The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-11-09
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Il By WoIter Sheod
wNU Correspondent
WNU Washington Bureau.
1916 Eye ST., ". w.
Governments Job


West. Farmers did not even have
seed corn. So the congress passed
a bill providing for the distribution
Of seed corn to the farmers. Presi-
dent Cleveland vetoed the bill and
sent 1t back to congress with a
strong veto message wherein he
stated that the government Of the
United States was set up to be sus-
tanned by the people of the United
States and not to sustain the people
of the United States.
That fallacy in the concept of our
federal government was enunciated
a half century ago, and yet In this
conservative congress in the year
1945 there are some who still adhere
to that archaic belief that it
is not the business of government to
help the people of this country i.
that it is not even the business Of
government to adopt policy of gov
eminent guaranteeing the people
anything.
This attitude on the part Of some
senators was definitely apparent in
the debate on the so-called full en-
ployrnent bill when the opponents,
led by Senator Taft (R., Ohio) were
able to emasculate the language OF
the bin to such an extent that it lis
more or less meaningless as it went
over to the house.
The Right to Work
The original bill, as it was intro
duced by Senators Murray 3D.,
Mont.) and Thomas 3D., Utah) con-
tanned this language: "All Ameri-
cans able to work and seeking work
have the right to useful, remunera-
tive, regular and full-time employ
ment. -" Senator Taft questioned
this fright" of these Americans and
declared, in effect, that it was not
the business of this government to
guarantee that right by any law. And
of course the answer is that under
the Constitution and the Declaration
of Independence, the Bill of Rights
+. if Americans do not have the
right to work they have no rights. It
finally came down to a point in the
debate that the Ohioan conceded we
possibly did have the right, but it
was no business of government to
set that right upeas governmental
policy, and so the splitting of hairs
began.
Columnists, radio commentators,
senators, congressman, lobbyists
have taken up the cry, where did
this bill come from?" 'what does it
propose to do?" whats behind the
measured" and, "what does it actu-
ally mean?" and other questions.
Insofar as this reporter can learn,
the full employment bin is backed
not only by this government, but by
so governments throughout the
world and was drawn up pursuant to
resolution adopted by the Interna-
tional Labor Organizations conven-
ton at Philadelphia in May of 1914,
which sponsored full employment as
an objective Of government.
Backed by so Nations
Senator Thomas was an American
delegate to that international con-
vention. Labor and governmental
delegates from so nations were pres
ent. The resolution was adopted
unanimously. The full employment
bill, then, is this governments at
tempt to give expression to that con-
cept of government as committed at
the Philadelphia convention. In his
testimony before the Banking and
Currency committee of the Senate,
Senator Thomas said:
''The declaration of Philadelphia
was in reality the first serious study
to try to bring about that condition
which is promised in the -four free
doms"-a condition which would
make freedom from want a real
freedom. In the declaration at Phil
adelphia there were many theories
and many different ideas sponsored
but among those ideas was the idea
of sponsoring the concept Of full en-
ployment as an objective of govern
ment."
AS a matter of fact guaran-
teeing a person the right to job
is mot new in our government.
That guarantee is given to re-
turning veterans i'm the Selective
Service act :. that they get
their old job back. The whole
civil service system is builded
upon that same guarantee Of gov
eminent; the unemployment
compensation act is also attuned
to the right of a man to work;
many Of the new laws, including
the act governing disposal Of
Surplus Property, which start OF
with the words, ''in order to pro-
mote fun employment etc.," are
tied in with the right to work.
Aid to Private Enterprise
The point is that whether the con-
gress says man has the right to
work or not, the fact is, that in this
country he does have that right, and
the important sections of the full
employment bill are those sections
which set up the machinery for pro-
viding full employment the an
Al I~x L.