The Wilmington morning star., 1944-11-09
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright 1914, by King Features Syndica

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
| Copyright 1914, by King Features Syndicate.)
| NEW YORK-Because few Americans un-
derstand the restrictions w i C h President
Roosevelt has placed on them, without the
slightest legal authority, in the matter of en-
ptoyment, I should like to explain what they
are.
Not long after Pearl Harbor, Mrs. Roosevelt
and Harry Hopkins came out for the conscrlp-
ton of civilian labor. Mrs. Roosevelt would
have included women, and Hopkins wanted
Consumption of the savings and property Of
the individual as well as CONSUMPTION of his
person. Both spoke from the White House.
Congress refused to pass any law to such
effect. One reason is that it would be uncon-
stitutional. For another reason, it would place
in the hands of government bureau the
power to break up every home in the country.
Petty local bureaucrats would be able to pun
ish individuals who were unpopular for politi-
cal or personal reasons by sending them far
from home, to live in barracks or shift TOR
themselves and compel them to stay where
they were sent. The effect of this on the
morals and morale of the home front were
foreseen and this was another reason why
Congress said no.
Moreover, there were strikes at the rae
OF more than 5000 year which were wasting
manpoWer to far greater extent than Mr..
Roosevelt or anyone else in the administra-
ton would admit. The strike statistics which
the President cited from time to time were
his own statistics and were further deceptive
because they did not reckon the loss OF hours
imposed on non-strikers.
AS an illustration, only few hundred men
could be called strikers in the Philadelphia
transit strike but also million workers were
affected because they couldn't go to and from
their jobs. For another, a strike in the ball
bearing and roller-bearing industry can lay
off millions of non-striking workers in the
steel, COAL shipping, automotive and airplane
industries.
So the strikes caused much greater loss OF
manpower than the President indicated and
Congress thought it would be unfair to the
rest of the people to draft them as long as
a minority had a right to enforce idleness on
countless others and waste manpower infinite
ly, without legal restraint or threat of punish
ment. And, finally Congress would not draft
civilians for labor and compel them to join
unions in order to perform this labor.
After Pearl Harbor, Paul McNutt the chair
man of the War Manpower Commission, tried
several oblique approaches to CONSUMPTION. His
method was to drive citizens into essential
occupations, still without taking an honest
stand on the question of compulsory union
membership. There is still no limit on the
dues and fees which unions may collect from
conscrlbed workers nor any legal restriction
on the use of such money Consequently, by
McNutt's orders, some incalculable number Of
ostensibly free men have been driven into
| unions which do not have to let them vote
| or mold office and may use their money for
election purposes.
| Last July l, McNutt went all the way. After
that date he presumed to exercise absolute
control over all males over II who are not
| in the armed services BY this order, any
male above II who wants to change jobs must
| apply to the United States Employment Serv-
ice where he is offered a choice OF the avail
able jobs, provided the interviewer is will
ing to let him change at all. If the u S. E. S.
thinks he should stay where he is, there he
must stay. If, however, the agency is willing
to let him change he must accept the job
| offered. If he refuses, he can't get ere
ferraP' which means that nobody may hire
him.
Since then, there have been developments
and complications. In Albany. N. Y, for ex-
ample, the U. S. E. S. advertised for men
for big job in the Aleutians and the appeal
said they must be members of the American
| Federation of Labor or willing to join. In
Trenton Mo-, the U. S. E. S. advertised for
| shipyard workers for the Pacific coast and
offered to advance to all applicants out Of
the public treasury sufficient money to pay
their union dues, which, of course were
first condition of employment, prior even to
War Manpower Commission forbids the news
papers to accept help-wanted ads unless the
copy is approved by the commission
| If man wants to loaf or make himself
incorrigible he can obtain his release by get
ting himself fired, but if he is good and
conscientious workman he may have to stay
on the job.
In another complication, the employer must
fire man if he quits the union in shop
where the War Labor Board has granted the
union clause guaranteeing maintenance of
membership No matter how valuable his
work may be, union membership comes first.
And, even if the man quits the union before
the dead1ine when theoretically. he IS free
to resign and retain his job, he can still be
trapped if the union simply throws his reslg-
nation in the basket and denies that 1t was
ever received.
And, in another spectacular instance only
recently, old Dan Tobin, Rooseve!ts friend,
sent letter to his entire membership o.
I6oo 900 irnperatively commanding them to 'uss
every facility to re-elect Roosevelt.
This is the Stree, collective BARGAINING mat
Roosevelt mentioned in one OF MS closing
speeches of the campaign.
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