Montana labor news., 1944-08-24
|BRENTON w.
|PARLEY AIDS
LABOR aims


United Nations monetary conference,
and purpose of the plans the conference
drew up, are identical with the demands
of U. S. labor for freer international
trade to create Jobs and maintain and
raise living standards around the world.
While the conference fell far short of
planning routes to deliver sealed quarts
of milk to every Hottentot hut every
morning, it went far enough to draw the
wrath of a collection of isolationists, pri-
ate bankers and reactionary newspapers.
Isolationist Sen. Robert A. Taft of
Ohio and the McCormick-Patterson
press took time off from labor batting
and damning the Roosevelt administra
ton to get in a number Of swipes at the
Breton Woods conference as a plot of
foreigners" to make poor, gullible Uncle
Sam support an international WPA"
Banking circles which made much
money out of bank-dominated foreign
loans after the last war-and left the
public stuck for them-grumbled about
government interference" just like a
Sewell Avery obiecting to Natl. War
Labor Board decisions.
OPPOSITION of such groups indicate there
will be plenty Of fight in congress when
it comes time for the U. s. to vote on
whether to approve the monetary con-
ference's plans for an international
currency stabilization fund and world
bank for international reconstruction
and development
Which side labor will line up on seems
in little doubt. The AFL Postwar Com
mittee has called for far-reaching econ
omic cooperation among nations for "ad-
vancement of the standards of living
among all peoples" and to lessen the
barriers between nations so that there
may be larger inter change of goods
and services for all" It also proposed
United Nations economic organization
to supervise foreign trade, transport and
exchange.
CIO Pres. Philip Murray's 9-point pro
gram for the United Nations Labor Con-
ference in London called for "cementing
of firm unity among the United Nations
to assure continuation of peace, equal
access to raw materials and internation-
al markets" including measures to end
international cartels seeking to restrict
production or the full development of
domestic and international trade"
Sec. of the Treasury Henry Morgen-
thaus summary OF what the Breton
Woods conference did and aims to do is
therefore especially interesting to unions;
THE actual details Of financial and
monetary agreement" he said, may
seem mysterious to the general public.
Yet at the heart of it lie the most ele-
mentary bread and butter realities Of
daily life.
It take it as an axiom that after this
war is ended no people-and therefore
no government of the people-will again
tolerate prolonged or widespread unem-
ployment.
"A revival of international trade is in
if full employment is to be
in a peaceful world and with
standards which will permit the realiza-
ton of mans reasonable hopes
what we have done here in Breton
Woods is to devise machinery by which |
men and women everywhere can ex-
change freely, on fair and stable basis, /
the goods which they produced through |
their labor.
And we have taken the initial step |
through which the nations of the world !
will be able to help one another in econ
omic development to their mutual ad-
and for the enrichment OF all"
This may indicate why American la
bor accepting free enterprise so long as
it is not interpreted as free" to strange |
nations by cartels and monopolies or
free" to oppress labor, will undoubtedly |
support the sterilization fund and world |
bank proposed at Breton Woods.
But there are a couple Of other things
to consider about this important United
Nations conference: Why are some |
American capitalists 50 strongly opposed =
to it? An exactly how does it propose
to increase international trade and !
create Jobs?