Evening star., 1944-03-13

pened to satisfy ~
the pent-up pro- David Lawrence.
test of the people at the time, 1t has
led to no constructive solution of
the basic issues.
Several months have gone by
since the coal strike occurred, but
neither the President nor Congress
has made any move to prevent the
recurrence of wartime strikes by
surveying the very matters that
gave rise to the coal strike. The
American people haven't accumulat-
ed as much coal either for home
uses or for war production as was
necessary and 1t Is apparent that a
distinct damage to the public inter-
est was done by the coal strike. But
still there has been no investigation
of the episode.
Fact Finding Needed.
What is needed, of course, is the
appointment of a fast-finding COM
mission composed of distinterested
jarists who will not hesitate to get
at the underlying questions that
caused the coal and rail strike con-
troversies. 1t is not enough merely
to find out what the wage demands
were and whether or not they were
justified. 1t is more important to
learn how the governmental ma
chinery was used or not and where
the Government itself failed. For
despite the abuse that has been
heaped upon John L. Lewis-it's
always easy to blame strike leader
and forget entirely that there are
other parties to a strike-a certain
measure of responsibility rests upon
the Government as the representa-
tive OF all the people and all the
parties.
One thing that should have been
done long ago was to reorganize our
governmental machinery dealing
with the labor problem. The an
swer does not lie in consolidating
the National War Labor Board, the
National Labor Relations Board, the
Railroad Mediation Board and the
Labor Department as has been sug-
gested from time to time. The an
swer does lie in separating certain
functions Of judicial from those
of an administration nature. It
also lies in keeping the Chief Execu-
tive from exercising any influence,
direct or indirect, upon the boards
or tribunals.
The War Labor Board serves q
special function In wartime, deal
ing as it does with the settlement
of disputes when they arise. I'll
cannot be useful If the parties may
appeal to the White House or Con-
gress to influence decisions. The
National Labor Relations Board does
a constructive job in Strengthening
out the multifarious questions grow
ing out of the collective bargaining
process itself as covered by the
Wagner Labor Relations Law. The
Railroad Mediation Act deals prop
erly with the special questions aris-
ing out of disputes in the transpor-
tation field. 1t should be immune
from outside interference.
bikkcSt JOD Ne&leCtcd.
But the biggest and most i'm
portant function of all-the preven-
ton Of labor disputes-is the most
neglected of ALL The Labor De-
partment has in it many extraneous
bureaus that have nothing to do
with the labor problem as such.
These, including the immigration
Bureau and the Children's Bureau
should be taken out of that de-
partment and made the nucleus of
a Department of Public Welfare.
The principal functions of a Labor
Department, on the other hand,
should be those embraced in the
eonciliation service, headed now so
ably by John Steelman, and in the
Bureau Of Labor statistics. headed
at present by the efi1cient DR.. Lubin.
The head Of the Labor Depart
ment should be some one who knows
intimately the problems of concilia-
ton and mediation. The staff
should be enlarged f1ve-fold and
the Government should encourage
training for the career of mediator
and conciliator. Men of a particu-
lar personality, honest and tactful,
can do more to smooth ruffled
tempers and prevent strikes than
boards with rigid rules and regula-
tions important as these latter may
be after the disputes have arisen.
SO far-reaching a policy as the
Little Steel" formula, for example,
grew up accidentally out of a deci-
sion IN one industry, and once pro-
claimed was adhered to slavishly.
The assistance of the Bureau of
Labor statistics, as we'll as the coun-
sci of all interested groups in man
agement and labor with economic
data to offer should have been en-
ployed before Wage-making
scheme Of general application was
adopted, and some provision for
fiexibility should properly have been
considered to meet special situa-
tons.
What the President might we'll do
Is TO ask for the creation of a new
Department of Public Welfare and
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