Evening star., 1940-04-29
Industry Is Urged
.ToAir Labor Troubles
In Early Stages
DR.. SteeImon Emphasizes
Prevention in Talk
To Trade Executives

Key men of industry can help
keep production flowing smoothly
by airing their labor troubles in the
early stages, DR.. John R. Steelman,
the Labor Departments director of
conciliation, today told the Ameri-
can Trade Association executives.
More and more" DR.. Steelman
said, "the emphasis is upon pre-
vention'' rather than remedy in
American labor relations. Last year
the conciliation service was able to
prevent from becoming stoppages of
works more than 80 Ler cent of the
threatened strikes brought 10 our
attention"
No matter what the problem, DR..
Steelman said, I'VE have generally
found that more effective work can
be done II We are calea in during
the earlier stages of its develop
ment. After ali If we car get in
early we stand a much better
chance of preventing the economic
loss which strike or lockout al
ways brings to both parties. Then,
too, settlement satisfactory to
both parties is usually more easily
reached in the early stages"
The earlier the settlement. DR..
Steelman said, the less likely is a
hangover of resentment ard sus-
picion to plague the parties in their
future relations.
Benefit Pointed Out.
1T is here, 1 think, that the trade
association can be of positive bene-
fit to its members" he added. In
most cases, the top officers of the
member firms repose an exception
ally strong confidence in their trade
association executive. Increasingly.
they come to him with their labor
relations problems for discussion and
advice, and they will usually pay
strong heed to any suggestions he
may offer"
DR.. Steelman said there is "en-
tirely too much reliance by all
groups of Americans on legislation
and law enforcement to solve our
problems. Even the best legislation
can be no more than a framework
for working out the recurring prob
lens of human relations-and espe-
cially labor relations. We cannot
legislate economic democracy. We
must work it out for ourselves"
A just and lasting industrial
peace, DR.. Steelman said in conclu-
sion, must take into account the
numerous vexing problems of day.
to-day living and working together.
Such a peace can never be developed
and preserved by anything less than
the free will and whole-hearted CO.
operation of workers and manage
ment. 1t is on this score that con-
ciliation is usually superior to other
methods of settling disputes"
DR.. Steelman spoke at the semi
annual meeting of. the trade ex-
ecutives at the Mayflower Hotel. He
was followed by DR.. Theodore Kreps,
economic adviser of the Temporary
National Economic Committee, who
spoke on Understanding the Wheels
of Progress"
Monopoly Foe of Democracy.
Monopoly in its various forms in
the United States, DR.. Kreps said,.
is the enemy of democracy. eff we
fail to have sufficient American red
blood in our veins to insist that
there shall be no concentration of
economic power without the consent
of governed, then technology will
never be able to create for us an
America unlimited"
To those who say opportunities no
longer exist, that the frontier is
gone and that the pace of advance
in the future is bound to slow down,
DR.. Kreps suggested a study of the
recent industrial history of Great
Britain or Sweden.
There are two frontiers, he said
the industrial frontier and the from
tier of economic adjustment.
Changes in one must be synchro-
nized with changes in the other.
If we vigorously push advances in
technology and refuse to make the
requisite economic adjustment, we
will set up grave tensions in our
society. The shortsightedness of
those who argue that the industrial
frontier is gone is only exceeded by
the stupid defeatism of those who
wish to call a halt to economic ad-
justment."