Evening star., 1944-05-18
American Blind SPOT

American Blind Spot
The most disturbing aspect of the
foremens strike, which has at last
been called of. is not concerned
with the tangible damage that has
been done to our military effort.
To be sure, as General Arnold
pointed out, the Army Air Forces, as
q result of the strike, have been
deprived of an estimated two hun
dred and fifty long-range fighters,
and that is very serious matter.
This means that in the not-so-dis-
tant future. in some combat theater,
a blow that might have been struck
against the enemy will not be struck.
Or, If 1t is struck, the bomber crews
will have to 60 out lacking the
fighter protection that they ought
to have. It is conceivable that the
day will come when young Amer
leans who take the bombers out
against the enemy will be shot down
and lost because the Detroit fore
men let trivial labor dispute keep
them away from the job OF turning
out the fighter planes which are
essential to the safety of bombing
missions.
General Arnold asks whether he
must tell the bomber crews that he
cannot supply them with fighter pro-
lection, and how he can explain this
lack Of protection to the relatives of
the men whose lives may be forfeit
ed. The question is one which
answers itself in the sense that 1t
cannot be answered, and it is this
aspect Of the foremen's strike, or.
of any other war strike. which is
really disturbing. It concerns some
thing which we do not understand
"a blind spot In the minds of good
Americans which causes them to put
small and selfish interests ahead of
the lives Of other Americans who
are out on the front lines fighting
for them.
It is idle to talk Of these foremen
as though they were traitors. How
ever traitorous their conduct in
practical effect. they are representa-
tive OF America and they must be
pretty much like all other Amer
leans. # John Doe, a striking FORE
man, had happened to be a men,
Der Of bomber crew, he would have
risked his life to take his bomber
out against the enemy. But keep
him at home, safe from the hazards
and hardships Of war, and he will
let . dispute over union recognition
stop him from making the fighter
engines that the bombers must have
II they are to 60 out and come back.
Being an intelligent man in a super
visory capacity, John Doe must real
ize, without being told by General
Arnold, what effect his strike is GO
ing to have on fighter plane produc-
ton, and he must know what lack
Of fighters is going to mean at the
front. Yet this man, who would see
the thing through to the bitter end
II he had been put in uniform, will
quit ON the slightest provocation in
. war plant, even though his Job
there is no less essential to the win
ming of the war than Is the Job of
taking out the bombers.
Somehow the reasons for this
blind spot must be found. Maybe
John Doe has been oversold on the
entirely valid claim that American
workers have done marvellous Job
OF war production Perhaps he has
been listening for so long to those
who cry down any suggestion of a
strike evil by citing fractional per-
centage points that he tends to for
get that he, and every other Amer
lean, has a personal and individual
responsibility to do his own job and
to DO 1t right. It is possible that
we have put too much emphasis on
the wrong thing, that we ought to
talk less about what a great job we
have done as a people and more
about what we have failed to do as
individuals.