The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-06-15
Fdcing the Facts
With PHILIP PEARL

the Labor Board will make everything
hunky-dory. The Administrations po-
sition, as expressed by Secretary of
Commerce Harry Hopkins, appears to
be something like this:
"The Wagner Act itself is perfectly
all right. Only in it's administration
have headaches occurred. The appoint
ment of Leiserson provides an effective
headache powder"
We can subscribe to part of this
reasoning. We agree that the funda-
mental principles of the Wagner Act
are entirely sound and must be re-
tained. We earnestly hope that the
appointment Of Mr.. Leiserson will
have salutary effect on the Labor
Board.
But you don't have to be physician
to know that headache powders do not
cure headaches. They sometimes pro-
vide temporary relief. Headaches are
a symptom of something seriously
wrong. The proper method of proce-
dure is to determine what is wrong
and after the diagnosis to apply the
indicated remedy.
In the first place, it must be remem-
bered that the appointment of Mr..
Leiserson was somewhat reluctant
concession on the part of the Admins
tration. Away back in August, 1888,
President Green made special visit
to Hyde Park to protest against the
reappointment of Donald Wakefield
Smith to the Board. A few days later
the Executive Council of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor sent tele-
gram to President Roosevelt backing
up this protest unanimously in strong
terms. Nevertheless Donald Wake
field Smith was reappointed. He con-
tinued to serve for many months and
his baneful proc. 1. O. influence af-
fected many decisions of the Labor
Board. 1t was not until Congress
convened and it became apparent that
Donald Wakefield Smith could not OBJ
tain confirmation by the Senate that
he was thrown into the discard and
Mr.. Leiserson named in his place.
This represented a distinct triumph
for the American Federation of Labor.
But it must be remembered that the
Labor Board has three members and
huge staff. Mr.. Leiserson has only
one vote. Simple arithmetic would in
dicate that he alone could not effect
change in the Boards proc. l. 0.
policies. Administration spokesmen are
passing the word along that the
psychological effect of the replace
ment of Donald Wakefield Smith by
Mr.. Leiserscn will confound simple
arithmetic. Maybe. Are we to assume
that this psychological effect will in
any way alter the virulent proc. |. O.
bias of Board Member Edwin S.
Smith? No, no, no, No! Or of Chair
man Madden? Perhaps.
Maybe and Perhaps
Having already found that head
ache powders may give temporary re-
lief but no cure, we can place no re-
lance on a prescription compounded
of such uncertain factors as maybe"
and perhaps"
The patient Labor Board) is seri-
ously ill. 1t is suffering from an acute
case of CIOitis. The patients constitu-
tion (Wagner Act) is rugged. But un-
less the disease is promptly checked,
the still healthy organic structure may
weaken and collapse. Already anti
labor legislation has been passed in
several States and the Wagner Act
itself may be obliterated in another
year or two unless the infection gnaw-
ing at it's vitals is arrested at once.
Therefore we prescribe as cure the
immediate enactment of the Wagner
Act amendments sponsored by the
American Federation Of Labor and in
troduced in both Houses of Congress
by Senator Walsh and Representative
Barden.
These amendments would protect
the integrity of craft unions, prevent
the Board from tossing A. f. of l..
contracts out the window on himsy
pretexts and lay down the rules of the
game so that no Labor Board, regard
less of the personal predictions of it's
members, could favor any particular
labor organization.
Passage of these amendments will
certainly restore the patient to health
and vlgor and wipe out the cause OF
the headaches.
They Want Sarsparilla-
Apparently the patient doesn't like
the taste of this medicine. Neither do
the Communist and c. l. o. bugs who
are thriving on the patients disease.
They have set up such howl that
some of the more timid doctors on
Capitol Hill are hesitant about admin
istering the dose. The policy of such
milquetoast lawmakers is "let's wait
till next year and maybe the patient
will get cured without medicine"
This course is just as dangerous for
the doctors as for the patient. What
do the Members of Congress have to
fear from the C. |. o.? Political re-
prisals The political impotency of the
C. |. o. was demonstrated for all the
world to see in the last elections. Out
of as Congressman blacklisted by the
c.. / 0, "a were reelected and only