Evening star., 1946-01-24
House 10 Probe Order
Barring Army Trucks
From Picket Lines
BY the Associated Pres,

BY the Associated Press
An immediate congressional in
quiry has been ordered into state
ment that Army truck drivers in
three Eastern States have been or
dered not to cross meat strike picket
lines. without union approval.
The statement was made in the
House yesterday by Representative
Smith, Democrat, of Virginia, who
read telegram from Maj. Gen
Manton S. Eddy, commanding gen.
eral of the Sd Service Command
issuing the order.
The investigation was ordered by
Chairman May of the House Mill
tary Affairs Committee, who said
it would start tomorrow, perhaps
with Gen. Eddy as witness.
I'VE are going to the bottom OF
this" Mr.. May said, adding that
committee investigators have beer
directed to obtain all pertinent data
from the War Department.
Smith Gets Copy Of Telegram.
A copy Of the telegram read by
Mr.. Smith was sent to him by Gen.
Eddy, the Virginian told the House
after he had heard that the order
had been issued.
The telegram January 10 was sent
to all installation commanders under
Gen. Eddy's command.
1t read:
Until further orders Army trucks
under your command will not be
permitted to cross picket lines estab-
lished by striking meat packing
unions without agreement with local
labor representative concerned"
The Sd Service Command includes
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir-
ginia.
The War Department said in a
statement that Gen. Eddy's action
was in accord with long standing
policy"
This policy has avoided violence
between Army personnel and strikers
and has proved very successful in
peacefully obtaining Army supplies
from strike bound plants" the state
ment said.
I'm the current meat-packing case
the unions have agreed to cooperate
in the removal of all Army meats
from the strike-bound plants"
Seeks to Avoid Incidents.
Gen. Eddy authorized q statement
that it was "the policy of this head
quarters to exercise all practicable
precautions to avoid incidents which
might in any way place the Army
in a position of being partisan with
respect to disputes arising between
management and labor.
The telegram constituted simply
an acknowledgement that certain
basic supply sources were strike
bound and that the instructions
contained therein were reasonable
assurance that local, unpleasant in
cidents would not arise as a result
of this situation"
Mr.. Smith told the House:
II have never expected to live to
see the day when the dictatorship
of any labor union or other private
organization over the Government
of the United States would reach
such disgraceful stage"
"Are we to understand that the
general must ask the permission
of any striking labor union before
he can obtain the necessary meat to
feed our Army?" he asked. THAT
is certainly the. plain implication
of the order" s..,, & N: iAae'.S
division Of Command"
If the unions "have taken over
the United States Army" he added,
"it would appear that there is a di-
vision of command. Both AFL and
CIO meat packers unions are strik-
ing. Whose permission must the
general obtain in order to feed his
Army? Must he have the permis-
sion of Gen. William Green of the
AFL or Gen. Philip Murray of the
CIO? Or must he have permission
of both generals?"
And, he asked, what would hap
pen if Gen. william Green gra-
ciously accords the soldiers permis-
sion to eat, but Gen. Philip Murray
refuseS?"
Mr.. Smith was joined in his de-
mand for a congressional investiga-
ton by Representative Cox, Demo-
crat, of Georgia, who declared:
This thing makes the whole
Army stink"
Idaho's capital and largest city,
Boise, numbers about $4,000 popu-