The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1947-06-05
|Whot's Happened
70 Vets Rights
In Hartley Bill?

Washington (LPA) = A few
months ago the halls of Congress
rang with impassioned pleas for
"justice" for the nations war
veterans. Almost with one voice
Congress Grated loudly on how
nothing is too good for our veter-
ans, how we must dedicate our
selves to preserve the rights they
fought and died for.
What happened to all that
meaningless believing when Con-
gress passed the Taft and Hartley
bills, which viciously invade the
rights of 100000 veterans who
are members of organized labor?
That's a question Rep. Chet Holi-
field o., Calif.) would like to hear
answered.
HoEfield, serving his third term
in Congress at the age of 43, point
ed out that in all the furor over the
Taft and Hartley debate, the anti
labor Congressman were careful
not to remember that millions of
union veterans would have their
rights trampled underfoot along
with their fellow unionists.
This reticence on the part of
the union wreckers is not surpris-
ing, however, he said. During the
war the NAM, the Chamber of
Commerce, and other reactionary
groups did their best to get serv-
icemen at the throats of organized
labor.
"They hoped" said Holifield,
"that they would be able to drive
the divisive wedge so effectively
that when our soldiers and sailors
returned they could utilize this
anti-labor bias and destroy unions.
"When the servicemen returned
and found out at first hand that
this propaganda was based on
| falsehoods and smears, these re-
dictionaries realized their propa
ganda had failed" continued Holi-
field "But-and this is important
they didn't give up. They now
turned to Congress to achieve by
legislation what they failed to ac-
hieve by propaganda"
The Californian, who has near
perfect voting record on all major
issues affecting labor, declared, "1t
is an open fact that representa-
tives of the NAM sat in conference
with Republican leaders of the
House and actually prepared a
draft of the legislation itself"
Whatever form the Senate-House
compromise bill takes it will hurt
the working people of the nation,
said Holifield, land it's necessary
to remerber that the working peo-
pie of America include several mil
lion veterans who fought for free
economy, which means free labor
movement-which would be denied
them understhis legislation
@HdlifieldTis one of THE handful
of congressman who are deeply
worried about the threat to the ma
tion's immediate economic future
a three-pronged threat involving
decreased real wages, high living
costs, and enormous corporation
profits.
He repeated in an interview
what he had told Congress just a
few days before: Congress holds
it in its power to put teeth into
price reduction by the simple ex-
pedient of reinstating the $50 ex-
cess corporate profits tax which it
so generously removed in January
of 1916. Better than this, the tax
could be applied with large-scale
exemptions for corporate profits
which are employed in plant ex-
pansion. In this way premium
would be placed upon greater pro-
duction, greater employment and
resulting lower prices.
"Such an excess-profits tax
would be politically unacceptable to
Congress, however, in its present
mood, and so we will have to Stun
BILE along without it. The scattered
cases of piracy in the postwar mar
ket will continue unmolested. The
exorbitant profits will continue to
add to the inflationary pressure.
1--WE have seen corporate profits
go up out of reason" Holifield as
serted. eve have seen take-home
wages go down. We have seen even
great manufacturing companies and
great financial institutions become
alarmed over an impending crisis"
Summing up the appalling record
of the S0th Congress, Holifield
said,
"We are going to see industry,
in the place of giving workers Sc
curity, punish the workers by sup
porting Republican Congress in