Evening star., 1945-01-02

Avery whose OBJ Lowell MeIlett.
structive antics required so much o1
this wartime Governments atten-
ton last spring and summer.
The old gentleman no doubt Is
happy to have his case in court
There are people who love to &c
to law. Spite litigation is familiar
phenomenon in our courts-the
kind of cases In which everybody
loses except the lawyers. In the
present instance everybody includes
the stockholders of Montgomery
Ward and. to some degree, the en-
tire American public.
People are Free to Judge"
The people of the United States
being a party to the suit, cannot be
expected to give g calm, impartial
judicial opinion in this case, but
there is nothing in the law to pre-
vent the people from having ar
opinion, judicial or otherwise. Ever
Mr.. Avery will scarcely find any
thing unconstitutional in that. Eff
fords to endow him with halo fol
the purposes Of the recent CAM
paign were not successful and the
people of the country are free tc
judge him for what he is, just an
other citizen with the same rights
as themselves and with the same
obligation to aid in the war effort
or, at least, to refrain from OBJ
structing it.
Comes then this defendant be-
fore the court of public opinion
Is his behavior calculated to inter-
fere with the war effort as the
Government charges? The Govern
ment apparently proposes to base
It's case chiefly on the threat of a
breakdown of the machinery fol-
orderly settlement of labor disputes
that might be expected to follow
successful defiance of the War
Labor Boards orders; it fears the
development of strikes and lockouts
in plants making the actual NUM-
tions of war.
But the public may base its OWL
finding on different grounds. In re-
cent months, as the size of our wal
undertaking has come to be realized
people have grown more and more
to feel that each of us should be
able to justify what he is doing
The butcher, the baker, the candle
stick-maker have no difficulty In
justifying their jobs, nor does any
other person contributing to the es-
sentials of living.
Ward & Co. would seem to be essen
tal. in this sense, to the war effort
J. there were no Montgomery Ware
& Co., the Government would al
most be compelled to create some
thing of the kind. You don't have
to prove this by pointing to the
hundreds of priorities granted
Montgomery Ward 81 Co. by the
War Production Board. The fact
speaks for itself. Life must 60 on
here at home while the war is being
fought abroad.
WLB Set Up To Aid Production.
In the interest of national indus
trial efficiency during the war, the
War Labor Board was set up-or
the recommendation of industry ano
labor leaders-to adjust labor diff
culties. Without any authority te
make anybody do anything, it ha.
succeeded pretty well in keeping
production fairly close to maximum
1t has not made either labor or in.
dustry completely happy by any
means, but for the most part it!
findings have been accepted and it.
"orders" have been followed out
It's only recourse in case of defiance
of its orders is to certify a giver
situation to the President.
The Presidents practice is to take
over any plant involved and keep i
operating. His authority for doing
this is not questioned in the cas-,
of company producing purely mill.
tary materials. 1t Is questioned by
some, and specifically by Montgom.
cry Ward, In the case of a plant moi
so obviously engaged in war produc.
ton.
The court may be expected to de.
eide the dispute one way or the