The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1944-01-20

1t is a trait of organized labor and
its spokesmen that labor is right every
time.
No publicist or spokesman ever adj
mits an error or cOnfesSeS Il mistake
in policy
There was time when business fol
lowed that policy. As Il matter of fact
it followed that policy until it had its
knuckles raped so many times that
finally the pain of it began to Indicate
that there might be Il lesson to be
learned.
Then began the upsurge of the fam
lily of public relations men, employed
to tell business, first how not to make
mistakes, and secondly, how to admit
Il mistake with such a flourish of
generosity that the mistake seemed
like the act of hero.
Labor still clings to the old ana
goShawful tattered idea that there are
no mistakes, consequently none to adj
NIT
In 1914 this is indeed sloppy think
ing.
Labor does make mistakes. 1t could
MT be otherwise. Labor make some
pretty bad mistakes, just as business
has made some pretty bad ones and
just as politicians have made some
pretty bad ones.
President Roosevelt has made some
pretty bad Mistakes
What's the sense of attempting to
make the public believe in perfection
which does not exist and could not
exist?
On top of the basic mistake in policy.
or action, there is the mistake of bad
ly presenting Il case in which the
unions have been right An example of
this is the call for strike on the rail
roads.
The governments mistake got pretty
fair apology and explanation; the
union case got shot to pieces before
most people knew it. Generally the
public still thinks the unions were
rather dictatorial and lacking in an
appreciation of the needs of war. This
could have been otherwise.
There are two basic faults which
labor does not admit. but which, in
time, it must admit or take Il beating.
First, there is an all too general
failure to understand that there is
something beside Il labor interest at
stake in most big disputeS-there is
that vague thing called public
interest.
Second, there is the rather general
fact that such public relations men and
press agents as unions employ are not
accepted as advisors in Il specialized
field: they are crrand boys who do
what they are told, thus defeating the
purpose of their existence. They don't
they do their best to explain things
away when they 90 haywire. They are
not allowed to do otherwise.
Out of such situations grow demands
for legislation, some of which have
been rather heated in these last few
If we get labor draft before this
war ends, labor itself will be as much
responsible as any other part of the
population.
This isn't scoIding. 1t isn't giving the
enemy ammunition. 1t is an effort to
SHOW to labor'S own ranks Il couple OF
facts about things within its own house
which had better be corrected
If business is affected with IL public
interest and is therefore subjected to
certain restraints, isn't il wise for
labor TO at least conduct itself rs If
there were II public interest that might
in time be taught to miSintcrprct labor
in such Il way as to lead to Il demand
for reStlaintSI
Why in the wide world must labor
men be 50 darnod blind to Il sand storm
coming that rhcN can't see that we
aren't living in the Dos?
In the POS there were only one or
two men who could be called expert
labor reporters on the nations news
papers, to fairly and intelIi@cntly re
port labor news
Today ther" are dozens of them
and that, boys and girls. is one thing
that makes the whole picture different.
1t might be Il good idea for some of The
cellar StrategiSiS 10 come up for air
and take Il look AROUND in daylight
CAlW