Evening star., 1943-04-10
Opponents Pin Hopes
On Senate After House
Passes Hobbs Bill
270-to-107 Vote Defects
Organized Labor Bockers
In Sessions Opening Fight
! the Associated Press.


OF the first legislative labor fight
OF the Seventy eighth Congress
lawmakers supporting organized
labor's stand looked to the Sen
ate today to kill the Hobbs anti
racketeering bill.
A roll-call vote of 27O to 1O7 sped
the controversial measure through
the House late yesterday after ar
amendment which some said woulc
have made the bill acceptable tt
labor was rejected.
=. Sponsors of pending labor curb
legislation in the House interpreted
the vote as presaging a hopeful
future for bills to outlaw strikes
during the war, to ban the union
ization of foremen and to require
unions to file periodic statements OF
their receipts and expenditures.
Although Representative Hobbs
Democrat, of Alabama, who intro
duced the misunderstanding bill
early last year, insisted during de-
bate that his measure was not aimed
at labor. Representative Celler, Dem
ocrat, of New York assailed it as an
"anti-labor" measure which he said
could be used to deny unions their
legal rights.
Celler Amendment Beaten.
Mr.. Celler tried desperately to
write into it declaration that the
bill recognized as legal all union ac-
tivities listed as such under the
Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction
Act. the Clayton Antitrust Law,
the Railway Labor Law and the
National Labor Relations Act. His
amendment, suggested by the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, was
voted down. 167 to 1876.
Instead. the committee added to
the measure section specifying
that nothing in its language was in
tended to repeal or modify any of
the four acts named In the Celler
amendment. The Judiciary Com
mittee offered this amendment,
which Mr.. Celler said was mega
tive" and unacceptable to labor.
The Hobbs bill provides for prose-
cution under the 1884 anti-Rack-
eteering Act of any one commit
ting robbery or extortion in inter-
state commerce. However, it defines
those terms in such a way that
labor leaders have complained it
would infringe on recognized rights
of unions. Maximum punishment
for violators would be 20 years i'm
prisonment and a $4,000 fine.
Bill Called Blow at Labor.
Those behind the bill" Mr.. Gel
Ter told the House, seek to strike
a. blow at labor which is quite un-
lustlflable" and to visit the sins
Of the few upon the many. It's an
anti-labor bill. Let's not delude
ourselves
The theme of proponents. as
argued by Representative Walter
Democrat, of Pennsylvania, was that
the bill did not even mention labor
or labor unions and treated alike
any one who committed robbery or
extortion.
Some labor leaders. the Pennsyl-
vanian asserted, feel that labor,
why doesn't labor stop and wake
up and realize that they are follow
ing the same path that business
followed up to l934?" he added
Labor ought to be requesting" the
legislation.
Summers Warns Labor.
Organized labor was cautioned by
Chairman Summers of the Judiciary
Committee that it faces the su-
preme crisis of it's existence in
America" and should not "be insist
ing on the defeat of legislation
which denounces the taking of the
property of another against his
will"
Representative Furlong, Democrat.
OF Pennsylvania saw in the bill the
forerunner of slave labor" while
Representative Sadowski, Democrat,
of Michigan viewed it as "a serious
menace to labor's rights.
Labor leaders, Mr. Celler declared.
have condemned the actions of
union members which Mr.. Hobbs
previously had said made the legis-
latlon necessary. These acts reached
legal climax when the Supreme
Court set aside convictions obtained
In New York against group of
union employees indicted under the
1884 act for interfering with inter-
state truckers who did not employ
union helpers.
House Refuses to Cut Penalties.
Before approving the bill, the House
refused to cut the maximum penalty
provided from 20 years to 10 years or
to reduce the top fine Of $4,000. and
voted down an amendment to rede-
fine robbery.
Mr.. Hobbs sharply disputed Mr..
Celler's assertions that the legisla-
ton was "anti-labor" and recalled
that the Judiciary Committee. which
approved the measure by a top
heavy vote in January, long has been
known as the graveyard of labor
bills
Representative Halleck. Republi-
can. Of Indiana declared labor was in
error in seeing some ghosts under
the bed and insisted that the legis-
AdeASll "etS ldil dllu ISdoOIldDlC anu
necessary Ito curb labor excesses."
Representative Baldwin, Demo-
crat, of Maryland said CIO leaders
had told the Maryland congressional
delegation that the Cellar amend
ment would nullify the bill Labor
leaders, Mr. Baldwin added, should
be the most torrid sponsors" of the
legislation in order to protect la
bor." Similar sentiments were
voiced by Representatives Kefauver,
Democrat. of Tennessee. who COM
mented that "a dose of castor oil
once in a while is good for the
child
The Supreme Court decision which
led to introduction of the bill was
described by Representative Bald
win, Republican, of New York as "a
political opinion" Mr. Baldwin un-
successfully sought to kill the legis-
lation by striking out all the Ian
guage after the enacting clause,