prop
aganda. it is ad
Constantine Brown.
mitted in private by responsible
officials that they made a substan
tial impression at home, and abroad
most people take such matters at
their face value without looking at
their true meaning.
The hesitation of the House Rules
Committee to report out the stop
gap selective service bill is due less
to the fact that Chairman Allen’s
proposal to pay bonuses for enlist
ments was rejected by the House
than it is to a feeling in the com
mittee that the draft bill might be
premature and might close the
door to further Soviet peace ap
Droaches.
I This feeling is spreading rapidly
among members of Congress. They
necessarily must look to the election
and, being busy with many domestic
matters, sometimes pay scant atten
tion to the real meaning of interna
tional developments.
There is also a widespread sus
picion among many Senators and
Representatives that they have
been misinformed in the past about
actual developments abroad and,
lacking time to analyze carefully
the executive branch’s reaction to
Soviet maneuvers, they are prone
to think wishfully.
Home Influences Cited.
Many inevitably are influenced by
repercussions in their own terri
tories, where many of their con
stituents are under the impression
that the administration is creating
“war hysteria’’ for election purposes.
Moreover, responsible represents
tives of the State and Defense De
partments have blown hot and cold
in their testimony before congres
sional committees. They refused to
be pinned down as to Just how criti
cal the present emergency is. When
pressed for statements as to Just
how close war might be, they have
given estimates varying from five to
25 years. At the same time they
have insisted that we lose no time
in getting ready for any emergency.
The minds of our legislators are
once more being penetrated by the
idea that the ‘'brass” wants a large
armed force in order to keep as
many generals and admirals as pos
sible. This idea was chiefly respon
sible for our unpreparedness until
after the Japanese hit us at Pearl
Harbor.
The fault does not lie exclusively
with members of Congress, but also
with those who, because of inordi
nate fears of security risks, are not
entirely frank and outspoken with
the men who have the final word in
matters of preparedness.
The Kremlin’s skillful propaganda
maneuvers have helped considerably
to create general confusion in Con
gress and throughout the Nation.
A similar situation exists abroad.
In countries behind the iron curtain
Prime Minister Stalin’s "peace ges
ture” naturally caused a made-to
order enthusiasm. Washington's re
buttals are described as positive
proofs of the aggressive intentions
of the American "imperialist-mo
nopolists.”
Disappointment i>otea.
In the western countries, too. there
are confusion and disappointment.
While the governments of those
countries appreciate fully the mean
ing of Mr. Stalin’s moves, the rank
and file of the people—tvho are un
der a barrage of propaganda from
the Communist press and the mil
lions of Communist followers—are
beginning to feel that the American
Government’s adamant attitude is
calculated to make cannon fodder of
them.
It will require more skill than our
top-ranking officials hitherto have
displayed to offset the Kremlin’s
astute maneuvers. Gen. Smith’s
statement on May 4 originally was
intended to warn the U. S. S. R.
against any further encroachments.
Its handling by the Russians put us
on the spot both at home and
abroad.
On the Record
Stalin Acceptance of Wallace Program
Seen as Move to Influence U. S. Ballot
By Dorothy Thompson
If diplomacy can be conducted
between a private citizen and the
head of another state as part of
an election campaign, this country
is lost. The axis
between Henry
Wallace and the
Kremlin Is
against the law.
The State De
partment’s com
ment should
have been a
sharp reminder
of this fact.
Altogether, the
W a 1 lace-Stalin
exchange is a
remarkable piece
of connivance.
The United
States Govern
Dorothy Thompson.
ment genuinely has hoped for a
settlement with the Soviets, when
a situation was established that
would not invite surrender. It is
.several months since the Soviets
indicated to Robert Murphy, State
Department representative in Ber
lin, that they would welcome dis
dtscussions. The department felt it
too early.
To bargain with the Soviets with
empty hands is to go to Munich.
With the United States defenseless,
and Europe in an economic quag
mire, all the weight would have
been on one side. It was intended,
therefore, that negotiations should
await the passage of ERP and a
defense bill. Then the Government
might respond to Russian initiative.
In Ambassador Bedell Smith's
conversation with Molotov on May
4, the American position was
firmly stated, as a basis for dis
cussions. The meeting probably
was speeded up by the pressures of
the Wallace campaign on the
Democratic Party. The Russians.,
not wishing to turn down the ap
proach they had asked for at the
Smith-Molotov meeting, did not
like a basis for negotiations favor
able to the West and hopeful for
peace. They were on a hook, from
which it was the function of Wal
lace and the American Communists
to extricate them.
