The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-02-26


Washington, ID. G.
There is new candidate in Wash
ington for the title Of the imam who
came back"
He has come back before so 1t Is
probably no great thrill for him but
it is terrific pain in the neck for
number Of people who hoped this
tall, dark ghost had been laid away
for the duration, If not for longer.
! am speaking Of John Lewis,
stripped Of his robes as head of the
CLIO which he hewed out of the rock
of AT of L opposition. But If his head
Is bloody, it is bowed in no humility
whatever.
Lewis may not be all the way
back but it seems very much as if
Messrs. Green and Murray are going
through some preliminary shuff1es
that may be a dance to Piper Lewis
tune.
Lewis loudly sounded the keynote
for what he hopes to be the death
march for the Little Steel formula
which held wage raises down to a
Is per cent maximum. When Murray
and Green heard Of Lewis press con-
ference, on the day he sounded his
threat, they hurried to the White
House where the President, who isn't
seeing just anybody, permitted the
visit and let the CLIO and the AT of L
talk to reporters on the White House
steps-but they had nothing to say
which could drown the Lewis roar.
I talked with a man who has
fought labor's cause for many year
without affiliation with any group.
He said to me:
'There are only two things that
win keep from blowing the whole
price control system into the high
heavens. Either Murray and Green
can turn their backs on Lewis, put
aside their fears that he will win the
plaudits Of labor away from them
by being the sole champion Of wage
raises and say boldly to their fol-
lowers:
"'We'l do what is best for you
and everybody. Imitation will be
worse in the end than the squeeze
you feel you are getting now
''If they don't, Lewis will have his
way.
''The alternative" he went ON, sis
to have the President call in both
the farm and the labor leaders and
say: 'All right. How much Of an in
crease do you want? Twenty per
cent? Thirty? But then prices will
go up by just that much. You and
everybody else will be that much
worse off,
Of course, there is another alterna-
tive-a cast-iron ceiling on prices
but the metal to withstand the up
ward pressure has not been found.
With this situation before him, al
most anyone would rather be right
--or left of center-than President.
Different Problem
Recently, to add to the troubles of
the labor leaders themselves as well
as the government, there was evil
dence of different type of problem
in scattered hot-spots in the labor
Northumberland groups which
one man described as made up of
men "who wouldn't even take orders
from Stalin.'
Some 300 workers in zinc smelt-
er in Moundsville, w. Va, gave
notice that they weren't going to
work Saturday or Sunday without
overtime pay. This, in spite of the
fact that they worked only SO hours
a week. The orders are clear that
double-time is only paid for sew
enth day Of consecutive work. But
these men said "orders or no or
ders" they weren't going to work
Saturdays or Sundays without that
overtime. Zinc is one Of the bottle
necks. The War Production board
was frantic.
These are only pin pricks and not
typical but they cause near-crisis
every time they occur in industries
producing essential materials.
Quick Comeback
To McNutt Edict
There has seldom been a quicker
comeback in a Washington bout than
the smart jab to the chin that fol-
lowed Paul McNutt's haymaker de-
livered at the bows in non-eSSential