Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-01-22
Meat Action Is Possible Today
White House Says; Fact-Finders
Are Named in Electrical Strike
u. S. CONSIDERING
Packing Seizure,
Ross Declares
By JAMES Y. NEWTON.


The White House acknowl-
edged today that Federal seizure
of the meat-packing industry
was being considered as efforts
were continued to settle the
week-old strike through price
concessions to the packers.
Charles G. Ross, White House
press secretary, told newsmen that
seizure as means to end the strike
has, of course, been under consid-
Grafton" and still is being considered.
He said it was possible" that
something would be done during the
day, but it was not clear whether the
reference was to the Government
taking over the industry or the pos
sibility of settling the wage dispute
, behind the strike.
Union Heads Called In.
Secretary of Labor Schwellenbach
summoned heads of the CLIO Pack
inghouse Workers to a meeting in
his Office, presumably to determine
whether the union would work for
the Government in event of seizure.
President Lewis j. Clark and Vice
President Philip Weightman talked
Tor an hour with Mr.. Schwellenbach
and Assistant Secretary of Labor
John w. Gibson. Mr.. Gibson said
as the meeting adjourned for lunch
: that no definite conclusions" were
reached and that the union officials
would return later in the day.
Mr.. Ross asserted there were no
immediate plans to seize the steel
industry, almost completely shut
down by the walkout early yesterday
of 100000 CLIO United Steel Workers.
He released letter of instructions
from the President to his steel fact
finding board in which Mr.. Truman
wrote: For the present, I suggest
that you continue your study of
Government data and that you re-
main available for future consulta-
tons"
These instructions, in answer to
a board letter last Saturday asking
what course the panel should pur-
sue, was interpreted as indicating
there still was hope of settling the
strike.
Meanwhile, Secretary Schwel-
lenbach appointed William H. |
Davis, former chairman of the
War Labor Board, and Arthur S.
Meyer, chairman of the New York
State Mediation Board, as mediators
for the Government in the strike of
100000 CIO United Electrical Work.
ers.
The two mediators Immediately
met with the heads of the strike
bound General Electric and West
inghouse companies and the union
in Mr.. Schwellenbachs Office.
Appointment Is Surprise.
The appointment of Mr.. Davis
and Mr.. Meyer came as surprise.
Taking part in the conference
were Charles E. Wilson, president
of GE; A. w. Robertson, head of
Westinghouse, and Albert Fitzger-
aid, union president.
No representative from General
Motors Corps electrical division,
which also is involved in the wage
dispute, attended. The union has
said that negotiations with GIN were
continuing.
Mr.. Ross was asked if the letter
to The steel board indicated the
President does not see the need for
public hearings yet. He replied the
letter would have to speak for itself.
Other officials said behind-the-
scenes mediation to settle the wage
dispute was in progress.
There had been no reply, Mr.. Ross
said, from Benjamin F. FairleSs,
president of the United States Steel
Corp, to President Humans sug-
gestion that the steel industry re-
consider its rejection of his pro-
posal of an Experimentation
wage increase.
The White House secretary re-
fused to be drawn into a discussion
of CLIO charges that big business
conspiracy had been formed to
smash the union organization.
Fact-Finders' Letter Revealed.
The steel fact-finders' letter to the
President, made public by the White
House, outlined the step-by-step
progress of the steel dispute and its
own connection with the case, and
then recalled that on January Is
the announcement had been made
that if there was no agreement be-
tween the disputants, the President
would make a proposal to them in
the public interest"
eve fully appreciate, of course,
that this intervention by the White
House was regarded as a necessary
and proper step in view of the i'm
minence of the strike deadline," the
fact-finders said due to this in
tervention, the board further post
poned meeting with the parties The
board took no part, officially or
otherwise, in the White House pro-
ceedings, and naturally did not pre-
sumo to offer its study or assistance
The board, however, continued its
study of the available governmental
data and stood ready to commence
hearings at any time it appeared
appropriate to do SO.
"On Thursday, January II, the
board was summoned to meet with
the President at the White House
at pm. At the outset of this meet
ing, the board made it clear that all
we could report at that stage was
that we had been studying the Off
cial Government wage and hour
data bearing on the dispute. We
pointed out that we had not met
with the parties and that they had
had no opportunity either to present
their own evidence or to comment
on the governmental data which we
had gathered. We stated that
under these circumstances we could
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