Evening star., 1946-12-08
Coal Strike Broken

The nrSt lesson TO be learned from
the collapse of the coal strike is that
a Government which has the neces-
sary powers and which is resolved
to use its power can cope with the
recklessness and the arrogance of
John L. Lewis. The second lesson is
that, under existing law, too high a
price has to be paid in the form of
economic loss and suffering for the
triumph of lawful authority.
1t is plain that in this trial of
strength Mr.. Lewis has been beaten,
and he merits no applause for his
surrender. True, he processes re-
gard for the dignity of the Supreme
Court, a desire to permit that tri-
bunal to consider his case free from
''public pressure superinduced by the
hysteria and frenzy of an economic
crisis" and concern for the need
of the public for coal. But it is late
in the day for Mr.. Lewis to be
weighing these factors. If he had
had proper regard for the courts,
or any real respect for the public
interest, he would not have given
the signal for this strike in the first
instance. Instead, he would have
complied with the order of the lower
court and sent his men back to
work pending an orderly adjudica-
tion of the legal issues, or he would
havesaccepted the proposal of Sec
retary Krug for negotiations with
the mine operators.
All that Mr.. Lewis has done now
Is to acknowledge the inevitability
of his defeat. He tried with every
means at his disposal to bring this
country to its knees, but he found,
for the first time, that he was deal
ing with an administration which
would not be coerced and which
was determined to fight the issue
through to the end. In the coal
fields the, strike was beginning to
show signs of crumbling, with both
union and nonunion miners drifting
back to their jobs. And MIR. Lewis
undoubtedly was aware that the
President, in the speech scheduled
for tonight, contemplated no re-
treat, but proposed instead to serve
notice on the miners that if they
did not return to work the Govern
ment intended to use every means
at its disposal to get coal out of
the ground
The country should be grateful to
Mr.. Truman for. the strength which
he has shown in this crisis-an at
titude that has been in welcome
contrast to the weaknesses and the
political expedients of past years.
But it is also clear that the legal
weapons which the Government has
used in this tilt with Mr.. Lewis will
not suffice for the long pull.
Actually, SO far as the future is
concerned, it makes little difference
whether the Supreme Court upholds
or overruleS Justice GoldSborough's
ruling that the. Norris-La Guardia
Act does not bar the Government
from the courts. For the fact is that
the Government came into possess
sion of the mines, and thus into the
case, only through medium of the
Smith Connally Act, which is tenn
porary wartime statute.
The need for permanent, compre-
hensive and constructivelabor legis-
lation in the next Congress remains
as compelling as ever. The defeat
of Mr.. Lewis in this instance does
not detract from the need in the
slightest degree. On the contrary,
his surrender, and the reasons for It,
merely underscore the urgency of
congressional action to protect the
people from labor bosses who have
more power than they know how to
handle.