Evening star., 1943-06-26

of war both David Lawrence.
houses of Congress, by two-thirds
vote, should have found themselves
compelled to register a votes of lack
of confidence in the judgment of the
President. Such vote with all its
implications to the outside world
for in parliamentary government it
would mean the ousting of the
executive or else general election
need not have occurred.
The. so-called group of advisers
who keep the President from know
ing the facts about what is hap
pening in the country have done
him a disservice and perhaps a dis
service to the prestige of the Com
mander in Chief of the Army and
Navy.
Whoever wrote that veto message
for the President-for IL seems in
credible that he would write such
an illogical and contradictory docu-
ment himself-di0 more to break
down the position of the President
before Congress and the country
than any political opponent ever
has done or could do.
Press Gave Warning.
Mr.. Roosevelt was forewarned by
the press, but he has developed a
cyniciSm toward the press which
warps his judgment. Still there
must have been other advisers in
his encourage who could read and
analyze what has been happening
since John L. Lewis began playing
fast and loose with the prestige of
governmental agencies.
There was only one way out-a
law that would require Mr.. Lewis
to come before the War Labor Board
and testify, law that would pre-
vent the encouragement or calling of
strikes when the Government seized
a property or plant. The country
wanted such a law The troops in
our camps and our men overseas
wanted such law-they wanted au-
thority exercised promptly and with
out fear of political consequences.
Men in Congress read newspapers.
And, above all, they read letters
from constituents-the mothers and
fathers, brothers and sisters of the
boys in our armed services. War is
a serious business and politics has
no place in it, or the wrath of the
country will take its toll of Congress-
men and Senators.
Weighty Disapprovai.
Mr.. Roosevelt, confident that he
can do as he pleases without law.
still nurturing the illusion that an
executive order is command
something Mr.. Lewis challenged and
proved to be fallacious-and still
believing that Congress wouldn't
override veto on such a delicate
subject as labor legislation, now has
bitter defeat on his record. It is
the mott vehement expression of
dNapproval ever registered against
the President since he came into
Office. 1t may even shake badly the
confidence of his group of Worship
pers who up to now have taken for
granted that fourth term was
inevitable and a walk-away.
Where the President made his
mistake was, first, in listening to the
labor lobby who asked him to veto
the bill Then he made his next
mistake in the language of the mes
sage. After first reciting that labor
had kept its no-strike pledge so that
SO and 95/100 per cent of the work
went forward without strikes, he
declared that laws are often neces-
sary to make very small minority
of people live up to the standards
that the great majority of the people
follow
But later on in his message, with
out any explanation whatsoever, the
President turns about and says that
some other innocently worded pro-
vision would stimulate labor unrest
and give Government sanction to
strike agitations."
Victim of Advisers.
just why the patriotic labor lead
ers of America who have given their
solemn pledge not to strike should
suddenly feel compelled to strike
just because a law says they must
give notice if they want to strike
was beyond the comprehension of
any body in Congress, and so they
tossed the argument out the win
dow as specious and as merely the
raising of a far-fetched interpreta-
ton just as an excuse for veto.
1t is admitted by the President
that there is more good than bad
in the law. He has signed many a
law under those circumstances. He
should have signed this one with a
request for the repeal of what he
considered unwise provisions. But
he evidently was told he could not
afford politically to antagonize Ia
Dor and that Congress would surely
sustain veto. His advisers guessed
wrong, and Mr.. Roosevelt is the vic
tim of the stupidity of his own left
wing group of advisers. He should
get rid of them all and get in tune
with Congress and the country. He
should forget politics and expedi-
ency-men are dying and homes are
being saddened This is no time