Evening star., 1937-01-22

thereafter trying
to bring the en- @sEs$&s l&@ 4
ployerS and the D.r,aY.vr.r,.
Lewis group Of pAV'a LA"fenee'
employe representatives together, it Is
neither a casual affair nor something
SO remote from White House cog
nizance as to be academic.
The President knows full well the
Implications of this strike. So does
the Governor of Michigan and SO
do the A. F. of L. executives and John
Lewis. 1t represents a showdown as
between groups, to be sure, but it also
begins or ends new era In the use
of force instead Of reason to acquire
power by a small group of men over
their fellow men.
The public generally may not realize
the extent to which historic concep-
tions of human rights in property
have gone by the boards in the last
fortnight Neither did they realize it
in Germany or Italy as fascism was
forced ON unwilling employers and
employees because there seemed no al
tentative.
Parallels Advent Of Fascism.
The situation in Michigan is some
what parallel to what happened in
Italy in the sit-down strikes in 1920,
when the workmen not only seized
the plants, but went further when
they attempted to produce goods and
sell them, a development which was
the forerunner of government inter-
yention in the form of fascism.
Today the Governor of Michigan
has actually counselled the sheriff
the law enforcement officer Of
county-not to attempt to enforce an
injunction issued by court OF law.
The Governor did not do so because
he had any less respect for the law
than the sheriff, but he recognized
expediency as more important in this
case than principle. If the strike Is
settled soon and sit-down strikes are
condemned or rendered futile, Murphy's
caution will seem to many to have
been justified If, however, the sit
down strikes lead to a breakdown of
human rights in property in other
parts of the country, the Michigan
precedent set by Gov. Murphy will be
of transcendent importance to the
future of labor warfare.
The issue, however, Is no longer in
Michigan. 1t is on the doorstep Of
the White House and on the Presi-
dents desk and deep in the recesses
Of his mind as he struggles with per-
haps the most difficult problem he
has yet faced.
Lewis Sees Inside Track.
Some indication Of the way matters
are shaping up may be seen in the
pronouncement by John L. Lewis that
he expects the administration to "help
the workers in every legal way"
Lewis points out that the employers
In this instance differed in their polit-
ical views from the administration
and that this means they ought now
be punished, or at least that the full
power of the Government should be
thrown on the side of the strikers.
Lewis and his affiliated organiza-
tions contributed upwards of $1,000, 900
to help re-elect Mr.. Roosevelt, and
the Lewis group is not averse to re-
minding the administration OF its
obligations in that respect.
Mr.. Roosevelt does not, Of course.
wish to give any impression that his
sympathies are for or against any
group-his primary interest Is peace.
because when big industry like motor
production and accessories is tied up,
profits are not earned. Profits of
course are counted upon to yield taxes
in increasing quantities this year to
help balance the budget. If General
Motors loses out and the other motor
companies are then taken in hand, as
Lewis publicly threatens, it will be a
short step for other organizations Of
workers to rise up in other industries
and by seizure of the property of the
employers force capitulation to their
demands.
Facts Cl0uded.
The most interesting thing about
the controversy Is that nobody has
moved to get the facts. General Mo-
tors claims that 79 per cent of the
employees want to work and that Lewis
and his group represent minority.
Petitions have been signed by many
thousands of workers asking that they
be permitted to go back to work.
What does the majority say? The
Wagner labor relations act provides
machinery for holding secret ballot
elections to determine what Is the
will of the majority in plant or an
industry, as the National Labor Rela-
tions Board may designate. But be-
fore the elections could be held, there
is another point which the General
Motors management evidently deems
Of paramount Importance. Shall the
occupation of private property be
condoned as a proper weapon of eco
nomic force? If it is, then 1t will be
contended that property rights are at
the vanishing point in America and
the pathway to fascism, with all its
inevitable and deplorable restrictions
OF the individual, would seem to be
opened, Notwithstanding the earnest
protestations of the President that
America can and shall preserve
democracy.
So the issue is definitely up to the
President, and he may have an op-
portunity sooner than he anticipated
to show that private autocratic
power" whether 1t arises from en-
ployers or employees, cannot dictate
to the Government or to the people
by taking the law into their own
hands.
tCopyright, 1879