Wallace Moves Recalled.
Mr. Wallace, who tried to torpedo
the Paris peace conference, stab
bing the Secretary of State in the
back in Madison Square Garden
obliged again in the same place,
and with exquisite timing in Mos
cow and New York. The Russians
broke the story on May 10. and
Mr. Wallace was ready on May 11
to offer Stalin a Russian basis for
negotiations, which Stalin prompt
ly accepted, in a direct intervention
in our election campaign. Stalin
began his response by qualifying
Mr. Wallace alone as capable of
conducting negotiations. Therefore.
Stalin recommends the election of
Wallace as the sole hope for peace.
No wonder Mr W'allace, in quavering
tones, expressed himself as "over
whelmed.”
Shorn of lack of clear definitions,
! Mr. Wallace's proposals are the Rus
sian proposals. Atomic weapons are
j to be outlawed. But the Atomic
Energy Committee of the United
Nations, after more than 200 meet
ings, is forced to confess stalemate
mainly because the Russians oppose
effective control. We, therefore,
are to open negotiations on the basis
that we destroy our atomic stock
pile in exchange for mere verbal as
surance that Russia will halt re
search.
We are to conclude peace treaties
with Germany and Japan, and evac
uate our troops', also, troops are to
be evacuated from China and Korea.
Peace Efforts Cited.
For three years the United States
has tried in vain to negotiate peace
treaties. Meanwhile, the Russians
have Sovietized their zone of Ger
many, half of Korea, armed and as
sisted Chinese Communist armies,
and are held up only in Western
Germany and Japan. Mr. Wallace
accepts that every Communist coup
d'etat is the voice of the people.
In his Madison Square Garden
speech he exempted the Soviets from
responsibility for “the excesses of
local Communists.’’ Ergo, none of
the armed Soviet satellites is part
of the Russian military system, and
there is no reason why "peoples'
governments” should not move into
every vacuum.
With a straight face, Stalin ac
cepts "noninterference in the do
mestic affairs of other countries,”
while, with the connivance of Mr.
Wallace and the American Com
munists, he intervenes directly in
the American elections.
It is transparent, yet so bold as to
confuse the American people. But
the issue is clear, and the perform
ance outrageous. Over the head of
the Government, in a time of crisis,
a candidate for office conducts rela
tions with a foreign government
assisted by the agents of that gov
ernment in this country—to shatter
the basis for negotiations already
proposed and put them on terms
favorable not to us but to the
Soviets. That way lies ruin.
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■feiriiiuar. J
Break for Democrats
Barkley and Rayburn in Convention
Key Posts Will Reassure South
By Doris Fleison
PHILADELPHIA, May 21. —The
Democrats at last got a break. It
was pointed out here to the Execu
tive Committee that the party’s two
most experi
enced p a r 1 i a
! mentary veter
ans were, by a
happy accident,
both Southern
ers.
In no time at
all the pair were
named to han
dle what is
bound to be a
turbulent con
vention with the
South in revolt
against the
President’s civil
rights program.
Doris Fleeson.
Senate Leader Barney oi Ken
tucky was named temporary chair
man and keynoter, House Leader
Rayburn of Texas permanent chair
man. Representative Rayburn espe
cially will have great power in the
convention, not so much by reason
of what he can do affirmatively as
by virtue of the fact that he calls
the convention traffic signals and
can flash the red light on people and
| motions unacceptable to party
heads.
Reassurance to South.
Their selection will certainly re
assure the South that, no matter
how fractious it is, it will get fair
treatment. However, both Messrs.
Barkley and Rayburn loyally sup
port President Truman and were
famously faithful to Roosevelt and
the New Deal.
Their prominence at the conven
tion is exactly vhat National
Chairman McGrath said it was:
Proper recognition of their loyalty
during many years that tried their
personal convictions fnd sectional
interests. It will greatly please
Democrats in Congress who resent
the fact that Mr. Truman has con
sulted Senator Barkley and Repre
sentative Rayburn so seldom and
rarely bothered to save face for
them in controversial matters.
Chairman McGrath’s disavowal
of trying to appease the South
need not be taken seriously. He
would if he could—he’s only fearful
that he can’t.
Those comprising the still-stub
born group that Is privately striving
to block Mr. Truman’s renomlnatlon
are likewise satisfied with the
Barkley-Rayburn selections. They
feel sure of fair and sympathetic
treatment in case their plans ma
ture: they know for example that
Represenative Rayburn is extreme
ly friendly to their dark horse, Su
preme Court Justice Douglas, and
might even be induced to be on a
ticket with him.
