The Wilmington morning star., 1946-02-03
Walter WincheH
In Nelu York
THE PRIVATE PAPERS OF NEWSPAPER

MAN
| The following is part Of letter from
prominent movie producer to mutual friend:
| II don't suppose you can get Walter to change
his mind but think that you should work on
him because he is not taking fair viewpoint
of the labor strike situation. Someone is selling
| Walter a bad bill Of goods. Walter is basically
honest and desperately sincere, but he Is an
| extremist, and I do not think he is helping
| labor or management.
| General Motors are absolutely right, in my
| opinion, and have studied both sides. thor
oughly agree with their position when it comes
| to stating that the govt has no authority
| (under the present constitution to make them
raise wages because they can afford to raise
wages. 1t is as preposterous as asking me
| to pay my cook $4,000 year because can
afford it.
"FDR in his greatest failure learned that
the government cannot provide permanent jobs
or permanent prosperity. It did not work and
FDR and Harry Hopkins, who advocated it,
were fully aware of it. There is no way to
regiment prosperity You cannot buy it-you
have got to earn it. You have got to encourage
capital as much as you encourage labor. You
have got to make investment CANDLES worth
while You have got to get money out OF the
banks and into industry. When unions become
as strong as they did in France before the
war (where sit-down strikes originated you
S'SAAsoi1y oSSL1Oy 1uCcIltlVS VI CoP1So1 oAN
INDUSTRY. The unions win every victory except
the last one. Look at Mexico. The workers
took over the oil industry. Read up on it and
you'll see what mean
If FDR and Harry Hopkins were big enough
to know they had made a gigantic mistake,
Walter, am sure, can realize that he does
no good whatever unless Of course he can
recommend practical and satisfying solution
|. Walter talks of men in this countryETA
do not make living wage. would like to
recommend a practical and satisfying solution
Walter talks of men in this country who
do not make living wage. I would like to
know where the hell they are! can't find
gardeners for my ranch, grooms for my stable,
carpenters to repair my house or common
laborers for the studio There isn't one OF
them On this lot right now-who does not make
more every week than got when started
out here as a writer. am not against that
I am fighting for this system to prevail!
II have no objection to your showing this
to Walter. He is broadminded and knows my
personal affection for him and by now he
realizes that I am guided by sincere desire
to be good American and not just rich
one.''
My dear friend: Nobody carries my proxy
in his hip or any other pocket Not capital,
not labor, and not even the Liberals.
think that the problem Of a wage raise is
one Of national income, not private collective |
bargaining. 1t seems to me that that would
dismiss the idea that back labor in the BM |
strike just because it is labor. feel, though, |
that they are entitled to wage increase be-
cause the take-home pay Is less, the war over
time pay Is gone, and prices OF necessities |
have scared. So these men are under the |
fun-they cannot finance a lengthy debate by |
Tightening a few notches in their belts.
also believe that management is entitled to
the freest of reins-in the performance of that
public service which entities them to profit
!. But, at the same time, let's not forget
that management, in a large corporation, is
not infrequently a group which has special
opposed to both labor and THE stock
holder. The really important thing for both
labor and management to realize is this: I'm
less they can cooperate enough to get this sys-
tenn working, there will be some wild expert
ments in the next few years.
If capitol would remember that with
out high wages there would be no customers
for its rroducts-and If labor would realize
that without free management it would be the
slave of the State-they would both be pushing
each others cause-instead of pushing each
other around.
/ agree that the requested raise based on
General Motors profits is not good precedent
neither is a breadline. But I particularly
decry G. MS defiance Of the Governments
effort 10 reach SOlutlon because we still
have Government whose only purpose in en-
tering a dispute is like that of good doctor
to get out Of the patients life as quickly as
possble!
If the u S. Government is big enough to
get down on its knees to effect the settlement
Of any strike-I am against any combatant
who dares to slap It's face. And please don't
kid yourself on the super efficiency of big cor
porations. There are more politics in them
han in City HALL
The editorial page of photo-weekly recently ]
raised the question as to why newspapermen {
and radio reporters paint such gloomy and t
defeatist picture Of the state of the world'. Ii
The reason is this: Present-day historians are z
1ired to report the truth. They are not hired
10 paint beautiful pictures. Gloomy news :
depresses newspaperman even more than r
MS readers-because he earns his living by =
living with it "a hours day. =
The American newspaperman regrets that he :
cannot report more pleasant facts. He realizes
hat many people cannot stand to read or hear
Dad news. He knows too, that the reader and =.
listener, indeed come to dislike and even hate
he bearer of bad news. He knows that the ,
ruth may be difficult to live with, but the !.
reporter also knows that if he didn't report i
he truth-as he sees 1.-THE reporter couldn't a
i've with himself
A Boston editor told conference Of editors: r
One or two syndicated colunnists are among t.
he most powerful men in the world today, I [
ain afraid they are getting drunk with their a