Evening star., 1941-12-17

out a no-strike plan to last until
the worldwide conflict is over.
Mr.. Davis, named moderator of the
committee by President Roosevelt,
introduced to his colleagues Edward
Pritchard, who took care of the de-
tail work of getting the committee
together and at Mr.. Davis sugges-
ton he was chosen executive secre-
tary. Senator Thomas, Democrat, OF
Utah, is associate moderator.
Mr.. Pritchard, young Harvard
Law School graduate. was brought
into official life in Washington by
Justice Felix Frankfurter and was
his first secretary.
Father Francis J. Haas, of Catho-
lie University. attended the open
ing meeting of the committee and
offered a prayer for its work. Some
work will come a new mediation
bureau patterned after the 1918 War
Labor Board.
Two Members Absent.
The only abSentees today were
Donald Conner, chairman Of the
board of Avondale Mills. Birming-
ham, Ala, and John P. Frey, presi-
dent of the Metal Trades Depart
ment, American Federation of La
Dor. Mr. Frey. flying east from
Seattle, was grounded in Chicago
by bad weather.
The committee consists OF II in
dustry members and u labor men,
bers-six each of the A. F. L. and
the c. I. o. and two representatives
of the public
When Mr. Tobin. president of the
International Brotherhood of Team
sters. arrived at the conference
roo mhe went up to MI. Lewis,
standing in the doorway. and said:
Il wonder if could shake hands
with you
Mr.. Lewis, long a bitter enemy of
the A. F L., smiled and shook hands.
william Green Attends.
A moment later William Green.
president of the A. F. L., entered
the room but by that time Mr. Lewis
was at the other end of the cham
ber.
Fourteen large charts concerning
industrial production. stock ex-
change activity and commodity
prices. framed in heavy, ornamental
bronze holders. were hung on the
walls of the conference room by en-
ployes of the Reserve Building as
the committee met
In calling the conference in an
endeavor to end strikes during the
war emergency, President Roosevelt
made it clear that he would be
satisfied with nothing short of
unanimous agreement.
A. F. L. Makes Peace Offer.
The conference also had before it
a new labor peace offer from the
American Federation of Labor. In
a declaration of wartime labor
policy. the A. F. L. extended the
olive branch to the c. I. o. in a brief
paragraph which did not directly
mention the c. l. O. but which said
that labor rivalry had no place in
the wartime picture.
I'VE regret sincerely" the declar-
alton said. "' the destructive
rivalry in organization that has be-
set the labor field for the past few
years. We hold all such rivalries
and jurisdictional conflicts have no
place in an emergency such as faces
America and the world today. We,
therefore. renew our offer for unity
in the labor movement and for the
common defense of our Nation
against mortal danger. We hope
our call to this end may not be in
vain"
c. I. O. officials indicated they
would answer this appeal soon af-
ter today's conference convened.
They, too, worked yesterday on a
policy declaration. but planned to
make it public only after it had
been submitted to the conference.
War Labor Board Favored.
Flat Endorsement of a war labor
board similar to that of first World
War days was contained in the A.
F. LIS declaration, along with a
pledge to do away with strikes dur
ing the emergency in favor of medi-
alton, Cancellation and arbitrat ton.
The G. I. o. never has publicly in
dorsed such a board, but has been
advocating for some time the estab-
lishment of industry councils, COM
posed of labor. Government and
business representatives, to take up
disputes which could not be settled
in the plants.
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