The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1944-01-21

washington, u. IA SOunu ana
constructive basis for labor r-manage-
ment cooperation for the achievement
of maximum production and full en-
ployment in the postwar period was
agreed upon by AFL President Will
liam Green and Eric Johnston, presi-
dent of the United States Chamber of
Commerce, in a nationwide Labor
For Victory" broadcast over NBC on
Jan. 8.
"Our interests are IDENTICAL" Mr..
Green said of labor and industry. "Our
fate is interdependent Not only that
we can't look to anyone else, not
even the Government, to do the job for
us. We must do it ourselves if we hope
to maintain our way of life and the
free enterprise system"
Excerpts from the ensuing discus
sion follow:
Mr. Johnston-I'm glad you men
toned "free enterprise" Bill, because
to my mind it's the key to our post
war success. Yet there exists enorm-
Gus misunderstanding of the term.
Some people interpret it as meaning
unbridled capitalism, of the dog-eat-
dog kind. | fear that in some labor
quarters free enterprise is regarded
as fancy name for letting big busi-
ness pursue its own sweet way and
the public be damned That's not it,
at all. Free enterprise, as modern
businessmen see it, is synonymous
with service-service to labor, to the
public and to the Government, in time
of peace as well as in time of war
In order to render these services more
effectively business and industry must
be free-free from unnecessary Gov
ernment restriction and free to break
new ground and make new advances.
And in order to be able to continue to
render such services, business and in
dustry and capital are fully entitled
to fair profits. | don't mean to soft
pedal the profit motive by putting it
last. Far from it. The chance to make
a fair profit is the best inducement-
the only practical inducement-to the
investment of new capital in the post
war period and to the widest possible
expansion of peace-time production.
Mr.. Green-I agree with you as far
as you go, Eric, but labor insists on a
much broader definition of the term
'sfree enterprise" In other words, free
enterprise is not one-way street
Labor claims vital stake in free en-
terprise, too. Industry cannot expect
to enjoy the benefits of free enterprise
in our democracy without extending
comparable benefits to the workers.
The American Federation of Labor
sincerely believes in the free enter
prise system. We recognize the right
of private ownership and management
of property. We concede that the own
ers and managers of property are en-
titled to fair profits. We agree that
unnecessary Government controls over
business should be lifted But, at the
same time, labor demands that indus
try accord the right of free enterprise
to the workers. That means private
industry must wholeheartedly recog-
nice the right of workers to organize
into free and democratic unions of
their own choice. 1t means that priv
ate industry must be willing to bar
gain collectively with unions repre-
senting the workers. 1t means that
private industry should agree to the
lifting of wartime controls on the
freedom of labor in the postwar Pc
riod. Finally, it means that private
industry should not expect to make
profits by paying substandard wages
but should join with labor in seeking
to raise the American standard Of liv-
ing.
Mr.. Johnston-Speaking for the
great majority of American employ.
ers, want to assure you, Bill, that
we're perfectly willing to go along
with you on that basis. AS practica
businessmen, we realize that unions
are here to stay in America. To fight
them is bad business. It's costly, il
gets you nowhere and it merely
creates bad relations with employees
The employers of America want tt
work together with their employees