Evening star., 1939-12-05

the A, F. of L., is
beginning now
to show open David Lawrence
favoritism to the John l.. Lewis or
eanization is widely expressed among
A. F. of L. leaders and they base
1t on a number of incidents, the
latest of which happened over the
week end.
First came the announcement that
Attorney General Murphy had in
sisted in his letter to William Green
that labor unions were subject to
prosecution under the Sherman
antitrust laws. Then came the
brief report that the Department
of Justice was planning to appear
before the Supreme Court Of the
United States in the Apex case as
friend of the court
The Apex case involves the Sher-
man antitrust law and is the one
in which a C. I. O. union, after
staging "sit-down" strike, was sued
for damages. only to have the Cir
cult Court of Appeals, consisting of
three judges recently appointed by
the New Deal, dismiss the case. The
verdict has amazed well-informed
lawyers, who cannot understand why
the Sherman law is being held not
to have been violated even though
the strikers refused to permit ship
ments of goods to leave the plant
so as to move interstate commerce.
Action Puzzling.
Just why the Attorney General
feels he must intervene in a civil
suit to hefriend a C. l. o. union
which participated in Shutdown"
strike is a puzzle when the same arm
of the Government is writing letters
to the head of another labor Or
ganization declaring that labor is
subject to Sherman law prosecu-
tions.
The A. F. of L. leaders believe
that the present policy Of the De-
partment of Justice in prosecuting
A. F. of L. chieftains criminally is
form of coercion and that the
suits were really instituted at the
suggestion of c. I. o. attorneys in
positions of influence IN the Ma
tional Capital
The administration policy in re-
fusing to allow a verdict in the Apex
case to stand without intervening
though no such action is called for
by precedents, and the continual
batting of the A. F. of L. through
threatened prosecutions under the
Sherman law, may have political
repercussions.
A.F.L. May Go Republican.
If. for instance. the Republican
party in the next campaign presents
candidate who is fair to labor and
a platform that can be sincerely
depended upon not to become a basis
for wrecking or sabotaging the Wag-
ner Act altogether, SO as to leave
collective bargaining unprotected
there is a good chance that the
"A. F. of L. vote will go Republican
The A. F. of L. showed what il
could do in Pennsylvania in the last
gubernatorial election, when it threw
its strength to Judge James anc
helped him to win his election even
though the C. I. o. supported the
Democratic nominee. The labor
vote throughout the United States
has always been Democratic, sc
what the Republicans really need tt
win in the next election is merely
the same proportion of the labol
vote that they used to get priol
to 1882 and 1896. While there art
many Democrats among the A. F
of L. members, the resentment ovel
the administration tactics, particu.
larly as it may affect skilled worker!
in the future, is growing. The A. F
of L. proposed plan after plan fol
a settlement of the c. I. GA. F
of L. controversy, but the price o.
peace offered by the C. I. o. amounts
in the opinion of A. F. of l.. leader!
virtually to complete surrender Il
industrial unionism.
Want Union to Live.
The A. L. of L. means to protect it
craft workers and will fight any
administration attempt to use it.
political power to destroy the A. F
of l.. Representing the oldest labol
institution in the field, the A. F. of L
leaders feel the terms should cal
for the perpetuation rather than thu
emasculation of their national or
ganization.
The sniping campaign on A. F. O
L. unions begun by the Department
of Justice has already retarded tn
making of agreements with employ
ers in the building trades, some o
whom are contending that they fea
eventual prosecution under tn
Sherman law and hence prefer t.
do nothing.
So far as the A. F. of L. l
concerned, there is a Sherman anti
trust law So far as the c. 1, o. i
concerned, not a single prosecution
has been threatened, and, in tn
one case where the c. I. o. wa
held by a three Judge court in 1913
to have violated the Sherman Law
the administration now proposes t
help the c. I. o. in the Suprem
Court win its battle for escape from
responsibility for sabotage and VIC
1ence in Shutdown" strike.
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