The union times., 1944-08-19
TEXT OF STATEMENT

TEXT OF STATEMENT
 ''I believe all A. F. L. unions in Connecticut should immediately wire their Congressman urging that they reject the George Bill, and vote for the KiIgore Recon version Bill, which has the official endorsement of the American Fed eratiOn of Labor and of the Con- necticut Federation of Labor." Collins said.
 ''The best interests of both labor and industry require that we avoid another depression and mass suf- fering. The KilgOre Bill is the only legislation so far proposed that will help prevent this situation.
 Acceptance of the George Bill as the law of the land will mean post war suffering for millions of Ameri- can men and women who are now giving their all to beat the Nazis and the JapS.
 Every working man and woman in Connecticut will be affected by the action Congress will take. It is important that the Connecticut local unions and their membership act at once. The KilgOre Bill must be passed.'
 Organized labor in Connecticut is watching the action of Congress on demoblllzation and reconversion legis- latlon with great interest. Connecticut, known as the arsenal of the Arsenal of Democracy" has one-half of its workers engaged in war production, and the kind of demobilization bill passed by Congress will be quickly felt in the Nutmeg State Although the Senate rejected the Kilgore Bill, and accepted Senator Georges measure, the House of repre- Sentatives still has to make its power felt. If the House should pass the Klgore Bill, the Senate will be forced to compromise, and although the Kill gore Bill would not pass in its en- tirety, vastly better bill than the George Bill would finally be enacted.
 A coalition of Republicans and poll tax Democrats passed the George Bill in the Senate, with the New Dealers voting against 1t. The debate in the Senate showed that the basic issue was one of human rights, with a ma Jorlty of the Senate not interested Thus, Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, denounced the Kilgore recon version bill as one of the steps toward state socialism"
 Taft got quick and stirring answer from CanofO- C1o,,1a Da0-o. Florida liberal Democrat.
 Pepper took up the phony states rights argument and said "I think the greatest right in all the world is the right of man, woman or child to what the Constitution of the United States guarantees him life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and any right which contravenes that right that man is heir to is an inferior right. Whether it be the right of state or the asserted right of anyone else, 1t must take a position subordinate to the greater right of men, women and children to live fruitful and riughteous lives with their fellow men, under their God.
 Many of us have had to make a choice between property rights and human rights. Any man who sits Ill the Senate must make that decision at times. If we must now make choice between so-called States rights and hugan rights, many of us will find 1t an easy choice to make"
 Sen. Harley M. Kilgore O., w. Va.), for his part attempted to elimi- nate the carefully cultivated belief of the opposition that his is 1855 every Thursday" bill. He showed on basis of BIS figures that the earnings qualification would disqualify four out of every eight workers and the de- pendency qualization would eliminate three out of the remaining four, so that only one of eight workers be en- titled to the top unemployment com pensation figure of $35 a week.
 He also elaborated on what $35 a week would buy for a family of four or more persons stating the items in clothing, food, medical expenses and said he wanted to speak humbly be- cause ''I cannot follow the logic of those who oppose this bill which pro- vldeS such luXurieS as one suit every three years or one winter dress every three years on the ground that it would break the financial back of the nation, At the same time they have been willing to set aside $28 billion ot corporate taxes :. to be used to insure profits to these corporations at the handsome levels of the base period, or as based on total investments, whichever is the handsomer."