Evening star., 1944-03-25
|SteeIworkers Deny
Spur 10 Initiation
In Wage Demands
By the Associated Press.

III wv N~sls0hi0S
By the Associated Press.
The CIO United Steelworkers,
arguing for a 17-cent hourly
wage increase before a War
Labor Board panel, denied today
that such an increase would
have any inflationary impact.
David j. Mcdonald, union secre-
tary, said the demand had been at
tackled on two fallacious grounds"
first, that increases in steel prices
would be necessary, and second, that
''the wage increase is not in the
interest because 1t is inflat-
ionary." Mr.. Mcdonald said the
unions brief demonstrated beyond
doubt that the steel companies are
in such an excellent profit position
that they can pay the wage increase
raising the price of steel
products.
"A wage increase that is met out
Of excessive profits can in no sense
be called inflationary. If steel
prices do not rise, then the prices of
the products fabricated with steel
will not rise. Hence, there will not
be the impetus for a general inflat-
ionary wave of new price rises.
Imitation Fears Contested.
"The companies are using the
theory of the so-called infiationary
gap as an argument to keep wages
frozen. This theory has been widely
publicized and has become major
argument in support of wage freez-
ing.
"The theory of the infiationary
gap is an economic abstraction that
has been proved to be consistently
wrong throughout the war years.
Some officials and economists have
tried to panic the country with wild
predictions that the inflationary
gap for given year will be s40,-
900, ,000, 900 or $4,000 ,0o0,0 900.
"On the bases of this false FORE
cast, they then attack the efforts
of workers to adjust the Little
Steel formula upwards so that wages
will be stabilized at the level OF the
real rise in wartime living costs.
Significantly, not one of these
scares has actually materialized.
Banker Is Quoted.
Randolph Burgess, vice chairman
of the National City Bank, has
shown up the essential flaw In the
reasoning of the inhationary gap
lists. He said:
Imitation is not a direct product
of excess money, it is a product Of
human behavior. Money does not
become wild by itself. 1t could be
dangerous only when used wildly by
the people who have it, and the
significant thing that is happening
now is that with some conspicuous
exceptions, the financial behavior of
the great bulk of our people has
thus far been characterized by COM
mon sense"
Philip Murray, president Of the
steel workers, yesterday spearheaded
his unions case before the panel.
He denounced the Little Steel
formula for what he termed "obvi-
Gus, practical unworkability," con.
tended corporations and the farmer.
have been guaranteed minimum In.
comes, and shot barbs at "the faa
boys" Of the steel industry for their
"audacity" in trying to keep the steel
workers wage case from the WLB.
Murray Speaks Two Hours.
Mr.. Murray spoke for 2 hours
and 10 minutes to the six-man
panel, lawyers for "a steel COM
panies, and his union Policy Com
mittee of nearly 100. The CON-
panies will begin their presentation
April IL. .
YOU" said the union chief, turn
ing to the industry spokesmen,
have got to do q little more con-
structive thinking about giving
people In the United States OF
America jobs after this war Is over
than you have ever done In all your
lives. The present situation and
the situation which may develop
latter the war, create conditions that
|challenge your ingenuity. -
1T is your responsibility. - And
you cannot laugh at a workers de-
mands that you give to him guar
anteed income in order that he may
live and may have sustenance for
both his wife and his family. .
you are no longer little corpora
tions whose interests are centered
in the payment of dividends to
stockholders. You have a greater
public interest, and that is the in
terests that run directly to all OF
the people employed by you, to pro-
vide full employment for them" {
Mr.. Murray said there is mo singfe
thing that can contribute more to
the national well-being, and that
will do more to stimulate produc.
tlv1ty, and guarantee employment"
than guaranteed weekly wage Or
annual income for the steel workers.
The farmers have been guaraii-
teed it," he argued. who else IN
the United States has the guarantee
OF an annual income? Why. all of
those gentlemen over there" indi-
eating the industry representatives.
The interests that they represent
have a definitely guaranteed income
for any two-year period that they
may desire to select, whether their
industry goes down either to the
break-even point or below the break
even point"
Discussing wage ceilings, Mr.. MUIR
ray said, II contend it was never the
intent of Congress to freeze wages.
I have found nothing in the stabi1i-
zation law of october 2, 1912, that
denies the American workers the
right to redress for any wrongs that
might be perpetrated against them.s
De Valera IIrnns pnmo , .