The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-01-23

However, Johnny Towers has now gone over to the side of the brass-hat admirals.
 Testifying before the House Naval Affairs Committee the other day, Johnny took a crack at the Walsh-Healey Act which escaped general attention. But it was most important. For it was the beginning of carefully aimed attack upon one of Roosevelt's most important labor laws, requir- ing firms doing government busi- ness to pay prevailing wages.
 For a long time the big armor plate plants, such as Bethlehem Steel, have been opposed to the Walsh -Healey Act. So also have the admirals. And when Ad- miral Towers launched his attack, there were two confidential mat ters he did not tell the House Naval Affairs Committee:
 1. That, several days before
 he and Committee Chairman
 Carl Vinson had had secret
 talk at which they agreed on a
 two-way attack on the Walsh
 Healey Act.
 2. It was planned that the
 first maneuver would be an ef-
 fort to persuade Roosevelt to
 order the suspension of the law
 during the emergency. If this
 failed, then Vinson would offer
 an amendment to do this by
 legislation.
 In their private talk. Vinson and Towers agreed that the chance of putting over the first scheme was remote. Roosevelt is publicly ~ on record against any tampering with the labor laws. But they de- cided to try persuading Roosevelt anyway in order to strengthen the legislative attack.
 LABOR COUNTER ATTACK
 The latter faces hard fight right within Vinson's committee from the pro-labor members, led by Representatives Mike Bradley of Pennsylvania, World War telegraph operator to the late Ad- miral Sims; from Lyndon JOhn- son of Texas and Warren Magnu- son of Washington. Also Senator David I. Walsh, chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs committee, is co-author of the act and will vigorously resist any attempt to Scuttle it.
 However, the brasshats of both the Army and Navy are quietly gunning for the law and they swing lot of undercover weight.
 Only the other day Secretary Stimson formally petitioned the Labor Department for exemptions for the canning industry, one of the most poorly paid in the coun- try. Stimson claimed that can- ners are refusing to sell to the Army because of Walsh -Healey wage requirements, and conse- quently the Army has been com- pelled to buy canned goods through middlemen at a considerable in- crease in cost.
 Both the AFL and CIO are fighting Stiinson's move. The AFL charges that it is in direct viola ton of Roosevelt's pledge not to relax labor standarsd and the CIO has asked Stimson why he doesn't resort to the"draft industry" law and force the canners to toe the mark. So far he hasn't an- swered either attack.
 But you are going to hear a great deal more about the Walsh -Healey Act during the present emergency.
 DOWN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
 Social highlights of the Third Term Inauguration: Irving Ber- lin, diminutive, truly great Ameri- can, singing his God Bless Amer ica" in a thin little voice, then with the merest gesture getting the entire audience to join him ... Berlin backssage kidding Charlie Chaplin about the prospect of } woman of distinction, but almost invariably she was one who possess nH rk.l.1. n,.nlsN4a- aR I11ar-f