Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-03-28

AtutldLc dny It- HHsnA - Aeht
strictive labor legislation but per-
sonally has blocked every effort to
do so. Quite clearly he has been
afraid to move in that direction lest
he lose the supposedly indispensable
labor political support.
The heads Of the Army and Navy
have resented the situation thus
created and suffered under it. But
they have been unable to do any
thing about 1t. Actually, they have
been forced by White House pres
sure to write congratulatory letters
to labor leaders which they knew
to be wholly unjustified and OF
which they felt wholly ashamed.
Borne Out by Facts.
As they look back over the three
years of strikes. walkouts and slow
downs, and compute the many mil
lions OF man hours thus lost in war
production particularly in this last
year when more strikes were re-
corded than in any previous year of
war or peace, the opinion of many
Is that If there had been a strong
and independent man at the head
of the Government, able fearlesSly
to grapple with labor problems, this
war could have been shortened and
lives saved.
This is a severe indictment both
OF the President and of organized
labor. But 1t is borne out by the
facts which, despite the efforts to
obscure them by the combined pub
licity machines Of the labor unions
and the administration, are clearly
recognizable to all save the most
prejudiced view.
And now, as q c.Imax. for the
second time in less than two years,
= labor Government farce is about
to be perpetrated upon the Ameri-
can people which seems to mock
their intelligence and, certainly,
justifles speculation as to whether
there is limit to their gullibility.
This farce Is staged under the So
called Connally-Smith antistrike
law which, passed over Mr.. Roose-
velts veto, is as absurd as it is in
adequate. Under this law the Ma
tional Labor Relations Board be-
gins today to conduct an election at
the mines among the Nations soft
coal miners as to whether they
want to strike as a means of gain
ing their demands from the oper-
ators
Last year. in q similar election,
1913 of the 381 areas where the votes
were taken voted in favor Of q
strike. The Government then took
over the mines, negotiations fol-
lowed and, ultimately, the miners
got nearly all they asked, the op-.
orators and the public paying the
bill.
= No one doubts that the forthcom-
ing election will result in the same
overwhelming pro-strike majority
and that the ensuing consequences
will be similar to those of 1914.
Thus we have the amazing spec
tacle Of the Government spending
hundreds Of thousands OF the peo-
Piles money to conduct and super
wise an election which, it well knows
in advance, will decide heavily in
favor of a strike essentially against
the Government itself-and which,
If the Government does not step
in, would cripple our war machine
at home and cost the lives of Ameri-
can soldiers abroad.
The Government pays the ex-
penses of an election to obtain from
the miners q decision to strike
against the Government. Then the
Government takes over the mines,
arranges, by devious devices, to give
the strikers what they want, turns
the mines back to the owners, per-
uniting the latter to raise the price
of coal to the public in order that
they may continue to make a profit.
s. People Get Run Around"
Thus, twice in Is months, the
people are given a "run-around" by
the Government and the union.
Twice they are played for suckers
by the same groups in the same
way. Neither the stage, the scenery,
the performers nor the audience is
changed. Only the price goes up.
One would not think this game
could be played twice without
trouble. But there seems no ques-
ton that it will be. Looked at
squarely, it is an almost unbeliev-
able performance. 1t reflects dis
credit on the miners for what is a
raw holdup of the Government in
the wars most critical period.
It reflects discredit on, the admin
istratien because of its cowardly and
feeble attitude toward recalcitrant,