Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-02-28

eence of his leadership is Slapped by
the extreme duplicity with which
his administration deals with the
people and the cowardly way II
which it avoids facing realities. The
basic reason for this Is the uncon'
cealed political alliance openly pro-
claimed by Attorney General Biddle
between the New Deal party anc
organized labor as represented BY
the CLIO.
It is this alliance which from the
start has prevented the Nation from
putting its full weight into the war
The stronger end of this alliance Ii
the labor end. Whenever the labor
end disagrees with the White House
end on a war policy, it is the labor
end, and not the White House
which prevails. Instance after IN
stance could be given, the most re-
cent and fragrant being the nulllh-
cation by the labor end OF the
recommendations for work-or-
fight law urged by the chiefs OF
staff, the Secretaries of War and
Navy and the President.
Under the circumstances, this Is
one of the most-if not the most
outrageous exhibitions of the whole
war. It ought to arouse deep public
indignation.
Presidents Allies Lead Fight.
Here is the President of the
United States, in the most critical
period of the greatest of all wars,
presenting to the Congress, as a
matter of great urgency, a request
on which all military and naval
authorities unite as essential TO
victory, and here are the Presidents
closest political allies and personal
friends leading the fight to defeat
1t. One can lug in. the Chamber OF
Commerce, the National Associa-
ton of Manufacturers and other
"feebly forcible" agencies, but the
forces which have beaten the Presi-
dents proposal. are the CLIO lobby
and his own New Deal senatorial
friends. Except for them the May
bill would have been enacted long
ago, and every informed person
knows it.
Are these facts faced by the ad-
ministration? Not at all. They
are ignored and concealed. From
neither MFR. Roosevelt nor any other
administration figure has there
come one word Of rebuke or CEN
sure. On the contrary, the White
House has met this revolt OF its chief
ally and the desertion OF its own
spokesman with a degrading timid-
ity. 1t has refused to recognize the
facts or place the blame.
1t lets its ally and its spokesman
no. ~,aly defy the Presidents lead
ership o. a matter which has been
made almost test Of patriotism but
defy 1t without the slightest loss OF
presidential favor and friendship.
This is not a straight game. 1t can
not be adequately explained nor de-
Tended.
Yet it is typical. Though its labor
ally has pulled back on practically
every anti-inflationary device and
is now engaged in trying to sabotage
the whole wage control structure,
the administration has never ut
tered a word Of protest. Actually,
under White House pressure, Army
and Navy officials have been obliged
to commend when they wanted to
condemn. An example of the refusal
to be candid with the people in this
business was given on Monday, when
the WPB reported that steel and
critical munitions, including air.
craft, are seriously behind January
production schedule. The WPB re-
port blamed "manpower and fuel
shortages, weather and transporta-
ton"
WPB Silent on Strikes.
Not one word did the WPB say
about strikes, though in the same
papers which printed this report
there also was printed an account of
the great strike in Detroit threaten
ing full stoppage of the Chrysler
plants, employing 100, 900 men, which
would mean shocking check to war
production. Nor did the WPB men,
ton the strike in the Carnegie-Illi-
nois Steel Gary works nor any of
the other strikes in various parts of
the country which are interfering
with war production. Neither did
it mention that last year was a rec
ord year for strikes-5,0 900 all told
nor that the strike threat for 1915
is more ominous than for any pre-
ceding year in our history. Strikes
are rarely mentioned by admins
tration spokesman.
The policy is to minimize and
ignore them. In the face of a rec
ord number Of strikes, they persist
entity laud the labor leaders for
their phony "no-striker pledge and
insist that they have made a great
contribution" to the war. None of
this is in accord with the facts. None
of it is on the level. 1t is probably
as low-and dangerous grade of