Evening star., 1945-09-30
By Claude Waffs,'

chst =, Division W.4 LABOR 81 BVsrd ss
manding six-hour day, five-day week.
with a so per cent wage increase,
and threatening to stop all coal produc-
ton the strike actually came November
/, 1870. and there was much talk of
railroad strike in the offing.
Headlines Tell the Tale.
Consider these headlines from Wash
ington, New York and Chicago news
papers during this period
"Rioting in Gary, Indiana
pittsburgh Sees No Strike Change" !"
Labor Would Defy Antistrike Law,
Says Gompers."
Miners Demands Stir Senate Indig-
nation"
Produce Coal or U. S. Will!"
Hospitals and Jails Filled as 5000
Battle"
High Wages, Higher Prices, Public
Stirred, Says Federal Reserve Board"
Labor Farley Blows Up,"
Current headlines are comparably less
sensational, but they tell of many
thousands of workers on strike, of more
strikes to come, of demands of labor
leaders for the 30-hour week and wage
adjustments upward, of Government
appeals that strikers return to work
pending efforts at conciliation and med
iation, and of drastic proposals, aimed
at the regulation of unions, which are
being dropped into legislative hoppers.
But when we read Ford Meets Strikes
With Shutdowns," $4,000 Laid on as
Strikes LOOM" "2130O0 Workers Idle" "
"Al General Motors Plants Face Threat
Of Strike by UAW," and "UAW Sets
Aside 100000 for Industry-wid Pay
boost Drive" who can tell what we shall
be reading within the next 80 days, and
during the sessions of President Tru-
mans labor-industry conference?
Facts Should Be Faced.
Those who draw this gloomy and fore
boding picture-and there are many of
them in Washington both inside and
outside the Government-do so because
they believe this is no time to avoid
facing unpleasant facts. They argue
that there is crisis in the making in
the industrial and economic world Why
wait to do something about it, they ask,
until the forthcoming conference gets
into deadlock, or some one drops an
other bomb and blows it up? And they
believe that 1t is high time to sound
the warning that the only way its dele
gates can acquit themselves of culpabil-
ity for untoward event or disaster is
by discharging their full responsibility
for devising procedures which will 60 as
far as is humanity possible to establish
and to maintain approximate peace in
industry. That calls for lot of plan
ming and other advance work, without
which there is grave danger of another
fiasco of too little and too late
The Evening Star of Washington said
editorially on the opening day Of the
1919 conference:
"It is the age-old question Of the
stitch in time. In this matter, now Is
the time to take the stitch. If the
proper spirit Is shown at this confer
ence, and suitable recommendations
made, an effect will be observable in
all circles and appear in the legisla-
ton Of Congress"
Observers say that is obviously true
in the present situation. Hence they
proceed with their gloomy picture Of
that first conference in order to show
why it failed so signally to take that
stitch in time
Woodrow Wilson's conference was
opened by the then Secretary of Labor,
William B. Wilson, as temporary CHAIR
man, and was presided over by the then
Secretary of the Interior, Franklin K.
Lane, as permanent chairman. 1t was
made up of SO delegates, Is representing
the public, Is representing employers.
and 10 representing labor.
The conference was begun without an
agenda or well-thought- program,
although President Wilson had stated
its duty to be TO discuss such methols
as have already been tried out Of bring
ing capital and labor into close cooper
alton, and to canvass every relevant
feature of the present industrial situa-