Evening star., 1939-03-28
Oppressive Labor
Practices Bill Is
Introduced in Senate
Civil Liberties
Committee Acts to
Outflow Iniustices
BY JOHN C. HENRY.

Climaxing nearly three years of
oft-times spectacular investigation,
the Senate Civil Liberties Committee
to-day introduced legislation to out
law Oppressive labor practices
which it found had been employed
by "a powerful minority" in in
dustry.
In brief, the broadly-drawn bill
defines and prohibits as Oppressive
labor practices" the following:
l. Use of labor spies.
2. Use of strikebreakers or strike
breaking agencies; the definition
classifying strikebreakers as persons
who are paid bonuses to replace
regular employees during strike
or lockout.
3. Employment of private guards
armed with guns or other dangerous
weapons off company property, ex-
cept for protection of goods or
money in transit. In this section
there also is prohibition against
employment as guards of men who
have been convicted of crimes of
violence.
4. Possession by plant involved in
strike of such industrial ornaments
as machine guns, sawed-off shot
guns, long-range tear gas and
sickening gas missiles.
Two ClassificatiOns.
Two classes of persons would fall
within the prohibitions of the act
those who directly engage in the
specified practices and those who
supply the goods of services specified.
Vesting enforcement of the act in
the Labor and Justice Departments,
the committee proposes a prohibi-
ton against shipment in interstate
commerce of goods produced in vio-
lation OF this act. In addition an
amendment is suggested to the
Walsh -Healy Public Contracts Act
to require a stipulation from those
holding Government contracts that
they will abide by the new law.
Introduction of the measure was
accompanied by strongly worded
joint statement by the two commit
tee members, Senators La Toilette,
Progressive, of Wisconsin and
Thomas, Democrat, of Utah.
Reviewing the extent of their in
quiry, the committee remarked that
as one result of its disclosures, the
Bureau of Internal Revenue has
proposed additional income tax la
bilities and penalties against various
persons, firms and corporations .*'
amounting to $232 900. This amount
is more than one and one-half times
the entire amount appropriated for
the investigation"
Legislation Declared Overdue.
OF the proposed legislation. which
they declared lis several decades
overdue" the committee declares:
In no way does the bill deprive
the employer of the fullest protec-
ton of property. 1t does not touch
his legitimate private protective
equipment nor limit policing activi-
ties on his own premises.
The bill contains nothing that
will cause concern to the great ma
jority of businessmen, most of whom
now conform to present enacted ma
tional policies. A powerful minority
have, however, fostered the oppres-
sive practices banned in this bill
11ave developed their use to the point
of constituting a menace to civil
liberty generally; hence the urgency
for legislation"
Reviewing some of its findings, the
committee noted that even the en-
ployers who had been making use
of the labor practices specified made
little or no attempt to justify them.
Many disclosed they had discon-
tinued such practices after the COM
mittee probe began.