The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-22
HARDING OPPOSES
WAR POWERS In
SETTLING STRIKE
Believes the Rail Labor
Board Amply Able to
Prevent 1t.

President Harding will not in
woke wartime powers to deal with
the threatened railroad strike.
The President made this en-
phatically clear at the Cabinet
meeting yesterday when sugges-
tions were made that peace had not
|acruzlly been declared wichs GER
many and that authority still ex-
listed for him to take over the rail-
roads and run them in the event
of a strike.
The President took the attitude
that the United States is at peace
actually IL not technically, and told
his Cabinet advisers that the ad-
ministration not only had no desire
to invoke a wartime authority in
the strike emergency but that 1t
had no thought of doing so.
VIII Soon Declare Peace.
The President further intimated
that as soon as exchange of treaty
ratifications had been made he Will
issue a peace proclamation, in or
der to make it absolutely certain
that none of the wartime power
I SLlll on the statute "AAA -
main to be revived in domestic
emergencies, a peace prociama-
tion, the Attorney General has ad-
vised him, will remove all doubt
as to the wartime laws.
The firm attitude of the PrSFi-
dent on this point was supple
mented by announcement in official
quarters that he is in thorough
sympathy with the action of the
Railroad Labor Board yesterday in
citing railroad executives and labor
| leaders to appear before 1t in order
that if may determine whether they
have been violating the boards
wage reduction order.
Relies on Board.
The President believes that the
Railrad Labor Board is the proper
government organization to deal
with the threatened strike situa-
tion. If 1t is to, be defied by Ameri-
can citizens amenable to the laws,
by the railroad executives or labor
executives, then the government
will act with a firm hand. But
actual seizure OF the roads, to be
operated by the government, is not
contemplated in the emergency
program.
Reports from the Cabinet early
in the day gave rise to the belief
that the. administration was giving
serious consideration to the exer-
else of wartime authority in the
event of strike. Some members
| of the Cabinet, 1t was said, looked
with favor on this plan to pre-
vent interference with the move
ment of commodities in interstate
commerce. and the War Department
was reported to have been giving
attention to this possibility. But
the Presidents attitude served to
remove the impression that any
such course would be adopted.
Strike Not Expected.
In administration quarters gen.
orally the conviction obtains that
the strike will not occur. That
belief Is predicated on the belief
that the railroad labor leaders
will withdraw the strike order, and
that all parties to the controversy
will yield to the authority of the
Railroad Labor Board. 1t Is recog-
nized that the action of the board
yesterday will establish definitely
the principle that II must be recog-
nized as the arbiter in disputes
UetmeVh 1he anu eheii
employees
But If the board fails, the gov
ernment has plans to meet the
emergency which tits not making
public. One suggestion being dis
cussed Is that the Federal Board
of Mediation be called upon to at
tempt a settlement between the
railroads and their employees. This
suggestion, however, probably VIII
not be accepted by the administra-
tion. While its functions are pro-
vided for in the statutes. the board
at the present time has not the
sanction OF Congress, because no
appropriation has been provided
for 1t.
Furthermore it is understood
thatt the White House is not in
sympathy with the suggestion that
the board be called upon in this
situation. X