Evening star., 1945-12-04
Labor Fcct-Findinq
Action Seen Assured

ACtlOn Seen ASSURED
Truman Proposal Will Appeal to
Fair.Minded, Says Writer
By David Laurence
President Truman has taken . step
which neither labor nor management
can Justly oppose. All that Mr.. Tru-
man asks Is that disinterested board
shall find the facts in . major labor
dispute and publish them. The parties
to the dispute need not accept the dnd-
ings. They will not bs compelled to
agree. But during the time the investi-
cation Is in progress-which Il limited
to 20 days duration-it will b un-
lawful to call strikes or lockouts.
Those who right away protest that
this Is restrictive and impairs the work.
ers' rights and 30 on simply overlook
the fact that this u ct present the
law Of the land with respect 10 rail-
road workers and railroad companies,
Certainly there has been no request
from either railroad unions or rail-
way executives to repeal the existing
legislation, which has been on the books
for nearly 20 years.
Since the principle Is already estab-
lished by Congress, It will not be per-
suasive for labor leaders or management
to argue that the railroad industry is
different" The President has spe-
cif1cally named seven major industries
which are as much concerned with the
public interest as is transportation
These are steel. automobiles, aviation,
mining, oil, utilities and communica-
tions.
Mild Program Offered.
Certainly a tie-up of long distance
and local telephone or telegraph serv-
| ice is as dangerous and ruinous to the
| public welfare as a strike on the rail-
roads or the air lines. To deprive the
| nation of gasoline or oil for motor We
hicles is as much an impairment of
the economic life of the country as to
| tie up the railroads, for it means q
stoppage of trucks that deliver freight
and passenger vehicles and business
transportation of various kinds. With
out steel, manufacturing in many lines
can easily be stopped
President Truman has presented .
mild program. There will be many
members of Congress saying he has
not gone far enough. His proposal, how
ever will appeal to all fair minded citi-
zens and 1t seems safe to say that no
proposal on the labor situation will re-
ceive or has ever received wider in
dorsement by public opinion in America
than the one just made by Mr.. Truman.
The entire proposition is contained in
a few brief sentences in the Presidents
message:
Upon certification by the Secretary
Of Labor to the effect that a dispute
continues despite his efforts and that
a stoppage of work in the affected in
dustry would vitality affect the public
interest, the President, or his duly au-
thorized agsnt, should be empowered to
appoint, within five days thereafter, q
fact-fnding board similar to the emer-
gency board provided for under the
Railway Labor Act
II recommend that during these five
days after the Secretary Of Labor has
made the above certificate, it be unlaw-
full to call a strike or lockout, or to
make any change in rates Of pay, hours,
or working conditions, or in the estab-
lished practices in effect prior to the
time the dispute arose.
Report Within 20 Days. ,r =
1T (the boarO should make its report
within 20 days unless the date is ex-
tended by agreement Of the parties with
the approval OF the President. The re-
port should include a finding Of the
| facts and such recommendations as the
board deems appropriate
While the fact-fnding board is de-
liberating and for five days thereafter
1t should be made unlawful to call 4
strike or lockout, or to make any change
in rates of pay. hours, working condi-
tions or established practices, except by
agreement"
| The board would have the all-impor-
tant powers of subpoena of individuals
and records" and the President says it
Should be authorized to call on any
Government agency for information or
assistance"
This is vital power. 1t means that
accounting books and profits and costs
could be thoroughly investigated -
though not necessarily made public
and the truth ferreted out as to the
claims of labor or management or both.
The Republicans for the most part
may be expected to support the pro-
posals and there will be enough Demo-
Gratis in both houses to 60 along and
form majority. Assurance that Presi-
dent Truman will sign such q measure
is the most hopeful development in
many years in the economic history of
the country.