Evening star., 1945-02-19
0'MahoneyCaIIs
Stimson 'sPIea
Unfair 10 Labor
Senators Will Meet
Tomorrow to Decide
On Monpower Bill
BY ]. A. O'LEARY.

Senator O'Mahoney, Democrat,
OF Wyoming charged today that
Secretary of War Stimson's radio
appeal last night for passage of
compulsory work law gave serv-
icemen and their families "an
utterly unbalanced" picture Of
what American labor has accom-
plished on the home front.
AS the Senate Military Affairs
Committee prepared to meet tomor-
row to decide between the House.
approved work-or-jail measure, and
one of several substitutes designed
to retain the voluntary system, Sem
ator O'Mahoney took sharp issue
with the Secretary of War.
The Secretary tells the country
that We alone among our allies
have not by law organized our
workers TO equip the soldiers, Sena-
tor OMahoney asserted" He says,
while we have no service law, Britain
and Russia have been working under
such laws since the very beginning
of the war We alone are depending
upon voluntary, and, therefore, in
effective methods of organizatio
among workers who are producing
the arms and equipment or our
soldiers and furnishing them with
ships and all other necessities Of
war.
Lease-Lend Record Mentioned.
For the exact measure of the
inehectiveness of the voluntary sys-
TEN, I refer Secretary Stimson to
the record of lease-lend to Britain
and Russia-the nations to which
he points as an example to the
United States"
Senator OMahoney then pointed
out that more than eight billion
dollars worth of ordnance, aircraft,
tanks and other materials, exclusive
|of food, have been sent to England
and more than six billion dollars
worth to Russia.
In the case of England, he said,
llease-lend supplies went up from
$573 ,000, 900 in 1941 to 4,704 ,0O0, 900
in 1914. produced by the method
which the Secretary calls ineffec-
tive"
In the case of Russia, the Senator
said shipments mounted from ST.
000, 900 in 1941 to $3,l57, ,000, 900 in
1914 of the products of free, volun-
tary labor in the United States"
In his radio talk Mr.. Stimson ap-
pealed directly to the relatives Of
servicemen, declaring that deadly
shortages are now looming before
U.S. and warned that I'VE dare not
delay longer" the passage of work.
control legislation.
Quotes Morgenthau Broadcast.
'It would be a pity" Senator
OMahoney continued, IF the SOL
diers on the fighting fronts should
gain the impression from what the
secretary has said on the radio that
management and labor in the
United States have let them down.
Our soldiers have not been let down
by the people on the home front.
Only short while after Secretary
Stimson broadcast last night, Secre-
tary of the Treasury Morgenthau
was on the air, and he told his
llStCliClS CAldt OO,UOO,UUO
American citizens have purchased
baby bonds and War bonds, and this.
too, was a voluntary contribution.
Il like to think that we alone
have done this job in the free system
by voluntary acts of our people.
That, I think is the message the
Secretary of War ought to be giving
to our soldiers on the fighting
fronts"
Mr. Stimson's address is unlikely
to bring any favorable action on the
work-or- Jail bill, however.
Unless there is last-minute
switch in committee sentiment the
odds appear to favor adoption of a
substitute, continuing the present
controls of the War Manpower
Commission, in place of the House
plan to authorize draft boards to
assign men to war industries If they
are not qualified to fight.
Conference Battle Would Ensue.
If the Senate passes such a SUBJ
stitute conference battle between
the two houses is in the offing. Be-
(See MANPOWER, Page AID