Evening star., 1941-08-25


stitution and the David Lawrence.
laws of the land-gives as a sup
posed legal excuse the alleged re-
fusal of the shipbuilding company
to execute naval contract.
The truth is the Kearny, N. j.,
plant of the Federal Shipbuilding
and Dry Dock Co. was picketed
and the workers were prevented
from returning to their Jobs. They
had been ordered out on strike on
August by the c. I. o. union OFF,
GERS who violated their own sig
natures to an industry-wide con-
tract which for two years from
June %, 1941, was to have banned
all strikes and lockouts.
The executive order by which
the President seized the plant over
the week end makes no mention
of the refusal Of the union to honor
its written word and to abide by
the stabilization contract initiated
by the Government itself, but in
stead places all the blame on the
company.
II Mr.. Roosevelt believes this
unfair branding of a company
which offered to save the Presi-
dent from an embarrassing rec
ord by giving the plant to the
Government is the way to improve
the morale of America and espe-
cially the morale of the producers
and manufacturers whose skill and
enthusiasm is needed to make the
defense program a success, he has
made grievous error.
The Presidents latest action in
issuing proclamation blaming the
employer for the mistakes Of the
union will take the heart out of
industry. 1t will make important
groups of employers hereafter hesi-
tate before agreeing to allow any of
their controversies to be submitted
to the National Defense Mediation
Board, which for sheer blundering
has few parallels in the history OF
government.
There Is no more fragrant ex-
ample of unfairness than that which
has Just been exhibited in the case
of the Federal Shipbuilding 4
Dry Dock Co. The excuse made is
that the company refused to accept
a decision of the National Defense
Mediation Board. The truth Is the
President did not dare to tell his
own Mediation Board that 1t had
made a blunder. There is no con-
gressional authority for any of the
Mediation Boards activities. It's
power rests solely on presidential
edict and on the consent of public
opinion-the patriotic sentiment of
the Nation. But allegiance to a
board which misuses its power and
forgets that there are two sides to
a controversy is not going to con-
tinue and public opinion cannot any
longer consent to tra-legal power
that isn't fairly exercised. The right
to strike belongs to every group of
citizens-managem as well as
workers.
The Mediation Board, incidentally,
Is party to one of the biggest ex-
tortion scandals ever recorded in
labor history. Nobody has given the
American people the facts about the
industry wide sterilization contract
signed under Government auspices
on June %, last, whereby $220,000,-
900 In increased wages was obtained
under false pretenses from the ship
building industry in the East with
the Governments own assurance
that there would be stability and
no strikes for two years.
Agreement Forgotten.
As soon as the wage increases
were granted and the contracts
signed these Government officials
turned their backs on the agree
ment and let the Mediation Board
tackle the first dispute that arose,
permitting it to issue biased find
ing without single word of dis
sent being expressed by the sponsors
of the stabilization agreement. The
finding demanded employers dismiss