The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-02-04
1Q[oIIii'ii9'9ElS5 jjq1e :
National Topics Interpreted - fTT7TT7&
by William Bruckart ASnr1InF
'ics Interpreted
by William Bruckart

strike as Key point In present Ia
Dor problems.
1t is something new in this coun-
try. 1t is program of striking in
which labor is entirely passive but
by which it usurps the rights of own
ership. The workers simply stay in
the plants, offering no trouble and
for the most part avoiding destruc-
tive tactics. But it is the fact that
they remain in the plants, the prop
erty of their employers, that is caus-
ing considerable worry in govern
ment circles.
The reason why this phase of
strike tactics is creating concern
lies in the fact that it amounts to
the seizure of private property by
individuals who have no right or
warrant in law. It would be the
same thing as far as legal rights
are concerned if a group of strikers
went to your home or mine and
announced they expected to stay
there. There is no difference in
the two situations. While the eff
feet on you or me would be less
important to the country as whole,
it remains as a fact that our rights
would be violated in exactly the
same manner as rights of corpora
tons were violated, say, in the Cen
eral Motors strike. After all, you
and are merely units of the great
mass of people that make up the
United States of America. Now, it
takes no great stretch of the imagi-
nation to recognize that if union
labor establishes its ability to &C.
cupy the property of others and fixes
that as a precedent, then where are
the rights of any person who owns
property? 1t matters not whether
it is a small cottage, farm home
or a great industrial plant-the right
to own property, guaranteed to us
by the Constitution of the United
States, is virtually nullifed.
One of the rights of American cit
izenship is a right to own prop
erty. 1t is principle that has
grown to be sacred with us since
the Boston tea party. Yet, it is
being challenged and thus far the
federal government has made no
move to break it up. AS long as
employers organize and tread on la
Dor with a steel boot, just SO long
the workers are entitled to organize
to combat mistreatment from bust
ness. But it does not seem to me to
be a right of labor to actually take
private property. To that extent I
cannot feel very kindly toward those
strikers at present asserting such a
right through use of the "sit down"
strike.
Now, there are reasons why the
federal government has not acted.
If troops were sent into private fac
tories to drive out the "sit down"
strikers, one can readily see what a
riot would result. But if the federal
government fails to enforce this in
herent right, it is not doing its
sworn duty to the rest of the people.
And it was only few weeks ago
that Mr.. Roosevelt again took the
oath of office as President, swearing
to enforce as well as defend the
Constitution.
Then, another phase of the situa-
ton is being discussed. The Wag-
ner law says employers must nego-
tate collectively with the major
ity" organization of employees and
it DEGREES further that the labor re-
lations board shall determine which
is the majority organization; that
it can decide this question on evil
dence or order an election among
employees. None can tell usually
whether union or company organiza-
ton employees are in the major
ity in some of these strikes, so the
labor relations board has kept out of
them.
Taking this labor situation as a
whole, / believe I am justified in
saying, as I said earlier, that it
portends a crisis. Preaching of class
hatred has been the main occupa-
ton of certain elements in the last
three or four years and now those
clements are reaping what they
sowed. The tragedy of it all is
that the rest of us have to reap
the same reward.
G Western Newspaper Union.