Denver labor bulletin., 1917-08-04

new board will be composed of seven
members, working under the direc-
tion and control of the council of ma
tonal defense and responsible thru
1t TO the president. Its members will
be direct representatives of the gov
crnment and of the public interests.
The board will act as clearing
house for the war industry needs OF
the government, determine the most
effective ways of meeting them and
the best means and methods of in
creasing production, including the ere
alton or extension of industries de-
manded by the emergency, the Sc
quence and relative urgency of the
needs of the different government
, services, and consider price factors.
and. in the first instance, the indus
trial and labor aspects of problems
involved, and the general questions
feeting the purchase of commodities. -
Industrial and Labor Aspects.
Evidently Hugh Frayne is to ''con-
slider, in the first instance. the indus
trial and labor aspects of the problems
involved in the war industries. so far
as Chairman Scott, who is a munitions
manufacturer, Lovett, who is a rail-
road magnate, BrookinGs, who is n big
merchant, Baruch, who made a mil
lion in Wall street in six years, and
an army officer and n navy officer will
let him.
On the other hand, the various ad-
visory committees which have had the
handling of hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of contracts. and which
committees have been made up almost
wholly of the big business men whose
firms were to land contracts for these
supplies, are to lose some of their
power. They will henceforth advise.
only, this war Industries board. That
is step forward. OF course it is
taken because congress has compelled
the council Of defense by an amend
ment in the Lever bill to purge itself
of the profiteers. Still, the step is
taken. And there is real humor in the
announcement that the labor commit
tee, also. will henceforth be only an
assistant to the war industries board
War Council Explains.
The council offers this explanation:
The purpose of this action is to expe-
dite the work of the government, to
furnish needed assistance to the de-
partments engaged in making war
purchases, to devolvc clearly and de-
fnitely the important tasks indicated
upon direct representatives of the gov
ernment not interested in commercial
and industrial activities with which
they will be called upon to deal, and
to make clear that there is total dis
sociation of the industrial committees
from the actual arrangement of pur-
chases on behalf of the government.
II will lodge responsibility for effect
i've action as definitely as is possible
under existing law. 1t does not mini
mize or dispense with the splendid
service which representatives of in
dustry and labor have so unselfshly
placed at the disposal of the govern
ment."
This means that the business men
who have been in control of the war
contracts are still to be kept at hand,
and that IL the organized labor move
ment of the United States is to get
union hours. union standards of wages
and union conditions in the war con-
tracts. shops and factories, and every
where else during the war period, it
must still rely upon its own organized
action. There is no offer of compro-
mise from the anti-union forces that
are getting so large part Of the war
business.
No Labor Policy Announced.
Attention is called to this situa-
tion Immediately, because of the deep
caused in union cir
cles Mt the failure of the council of
national defense, composed of six
members of the cabinet, to announce