Montana labor news., 1934-06-21
The Washington Scene
By Len De Caux

back. But washington camel-drlVerS
have to come at least within a straw
or two OF guessing, or their bosses will
put another man on the job. The steel
negotiations in Washington have
shown some pretty fine-drawn calcu-
lations as to the exact straw which
will break the back Of labor's patience.
Social insurance legislation and the
Wagner labor bill have also involved
much acknowledging.
Most h~ard-boiled and h~ard-driving Of
the camel-leaders is General Johnson,
NRA administrator. The take-it-or-
~leave-it manner in which he threw the
Iron and Steel Institutes company
union proposition at the steel workers
like a meat-stripped bone to a dog
may actually have been the proverbial
last straw.
Minor officials of the Amalgamated
Association OF Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers were boiling over when
they left Washington. The board
wanted by johnson and the steel bar
ons would apparently deal only with
company union elections and give no
assurance of collective bargaining. It
is even worse than the Auto Labor
Board. Johnson has been advised, it
is rtmored, that he had better not risk
a hostile demonstration by accepting
the invitation of Michael Tighe, union
president, to confront the outraged
steel workers at their Pittsburgh con-
vention.
AS to social legislation, the Ameri-
can working class camel has shown
that it can go through the desert Of
economic crisis for nearly five years
almost without food or water-and
that it doesn't gag at charity" slop
and political humbug as a substitute.
The Washington camel-drivers are
proud of the beasts endurance and
intend to test it to the limit.
Before Roosevelt's election, it was
thought that the limit of labor's long
suffering had about been reached. The
mirage of prosperity around the cor
ner" didn't seem to revive its flag
ging energies any more. Unem-
ployment insurance, old age pensions
and all sorts Of new deal" security
and relief we're dangled like a tempt
ing nosebag before it. Labor's spirit
revived and it responded with renewed
energy to the new drivers efforts
but after more than a year it has re-
ceived no nourishment yet from the
nosebag of social insurance.
Some legislation suggesting social
insurance the administration was will
ing to support in words. The Wag-
ner-Lewis bill, for instance, was
called an administration bill. But the
unemployment reserves it was designed
to encourage were so far in the distant
future, Of no application to the mil
lions now jobless, and so limited even
if they should take effect, that they
hardly served to stop the movement for
social insurance right now and for all.
as embodied in the Lundeen workers
unemployment and social Insurance
bill. And as Congress draws to a
close, it becomes evident that even the
Wagner-Lewis bill was only a straw
test to determine the limits of labor's
endurance IN a promise-diet.
The test was apparently successful
for the drivers-for the next straw
was produced and delic3tely weighed.
No social legislation at this session of
Congress (the camel groaned faintly)
but President Roosevelt has a most
comprehensive and f%ar-reaching pro-
gram of social insurance, including
pensions, unemployment insurance and
all sorts Of good things, which he will
ask Congress to work out this sum
mer through a special committee. That
was the story spread over the front
pages of all the papers some weeks
ago, while the administration watched
closely for the popular reaction.
Again the camel stood the test-and
another straw was produced. Presi-
dent Roosevelt camly announced to a
press conference on May % that he
would have three more messages to
Congress, on war debts, cocoanut oil
and water use, but no special message
on social legislation.
This time the came1s back must
have seemed perilously near the
breaking point, for the straw was cut
in half, i on June 8 came a presi-
dental message to Congress saying :
Next winter we may well undertake
the great task of furthering the secur-
ity of the citizen and his family
through social insurance" And that's
about all there is to the latest half
straw. The camel can't even reach
around and chew it.
While labor thinks of the more def
mite promises of social insurance for
last winter, and the still more gen
erous promises of the campaign pre-
ceding the winter before, it may also
reflect on the course of the Wagner
labor bill. First anti-strike legisla-
ton was to be made more palatable by
talk of curbing company unions then
the talk was withdrawn and the bill re-
vised almost to encourage company
unionism and now the report is that a
substitute for the Wagner bill is be-
ing prepared, to set up anti-strike me-
diation and arbitration machinery
without any sugar-coating for labor
whatever.
Labor is no came1-such Washing
ton treatment to the contrary not
withstanding. When it rolls up its