Evening star., 1941-04-01
Forum
Continued From Page B-150

have since been convicted and SEN
fenced in the United State Court.
A group of members of local in
California raised purse and sent
a man all the way to Washington to
appeal to Congress to give the men,
bers protection against their own
officers. Saturday, in Akron, Ohio,
Jury convicted Harry D. Jones, vice
president of the Ohio Federation of
Labor. on a three count Indictment
charging malicious destruction OF
property. The evidence showed that
Jones hired two men to dynamite
three construction projects, employ
ing rival c. 1. o. unionists.
Ninety per cent of the leaders
and members of organized labor
are loyal and patriotic. But the
10 per cent have sufficient pow
er to filch from organized labor
Its good name and to put it
under q cloud of suspicion and
prejudice BY retaining such leader
ship, organized labor is committing
suicide. This small percentage of
false leaders are betraying their
constituencies. They are termites
destroying the house of organized
labor. Many Of them are Com
munists, obeying the mandates OF
Moscow. They apparently glory in
impeding our defense effort.
No wonder our great President,
and sincere friend of labor, Satur-
day night, in his Jackson day speech,
warned his radio audience against
subyersive influences. He said:
"PropagandistS, defeatists and dupes,
protected as they are by our fun
damental civil liberties, have been
preaching and are still preaching
the ungodly gospel of fear. They
use insinuation and falsehood. They
have tried to shatter the confidence
of Americans in their government
and in one another. We have seen
what has happened to the great in
dustrialists of Germany who sup
ported the Nazi movement, and then
received their reward in Nazi con-
centration camps or in death. We
have seen how the workers of France
were betrayed by their so-called
champions, the Communists. For no
matter what Communists lips have
to say, their actions have proved
that in their hearts they care moth
ing for the real rights of free labor
Government Not Impotent.
Is our Government impotent? As
suredly not. The same power that
can draft 100000 men to be put
In uniform and at work for dollar
a day, can find 8 way to keep men
at work who are getting dollar an
hour, or more! The Constitution of
the United States DEGREES: "The
Congress shall have power to '"
provide for the common defense and
general welfare of the United States
ss'. To raise and support armies
to provide and maintain q
Navy"
There is the unlimited grant of
an amplitude Of power. Let no one
mistake long-suffering patience for
impotency.
But no one wishes to exercise this
power nor any other compulsion.
We have implicit confidence in our
fellow citizens who compose the rank
and file of organized lazor. We ap-
peal to them to do their part of this
job. The rights of labor as well as
the rest Of us must be preserved.
We are all "in the same boat" The
good men in leadership and the
ranks OF organized labor must rid
themselves of unpatriotic and dis
loyal leadership. They must insist
upon their rights as freeborn Amer
leans to work and to produce the
munitions of war without which our
ship of state will be sunk. We appeal
to our friends and fellow citizens,
both in the ranks of management
and labor, to forget their selfishness
and quarrels, till America is fully
prepared to defend herself! Con-
gress has already acted to insure
the rights of labor. Capital and
management have been told in no
uncertain terms that they are ex-'
pected to do their duty. Neither
would have any rights under a die
tator.
The challenge of this crisis to
loyal labor and to loyal capital is to
do their job. They are our first and
last line of defense We must all
assert our best selves, and live pa
triotically, gloriously, heroically, in
this great hour when the life Of the
Nation, and the fate Of the world,
are at stake!