The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1944-12-21

| am asked whether the FLORIDA
law providing that union business
agents must be licensed is a real
threat to unions.
Florida is sticking its neck out all
over the place and there is always
line waiting to step on it.
Florida has, by popular VOTE
amended its constitution to outlaw
the so-called closed shop. And it has
this law calling for the licensing OF
business agents.
The worst thing about both the law
and the amendment is that they SHOW
clever state of mind which is sus-
picuous of unions and which thinks
they need bit of curbing.
That state of mind grows out OF
certain admixture of downright reac-
tionary thinking and determination
TO keep union power down.
Perhaps there is touch of klux-
| ism in it, as well.
Florida is, IN many matters, pro-
gressive. 1t is forging ahead IN the
| field of education. And, of course,
when the state has enough education
it will learn not to be afraid OF pro-
gressive things in other fields.
The licensing law, by itself, is no
great shakes of a danger. The chief
danger is in the power to refuse, or
revoke, a license and the chance that
Justice may not always be the con-
trolling factor.
But the state of mind behind such
things is the thing to look out for.
Florida has a ranching back coun-
trv that is powerful and that cannot
be called progressive in any large
meaning of that term. Florida ranch
ers still have power enough to pre-
vent highway fencing, so that cattle
range the roads and cause a grave
traffic hazard.
The cities simply do not have
enough progressive votes to beat the
back country.
That condition will not change
soon. Labor's job is education!
| This column has said before and
SAYS again that labor must realize
that, no matter who likes it or does
MT, the people as a whole have an
interest in labor organizations. Some
of this interest is intelligent, some
is bigoted, some is downright muir
derous.
But it is an interest. Time was
when 0nions, prosecuted and hated,
met in easements and back rooms.
Some of that back room fear of the
public fingers. That's why we have
too many union secrets, too little in
telligent public relations work on the
part of unions.
Labor has something of great value
to contribute to American life. 1t
HAS contributed great deal. And
the story of what it has contributed
has been too poorly told.
Labor has helped build the public
school system; it has helped to bring
about better health measures; it has
helped fight accidents; it has helped
drive reaction and graft from public
life.
| Labor must now realize that it has
an obligation and responsibility to
the public Labor's present great
strength makes it factor in public
life. When labor swings, or nearly
swings, elections, that power is going
to be watched carefully.
Only by intelligent and fast work
ing public relations can labor prevent
a decent public interest from becom-
ing persecution, with such out-crop-
pings as the Florida amendment.
Stupid acts by labor begets IAN
equal and opposite reaction" which,
backed by hate money, becomes more
than equal. Remember the Los
Angeles Times explosion?
Labor must grow up in its attitude
toward the public and it must grow
up fast. Some Internationals have
shown the way brilliantly. They have
the "know how" But labor, in the
large and across the country, needs 20
show that it KNOWS it is living in
a new kind of a time.
Ii is idiotic that soldiers should
hate unions, but many of them do.
And, the soldier lobby after the war
will be lulu. 1t isn't too late to get
right, but there's no time to be lost.
Let's face one of the main issues.-
CMW.