Montana labor news., 1934-06-14
The Washington Scene
By Len De Caux

of Janus. His job it was to stop out
siders from crashing the gates OF hea-
ven. He managed to look in opposite
directions at the same time, without
being c~rosseyed, as he had two faces.
In his right hand he held a staff and
in his left a key.
In modern America, labor people who
try to crash the gates at Washington
find that our rulers too have a Janus.
The name of the gentleman has been
changed and Americanized, and even
his sex is rather Variable, but his fun
elton remains the same. The Siamese-
twin feature Of the Washington door
keeper has not been insisted upon -
though two-faced politicians have been
heard of even here but division of
labor has come to natures aid. Janus
job is usually divided between TWO or
more persons, as efficiency experts
have proved that one person will be
better at welding a stick if he does it
all the time; and even in the matter
OF looking right or left, n looks more
c~onyinvingly leftward or rightward if
he specializes in looking that way most
of the time.
Steel workers representatives ran
right into Janus when they arrived re-
Gently in Washington, though they
we're introduced to Gen. Johnson, head
of NRA, and Senator Wagner, chair
man OF the National Labor Board.
Looking rightward and with his sturdy
big stick %figuratively in his hand, the
General b1uffly greeted Pres. Michael
Tighe Of the Amalgamated Assn. Of
Iron, Steel and Tin Workers. At the
same time, Wagner, with a figurative
key in his hand looked leftward and
greeted Earl J. Forbeck, Clearance r.
win and William J. Spang of the con
vention committe of ten, elected as
rank and file Representatives by the re-
cent Pittsburg convention of the an
ion.
4##
Gen. johnson isn't good at the job
of looking leftward. An employer him
self, he feels most at home with other
employers or with old-line conserva-
tive trade union leaders, long accust-
omed to dealing with employers. He
gets along well with Pres. John L.
Lewis OF the United Mine Workers and
with Pres. George Berry OF the Press
men, but he has as little patience with
as he has understanding OF the radical
moods that sweep masses of discont-
ented workers, and the social doctrines
that flourish in response to such con-
ditions.
Sen. Wagner, on the other hand,
comes as neal to being a "leftward'
social theorist as any administration
leader. 1t is he, more than Sec. Of
Labor Frances Perkins, with all her
liberal reputation, who has become the
labor expert of the administration.
Wagner, as chairman Of the Natl. La
Dor Board and recipient OF the atten-
tons of countless delegations Of strik-
ers, has gained much experience in
dealing with agitated and often radical
workers.
So it happens that Johnson dealt al
most exclusively with Tig1e, as pres
ident Of the steel union, and with Will
liam A. Irwin, pres. of the U. S. Steel
Corp. When reporters asked him alb
out statements issued by Forbeck, on
behalf of the rank and file committee,
Johnson asked, who's Forbeck?" Al
ter informing him, they found he knew
all about the committee, Tor he said
that Tighe had told him it was not
authorized to speak for the union.
#*#
The administrations fear that the
new elements which have recently IN
tered the steel workers union might
not be susceptible to discipline by the
older international officials, was ex-
pressed in the attention paid to the
committee of local and district officers
OF the Amalgamated Assn. Senator
Wagner, with the key to the White
Houe in his hand, received this com
mittee and promised to present to Pres.
Roosevelt their demand that he call
directors of the Iron & Steel Institute
into a conference with the union if he
wished to avert a strike.
Johnson denied that "a proper grou-
ndwork" had been laid for invoking
"the penal and injunctive provisions
of NRA against the steel companies
for not agreeing to collective bargain
ing and thus implied that ground
work" for a strike had not been laid;
he also commented that the automobile
settlement was working out beauti-
fully" and that a seperate labor board
for steel along similar lines would pro-
badly be desirable.
If conservative leadership prevails in
steel and strike sentiment does not get
out of hand, johnson will probably be
able to carry through negotiations to
a conclusion, as he did in the recent
textile dispute with the United Textile
Workers. But if rank and file elem
ents get out Of hand, Wagner's ex-
p%erience may be drawn upon, and even
Pres. Roosevelt himself may come to
the door to avert a strike.
4+*
In ancient Rome the temple of Jan
us was kept open in time Of war, and
to be closed only in the rare and rather
improbable event of universal peace.
In modern America Janus is kept busy
nearly all the time, for there are prac-
tically no %stoppages in the wars be-
tween workers and employers. Only
when these wars are ended once and
for all will he be II of a job.
GENERAL IOHNSON ORDERS