Evening star., 1941-01-28

:, hAhn' natural that
they should mobilize the G. M. C.
equipment and facilities in produc.
ing munitions.
Inc Quartermaster Corps has
placed over s95000,00O of orders for
trucks from the Yellow Truck 81
Coach Manufacturing Co.. General
Motors truck and coach division OF
Pontiac, Mich. Chevrolet at Detroit
mas also received s400O,0O worth of
orders from the Q. NC.
Ordnance has ordered over sl4,-
ooo,oo0 worth of machine guns and
80 guns from the Saginaw Steering
Gear division of Saginaw, Mich;
SS,5O0,000 of los and rs nm. shells
from the Lansing Forge Works of
Lansing, Mich, s5,000,00 of car
fridge cases and cartridges from the
Guide Lamp division of Anderson,
Ind; over S19,000,00O of aircraft
guns from the Frigidaire division at
Dayton, Ohio; s2100,000 of shells
and fuses from Delco Products divi-
sion at Dayton, Ohio; nearly s6,O0O,-
700 OF aircraft guns from the Brown
Lipe-Chapin division of Syracuse. N.
Y: nearly s23 900, 900 of heavy-barrel
guns from the A. G. Spark Plug di-
vision Of Flint, Mich: over s23,COo.-
OOO OF airplane engines frcm the
Buick Motor division of Flint, Mich;
nearly s70,000,000 of parts and air.
plane engines from the Allison Enci-
neerlng Co. division of Indiana polls.
and over 100000 of fire control
appliances and parts from Delco
Appliance division of Rochester,
N. Y.
Company's Labor Record Good. e.
In addition TO this the New De-
parture division of General Motors,
at Its Bristol Conn plant. is work.
ing on blade-bearings for the Cur
tiss-Wrlght Corp. to an unspecifed
amount. These assembled figures
for the divisions of General Motors
indicate that this giant CORPORATION
has about one-third of $1,000, 900 900
OF national defense contracts
1t Is well to remember these facts
whenever there is a disposition to
blame labor for attempting to here-
fit from the defense program. bv
demands for higher wages. etc. In
this connection, I have cited the
G, M. c. figures because General
Motors management has not had
any substantial labor trouble since
the sit-down strikes of 1887 and
has a pretty good record in labor
relations with the c. I. O., etc. since
then. There is too general a dispo-
sition to take it for granted that it
is all right for industry to profit and
all wrong for labor to- strike in the
defense program
In this connection. I should like
to quote the works of a far-siehted
man, best known to America as a
leader of conservative business
thought. On December 10. 1910, Mr.,
Bernard M. Baruch addressed t-e
National Industrial Congress Board
on the subject of Problems of In
dustrial Mobilization.
Baruch Quotes Report.
In his statement Mr.. Earu-h
quoted from his War Industries
Board report:
III no action is taken to stop the
rise in the cost of living and huge
profits are in prospect, any man
who labors will feel that he is en-
titled to greater pay. This includes
all those working for wages and fees.
l think too much stress Is laid upon
the shortcomings of labor. That
they should be Unfortunately rewarded
Is unnecessary, wrong and easily
avoldable, but not by drafting men
TO work for other men. A soldier
serves the Nation directly. There is
but one master in the case, and that
master is America. He serves to
profit no one but the country as a
whole. There is no distinction be-
tween him and his comrades. He
enters an immemorial status. His
entry is not contractual. He is
clothed, housed and attended.
AS long as our present industrial
organization maintains, industry is
In the hands of millions of private
employers. 1t is operated for profit
to them. The employe, therefore.
serves IN private industry operating
Tor gain. Enforced and involuntary
service for private master is and
has been clearly and repeatedly de-
flned by our Supreme Court as slav-
cry inhibited by the 18th amend
rnent to the Constitution Of the
United States.
If any such provision (the draft
ing OF labor were made it might be
used to break a perfectly justifable
strike and so at one sweep destroy
all the social advance of our labor
system in the last century,"