Chairman McGrath told the
meeting that he had fixed on Messrs.
Barkley and Rayburn and that the
President had then approved them.
Women Also Get Break.
The women also got a break here.
For the first time In either party
convention, a woman will be chair
man of a committee. Congress
woman Mary Norton of New Jersey
will run Credentials.- "Some »ice
man,” the women said exuberantly,
will be named her vice chairman.
Women will be vice chairmen of the
other committees, as in past Demo
cratic conventions.
It is another first for Mrs. Norton.
She was the first woman chair
jman of a congressional committee
| (Education and Labor). Of all the
j women who have been or are in
I Congress she is the one the men ac
i cept completely as one of the family
| —they both do more for her and
i razz her more, exactly as they do
each other. The widow of a Con
gressman, she is tall, dark and hand
some with Irish warmth and wit.
While the Executive Committee
deliberated, Philadelphia was giving
the President a polite reception dur
ing his call on Girard College here.
He did not come near the politicos,
though.
For their part they did their job
as quietly and pleasantly as pos
sible.
There was a slight stir when a
suggestion that Mrs. Roosevelt
might consider a top convention job
met with the reply that she will be
out of the country during the con
vention, attending to United Nations
duties. But nobody commented.
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McLemore—
Notes on Accepting
Honorary Degrees
By Henry McLemore
June comes but once a year.
This is a very fortunate thing for
the heads of colleges and universi
> ties, because it is in June that they
have to honor
people by be
stowing honor
ary degrees.
Right now,
on campuses
throughout the
land, education
al leaders are in
f o o t b all - like
huddles, beards
and brain mat
ter all tangled
up, trying to
figure out who
they can get to
come and accept
an honorary de
gree
Henry MeLemore.
As you very well know, honorary
degrees are absolutely worthless.
A man can't make a living from
one to save his soul. It would be
different if a university would give
a man an honorary degree in med
icine or dentistry, thus enabling
him to rush from the campus and
start yanking a tonsil at $100 per
yank, or withdrawing a bicuspid at
$50 a withdrawal. A man can get j
as many as 17 doctorates of hu
manity without being able to buy
so much as one candy bar on the
strength of it.
Men who will accept honorary
degrees are getting hard to find.
This is understandable when one
stops to consider what a man has
to undergo to “enjoy” this distinc
tion.
First, there is the cost of his
transportation. He has got to get
to the university, and he has to pay
for it. It wouldn't be in good taste
for him to request a round trip bus
ticket. fFew college presidents like
to hang around bus stations wait
ing for the midnight bus to get in.
Second, there is the matter of a
new suit. A man whose name is
sure to appear in Time and News
week can't afford to wear his cld
reliable Sunday suit. He has to
look sharp.
Third, there isn t any campus m
America that doesn't break some
sort of a heat record in June. The
man to be tapped for the honor
can’t wear Lathing trunks and a
sport shirt. No, he must get dressed
to the teeth in his new suit, in
cluding vest, and then be draped in
a moth-ball-smelling gown with a
lot of junk around his neck, and a
mortar board on his head. With the
sun beating down at 95 degrees F.,
not even the Foreign Legion would
ask its toughest sergeant to put on
this rig.
Fourth, he has to listen to the
commencement address. And he
has to listen to it, mind you. in a
folding chair whost varnish is
bubbling from the heat.
Addresses All Alike.
If commencement addresses had
a snappy opening and a trick end
ing they might not be so bad. But
they are all the same. I am quite
sure that Sears Roebuck, Montgom
ery Ward, J. C. Penney and the A.
& P. all sell commencement ad
dresses.
They all have one theme, com
mencement addresses.
And that theme is the importance
of youth.
The countv depends on youth.
The State depends on youth.
The Nation depends on youth.
The world depends on youth.
The young men end women of
today are the world's leaders of
tomorrow.
Responsibility rests heavily upon
their shoulders.
But they will not fail to measure
up.
Can you wonder that colleges and
universities a»e hard pressed to find
suckers enough to accept honorary
degrees?
I have just turned down an offer.
The Upper Northwest Vermont
School of Tombstone Engraving
was hard put enough to ask me to
be there on June 8 fore an lion
orary degree of Doctor of Cherub
Retouching (D. C. R.).
I turned it down because I can’t
afford a new suit.
(Distributed br McNaught Syndicate. Inc.)
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