Evening star., 1938-10-16
LABOR LEADERS
SILENT ON PEACE
Refuse Comment on Plan
Proposed by Secretary
Perkins,
By the Associated Press.


3-year-old civil war failed yesterday to
produce any immediate signs OF accept
ance by. either the American Fedora
ton OF Labor or John L. Lewis Com
mittee for Industrial Organization.
Secretary of Labor Perkins advanced
the proposal in an address before q
labor audience at Columbus, Ohio
She suggested that the A. F. OF l..
and the c. l. o. each select five repre-
sentatives, that these representatives
In turn choose three disinterested per-
sons, and that the committe Of l3 thus
formed proceed to mediate the oontro-
versy.
Neither Mr.. Lewis nor William
Green. president Of the Federation,
would comment At once on the pro-
p0sal.
This fact alone was not particularly
discOuraging to advocates of labor
peace, who said the rival leaders could
hardly be expected to act on the spur
of the moment regarding such an i'm
portant question. They acknowledged,
however, that the bitterness engen-
dered by the long conflict would make
. settlement extremely difficult.
Filled Veid, Says Lewis.
In an interview granted just prior
to Secretary Perkins address, on the
occasion Of the third anniversary of
the C. I. O.'s conception, Mr.. Lewis
declared the organization would con-
tinue rs 'labor's most progressive and
active force"
The progress We have made from
= comparatively small beginning has
proved oonclusively that We have
filled the tremendous void that ex-
isted in unionization OF industry until
= few years ago." he said.
And, at our convention In Pitts
burgh next month, We will lay a per-
manent foundation for industrial un-
ionism which will not be swept aside
by short-sighted opposition"
Faith In Both Sides.
Secretary Perkins, in her address at
a joint celebration of the 10th ami
versary of the Order of Railway Con-
ductors and the 50th anniversary of
its ladies' auxiliary said:
Il have great faith in the capacity
Of people on both sides Of this con-
troversy to make 4 fair and workable
adjustment. and the desire for it from
the membership and from the public
is intense"
If representatives of the A. F. of l..
and the c. l. o. could not agree on
three "disinterested persons" to join
them in q mediation effort, she con-
tinued, some trusted outside" person
could be asked to select them The
labor representatives should be en-
powered. she said, to bind their organ
izations to any agreement reached.
The secretary's statement was the
first definite suggestion from the ad-
ministration for settlement Of the con-
troversy, although President Roosevelt
appealed to the federation convention
in Houston. Tex, recently to leave
open the door to peace.
Publication Optimistic. :.
The C. l. o. head proposed last week
that he and Mr.. Green retire from
the leadership of the two organiza-
tons so the remaining officials could
conclude peace pact"
Subsequently, the A. r. of L. con-
vention reelected Mr.. Green by accli-
nation.
The c. I. O. News. weekly publica-
ton. contended editorially yesterday
that federation leaders do not yet
share the desire OF the c. l. O. and
most Of their own members for resto-
| ration of a unified labor movement" !"
The forthcoming convention of the
c. l. O.. however, so far from being an
obstacle in the path of unity. is likely
to be 4 most effective step in that
direction" the publication said.
For, once it is conclusively estab-
lished that the c. l. o. is firmly
lied power as well as the right to pro-
tect the interests of its affiliate unions,
| the A. F. Of L. leaders will have to
forget their foolish hopes OF dividing
and destroying the new movement"
Three years ago yesterday, Mr.. Lewis,
"a Va lNAC oAAtCA NVoA ASlc,
and heads OF eight other unions de-
cided at Atlantic City. N. j., that they
would conduct an industrial union or
ganization campaign. They favored
organising all of the workers in each
mass production industry into one big
union, instead of orga mixing them
along the craft lines of dominant
A. F. of l.. unions.
Fsrmed in 1888.
In November. 1885, the C. l. o. was
formed on1cially with 10 interna-
tional unions of the federation as a
nucleus. Later the federation began
suspending them.
The breach between the two organ
izations led to q wild scramble for
membership and footholds in new as
well as old fields. and to frequent
quarrels as to which faction had the
right to represent workers in a given
plant or industry.
Representatives OF both sides met in
= futile peace conference a year ago.
Discussions ended when the conferees
could not allocate industries for Or
sanization purposes satisfactorily and
when Mr.. Lewis insisted that the 40
odd c. l. o. unions be taken back into
the A. F. OF L. IS = self-governing
department.
Some labor experts here say the
present chances for peace are strength
ened by these factors:
l. The possibility that David Du-
binsky, president of the G. I. o.
afYlliated International Ladies' Gar
meat Workers and a leader in peace
overtures. may not attend the c. /. o.
Convention in Pittsburgh.