Evening star., 1937-03-30
RY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.

- RY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.
The institutions Of democratic gov
sernment are facing crisis in the Sit
down strike. The sit-doWn strike is
mot only a new weapon in the hands
Iof labor, but the new weapon is
club on a new battle front.
The labor picket on the sidewalk,
using his sidewalk as a forum OF tree
assemblage and his democratic right
sof free speech to convince the public
-of labor's right in an industrial con-
4troversy, was walking in an ancient
path He was guarded by the bill OF
rights. But when the picket moved
@indoors across the threshold of the
fplant and took over the boss plant,
: the capture was something entirely
different from peaceful picketing.
: Behold here an invasion of what
: rhitherto has been called property
rights. The sit-down striker obviously
:. contends that his right to a job-that
is to say, his right to work and TO
bargain collectively under closed
shop with the boSs-iS as much a
property right as the boss fee-simple
title to the tools which labor uses.
i. Probably, in the end, it will boil down
TO a contest not for the workers In
cdividual property right in his job, but,
instead labors contrac. right-a sort
= of class right-to hold a job on good
! behavior so long as the boss can
: keep the plant open proftably.
Guarded by Ballot.
: But here is this new battle line
: rather suddenly formed in the indus
: trial world What is democracy going
: to do about it? Labor has the ballot.
: With the ballot, at the last election,
labor has an idea that it captured
: the executive and congressional
. branches of the Federal Government.
Also, labor with the ballot seemed to
take over most of the State legisla-
lures. Apparently considerable ma
iority of the Governors stand pledged
to a labor program which, inferen-
TALLY at least, justifies the sit-down
strikers. But literally there Is more
inference than truth in the fact thsv
labor won the right to the sitdoWn
strike.
However, there is labor de facto
inside OF the factory. Possession is
nine points of the law in any contest
between the boss and the workers.
To restore the ancient property
rights which are violated by the nine
points of possession the legislatures,
the Congress, the Governors and the
President will have to turn labor
back into the street. Laws will have
to be passed specifically legalizing the
sit t-down strike, as laws have legalized
picketing. Until then the courts,
which have not been captured by
labor-neither the lower courts, the
intermediate courts nor the Supreme
Court Of the Nation-will not recog-
ni1e the inferential right which labor
claims to the sit-down strike merely
because 1t won the election.
Courts Require Force.
Labor elected only the President,
the Governors, the Congress and the
legislatures. So naturally the courts
will proceed against the sit-doWn
strikers. They will issue orders to
be enforced by the executive depart
ments of the State and finally the
executives of the Federal Govern
ment. These court orders will require
the use of force to clear the factories
and to restore the rights of property
as the courts believe these rights now
exist on the statute books.
That may mean bloodshed. More
over, if the bloodshed is widespread,
if feeling runs deeply and runs high,
rising out of the use Of force neces-
sary to deprive the sit-doWn strikers OF
their nine points of the law, the riot
ting may become incipient revolution.
This incipient revolution is possible
only If executives-say the Governor
or the President-let the golden hour
lag by when negotiations become OBJ
vious dilly-dallying. When that hour
comes labor will be convinced that
the Government Is afraid. Also the
ace-loving merchandising class will
begin to dread revolution, and it may
be too late to rally public sentiment
behind the tremendous weight OF
Government as a mediator. In that
hour, if it comes, Government will
have to be force-sheer force, tear
gas, clubs, bayonets, possibly machine
guns.
Ugly Prospect Of Force.
In that day, when Government Is
force, and only force, If it comes, how
much force can Government COM
mand? How much force can the men
opposing Government summon behind
their barricades? Are there enough
L., a;% 70
mass demonstration of the workers?
Are there enough militiamen in the
States to sweep the invading sit-down
strikers in a general strike from the
industrial plants? Are there enough
soldiers in the Regular Army to put
down general uprising c. American
labor II it should grow widely class
conscious and decide to line SYM
pathetically with the various sit-down
strikers in the present menacing up
heaval across this country rom New
England to the Pacific Coast? These
are ugly questions, but serious. They
cannot be answered ofI-hand.
But If their sit-down strike tactics
are not thwarted soon by Governors
and the President until these ugly
questions are answered or are with
drawn voluntarily by the workers leav-
Ing their points Of vantage, America
will be approaching dangerous crisis.
This republic was organized and has
been running for $50 years, barring
four years OF civil war, on the theory
of majority rule. Government in
America has not used force except
potentially. At no time, and certainly
not now, have we enough policer en-,
militiamen and soldiers to force any
order of this Government when it is
opposed by any considerable, organ
lied, militant minority. Certainly we
could not overnight force hundreds Of
thousands of sit-down strikers out Of
the industrial plants of this country.
What II Workers Arm?