Evening star., 1945-02-03
Forced Labor Bill 2
Pressure Questioned
Surface Reasons for Haste Are
Specious, Says Observer
BY David Laurence

BY David Laurence
What is behind the extraordinary
pressure that put the forced labor"
bill through the House Of Representa-
tives and now is being exerted to stam-
pede the Senate into immediate pas
sage?
The surface reason given-military
necessity-doesn't stand up on exam
ination of the facts. Existing legisla-
ton already gives all the authority
needed for work-or-flght procedure.
Men who won't work already can be
drafted for limited service or combat
service but the Army says it doesn't
want them.
Whatever the reasons are, they appar-
emily relate to the home front 1t Is
conceded that the fear is that when
Germany is beaten war plants will be
deserted and manpower will drift to-
ward what workers believe are stable
jobs. Likewise. it Is asserted that the
q Army's size will be declining and hence
the work-or-fght threat will not be ef-
fective.
Is John Lewis Feared?
What makes the foregoing explana-
ton seem specious is that the Army will
need as many men to beat Japan on
the mainland of China as have been
used in Europe, and it may need even
more because so many of our veterans
will have to be given long furloughs be-
lore being sent to the Far East.
What then lies behind the urge to
get the manpower legislation through
hastily? 1t would appear thatythe real
reason is fear of another paralyzing coal
strike in April and that the man most
feared is John L. Lewis. Once before
the administration took a rigid posi-
ton on the Little Steel formula to
beat Mr.. Lewis but merely piled up
grievances and friction for itself and
never expected to get.
Some hint of the manpower bills DOS
sible use as an antistrike measure was
given In the House debate but the ad-
ministration has not made any COM
ment about it. Anybody, however, who
examines the bill that passed the House
can see clearly that it can be used to
freeze workers to their jobs and that if
they don't stay on those jobs they can
be sent to Jail. 1t has been contended,
OF course, that the right to strike re-
mains unimpaired, but once a man
leaves his job he must take some other
form of employment, and if he's a coal
miner there is little else he can do
he must keep his job or go to jail.
Left-Wing' Reasoning.
Something else that is in the offing
is the draft of industry. Left Wingers"
all along have wanted to see American
industry put under Government con-
troll and the war affords such an op-
portunity. If it's logical to draft labor
and chain it to the job, so also, Left
WIngers" will declare, it is logical to
draft or conscript industry and put
profit regulation under Government
management, especially in those essen
tlal businesses where the work-or-iaiI
threat is applied.
A clear-cut measure to ban strikes
IN war time would be preferable to the
Wolh-OI JAN Dill, WHICH the HOUSE has
passed For with compulsory arbitra-
tion tribunal such as the War Labor
Board is or could be set up to be, the
strike situation could be handled so
that neither labor nor MANAGEMENT
could exploit the war emergency. Once.
however, the principle of forced
labor" is accepted by the American
Congress-the nearest thing to totali-
tarianism which has been put before
our National Legislature since the war
oegan-the way is opened to other forms
OF coercion and suppression.
1t is tragic that liberal administra-
ton which prides itself on its devotion
to the democratic processes should have
found no other way but the threat of
jail to persuade the patriotic American
working population to remain on the
job. 1t is an ironic compliment. for
Americas workers who have made the
most remarkable record in war pro-
duction of any country in the world
not excluding totalitarian Russia or
Germany
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