Evening star., 1941-02-03


and vet Mr.. David Lawrence.
Roosevelt allowed that very kind OF
an offense to be perpetrated on
Henry Ford last week and he also
permitted his press conference to
be used as the basis of publicity i'm
plying that the motor executive was
likely to have his plant COM
mandeered
1t is precisely this misuse of pres
tdential power which has given the
opponents of the lease-lend bill
their biggest argument, and it is
regrettable that at a time when all
aid to Britain is so important the
President himself should allow the
office of the Chief Executive and
the power of the chief of staff of
the United States Army, Gen. Mar
shall, to be entangled in a bit of
labor politics.
Case Is RecOunted.
The facts of the case are worth
recounting because they involve a
principle of individual freedom and
the right of the citizen to be i'm
mune from persecution or prosecu-
ton except by the explicit laws of
the land and for offenses specifically
made punishable by law.
During the last week it was an
nounced that Henry Ford had bid
on a contract for motor trucks and
that he was the lowest bidder. But
1t was also officially stated that the
bid was rejected because the Ford
Motor Co. took exception to one stip-
ulation in the form of contract Of
fered by the War Department. That
provision contained a requirement
that all bidders must agree in ad-
vance to comply with the Federal
and State laws governing labor. 1t
might as well have stipulated that
all contractors must obey the Ten
Commandments and must agree to
be honest and law abiding. 1t is
presumed that citizens will obey the
laws anyway and if they do not then
the laws which they violate can be
used to prosecute them and the pen
alties provided in those laws can
be applied. This is supposed to be
the cardinal principle Of democracy
and of the representative system of
government under a written consti-
tuition.
But under the present admins
tration unusual punishments, not
provided by Congress or written into
any law. can be used at any time
that executive officials or agencies
decide to apply them. Congress has
refused to write into law any pro-
vision requiring as condition of
the award Of contracts that bidders
should agree to abide by the laws.
Yet the War Department under
pressure from Sidney Hillman, who
is a salaried official of a major
labor union, and nevertheless holds
Office IN the Government and han
dies labor matters, insisted that such
a provision be included in contracts
for defense issued by the War De-
partment.
FOrd's Objection.
Henry Ford's objection was that
which any courageous citizen would
make. He insisted through his at
torneys that he was obeying the
law and that he did not need to
take the pledge. There are some
cases pending against the Ford Mo-
tor Co. initiated by C. I. o. unions
through the Labor Board If and
when these are decided by the Su-
preme Court of the United States
and an order of compliance is issued
by that court, the Ford Motor Co.
unquestionably will comply with the
law.
There has been, on the other
hand, what appears on the surface
q plot to get Henry Ford" 1t is
aided and abetted by those who
needle the President on the subject
of Mr.. Fords labor relations. Mr..
Roosevelt was asked at his press
conference, for instance, if he
planned to do anything about the
Ford refusal to accept a contract,
and if plants which did this would
be commandeered. The President
replied that if Mr.. Ford's name we're
eliminated and the question made
general he wou- answer it. Now
the President has heretofore stead
fastly refused to answer hypotheti-
cal queries. He calls them 'iffy"
questions, but in this case, knowing
what the nature of the inquiry was
he let it be known that he was
considering the use of the power
of confscation already provided in
the law when the Government and
contractors cannot agree. In this
instance the Government didn't dis
agree with Mr.. Ford. 1t simply &C
cepted the next bidder Had the
matter been taken to a court, Henry
Fords position would doubtless have
been upheld, because there is no
power in the law to compel con-
tractors to agree to something
wholly unrelated to the products to
be bought and not specifically COW
cred by the laws relating to the
making of public contracts.
Says Explanation Is Due.
The President owes Henry Ford
an explanation. 1t would be a won-
derful thing for the cause of ma
tional unity and good will if, when
q major mistake of this kind is made
at the White House, there was the
candor to admit and make amends.
For the extent of the unfairnesS OF
the attack on Henry Ford can be
understood when the expert testi-
mony issued today by William