Evening star., 1947-07-18

the law sympathetic treatment
seems to have been set at naught.
For the President has appointed
former Senator Murdock OF Utah, a
New Dealer, to the board. The latter
fought aggressively the efforts OF
Representative Smith, Democrat. OF
Virginia to conduct a thorough in
uuiry into the operations OF the
Wagner law a few years ago when
Mr.. Murdock, then member OF the
House. was serving on the Smith
Committee of Investigation. Mr..
Murdock's sympathies are with the
labor union side.
Inasmuch as board member Hous-
ton has consistently voted with the
unions, this gives labor unions at
least two out of the five members,
and on more issues than not the
chairman of the board, Paul Herzog,
has taken the union side, this
making a prospective majority OF
three to two for the labor unions.
Swing" Man of Board.
The chances are that Mr.. Herzog
will be the swing" man Of the
board. If he votes with the two
membership. Reynolds and the
new appointee, Mr., Gray-who are
experienced industrial relations
counsellors. having worked in indus
try in that capacity, the board Will
occasionally reflect 3-to-2 vote TO
give management fair deal.
Mr.. Herzog is conscientious
public servant who tries hard to
weigh the issues judicially. But his
concept of duty has been that the
Wagner Act ordered him to en-
courage collective bargaining and
to disparage individual bargaining
He submitted long brief to the
House committee telling why the
Wagner Act should not be amended
He starts with preconception as
to what the Wagner law rulings
taught him as to the superior rights
of the union to the rights Of the
individual.
The reappointment of Mr.. Herzog,
however, was not only natural but
logical. The experience which Mr..
Herzog has had will make him IN
valuable in the future. His viewpoint
is needed on the board. President
Truman's real mistake is in appoint
ing a New Dealer to the new board
instead of appointing two judlclally
minded and impartial men for the
two vacancies so that the board
would not start with a partisan or
class-conscious setup OF three to tWo
Maybe when some OF the labor
unions which recently announced
that they. wouldn't go near the
board-they said they would really
"snub" tread about the pew ap-
pointments, they will change their
minds. They will find that in in
terpretation of the major provisions
of the old Wagner law which have
been retained in the Taft Hartley
law, three men sympathetic with
the old and not the new law nave
been placed on the board.
Full Of Legal Phrases.
The term of member Houston
expires in 1943 This means that,
if a Republican President is elect
ed.> there will be new face on
the board. 1t hardly seems likely
that the Senate next year will vote
to confirm any member of the all
important National Labor Relations
Board for another f1ve-year term
until after the elections have indi-
Gated who is going to be in the
White House.
The Taft Hartley law like its
predecessor, the Wagner Act, is full
of legal phrases. That is why already
there are so many different ideas
as to how it will be construed.
The Wagner Act decisions and rul-
ings on legal phrases in the law
fill several volumes. 1t may be ex-
pected that this will be true OF the
Taft Hartley law For not only
must the board construe the mean
ing of the phrases in the law but
the courts will be asked in review
to affirm or reverse the ruling of
the board.
The Senate will have an oppor-
tunity to consider the, new appoin-
tees. There is no doubt about the
confirmation of Mr.. Herzog. who
has already been designated as
chairman. There may be doubt
about the Senate attitude toward
some of the other appointees. 1t
seems unlikely that a bill which
passed by two-thirds of both Houses
will be left for sabotage by presi-
Dental appointees who are not real
ly in sympathy with the purposes
of the law itself.
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