Evening star., 1942-03-25

One is the sud-
den outcry Of the
labor politicians lsssss lSII 4
that the de-
mands for
change In the %s
law that requires !gl.1|.2.. .
q penalty charge 8S"::""::::'
for overtime be- David Lavrene&
yond 10 hours . week must some
how be organized and can't possibly
be spontaneous. And the other 1
the observation at the White House
press conference that . sixth COL
umn" exists which Willingly or un-
Willingly does the work Of the "fifth
column"
Now the last person in the Ma.
tional Capital who should raise any
protest about organized campaigns
to influence Congress are the labor
politicians. They are the most
skillful organizers Of pressure from
back home that there are in America
with tho possible exception Of civil
Ian agencies Of the Government
when they want 10 get public senti-
ment aroused 10 defend Govern
ment spending On this q that
project.
When It comes to lobbying for
public funds or legislation the New
Deal agencies have . most compre-
hensive system Of getting chain
telegrams written. The House COM
mittee investigating the National
Labor Relations Board a couple Of
years ago disclosed that public funds
were used by labor board ofncials
to get kilograms and letters written
to stop legislation affecting the
board. Though this was a violation
Of the Federal statutes, the Justice
Department ignored a public request
from Representative Howard Smith
Of Virginia, Democrat, for prosecu-
tions. II was averred at the time
by the New Dealers that everybody
did it and that 1t was tust an old
Iashioned custom.
~Goon squad" Threats Charged.
Within The last several months.
vnensvsr Congress has shown signs
Of passing labor legislation to put
m end to exploitation Of tho work.
ers By the labor politicians. the
members not only have been flooded
with letters and telegrams and With
an obviously organized campaign but
Represeutativs Smith charged pub
acly that "goon squads" came to the
halls Of Congress itself to threaten
menbkS.
II Oongress now y going to look
into the matter OF campaigns TO In
fluence legAlation BY letters from
consatuents and organizations, It
may md that much Of the labor
friction or tension Of today Is due
to the slowly accumulating anger
Of millions Of persons who have
watched Congress for several months
deliberately ignoring the public
opinion which wants to see fair and
tvo-sided labor legislation.
There may be Na1 sympathizers
Who take advantage Of every domes-
tic quarrel to foment friction. But
to lean on that reed and ignore the
friction by insisting that the merits
must not be discussed, because Nazis
might hear about 1t, is to abandon
the whole system Of representative
government and the exercise OF the
right Of petition as guaranteed oy
the Constitution itself.
Name Calling Solves Nothing.
preAdent Roosevelt unfortunately
has given the cue to men IN the
Government agencies that the way
to meet criticism Is to call tho
critics "ffth" or sixth columnists'
or tools Of the enemy. Name-calling
does not answer arguments or take
care of the needs Of public debate.
The real reason why the people
are aroused over the 40-hour-week
law is not because Of any special
antipathy to that particular piece
Of legislation, but because it Is a
conspicuous symbol Of selfishness
and creed In wartime. The people
are equally disturbed about the talk
Of high profits and waste In the
making or executing Of Government
contracts. The tide Of public opin-
ion now rising will not subside till
profits are cut to the bone and the
labor politicians cease squeezing the
taxpayers with overtime pay de-
mands that increase the cost Of the
war program to the public.
Wipes Away Lines.
President Roosevelt mistakenly
thinks the discussion Of the N-hour
week Is In part q Nazi attack. He
cannot perceive that the undercur-
rent Of criticism is against his own
alliance with the labor politicians
which causes him, on the one hand,
to insist on anti-inflationary meas
ures such as the freezing of prices,
but, on the other hand, to forget
the way labor costs are skyrocketing