Evening star., 1939-05-06

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stepped in with
laws to control David Lawrence.
labor unions and employers. In
America, where similar situations
have arisen as, for instance, on the
railroads, the Government has step
ped In with laws that have provided
means of adjustment and have pre-
vented strikes from going into effect
during negotiations.
Today America faces serious
shortage of fuel for electric light and
power plants and for industrial
establishments because two groups
OF individuals-each small in num-
ber-have dared to take into their
own hands economic power which
in other democracies the govern
ment alone has assumed.
In Fascist countries similar situa-
tions have resulted in complete gov
ernmental regulation.
Unusual Issues.
Nobody here would like to see any
Fascist plan applied to labor unions,
but the plan operated in demo-
cratic countries like Great Britain
will come in for more and more con-
sideration if the union leaders and
the coal operators do not get to-
gether. For what has happened in
the coal industry can happen in any
other unionized industry when once
there is a stalemate in negotiations
and workers are ordered to cease
work.
The issues between the coal op-
orators and miners unions are by
no means the customary ones. 1t
Is not a question of wages or hours
or working conditions, but simply
q question of whether the United
Mine Workers of America, headed
by John L. Lewis, shall have vir-
tually q monopoly of the unioniza-
ton rights in the coal business, or
whether competition shall be al
lowed in the form of American
Federation of Labor unions.
Mr.. Lewis has about 100000
miners under his control and Mr..
Green of the A. F. of L. has about
5000 to $4,000.
1t is natural sthat Mr.. Lewis
would want to protect his organiza-
ton and to keep it from being
broken up by inside operations
conducted by the A. F. of l.. or
ganizers. It is natural that Mr..
Green should want to have the A.
q of cot q footho1d oy,,oy,p tho
strongest Of the c. I. o. unions.
For, after all. Mr.. Lewis has been
carrying on continuous warfare in
side the A. F. of L. organizations
to try to tear them away from the
parent organization so as to
strengthen the c. I. o.
Operators Welcome Competition.
As for the coal operators, they
welcome the competition or the fric-
ton presumably because it les
sens the danger of a united front
by the miners in future negotia-
tions.
Each one of the three sides Is
selfish In its viewpoint. Selfish
ness has caused many a controversy
in individual lives and many a con-
troversy in the national life of
America. The Federal Government
Is supposed to stand for the public
interest-the unselfishness of the
many as against the self1shness of
the few.
When John r. Steelman, head of
the Federal Cancellation Service,
demanded that negotiations be not
interrupted, he was speaking the
sentiments of the vast majority of
the American people who refuse
to believe in war as means of
settling the disputes of mankind.
The real reason why the coal dis
pute has gone so far is because
public opinion has been purposely
kept uninformed as to what was
going on. Timidity about offending
the labor leaders has induced
silence on the part of the principal
persons familiar with the negotia-
tions and hence the usual pressure
Of free American opinion has been
lacking
Little Publicity on Contest.
The oldest idea in the settling of
human disputes is that they should
first be aired thoroughly so that
innocent bystanders at least may
know the issues and decide which
side is right and which side is
wrong. It is incredible that nego-
tiations Of such great importance
to the country's welfare should be
carried on with so little publicity
as to what is back of the contest
itself. When the issues are fully
disclosed, the American people will
learn of the dangers of permitting
vast economic powers to be exer-
cised by group of union leaders
or by group of employers. If
unionism and the power of organized
employers Is going to lead to such
q fragrant disregard of the public
interest, then Congress might well
consider revamping the Wagner
Act to forbid either employees or
employers to enter conspiracies in
restraint of trade. There is no more
logic in trust or monopoly formed
for the basis of exercising economic
power over workers than for con-
crete action over the prices or dis
tribution Of products, especially
when the interest of the public is
thereby menaced or injured.