Detroit evening times., 1945-11-27
BEHIND
h -.-...-
The NEWS
By Paul
Moffton


asking themselves (and mel why
these strikes develop, ebb and
flow, so systematically through
the country.
They cannot see why in a
time Of world crisis when the
necessity Is great for the ma
ton 10 succeed with her recon-
version and production, there
should he any strikes AT all. The
muddled announcements and
talk about fears Of initiation.
unemployment and all such
surface indications, leaves them
hopeleSSly confused. They want
10 know the answer
The first point glarlngly evil
dent behind the situation is that
labor is a completely controlled
entity. A centrally managed,
thoroughly disciplined, wholly
directed group in national life.
IN VIEW Of this condition, II
i Is necessary 10 look beyond
the claims made for individual
strikes in any search for an
answer as TO why they occur.
The Washington bus and rail-
way strike. for instance, which
finally, and because of recur-
renee, caused the government TO
seize the lines, involved an
old case, unsettled for many
months.
There would seem TO be no
reason why the strike was
called first the day the ma
tional labor management con-
ference assembled here to dis
cusS and arrange conclusive
peace pact
What | specifically mean Is
no necessity arose al that par
ticular time involving any OF
the factors of the case TO war
rant a walkout. No govern
ment agency had d en- / e d
anything Just the day before, or
anything like that.
The case Of the CIO auto
workers involved their many
months old demand for a
30 per cent wage increase.
Long range. indirect negotia-
tions had strained and broken
many times. but singularlY
enough, this strike call devel-
oped also the day the labor
manage ment confe terence e
reached It's deadlock.
The orders were issued within
few hours after the dead
Heck heeame-ap apparent within
the conference and before any
announcement was permitted
10 leak TO the public press. 1T
was published two days later)
THESE facts, ! think, are
Il further evidence Of what /
have suggested before. namely,
that labor has developed new
tactics. Up 10 this postwar SER
les Of strikes. labor management
was largely an uncentrallzed
operation. II functioned in
democratic way in what might
be called democratic process.
On the one hand was the
AFL and on the other the Go.
and in their functions they
could be likened 10 the Demo-
cratic and Republican parties in
the management Of the nation,
one a majority, the other a
minority.
Following the analogy through
completely, the other lndepen-
dent unions could be likened 20
the minority parties which have
only a few scattered votes. In
theory one acted as a bulwark
against the other, restraint 10
keep il on the right path. 1t
never functioned in a totalltar-
ian way or under centralized
control, or at least its actions
never before showed symptoms
Of such system.
This time the old conserva-
tive AFL street car workers
acted simultaneously with the
great Go body OF auto work
erS. | do not charge collusion.
TO TRY 10 dig inside that
L situation 10 find the proof
would he as tedious as pur-
suing an electrically magnetized
needle through all the nations
hayStacks. But the results came
out that way, AZ every one can
see.
I must therefore conclude
that the strikes were called
against the conference, there
fore against Mr. Truman and
against the government They
were simply manifestations OF
organized labor pressure. This
IS my answer
No other conclusion seems
possible from logical analysis,
particularly since they were
called immediately after man
agement came forward with a
program 10 make labor respon-
sIble for its actions.
The proposals did not involve
any settlement of the wage con-
troverSy or other elements in
volved in a particular strike
discussion. hut merely laid down
the program OF union response
billty.
NOV. IL all these facts are
y true, as I have said, the
ultimate crisis has arrived in
this matter On the one hand
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