Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-03
BEHIND
THE NEWS
-ByPauI
MaIIon

WASHINGTON, May 3--At
first the old New Deal crowd in
Mr.. RooSevelt's encourage -
what is left Of it--welcomed the
opportunity 10 put Sewell Avery
of Montgomery Ward in what
they call his place. ~.
Now they are not so sure hui
what they and Mr.. Roosevelt
have been drawn into needless
political difficulties and some
feel they were lured there DELHI
erately by Avery.
In the government notebook
Avery is rated on a par win
John Lewis, the labor leader.
who fights and fights tough. A
chance TO put him practically
any place through the courts
would certainly be welcomed by
the government groups.
But there is a farm vote IN
this coming election. The farm
ers do not like Go. They, more
than any other group, happen TO
be customers of Montgomery
Ward-and directly interested
in holding its prices down.
10Y has consequently turned
~ 10 an inquiring wonder here
at the prospect that Avery viii
circulate those pictures OF him.
self being thrown out OF his OF
flee bodily by soldiers. with the
notation TO his farm customers:
"See, the Go has got Mr..
Roosevelt to put me out of the
nonwar business OF serving you
mst because 1 fought against
he price increase that would
have been necessary n i met
CLIO terms"
In fact, he already has adj
vanced theory OF his case, which
certainly will not hurt him or
his business. even If a long
drawn out series of court ac-
tons fails to show profit legally.
For that losing legal prospect
he also has the consolation of
strong support in Congress
where the farm. plus business
elements, certainly outweigh
Go.
OBVIOUSLY then this fight
" is not as one-sided as 40 in
Vading troops seemed 10 make
it temporarily. and it is not
impossible that some lack of
enthusiasm may develop in the
government about being too
harsh against Avery after all.
Mr.. Roosevelt may have been
thinking about these controlling
undereurrents of the case when
he deferred action again
Avery. No mention has been
made Of the point that his War
Labor Board sent three seizure
cases up to him together He
acted in the other two immedi-
ately, but held back the Mont
gomery Ward action for sew
eral additional days.
Worrisome also is the I'M
noticed expansion of SIN a |
strikes. For some weeks now
the number of strikes in any
one day has averaged %. About
Z to 10 new ones occur each
day, just about double the
earlier normal rate.
No general pattern is APP
parent in these strikes. They
are not about fixed wages and
hours, Eat least not openly. but
about a hundred smaller griev-
ances.
TNASMUCH as unions have not
Il been able TO continue 10 get
wage advances the last few
months, some are trying 10 get
more cash each week through
new wage devices (forcing re-
clasSifications of employees. por-
tai TO portal pay in factories
and even short layoffs without
payR Thus, without change in
the basic rate or more work,
they may wangle increases.
The most competent official
authorities here, however, sug-
geSt that many of the strikes
are not in this category but
were called just because the
men were tired of working. or
wanted 10 60 shopping; that
they are not all organized or
union strikes. Half are in fac
tories employing less than 100
persons. and the rest involve
plants employing from 100 to
500
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