The union times., 1944-04-29
Green Rejects All "Draft Panaceas" As No Aid To US.
AF.L. President Points To Production Records Unde Free System Of Labor And Says Compulsory Service
 Would Endanger Nations War Effort


 clared this week that, after confer ring with Government officials and members of Congress concerned over manpower problems, "l am more than ever convinced that ex, perimentation with our manpOwer processes at this time will only in terfere with war production and possibly jeopardize the war effort;
 Speaking at the convention ot the International Union of Operating En- pineers. MT. Green condemned pro, 1osals for a National Service Act and ridiculed suggestions for drafting 4-F's into labor battalions as un- workable.
 He emphatically declared that organized labor by its own voiun- tary efforts has done more to pre- vent strikes, increase war produc- tion and solve manpOwer problems than all Government regulations and Federal legislation combined He said:
 sMen of small vision seem to lose sight of the fact that more than SS per cent of American workers have adhered religiously and faithfully to the no-strike policy of the Am erican Federation of Labor. lht moment a small local strike affect ing only a handful of workers takes uIace i'm their own community they denounce labor as whole and cry loudly for the enactment of dras- tic repressive legislation.
 "Men of shallow comprehension de mand the compulsory drafting of all labor to work in private industry be. cause they are unable to solve local and temporary manpower shortage forgetting in the meanwhile the great accomplishments in production which have been made possible under oui free, voluntary system.
 ssThe impulse to seek shortcuts toward objectives is natural but dangerous. If we are to adopt the policy that the end jnstifies the means. we may find that in the process of fighting Fascism and Nazism we have subjected ourselves to Fascist and Nazi restrictions upon our freedom that we will never be able to shake off. The val idity of our victory over tOtalitari- anism will be lost if we can achieve it only by aping totalitarian meth, Ods. America must win the fight for freedom by working and fign ing as free men and women under a free government and in no other way"
 Citing the great production achievement of American workers MT. Green declared:
 Yet this splendid record is now being ignored and our voluntary ane effective manpower program IS en' dangered by all sorts of proposals for compulsory conscription of work CTS to serve in private industry. Iht advocates of National Service Ac seem to think that the substitution O compulsion for free and voluntary CO operation will bring better results. cannot conceive of any process of log ical reasoning or any facts on whlcf such a conclusion can be intelligently based.
 ssNo draft director will be able to produce more skilled operating engineers than there are by snap ping his fingers OF waving a magic wand. No battalion of 4-F's will bt able to replace crew of operating engineers who have been drafted for military service. Surely, the Government authorities should realize that it takes more than a three-weeks course in night-schOO to train a man to operate a steam shovel or similarly highly-skilled occupations"
 Mir. Green praised the loyal sup port of the war effort shown by mem bers of the operating engineers ant added:
 "The thousands of members of you organization who are now serving their country with distinction in tn Construction Battalions of the Navy known as the Seabees, and in othe branches of the armed forces, knov that your union is concerned oye their welfare. They have been givel service withdrawal cards by you union which guarantee that their in surance benefits will be protected during their absence and that the, will be retained in good standing a members of the union.