The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-01-13

accept no responsibility for the personal
views of Mr.. Pegler, and often disagree
with them as much as many OF his read
ers His articles serve the good purpose
| of making people Think
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1915. by King Features Syndicate.)
| NEW YORK, In asking Congress for a
civilian labor draft, President Roosevelt now
adds his weight and power to a proposal pre-
| viously made by Mrs. Roosevelt and Harry
Hopkins in articles sold for their private profit
in their role Of journalistic excrescences Mrs
Roosevelt sold hers through the newspaper
syndicate which distributes her copy Hop
kins addressed his warning and threat to the
public through magazine.
| AS in many other drastic recommendations
of the past. the President leaves many diff.
cult details unconsidered and promises that
| given great new powers over the lives and
liberties Of the civil population his admin stra.
ton would use them only to the extent alb.
solutely required and resort to compulson on
| ly in de instances, previous experience
has shown, however, that powers granted are
exercised to the full and that compulsion is
not at all repugnant to his government. Prob.
ably that is as it should be and pretense to
! the contrary would seem to be mere wheedling
for the only reason to grant him powers Of
compulsion would be an emergency justifying
its use.
Nobody who advocates a civilian labor draft
has yet answered the question whether civil
ian exempt from the military draft for good
reasons would have to join the union holding
jurisdiction and labor contract with the EN-.
ployer the job.
in disguised form by dishonest application
Of the military draft which was intended only
to raise armed forces and not to interfere with
the civil liberties OF military citizens
In such cases, where the unions have had
jurisdiction and political power, the labor-draf-
tees have had to join and the Roosevelt gov
eminent has washed its hands Of the question
of the citizens rights within the unions.
Most union constitutions flout important Sec
tons of the .onal constitution and thus
drafted civilian workers have been deprived
Of important rights by the coe-cive power Of
their government.
Given entire power to draft civilians to work
| in private industry under the general supervi-
sion Of the government, the Roosevelt adminins-
tration must be expected to follow the same
course still. But how could it then punish a
drafted worker for refusing to join or to main
tain his membership? Could he be sent to a
| concentration camp or deprived of his food
rations, in Germany and Russia?
All the big union organizations have fore
seen this and some other difficulties and, for
the first time in their relation as political
DrOLeGe 10 Lne hOOSSVclI government, nave
baked at an apparent favor. In this extreme
proposal, Mr. Roosevelt is being too good
to them. True. Such compulsion would pre-
sent them with gift amounting potentially
to all the labor in the country, with the usual
dues and fees But in that case, Congress
would have to assert itself and guarantee the
labor draftees certain rights within the unions
and that would be the first invasion by gov
eminent Of the secret and private powers OF
| unionism.
All the prominent and powerful unioneers
object to that for they foresee that Mr.. Roose-
welt might then begin to run the unions as
we'll as industry. The unions might vanish into
a national labor front owing all its benefits
but also its obedience to the national gov
eminent.
Neither Mrs. Roosevelt nor Hopkins nor, now
the President, himself, has ever faced the
question Of the civilian workers dependence
on his government once he loses his civil
freedom. The government must clothe, feed.
house and equip the soldier, waive certain tax
claims against him and protect him, by law,
| against loss in other directions while he is
serving under compulsion.
But civilian drafted to work in a factory
in city far from his home must shift for
himself, find his own furnished room and pay
for it, buy his own meals, drive his own bar
gain insurance, carry on all his continuing
obligations to his creditors at home and pay
his own doctor bills and buy MS own LranS-
portation. If his earnings in the compulsory
government lob are lower than his usual in
come no adjustment is proposed to relieve
the pressure on him. If the earnings are
equal let us say the fact Of his being away
while the home must be maintained still makes
him financial loser and he is still subject
to his regular responsibilities.
| That a genuine labor shortage exists there
is reason to doubt. The record of strikes in
violation OF the celebrated no-strike pledge
has been disgraceful and the loss OF work
through the idleness of non strikers affected
by the strikes Of others has been in geometric
proportion to the hours missed by actual strik-
ers Moreover. as recently as October t h e
country was told that the war program was
proceeding efficiently. And still further, the
fact is notorious that mock work and standby
union rules have been maintained at a cost
of countless days of wasted man power.
II civilian labor CONSUMPTION is now neces-
sary however, all these questions affecting
the rights of people will Immediately present
themselves If they not met with at least
an attempt at honesty they will harass the
whole country.
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