Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-22
FAIR
ENOUGH
BY Westbrook
Pegler
IF THE war labor situation is

UF The war LABOR SITUATION il
las grave as Mr.. Forrestal,
secretary of the navy, and Rob
ert Patterson, undersecretary
of war, say ii is-and Mr.. Stim-
son already has used the word
anarchy" in this connection
then, plainly, the country has
been deceived by the national
government.
Forrestal and Patterson spoke
strongly before the Senate mill
tary affairs committee in favor
of a labor draft law for war
industries. Mr.. Stimson favors
one. too, and Donald Nelson.
chairman of the War Produc-
ton Board, appearing with For
restal and Patterson, said there
was now a desperate shortage
of men in .foundries which are
producing weapons.
TT IS important to note that
L these men are not in politics
or concerned with unionism. one
way or another. Forrestal has
had an interesting personal ex-
perience in that his wife was
held up and robbed of jewelry
a few years ago by a New York
mob which included a union
official who had the effrontery
to try TO levy on his subjects
for a fund to pay for his appeal.
However, none of the men who
are directly and solely engaged
in such duties has ever ex-
pressed an attitude on the
closed shop. the union security
or the maintenance of member
ship issues. They just say they
need more industrial manpower
than they are getting and hold
that the only safe solution is a
labor draft.
President Roosevelt also has
proposed labor draft but with
provisos which were obviousll1
inserted with an eye to TINY
political campaign, and Mrs.
Roosevelt has taken such a
serious view of the labor short
age that she has suggested a
draft of women as we'll as men.
MOT being in politics. Stimson,
~ Forrestal. Patterson, Nelson
and others who have asked for
a labor draft have ignored the
question whether men so drafted
should have TO join unions and.
in most cases, under coercion.
contribute to the Democratic
party's campaign fund.
They surely have their opin-
lens and consider their back
ground. it may be assumed that
they are against such compul-
sion. The President has said
nothing on the subject.
Yet objection to compulsory
union membership for drafted
labor is the most serious obsta-
Gle in the way of the proposal in
the popular mind. Nowadays,
even discharged servicemen are
beginning to report resentfully
that having served their country
in a horrible war, they find
that their right 10 work for its
eservation II subject 10 20.
litical tax for the campaign
fund of the party in power and
for private organizations having.
on the whole. a bad record Of
lawlessness.
IN WASHINGTON. Thursday.
L Mr.. Patterson told the sena-
tors that the rate Of strikes had
been abnormal in 1913 when
there were more than 5000 OF
them, and was continuing high.
On the other hand, the Presi-
dent. in his lecture to the press
on the Montgomery Ward case,
few days ago. said that II
total percentage of strikes had
been on the whole. low. which
is statement so vague as TO
be almost without meaning. But
il certainly does not mean that
the percentage. or rate. has
been abnormally high, and in
this conflict of statements some
one is either exaggerating. or
minimizing. Patterson has no
political motive TO serve by
exaggeration.
Is the strike rate abnormally
high or is the, percentage" on
the whole, low? II it is abnor-
mally high, then the President
was incorrect and the famous
no-strike pledge of'the AFL and
CIO has been flouted so often
that the privileges granted to
the unions in considerations Of
that pledge have been forfeited.
Copyright. 1914, by United Features. synd.