The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-11-28
Support Of Free
Enterprise Urged
BY Labor Heads
Quit Changing Rules. Give
Business Signul To Go
Aheud" Is Plea

OuSA1ASSS 04S3IAOl 10 1O
Ahead. Is Pleu
By Delegates James M. Duffy, f. L.
Wheatley, John D. McGillivray and
Dales w. Allison.
New Orleans, La.-You cannot have
democracy without capitalism, and you
cannot have capitalism without de-
mocracy, for each is an integral part
of the other, and if one is amputated,
the other dies, said, six outstanding
American union labor leaders in New
Orleans Saturday, all delegates at the
American Federation of Labor conven-
ton here.
The six were William Green, presi-
dent of the A. F. of L.; Harvey Brown,
vice-president of the A. F. of L. and
president of the International Asso-
citation of Machinists; John P. Coyne,
president of the building and con-
struction trades department of the A.
F. of L.; Daniel ]. Tobin, president of
the international Brotherhood of
Teamsters and chairman of the labor
committee of the Democratic national
executive committee for the past three
national presidential campaigns; John
Frey, president of the metal trades de-
partment Of the A. F. of L., and Mat
thew Woll, vice-president of the A. F.
of l.. and vice-president of the Inter-
national Photo Engrayers' Union.
A III CIV ch;ol ~ he
talism." Some explained they avoided
the word because of many of the i'm
plications that word has come to in
clude." All six suggested that the
words "free enterprise were the
phrase they preferred to "capitalism."
Hope was expressed by Mr.. Green
that President Roosevelt in his third
term would "define the rules of the
game to American business, let bust
ness know that those rules wouldn't
be changed for some specific period,
and give business Iner the green light
and tell them: 'NoE So aheadH"
Mr.. Tobin expressed the belief that
"some big business men haven't made
any more of an attempt to understand
President Roosevelt and his New Deal
than they made some time ago to un-
derstand union labor"
! All six were unanimous that "work-
ers are the same as slaves, the same
as convicts on chain gang" under
the totalitarian forms of government
in force under the worlds great dicta-
torships today, "where the state is
everything and the individual has no
rights the officials of the political
party in power need to respect under
the law"
All six expressed the belief that
better understanding between Wash
ington and American business would
be reached, and that "the rights of
union labor" would be part of it.
Both Essential
"The American Federation of Labor
supports our American capitalistic
system and free enterprise just as
vigorously as we support trade unions
and the right to organize and bargain
collectively" said President Green of
the A. F. of L. eve regard both cap
italism and trade unions as essential
factors in the maintenance and per-
petuation of our democratic form of
government. There is no free enter
prise, as we Americans understand
free enterprise in any Of the totali-
tartan nations in the world today
There, everything is government-dom-
mated, government-contro Core
spondingly, in the totalitarian nations
there are no free trade unions; there
is no right for trade unions to Or
ganize and bargain collectively. Both
capitalism and trade unionism are
out, where the dictators rule.
81 have had my differences of opin-
ion with the Roosevelt administration
about various phases Of the New Deal.
For example, l have urged that PWA
jobs should have been given to private
contractors. But in my opinion, the
fear that has been expressed that
President Roosevelt and the New Deal
will take American business leader
ship away from private enterprise is
not well-founded.
Oppose Uncertainty
81 do say this, however, American
business men should be given a clear
understanding of what New Deal rules
they must comply with, and then given
a rest from more new rules for awhile.
"Side by side with national defense,
President Roosevelt's great job as /
see it is to remove uncertainty from
the minds of American business men,
define the rules of the game, tell them
there will be decline period without
change of those rules, and say to
American business: Here's the green
light Now go ahead Under such
conditions, American business has the
power and ability to come back with
a rush, as it has always when it has
had a chance to know what conditions
L