Evening star., 1939-11-21

policy issued s$sS S2
through Assist -
ant A Attorney
General Thur David Lawrence.
man Arnold is tempered with apollo
getic phrases such as no admins
tration has been willing to use pub
licly to reveal its sollcitude for one
side of labor disputes, but the iron
hand of public authority is never
unions which abuse their economic
power.
That labor unions are subject to
antitrust laws when they conspire
to restrain trade or to interrupt
commerce outside of the field of
lawful strikes has long been well
known to lawyers and even to labor
leaders. For many years the labor
groups sought, and for a while were
successful in obtaining, exemption
from prosecution under the anti
trust laws. President Taft repeat
edly vetoed measures which looked
to that end, but rider to an ap-
preparation bill was often attached
preventing for number of years
the use Of the funds of the Depart
ment of Justice to apply the anti
trust laws against labor unions or
farm organizations.
Evidence on File.
Today the administration threat
ems prosecutions against a Speciti-
cally enumerated list of offenses
which are plainly outside the pale of
legitimate union activity, as, for in
stance, conspiracieS to prevent low
cost housing from coming into frui-
ton The Government files are full
of instances in which labor unions,
sometimes in collusion with manu-
facturers of certain materials, have
brought about the passage of city
ordinances requiring a certain kind
Of equipment in the home or certain
kinds of construction salable only
through certain channels. The ef-
feet OF requiring more labor than
necessary on job is often to defeat
lower costs.
In Mr.. Arnold'S letter, he speaks of
the forcing of unnecessary labor
to be hired. This is one of the COM
monest abuses of union power and
runs through many a union outside
as we'll as inside the building trades.
Union labor will fight politically, no
doubt, the assertion of any such
governmental power because labor,
like capital, knows how important
it is to maintain vested interest
which means money coming into the
treasury.
Welcomed by Others.
While the Arnold pronouncement
will draw the fire Of labor, it will be
welcomed by all those who have been
wondering why collective power can
be used to restrain trade, to inter-
fere with unemployment and tc
maintain high costs to consumers
and yet, if any violations Of the
Sherman antitrust law of even a
technical nature are committed by
management, the Department of
Justice does not hesitate to prose-
cute, using criminal as we'll as civil
procedure.
Thus, only last week, jury in
South Bend, Ind, acquitted II
prominent men who we're accused by
the Department of Justice of crimi-
nal violations of the antitrust laws.
The same jury, struggling with be-
Wildering array of testimony, con-
victed the corporation itself doubt
less because Of feeling that the
issues could be fought out on appeal
to higher courts where economic
questions could be better understood
Nevertheless. there will be amaze
ment to read today in Mr.. Arnold S
statement the following sentence:
In our anxiety to be fair to la
Dor, we are not suhjecting to crimi-
nal prosecution practices which can
be justified even under the dissent
ing opinions of the United States
Supreme Court"
A Question of Fairness.
No such politeness was exhibited
to the corporation executives in
dicted under criminal statutes, some
of whom in various industries are
still to come to trial. If it is fair
to labor not to use technical con-
struction of the antitrust laws for
criminal prosecutions, why, it will
be asked, isn't it also fair to give
the same benefit of the doubt to
businessmen and proceed only I'M
Ger the civil statutes, which fur
nish, after all, ample remedies?
1t may be that Mr.. Arnold who
was enthusiastic about criminal
prosecutions few months ago, has
become somewhat discouraged about
1t anyway, especially since a jury
failed to support his contentious
at South Bend; but, if this is not
so, his confession in the statement
to labor may constitute an effec-
tive barrier against future crimi-
nal suits.
Mr.. Arnold has been cropping to
find a way to make the antitrust
laws effective. His methods and
reasoning have not always met with
the approval of critics, but his lat
est step will be welcomed, es-
pecially because it reveals, on paper
at least, a determination to use
the prosecuting arm OF the Gov
ernment to put an end to abuses
OF the monopolistic power which
Is derived, for instance, from "closed
shop" contracts and other collec-
tive devices IN the labor field
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