The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-02-12
Facing The Foc+s
With PHILIP PEARL

| WIFI TI1lLlF ELAnA
Factories are going full blast all
over the country, working two or three
shifts, seven days Il week That's Il
pretty picture but you don't see it in
the headlines. Those are reserved for
strikes. The newspapers don't seem to
be interested in constructive labor
news
All of which brings up the old ques
ton of freedom of the press and what
it means. The AFL is for freedom of
the press and always has been. We
want TO he able To believe what we
read in the papers about the war and
about everything else. But how can we
when we see labor news so viciously
distorted in the press?
For instance, the NinSon Committee
put out Il report Smearing labor and
charging unions have profited from the
defense program. The story made page
one in almost every newspaper in the
country. OF course, not II word of ii
was true. President William Green
promptly demonstrated from the rec
OrdS that the alleged wealth of unions
was contained largely in Insurance.
funds for which the organizations were
obligated To their members. He pointed
out that AFL Unions had paid out
45O million dollars i'm fourteen years
10 their members for Unemployment,
sickness. death and disability benefits.
One would expect that, in all fairness,
the newspapers would give equal space
to this reply. They would have if we
had Il free press in America. But, as
it happened, only two newspapers gave
adequate stories to Mr.. Green's state
ment. The rest buried it away in n
paragraph or two. ..
A IIeart-tO-II Heart Talk
President Roosevelt has called in his
new Labor cabinet" for II White House
conference on war problems. They will
take off their coats, let down their hair
and have IL real heart heart talk.
that is, if they do rs the President
suggests, and were sure they will.
This conference will innugurate one
of the most significant developments $
of the war from labor'S point of view.
For the first time, the heads of the
American Federation of Labor and the
CID are going to be consulted directly
about Government policies before they
are put into effect For the first time,
labor cooperation with the Government
Is being soughih in he right Way-by
arranging prior consultation on the
issues
Well, we would expect that this i'm
porliLnt news would be- clearly present
ed in the newspapers But what do
we find? \ lot of misguided and silly
stories calling the labor cabinet" Il
labor peace" board.
The American Federation of Labor
has repeatedly stated that this board
has nothing 10 do with labor peace. 1t
has made ii clear that disputes be-
tween the Af'L and the tIo could not
be considered by this board In consul.
lation with the President.
Yet the misleading stories continue
To be published and one begins 10 won
der whether the miSconccption Is ac-
cidental or deliberate. We find editorial
writers drploring the possibility of II
deadlock between the AI'I. and the tIp
over some union dispute which the
President, himself might be called
upon 10 settle in the role of umpire
Such spccuatiunS are completely
ridiculous. The AFL has more sense
than To burden the President, who Is
the busiest man in the land with Ia
bor's internal quarrcls. The only mat
tcrs which the Al'L wants 10 consult
the President about are important. ma
jor problems affecting labor aS II whole
In tile war effort.
Hate and Fear
But perhaps the most amusing
things "" have read in the press I'm
Tn" last few weeks We're the pouS
fears expressed by the outright labor
haterS about labor peace.
You remember, there seemed to b"
for few days prospect of the re-
sumption of peace conferences between
the AFL and the ClO-that is, until
the tID closed the door. Never have
We seen the enemies of labor so scared.
The Scripps-iioward papers. the Phil
adclphia Inquirer, other stnid Journals
of bigmoney opinion and the Donald
Duck columnsts like Pegler and Law
renee, all jointed in waiing chorus
Of warnings. The refrain ran some
thing like thiS-"no group of labor