Evening star., 1947-04-14

volyed.
For example, here are the Repub-
licans preparing to pass bills pre-
sumably in the public interest but
which they privately believe Mr..
Truman will veto. Inability to over
ride his veto, they reason, will make
him responsible for failure to give
the Nation a sound labor policy.
Upon him then will rest the blame
of frustrating the will Of the people
as clearly expressed in the election
last November. Thus, the Republi-
cans, with organized labor irrevoc-
ably against them anyhow, will have
an issue to which the great bulk OF
the unorganized workers are sure to
respond.
Veto Urged for "Drastic" Bill.
On the other hand, here Is Mr..
Truman, strongly advised by politi-
cal strategists Of the Hannegan-
Sullivan breed and urged by the
radical groups Of the Roosevelt re-
gime-in particular the CIO-that
it is important for him to veto any
drastic" or punitive" bill.
Their idea of drastic" or "puni-
tive" bill, of course, Is any bill which
really curbs the power Of the labor
bosses by modifying their great ad-
vantages under existing laws. It
is true that Mr.. Truman himself,
not very long ago, when confronted
with a railroad strike that threat
ened national disaster, asked really
drastic" legislation by Congress-
and was refused.
1t Is true that In the coal strike
he had to go to the Supreme Court
to shake loose the throttling hand
of John L. Lewis, which tightly
clutched the national throat and
seems prepared to do it again. It Is
true that he has been personally
cursed and damned by the chief
labor bosses of the CIO, denounced
in their propaganda sheets as an
enemy of labor and q betrayer Of
the Roosevelt policies" Above all,
1t is true that Mr.. Truman knows
in his heart that the American
people are entitled to protection
against strikes that endanger their
lives, health, comfort and security.
He wants that just as every other
decent public man wants it. He does
not, of course, believe in strikes
against the Federal, State or munic-
ipal governments. He Is not at
heart in favor of laws which place
it in the power of a few men to
strangle the national economy. In
brief Mr.. Truman personally Is
sound on the subject-neither a
CIO tool nor political demagogue.
Truman Expected to Kill Measure.
Nevertheless, there is widespread
conviction that he will veto practi-
cally any bill the Republicans pass
not wholly Intellectual and inane
1t Is to be hoped this does Mr..
Truman an injustice, but CIO prop
agandists and liberal" spokesmen
already are beginning, gloatingly, to
predict that there will be no labor
legislation this session. Actually,
bets are being made that the pres
idential veto is all primed to kill
and that the veto will be sustained.
Clearly, this Is bad situation.
Mr.. Truman and the Republican
leaders are, at bottom, not far apart.
Actually, both want to give the
people protection and uphold the
dignity of the Federal Government.
Partisanship and politics are the
things that force them into hostile
attitudes.
Clearly, this country ought not
to be exposed to another wave of
paralyZing strikes. No one wants
to be unjust to union labor-but
no one ought to want to give union
labor bosses unrestricted power after
the demonstrations we have had as
to how they use it.
Certainly, Mr.. Truman's reputa-
ton for independence is not helped
by the kind of speech Assistant Sec
retary of Labor Philip Hanna re-
Gently made to a labor union at
Carbondale. Pa. He spoke wholly
from the CIO point of view. His
speech might nave been written
by Lee Pressman, chief CIO
propagandist. In effect, he branded
all pending labor proposals as
bad, predicted a spell of unpar-
alleled industrial chaos If some OF
them became law and, so far as he
could, put the administration back
of the CIO bosses, who want nc
restraint at all.
II this represents Mr.. Truman's
views it would be well to know II
now. 1t does not sound like Mr.
Truman, but it Is possible his politi-
cal advisers have swung him around
In any event. the President ano
the Republican leaders ought tt
get together. Each ought to know
the others position. II Mr.. Tru.