Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-22
PegIer Wants
Labor Draft
OnIyin Case
May Be Inevitable TO Win
War, He Suggests
By WESTBROOK PEGLER

By WESTBROOk PEGLER
MOST opinionarians of the
-'A union press I can brush of
with the back of my hand when
l bother to notice them at all,
for most of those who are not
Just press agents, singing for
their supper. are men who know
nothing about writing and
couldn't present convincing or
even a readable argument il
they had all the facts in their
favor.
But I have to say that Victor
Olander, an old-time unioneer,
gave me robust bouncing
around in the April issue Of the
monthly journal Of the Plumb
ers' and Steamfitters' Union, in
reply to my own rather gloomy
thought that. come total crisis
in our war industries. ii would
be necessary to draft labor.
1 certainly didn't and still
don't like CONSUMPTION of labor
or CONSUMPTION for military serv-
ice, either. But / figured that 1t
is no worse TO compel a man to
stay a, a certain job in the war
industries, including agriculture.
at rates TO pay fixed by the gov
eminent. than il is TO take a
young fellow of his job or out
of college and send him of 10
Bataan or Australia at much
smaller pay. with the under.
standing that in all probability
he will be shot at.
ONCE then. Paul McNutt has
~ been mumbling series OF
announcements which, to me.
Enthusiastically tend toward the
compulsion. If you prefer that
word TO CONSUMPTION. of labor.
and / think he is trying TO get
us ready for a positive policy OF
compulsion TO be announced
after the elections.
Incidentally. l suspect that
they are holding up a plan 10
slice something off the top OF
Tabor's pay as compulsory saw
ing after election but not before,
because you can't tell me that
those who always thought OF the
income tax as a sock-the-rich
tax have paid or will pay income
taxes according to the new
schedules.
If we ever should get general
compulsion OF labor. the unions,
of course. would lose their rea-
son for existence. but l don't
want TO suggest that Mr.. Olan-
der looked at the idea from the
position of a unioneer only.
He said / discussed the idea
as one who thinks of himself as
among the favored few" espe-
cially in the urge for the ac-
emulation Of great wealth.
overlooking the obvious GER
tainty that If our government
ever resorted 10 such compulsion
] would be taken early. because
our free press would become a
subsidized government press and
would have no place for an hon.
est oppositionist.
S TO the matter OF the ac-
"a emulation of alth. I
think / might, some time. take
the trouble 10 show that / get
far less than some Of Mr.. Olan-
der's professional colleagues OF
the union business, and hardly
more than half OF what I might
earn if / were willing TO do
books and magazine things and
go around shooting off my face
for $1,000 a night in lecture
halls and on the air. I never
was a money-lover.
So Mr.. Olander has got me
wrong there. but he argues well
when he says:
Information and argument
Mr.. PegIer's own trade-are to
be supplanted by force and fear.
Why go to the trouble Of en-
deavoring to convince a worker
regarding his duty rs a free citi-
zen when IL seems so. much
easier to simply throw him In
jail II he hesitates. I agree, Of
course. that Mr.. Pegler's sug-
gestion Of compulsory labor has
the virtue OF straightforward
ness.
"He states II bIuntIy. In Ian
guage which all may understand.
That IL good because II will
doubtless take the lid of tho
issue. A frank discussion of the
nature Of forced labor Is what
Il badly needed just now. II We
get n good start on the subject,
we will soon learn the difference
between the relative conse-
quences Of compulsory labor and
voluntary service"
WELL, I can see that I will
w not have room TO do justice
10 Mr.. Olander's iscussi on
which develops all my own de-
testation and fear of compulsion
and exhorts all American work.
ers TO meet VIGOROUSLY the test
whether free Americans or the
faceless slaves of Adolf Hitler
will prove more efficient in pro-
dtIctiVp mower