Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-11-14
Mr.. PetriIIo Wins

WI. ICttIIIO VNIUS
Spokesman for the recording in
dustry. having capitulated to the
canned music" demands OF James
c. Petrillo after a two-year fght,.
are disposed to blame the Govern
ment for their defeat. Edward
Wallerstein, president of the Co.
lumbia Recording Corporation, put
it bluntly. 1--WE are finally accepting
the Petrillo demands" he said, be-,
cause of the Governments unwill-
ingness or incapacity to enforce its
orders" This is a point of view,.
however, which overlooks important
aspects of Mr.. Petrillos victory.
1t is true that the Government
has been either unable or unwilling
to enforce its orders. The War.
Labor Board months ago directed
Mr.. Petrillo to rescind his ban on
the making Of records. When he
ignored the order the board referred
the case to the White House, and
the President wrote a polite letter
to the head of the Musicians Union,
requesting that the ban be lifted.
When this, too, was diregarded
Mr.. Roosevelt announced that he
was having the law reviewed to see
what, If anything, could be done
about Mr.. Petrillo. Apparently the
law books had nothing to offer, for
Mr.. Petrillo has gone merrily on
his way and the employers with
whom he deals have been brought
to their knees. The net result is
that the recording industry has
agreed to pay into the union treasury
a fee on each record that is made.
In the course of year this will
amount to about 100000. This is
not a profit-sharing scheme, for Mr..
Petfillo gets his fee whether there
is any profit or not. And, further
more, the strong probability is that
the industry will pass on to the buy
ing public the additional manufac-
turing cost represented by the fee.
So, in practical effect, Mr.. Petrillo
Is levying a tax on the public for the
benefit of his union treasury, and
he is not required to account to
any one for the uses to which this
money is put.
1t is something less than realistic,
however, for the record makers to
blame the wartime regulatory
agencies for this state of affairs.
The industry at least has had some
moral support from the War Labor
Board and the President. In peace
time they would not have had that
much assistance, and presumably
would have had to capitulate sooner.
Hence, the real significance OF Mr..
Petrillo's victory Is concerned more
with the period after the war than
with the weakness of the wartime
agencies.
1t the American Federation of
Musicians, under the determined
leadership of Mr.. Petrillo, can levy
what amounts to a tax on the public,
so can any other union possessed
OF sufficient economic power. And
If Mr.. Petrillos success remains I'M
challenged, the strong probability
is that other unions will follow his
example.
The remedy, If there is to be a
remedy, lies with public opinion and
the Congress. The present Supreme
Court has conferred virtually total
grant of immunity on unions in
matters of this kind, and it is not
in the least surprising that the
President found nothing in the law
books that would be useful against
Mr.. Petrillo. The court, in effect,
has nullif1ed the laws which former
ly might have been invoked in a
situation OF this kind. And this
means that nothing can or will be
done unless and until an aroused
public demands that Congress enact
legislation to forbid or to regulate
union practices that are inimical to
the public interest but which, never
theless, are steadily gaining ground.