Evening star., 1946-12-18

very existence OF
the Nation and
paralyzed us in Frank 4. Kent.
both the domestic and foreign fields.
The current reckless charges and
infiationary plans Of the CIO Bosses j
clearly working up to other great
strikes, provide another.
Those reasons ought to be enough
to insure speedy passage of meas
ures calculated to restore our ball
ance and satisfy a properly aroused
public-and probably they are. But.
from the practical political stand
point there is a fourth reason for
being sure of affirmative action at
this session even more convincing
than the others. This Is the fact
that for the first time in IA years
the man In the White House will
not be using his power either to
promote bills proposed by the labor
lobby or to protect it from attack.
Roosevelt Blocked Changes.
Time and again the late Mr..
Roosevelt vetoed measures designed
to restrain the unions from excesses.
At other times the White House In
fiuence was exerted to smother in
the Senate modifying bills passed
by the House.
In the last session Mr.. Truman
was that kind of President, too. But
he isn't that kind of President
now. He would be complete fool
If he were. Last time, carrying
out the Roosevelt policies" in the
Roosevelt way, he vetoed the Case
bill and put on White House pres
sure to sustain his veto. He must
look back on that action with regret.
It did not gain him anything from
the left and it did get him in bad
with both the right wing Of his party
and the country. Those who felt
that the curtailment of the arbi-
trary power of the labor union
bosses was a vital national need
were deeply disappointed when Mr..
Truman stood in the way.
On the other side, instead of
gratitude, the CIO labor bosses and
their senatorial stooges, turned Bit
terly against him. Since then he
has been Missed and booed in CIO
gatherings, fiercely assailed by
various labor spokesmen and writer's,
forced to fight in the national in
terests against the John Lewis hold
UP, and today finds himself the
target Of the professionals of all
the labor, factions.
Labor Loses Great Asset. Dc
As result of all this, the labor
bosses no longer have In the White
House a President who can be
counted upon to support them in
every position they take, right or
wrong. This was their great, basic
asset. Its loss cannot be made up.
In addition. some of their most
useful servants have been swept
out Of public life, and the labor
committees which they controlled
through their chairmen will be
headed by men of different type.
Summing up, though, the opposi-
ton should not be discounted and
a very hot fight is sure to be made
to prevent the outlawing of the
closed shop and the imposition of
financial and legal responsibility
upon the unions 1t is impossible to
doubt that a real revision is about
to take place.
Recognizing this, it is interesting
to note the ingenious way in which
left-wing labor leaders are trying
to render it as futile and Intellectual
as possible. One method is regularly
to harp on what they call "anti-
labor hysteria" and bewail the evi-
dent determination to be unfair to
labor" Already, 1t has been made
clear, even before bill has ap-
peared, that any move to revise any
existing statute viii be labeled hys-
terical, and that the cry of unfair"
and "vindictive" and "reactionary"
will be the keynote of the radical
chorus when the fight starts-and
even before.
Plead and Threaten.
The labor bosses and their jour-
nalistic supporters propose this
time to plead as well as threaten;
to insist that they are being "cruci-
fed" as well as warn of the dire
consequences of taking away .'labor's
hard-won rights"
Ali of which is nonsense. There is
no visible trace of hysteria in the
air; no apparent desire to cruelty
labor" to take away any '.hard- won
rights" or to be unfair. There is a
general determination to take away
the power of the labor unions, to be
unfair to the rest of the country and
to reduce the labor professionals to
q size where they cannot, with i'm
punity, defy the Government of the
United States, the law and the
courts.
Another rather silly strategy <of
the radical press is exemplified in
the sly suggestion that now labor
definitely has deserted Mr.. Truman
and the Democrats, the Republicans
may seize the opportunity to win
labor to their side in 1948 by cham
pioning its cause instead Of "cruci-
flying" it.
i. Crude Propaganda.
The Republicans may not have a
great deal Of sense but they will not |
fall for so transparent and crude a