Evening star., 1934-03-25

on used cars and new cars and except
from New York or st. Louis"
You can't get sore at that! Nobody
can get sore while laughing himself
to death. No wonder that the motor
car firms on the radio leave Ed Wynne
to the oil industry. They don't need
him.
Yet you can't really blame them
for putting ON a screaming falsetto
broadcast Of their own. They are just
naturally and perfectly excusably be-
wildered.
Many of them have benin many
senses-admirable employers. Many
of them have paid excellent wages
and have introduced all sorts of spe-
cial remunerations-and assurances OF
security-for their regular employees.
Many Of them are eminent for good
will, Of the autocratic sort, and for
industriousness and ingeniousness in
carrying that good will into practical
effect in their shops.
Industry an Example.
Between them, further, they have
built up an industry which is to the
whole world the most conspicuous ex-
ample OF American engineering and
intelligent and inventive and capable
that they are willing to forego tariff
duties on imported competitive
foreign passenger cars. Conducting
their enterprise in a modernistic and
progressive instead Of in an archaic
and obsolete manner. they do not join
themselves to the inefficient manu-
facturers who forever are descending
upon Washington to demand higher
and higher tariff protection. For that
one virtue alone they deserve the
enthusiastic gratitude OF the United
States Government.
And now a lot Of their employees
come and badger them about con-
templsted membership in an A. F. of
L. union! 1t seems to them un-
believable. Their employees are grate-
full to them. Their employees love
them. Their employees are perfectly
satisfied Their employees hate the
A. F. Of L. So the motor magnates
cav hlio tllCy UCllCNC IL.
Well Hundreds of other employers
in other industries have come to
Washington singing that same song
of the hen who simply cannot harbor
the thought that her chicken Is q
duckling. Yet, in a ma jority OF cases,
a duckling it has turned out to be.
The National Labor Board has now
held along about 100 elections in in
duStrial plants in order to let the
employees choose between A. F of L.
Unions and company unions To the
intense genuine surprise of the en-
ployers, some rs Of these elections
have returned the A. F. of L. unions
triumphant.
And here We come then to the
absolute core of the apple. If We are
going to have industrial self-govern-
ment' in this country, We are going
TO have industrial elections. We are
going to have elections among busi-
ness men for choosing code author
tiles" We are going to have elections
among working men for choosing
unions" And the elections will have
to be supervised by the Government.
Our political elections in the course
of our practice Of political self
government are supervised by public
authorities. Our industrial elections
will have to be supervised in that
same way likewise.
Necessary Consequence.
There is no escape from this con-
clusion. 1t is as obvious as that you
cannot make omelets without break
ing eggs. You cannot make indus
trial self-government" without break
ing "individualism" and without in
national official egg
beater.
1t is therefore both in N R. A.
theory and in M R. A. practice in
that: One, the automobile
and all other manu-
facturers must submit to govern
arranged elections in their
plants; or, two, the labor part of
industrial selt-government" under
the N. r. A. must be admitted to be
what some people call a phantom
and others a gyp.
But the labor people will not consent
to be gyped. II they are not going to
get their part of the N. r. A. 'inuus-
trial self-goyernment" bargain, they
will turn against the N. r. A. And
who are against it now?
MultitudeS of farmers are against 1t.
of little business men are
against it. Multitudes of consumers
are against it. In the Congress today
the fate of the N. r. A. is poised on an
extremely delicate balance. AL that
holds that balance down in favor
somewhat of the N. r. A. is the
N. r. A. zeal of numerous big indus
trialists and of the leaders of the
American Federation of Labor.
Just let the A. F. of L. once get the
idea that 1t cannot collect Its slice of
the apple in the scales, and just let
in turn anti-N. r. A.. and the whole
N. r. A. system collapses and gets
abolished.
But that would be the end of the
Roosevelt revolution" Therefore the
President can follow but one course.
In the name of the industrial self
government" to which he is COM
mitted. he must continue to try to
turn industrial plants into public poll
ing places for industrial elections.
But then perhaps it will be the big
employers who will turn upon the
N r. A. and rend 1t to rags.
Ladies and gentlemen of the audi
ence, do not shoot the performer. He
has a snake on one shoulder and
on the other, and his act
is in danger unless he makes them
friends. That's seriously So, The
snake and the mongoose must
fraternize some how, or else "indus-
trial self-government" is gone, and
we go back-or go forward-to some
thing else.
copyright. 1934)