The Wilmington morning star., 1946-12-03
As Pegler Sees 1t
By wEsTBROOK PEGLER
(Copyrieht, By King Features Syndicate, Inc

idea was original with Judge John c. Knox OF
New York, who, in the twilight year OF MS
judicial career, b~elatedly is coming 70 De-
known by the people as a giant o. real Amerl
can liberties. -
Judge Knox is a much better man than any
If the Roosevelt appointees to the Supreme
Court but knowingly forfeited his chance OF a
distinction to which most judges aspire when'
as 2 citizen. he fought Roosevelt on the court
packing plan. He was one OF the lew VINO were
able to dramatic the fact that Roosevelt IN
tended not only to pack the Supreme Court Dut
planned to corrupt federal justice DeioW oy
naming a team of reliable new oeal oevo-
tees, with headquarters IN washington, w
could be assigned to try cases IN wnlcn the
government and the ruling politician and Dur
eaucrats had a special interest. To the extent
that this evil intent was understood OUTSIDE
Congress Judge Knox earned credlt 1or a ioydl
and self-sa crificing defense o. american JUS
fire. in defiance of the leader OF his own party
T assume that Senators Ferguson and Full
bright readily yield to Judge Knox the Nonoi
of having first proposed federal LABOR courts
and equally confident that the Judge "oulo
waive priority as of no Importance. lne I'M
nortant thing is to cause it to be talked up
= among the people, including union members,
arguments may be understood when sno" taat
the rulers of the union movement, Win meir
fatal potential power over the nation, are IN
fact. reactionaries, not progresslves' ana 1as
behind the times. These are old men, ana
Lewis, Green, Murray, Tobin, Duolnky ana
VOL are among the most obstructive. Like the
ohd1rate magnates of big business in their
time. thew have acquired that sort OF power
which is never yielded except to force, wneta-
err political or military, by q King Jonn' a
George III. a Vanderbilt or a wayne b.
Wheeler. They have their incomes, comfort
and security. They have fame and dattery 1or
their souls. They are, in their way nlsto-ic
and they constantly threaten their suO1ec's
with the fear that L they shoulo De nalnpeiea
the subjects would lose their protectors ana
he thrown to the wolves. If labor courts were
instituted, most of them would be broken dis
credited and outmoded men and 1t IS no ex-
agperation to say that some would crack up
and die Of shock, self-pity and bitterness IN the
way Of Woodrow Wilson.
Thew have not progressed In all the years
since Roosevelts first Inauguration. They nave
taken their stand on an imperfect experiment
the wagner Act, whose ~fallacies and harmful
defects objective men soon recognized. ana
while Roosevelt, their patron, preached expert
ment, progress and change as general pontlcai
propaganda, they damned all change and stu
do. To them, for reasons Of sel1lshness ana
CONSISTENCY the Wagner Act has been me
goal, the final, if slightly imperfect develop
ment in labor relations. Progress has gone
as far as it can 60 and any cnanee Wouid DC
a backward movement toward boss terrorism
and serfdom.
I know that Judge Knox does not beleve
his proposed labor courts would mark the emo
Of progress or even that his pan, IN IT'S pres
ent state, is the only mean Of salvauon' IN
general debate, other useful ideas might De
contributed. Mine would be that the unions
would require the help Of new laws to protect
them from racketteers and arbitrary rules so
81 IT, - ~ o,,1l nYN tn the DAT lOI
Justice they could come with clean nanos ana
not as petitioners for the private fortunes OF
interruptions and dictatorial union pohuclans'
Senators Ferguson and Fulbright doubtless
are willing to debate, compromise ana aHeno
their proposals, and if the people Will only 1oi-
low the debates sensible, patriotic men ana
women, including union members, may at last
be made to see that the plan is actually pro-
g%ressive.
If George Spelvin and Charlie Dunno, Arnerl-
cans. have a dispute about a cow or a proper
tv line, Spelvin ordinarily doesn't attempt to
settle it by hand by burning Charlie Dunno's
barn, scattering nails to lacerate his tires
throwing rocks through his windows and way
LAYING Mr.. Dunno with a brick to brain MIN.
They 60 the justice Of the peace.
The loser usually thinks he has been denied
Justice and sometimes becomes cynical about
the UPS honesty but abides by the judgment
OIL LQe court nevertheless. Liz
fields and the McCoys are so long past IN
this phase of ~neighbor' relations and justice
that we enjoy reviewing them in comic strips,
fiction and movies.
Yet, in labor relations or. more correctly
union relations, in tremendous craWls that ter
rifv neighborhoods and whole cities, we con-
duct our affairs according to the Hatfield-Mc-
Gov system. The only difference is that Where-
as both the Hatfields and the McCoys mad a
free hand, the Wagner Act forbds the employer
to protect himself or his property. 1t also
makes it impossible for the rank and tlle
worker to express his will in opposition to the
union managers, but l can see that the line
would complicate my simile so will crop it.
Now these men, Knox, Ferguson and Full
bright, propose only that unions in controversy
come into court in the American way, tell it to
the Judge and abide by his decision. This the
unioneers view with alarm as men Of their
dull. logged, selfish and reactionary mind
would. Under that plan, the courts would pro-
tect the rights of the unions and the workers
Just as, in a working and, thus far, beautifully
successful way, they have measured out JUS
tice to the same union workers In most other
incidents which occasionally, in the lives q
men. bring them into court. But obviously.
Lewis and Tobin, for example. would lose
their status as personal benevolent protect
ors," ruling by whim, generous or harsh, SELF
ish or ellie according to the character OF
the individual or his mood in a given case.
Losing their role Of protector they would
lose much of their grand and spurious prestige
~AOro ~ ny.