Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-20
MIR. Roosevelt
Takes Ball on
One-Yd. Line
Now Set for Score on
Unions, PeeIer Says \
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

HAS anybody noticed what our
- beloved President is doing
in this John Lewis affair?
Well, our beloved President
has just nonchalantly stolen the
play away from all of us poor
monkeys who have been holler-
ing and bellering, denouncing,
exposing and viewing with alarm
along the union front and now
he is going to call his own signal
and step across the line for the
touchdown as millions cheer.
People who make a profession
of politics have often said that
Mr.. Big was the cleverest OPP
orator Of our time in these
United States and, chums, here
is where he proves up, because
if you will examine the play you
will observe that he is proceed
ing with the support of an
aroused public opinion, although
he has never carried the target
for a single minute in the entire
braWl
On the contrary. our beloved
President sat back there while
his union pals yelled Tabor
batter" and union buster" at
those who prepared the way for
reform that was very unpopu-
lar at first and the most he ever
said, when the going was tough,
was that very few union bosses
had been faithless TO their trust.
LIE GAVE unioneers plenty OF
II chances 10 prove their AZ
rogant stupidity their lack ~
responsibility and their criminal
character.
He let them get away with
larceny. mob rule and perse-
cution until Lewis created this
break in the game which was
bound 10 come some time.
There have been other breaks.
but they weren't as inviting rs
this and Mr. Rooseveft1
patience and timing have been
such as 10 command the admi-
ration OF those who have praised
him least.
Howard Smith Virginia.
and Hoffman of Michigan. Byrd.
Brewster and O'Daniel have
raised the devil and that Smith
really worked hard under handi-
caps and against political haz-
ards.for he ~aS-one ofthe ef-
fective. persistent pioneers who
recognized faults of union prac-
tice and of the labor act and
board and started Scrapping
when 10 say a word against any
unien was like sneering at re-
liCion
II was heresy. il was bias
phemy 10 criticize any union
or any Of the inflated union
GERS and most members Of both
houses OF Congress we're afraid
10 utter peep
Some Of those who kept still
however. were just shrewd and
acted on premonition that
Mr.. Big would do something
like this and grab the political
credit for their work.
THE Republicans laid off, as
i you may have noticed, be-
cause they realized that if any
reform legislation went through
Congress. the New Deal would
60 before the country and take
all the bows. n
Or. if the legislation failed
test. the administration would
be in A position 10 say that the
elected representatives of the
people had rejected these at
tempts 10 deliver labor with an
upper-case l. back into the
hands Of the corporate ex-
ploiters.
1t was long time before the
newspapers began 10 venture
few mutters editorially and l
think they would have been
even slower TO react but for the
outrageous demands of the
Newspaper Guild and the fam
tastic stories that were told
about most Of the controversies
between publishers and the
union
The guild probably is AS much
responsible as any other element
on the union side for the reform
which is now on the way, be-
cause Commies with their utter
cynicism and their savage perse-
cution of dissenters in the craft
made the publishers personally
aware of the iniquities Of the
whole situation.
They started timidly, but now
most OF them are really going
10 town and the public obviously
agrees with the editorial opinion.
Well, il certainly has been a
wonderful row these last five
or six years, but / am afraid il is
almost over now, barring a few
prosecutions of individual thieves
and miscellaneous other crooks.