Evening star., 1943-05-09

The White House and the severely
classical facade of the United States
Chamber of Commerce Building confront
each other across Lafayette Square. Till
lately, there was a certain symbolism in
the physical difference between the two
The occupant of No. 1900 Pennsylvania
avenue disliked his neighbors across the
way. His feeling was reciprocated, and
with interest, by the head men of the
chamber. Whatever Roosevelt did, they
damned. The White House and the
headquarters of the chamber seemed to
glover at each other; no far stretch of
the imagination was required to see on
the greensWard of the intervening park
fence that would last as long as Roose-
velt might last in the White House.
All this was before young Eric A.
Johnston came on the scene. Fer the
time being, at least, the fence is down;
the symbolic thing today is not the
architectural standpatism of the cham
ber's house, but the pleasant green
reaches of the park.
The President addresses Johnston as
Eric, tells him his best stories. To the
meeting in New York which lately re-
elected Johnston president of the Cham
Der OF Commerce, Roosevelt sent a mes
sage as follows, through Johnston: The
gains we are making in the production
OF war goods are the fruits of co-opera-
ton between management and employees
in their devotion to a common cause.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce
may we'll be proud of the contribution
they have made under your able leader
ship. I have had opportunity to know
OF and cause to appreciate that leader
Ship
Eyed With Suspicion.
That was a remarkable meeting in
New York. 1t may be that too much
significance is being read into it-that
the change which appears to have come
over the chambers attitude, and which
the convention threw into high relief
IS deceptive. Labor, the organ of the
Railroad Brotherhoods, says it is. Labor
says that although the chamber makes
an occasional pretense of being liberal
and soclal-minded, the brutal fact is
that the hard-headed businessmen who
make up its membership are unregen.
crate reactionaries.
That's one side of the story. The Other
Is that genuine progress has been made
IN the conversion of the chamber, moi
to New Deaism, but certainly to q phi.
losophy markedly more liberal than thai
which dominated it before the election
OF Johnston as president in the sprinc
of last year.
RooseveH's message testifies to thi!
change. and so also does the bare fac
OF JohnstofTs reelection as head of thu
chamber, without opposition. The Boare
OF Directors, who choose the president
could easily have dropped Johnston, fol
there is no rule that gives the presiden
a second term. Johnston's predecessor
In fact, served only one term. He wa.
James S. Kemper, Chicago insurance
executive, and he had held the chamber
to a typically conservative and unimag.
NATIVE course. Precedent was smashed
to bits when the chamber turned for hi;
successor to the young man (now 49,
from Spokane, radical by all it's pre-.
vious standards.
If the chamber, under Johnston,
leadership has not in fact become NOR.
liberal, the New York meeting must bt
ranked as masterpiece of camouflage
For one thing, the resolutions adopted
though in some respects illiberal from
the labor point of view-though as {
matter OF fact, they did not as a whole
go as far to the left of center as John.
ston himself would have gone-never
theless stand in sharp contrast with thu
chambers pronouncements when it wa:
condemning out of hand any proposal t.
change the economic status quo. On,
notable resolution, that for extension O.
the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act
was adopted by 3-to-l vote on thu
floor.
Unity Luncheon Sets Precedent
Again, for the first time in the cham.
ber's history, there were spokesmen O.
labor and agriculture at a general con.
ventlon session. The occasion was E
unity" luncheon, where the speakers
pAaoAoiAi "dS olldIcu NY William NIreen
president of the American Federation
of Labor; Edward A. O'Neal, presiden
OF the American Farm Bureau Fedora.
ton, and Owen D. Young, elder states.
man OF business, chairman of the Boare
of the General Electric Co.
Green linked a plea for unity amons
business, labor and agriculture with ar
enterprise system. He won the biggest
ovation of the convention.
Another spokesman of organized labor
at the meeting was Robert j. Watt, in
ternational representative of the AFI
and member of the National War Labor
Board. He felt, he said like Daniel in
the lions den. However, Daniel got out
OF the den, and this proved that we do