Evening star., 1946-09-08
Mr.. Trumun Sits Tioht

A little more than four months
ago, when the people of this country
were faced with railroad strike,
President Truman acted with effec-
tive declSivenesS. "AS Americans"
he said, you have the right to look
to the President for leadership in
this grave emergency. I have &C
cepted the responsibility, as 1 have
accepted it in other emergencies"
The President, while properly de-
Scribing himself as friend of labor,
went on to point out that the rail-
road strike was not a contest be-
tween labor and management but
contest between small group of
men and their Government. I'm any
contest" he continued, that arises
between one particular group, no
matter who they may be, and the
country as whole, the welfare of
the country must come first. "
The Government is CHALLENGED as
seldom before in our history. 1t
must meet the challenge or confess
it's impotence"
On that occasion the Government
did not confess it's impotence. In
stead, 1t met the challenge and the
railroad strike was speedily broken.
But now, in the face of as grave, If
not a graver challenge, the Presi-
dent so far has been content to sit
tight and let nature take its course.
The shipping strike of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor is assuming
the proportions of a national dis
aSter. The whole of the merchant
fleet, except for ships already at sea.
Is immobilized. Relief ships, slated
to carry 250,000 tons of cargo to
Europe and Asia, cannot leave the
docks. The War Department says
that shipment of American troops
and supplies for American troops is
virtually paralyzed. This is denied
by one labor spokesman, but the in
dications are that the War Depart
ment is right. Certainly there has
been no report Of any ship sailing
since the strike began. From $4,000
to 10000 freight cars, urgently
needed to move the grain crops, are
tied up by the strike. And in the
face of the disaster that these things
imply, an arrogant representative
OF the strikers boasts of the COM
plete effectiveness of the strike, and
threatens a general strike through
out the country if the Government
should use members of the armed
forces to attempt to move relief
cargoes and troopships.
To borrow language from Mr.. Tru-
man, this is challenge such as the
Government has seldom faced be-
fore. The strike is wholly directed
against the Government, the objec-
tive being to compel the Wage Sta
bilization Board to reverse decision
previously made, and the. issue.
therefore, is one which far trans
cends the merits or demerits of the
seamen's complaint.
In his comment on the railroad
strike, Mr.. Truman said: IT believe
that 1t constitutes a fundamental
attack upon the rights of society and
the rights of our country" Here is
another such attack. What is he
going to do about it?
The President cannot evade his
responsibility by saying, as he has
undertaken to do, that the whole
thing is in the hands of the Labor
Department. 1t is a problem which
the Labor Department cannot ham
die, and, as much as one may
Sympathize with the tight spot in
which Mr.. Truman finds himself,
the responsibility is one which he,
as President, must assume. This
strike cannot be permitted to run
its course. Either the President
must undertake to break it, and as
sumo the risks, political and other
wise, which that course would entail,
or he must overrule or modify the
decision OF his Wage Sterilization
Board, with all of the confession of
Government impotence which that