Evening star., 1944-12-29
Test of War Powers
Seen in Ward Seizure
Limits of Executive Authority
Need Defining, Writer Says
BY David Laurence


Need Defining, Writer Says
BY David Laurence
Seizure OF Ward's-a business only
indirectly related to the war effort
affords an opportunity to test the powers
OF the President to order compulsory
joining of unions, a closed shop or any,
thing else which he may think Is nee
essary to persuade labor to keep from
striking in wartime.
The principle is an important one In
constitutional history, and while 1t II
most unfortunate that any business or
business executives must appear to be
in the position of defying the Govern
ment in wartime, nevertheless that is
the only way provided under our con-
stitutional practice whereby the limits
of Executive authority can be legally
determined or defined.
There are some people, of course, who
are willing to let the Chief Executive
exercise any authority irrespective Of
what the Constitution or Supreme Court
decisions may say. This point of view,
however, does not have the support Of
those distinguished jurists who In past
decisions have wisely insisted that the
Constitution does not change in wartime
and that an emergency does not create
for Government any powers it did not
possess before the emergency.
Congress Passing Buck.
What we are witnessing really is an
example of the political timidity of .
Congress which refused to pass an ex-
plicit statute forbidding strikes of all
kinds in wartime. Members of Con-
gress would rather pass the buck to the
Executive and make him try to find
ways and means of stretching existing
statutes to cover delicate situations that
arise in labor relations.
There Is room for q considerable diff
ference of opinion as to whether a mail
order house can be seized and operated
in order to prevent the spread Of strikes
when there is no statute specifically
authorizing the Executive to do so.
In this case, insistence that the em-
ployer agree to dismiss employees who,
once having joined a union, want to
withdraw from it Is made a cardinal
policy of the administration. II an en-
ployer declines to accede, his plant il
seized. Yet nowhere in the statutes is
there any provision which permits the
National War Labor Board or any other
governmental agency to force a main
tenance- of membership clause upon his
employees.
The mail-order house in question tried
unsuccessfully to get the War Labor
Board to test that point in court, and
the courts did finally say~the War La
Dor Boards orders had no sanction OF
law and were merely advisory.
Congress, on the other hand, did
authorize the President to seize war
| plants whenever strike was threat
| ened or actually materialized. So the
| powers of the War Labor Board are
not going to be tested this time in
court but the power of President to
do anything he pleases and call it a
national labor policy essential to the
war effort is to be determined.
Petrillo Case Cited.
The hands Of the Roosevelt admins
tration are not exactly clean when
they bring this issue to court. For the
War Labor Board directed the union
Of musicians under James Petrillo to
cease its restrictions and strikes in the
making of broadcasting transcriptions.
Mr.. Petrillo defied the board and Mr..
Roosevelt didn't do anything about
seizing the unions facilities or break
ing up the strike. Instead he answered
critics evasively by saying he couldn't
find any law on the subject.
| The War Labor Board, however, had
pointed out that many broadcasting
stations were necessary to the war ef-
fort and that the musicians strike
threatened the existence of these sta
tions.
Tired of waiting for Government aid
in the controversy. the broadcasting
stations surrendered ANONYMOUSLY
Now the War Labor Board says that
the union wasn't penaIzed because the
employers voluntarily" agreed to the
demands Of the union and removed the
threat to the war effort. The com.
panies settled under duress becaus,
MIR. Roosevelt was afraid of the mu
sicians' union and Mr.. Petrillo He isn't
evidently, afraid Of Mr. Avery.
What the American people want i
an end to wartime strikes, even If l
means seizure Of every plant that ca
directly or indirectly bring on an
strikes or impairment of the war effor,
The way to get that result, however, /
to insist that Congress pass law spe
ciically forbidding work stoppages il
wartime
To let the President write the laws
to invite favoritism and inequalities a
has already been disclosed i'll the Pc
trtllo case. The people want even.
handed justice and no favorites and NJ
strikes.
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