Evening star., 1941-08-29

ates the plant &@@A '
because this David Lawrence.
means a closed shop for all other
Navy plants. Yet, in its anxiety to
please the union involved, the ad-
ministration has asked its law
officers to find a subterfuge of some
kind to deal with the problem.
One way that has been suggested
Is for a dummy corporation to be
set up to which the Reconstruction
Finance Corp. would lend enough
Government money to buy the
property from its present owners.
This means that group of civilians
who would be appointed by the
Government - possibly even the
executives of the Defense Plant
Corp. which has been set up to
buy reserves of raw materials
would own the plant and agree to
sell to the Government after the
war. Then it is presumed that the
granting of the form of closed shop
contract demanded by the union
would be recognized not as the
action of the Navy itself or of the
Government but of the new man.
agement.
Would Not Halt Demand.
1t is argued, for example, that
the Panama Canal Corp, which
operates for the War Department,
recognizes the closed shop in its
employment of crews for ships and |
that the administration has already |
q precedent to guide it. But this is
hardly the issue. The Navy does not |
grant closed shop or any modified |
form of it in any of its own ship
yards. Nor do most of the other |
private shipyards in the East. If
the administration grants the de-
mand by a roundabout way to the
employees of the shipyard at Kearny,
1t will cause other workers or their
leaders to ask for the same thing.
The whole shipbuilding industry
Of the East-about 54 yards-is
watching the administrations ma
neuvers to see what Is coming next.
For If the demands aren't granted
by these companies-and many
shlpyard owners say they will not
grant them-there will be a new
outbreak of strikes in the Eastern
shipyards which the historic stabin-
cation agreement of June % was
supposed to nave prevented for q
period Of at least two years.
The sacrifice made by the United |
States Steel Corp. in behalf of its
Kearny plant on a matter of prin-
ciple has considerably stiffened the
backbone of industrialists through
out the country. For when a
corporation offers to sell its plant
In which it, has invested at least |
S35 100000 and loses the right to
earn profits out of s493 900 900 worth
OF Government contracts, nobody |
can say that American industry
thinks only of the dollar sign.
The theory that munitions makers
produce wars has received a very
decided setback by the action of the |
United States Steel Corp. 1t is
clear proof that big business does
not want war or war profits. For
1t isn't easy for large corporation
to give up all the profits involved in
this case just to stick to principle |
or deep-Seated conviction.
Impresses Businessmen.
The sacrifice has made profound
impression on businessmen who now
are concerned over the future of the
free enterprise system and especially
over the administration willing
ness, despite its protests to the con-
trary, to let the system be sabotaged |
by political methods. The chief
reason that the issue comes I'D is
that the Army and Navy officers are
not permitted to decide such issues
as they relate to defense. The New
Dealers have placed limitations on
the military men. The limitations
are placed also on civilian officials.
The story is going around Wash
ngton in defense of MesSrS. Knud-
sen and Admiral Land of the Mari
time Commission that they were
muzzled against making a protest
and that they went along with the
open violation by the C. 1. o. of the
stabilization agreement which the
Q. P. M. had sponsored because the
White House wanted them to do so.
In other words, when the admins
tration wants the C. I. o. or the
A. F. of L. given a governmental
favor even if it impairs the defense
programs progress, the officials of
the Government look on such a
request as equivalent to command. |
The moral effect of the admins
tration's surrender to the C. I. o.
on the union maintenance agree
ment will be felt in other industries
than shipouilding. If this method
were the only way to obtain union
security, it might be winning public
support. But any union can obligate
It's members by formal contract to
pay dues and if the members de-
fault, the courts can attach q por-
tion of the weekly wages of the
worker and collect it just as effec-
lively If not more so than can an
eO1nlOypr Tho whole dafoneo ,,ro