The Wilmington morning star., 1946-10-23
As Pegler Sees 1t
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, BY King Features Syndicate lnc.)

to the mischief known as the new deal and
advertised as the Roosevelt program nave
been calling all this a bloodless revolution ana
a reformation. The opposition has been lhnini-
dated by the clamor of This propaganda. Ontl
now, few Republicans have had the lntell-
gence and the strength of character and pur-
pose to condemn the new deal as a mon
strosity which mocks the basic principles OIL
the American way laid down IN the Cohstltu-
ton. Oppcrtunists among the kepuolclans udve
endorsed the Wagner act, for example, 1of tle
same reason. that politicians OF the generatlon
lust befo,e accepted prohibition. In ooth cases
the thought was that these evils had become
permanent and that any candidate who fought
them simply threw away his chances In a 1u-
tile stand for a moral issue.
Actuallj, the new deal was not a reform out
q debaucn. It imposed on the nation a VIOLA
ton Of the American principle OF Jusuce IN
granting the Labor Relations Board power 10
~instigate complaints against defendant employ
ers by unions which are actually clients OF the
board (naving first created flctltous incl
dents as the basis of these complalnts) ana
then to prosecute the defendants and impose
sentence on them, all this subject to no ap-
peal. 1t is called a quasi-judiclal body when it
is actually a kangaroo court. In American
Justice it is unthinkable thar a court should
represent the plaintiff and sit in judgment on
the defendant. For much less than that, al
though the issue was similar, Justice jackson
of the Supreme Court publicly attacked JUS
tice Black on a flat charge of unethical con-
duct.
A lawyer who could be found guilty of pro-
voking an ''incident'' against the interests o.
his client so that he could then bring the
case to court for redress would be disbarred
and branded a ~shyster. The congressional in
vestigaticn conducted by Howard Smith, OF Vir-
ginia, showed that this was ordinary practice
in the Labor Relations Board under the Wag-
ner act whose purpose was fraudulently stated
to be to minimize labor disputes and thus to
promote interstate commerce. Senator Wag-
ner, having been a Tamtnany machine judge
in New York in Tammanys worst days, is
supposed to be a lawyer. His quality as such
may be judged by his promotion of this viola
ton of the spirit of American justice and Of
the ethics OF his profession.
While the right of appeal does not exist, the
defendant may be granted appeal to the Su-
prenne Court as a privilege if the court does
not feel 100 busy or tired to hear the case.
Usually the court denies the right OF appeal
and the defendant is punished. Actually, every
judgment Of the Labor Relations Board should
be appealable, and all o. them should be not
merely reversed but utterly repudiated, be-
cause the board doesn't even pretend to be
impartial. The Smith committee showed that
y AAoo S~tSSlSo US o"1I Oll1V Nllc1 i
was completely satisfied that they were de-
voted to the union movement! and, in some
cases to communism, and fiercely hostile to
all employers as such. 1t showed that Roose-
welt had appointed two notorious commun-
lists to key positions in the original board.
The ~fanatical temper of the board and some
of its Hltlerlan practices, such as entrapment
OF defendants, another vice absolutely Forbid
den under American justice, were modified,
perforce oiter 4bo Croi+b NV ,,;++aa,, .,,....
but only %perforce. Roosevelt was 1oath to dc
this, but for political reasons, and not FOR any
consideration Of the damage wrought to Ameri-
can justice, he had to-. The board was deloused
to some extent, but the inherent wickedness
OF Wagner5 law has never been touched. De-
PENDANTS still must submit to the caprice and
prejudice Of the board. Although Congressman
Smith he>e performed a good service for the
benefit of every American who must look to
impartial courts for justice and protection
against entcapment, the new deal loudly abus-
ed him as al enemy of labor. 1t set up a un-
ion candidate in Arlington, Va a dornitory of
the Washington bureaucracy. to oppose him
for reelection. Smith won easily. but the de-
pressing fact is that many workers really be-
lleved that he was their enemy, when he was
actually fighting for principles OF justice
which stand between the American worker and
Hitlerism. Once those principles are finally
dDdnuOneQ as lOSI IN Ine parucular held OF
unionism, they may be EXTENDED as good law
to every other field. If the principle is sound.
then any American laborer stands in peril
O. the same treatment in other circumstances.
For example, he may be provoked to hit a
provocateur in virtuous anger against insult
or systematic torment, then tried for assault
Or homicide, if he hits that hard, before a
court composed of the provocateur's relatives
and denied ar appeal from the sentence of the
court.
Few Republicans have had the tenacitv and
character to stand against the Wagner act and
expose It's fraudulent statement of purpose
to expedite - and its vicious viola
ton of the right of every American to a fair
trial befC1e an impartial court. Most Republi-
cans have been unwilling to risk. the powerful
appeal to ignorance and Passion by which
monopolists, anti semites, poll : takers and
Nazis.
But no man on either eide, Democratic, or
Republican. dares deny the facts stated here.
Thus, reputation Of the Wagner act would be
a step toward reform, toward reconstruction
of American justice and repair of the damage
wrought by Roosevelt in the mockingly decep-
tive guise of a new deal for labor. rather than
reaction in the ugly meaning of that word.
The mertal attitude of the new deal was a
startling change when it was introduced, and
rather attractive in a way. Roosevelt was
personal and surrounded himself with per.
sonal' men. Mr.. Hoover had been objective
and legal and not given to abusive language