Evening star., 1943-11-13

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refused to put David Lawrence.
teeth in the Smith Connally law
and, indeed, removed its penalties
because Of a belief that organized
labor would tolerate no further
work stoppages-are face to face
with the fact that their restraint
has not been met by cooperation
from some Of the big labor unions.
1t is true that most of the workers
Of America have adhered to the
wartime pledge of mo strikes" but
statutes are passed because there is
always minority who refuse to
cooperate. Thus most of the bank
ers were not guilty of the fragrant
practices revealed by the congress
sional committees in 1888, but the
Securities and Exchange Act and
other restrictions on bankers were
written into the law just the same.
The time comes when voluntary
cooperation and appeals fail and
the national interest requires the
stern hand of legislative penalty.
Facts Now Revealed.
The situation with respect to war;
time strikes and stoppages has been
consistently camouflaged so as to
make it appear that they were in
consequential. Yet the facts now are
revealed concerning the loss Of man.
hours in our steel plants due to
the failure to mine coal. Likewise
consumers are being put on restric-
tions because of the recent strikes.
Congress. which has the RESPONSE
bility for amending the law, has
permitted the situation to drift so
that no penalties are imposed un-
less the Government Seizes a plant
or employer property. When the
coal miners walked out recently,
the properties were not under Gov
ernment control. The Government
seized them after the strike began.
There was no provision in the
Smith Connally law which could be
invoked against the leaders of the
coal miners union. There is still
no law to punish those who insti-
gate wartime strikes unless the
property is in Government hands.
This very week many coal miners
refused to come to work on Armi-
stice Day because of a Government
order that they be paid straight
time instead OF time and a half
This was an order issued while the
Government operated the mines.
Somebody in labor's ranks must
have told the miners about the order
and in some way encouraged the
walkout. Thousands and thousands
OF miners do not walk out without
some concerted action. The De-
partment of Justice certainly must
have observed that the terms OF the
Smith-Connally law were not being
met.
The Presidents capitulation to the
miners union came because the
union had an economic power that
the Government apparently was un-
willing to match by asking for .egis-
lation to punish wartime strikes
II Mr.. Roosevelt had oeen the
strong leader on the home front
that he happens TO be on the war
front, he would not have taken a
humiliating defeat at the hards of
Jonn Lewis. He would have Or
dered the miners back to work on
week-to-week basis, and he would
have asked the Congress to grant
him authority to punish the Leaders
Of strikes called in defiance ct the
orders Of governmental tribunal
like the War Labor Board
This is compulsion, to be sure, but
1t Is also compulsion to make the
citizen accept coupons for certain
number Of gallons of gasoline, and
for the enforcement of a thousand
and one other restrictions in war
time.
Home-Front Failures.
Mr.. Roosevelt's failures on the
home front are mounting 1t is one
of the major reasons why the po-
litical tides are running strongly
against him, as evidenced in the
recent elections. Unless the Repuh-
llcans are stupid enough to non,i-
nate an isolationist or middle of
the-roader who caters to the isola-
zionist vote, the present administra-
ton will be swept out of power ir-
respective Of whether the war is TN
But even If Mr.. Roosevelt is re-
elected, he will face hostile Con-
gress which, like that of 1918, can
misconstrue the protests of the peo-
pie on domestic issues as encourage
nent for opposition on foreign pol
icy.
Mr.. Roosevelt is asking the Amer
lean people to retain their conf
,dence in his ability to settle the
problems of the peace, but he has
been defeated in a war on the home
front-and presumably because he
does not want to antagonize a large
segment of organized labor which
has helped him win three elections
md could help him in a fourth term
contest.
= But if Congress is Indifferent, il
may be that Mr.. Roosevelt is right
In being indifferent, too. Perhaps
organized labor has enough political
power to prevent legislation from
being enacted that would prohibit
strikes in wartime. The people alone
can answer that question.
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