Evening star., 1947-04-07
President S Attitude
On Strike Low Is Hit
Curious Indifference Viewed
As Shifting Political Risks
Rr Dapid LafCrence

0v D0V0 L0u0TEHCG
Apparently President Truman and the
Democratic Party are afraid to take
the responsibility Of recommending leg
islation to protect the public interest
against devastating strikes and prefer
to let the Republican Congress assume
all the political risks.
This Is the impression rapidly emerg-
ing out Of the curious indifference OF
the Truman administration to situations
such as have recently threatened the
economic life Of the country. Although
Mr.. Truman presented drastic pro-
posal year ago when the rail strike
occurred, he has never followed 1t up
since.
The necessity for legislation to prevent
strikes on public utilities or in major in
dustries affecting the safety and welfare
Of the public has been growing more and
more apparent each month. The tele-
phone industry's crisis serves merely to
emphasize the dangers OF the whole
problem. because 1t is conceded that the
Federal Government does not have
enough law to avert q Nationwide
catastrophe except possibly in wartime.
House Proposals Temporary.
Even the legislation proposed in the
House is of temporary nature. Sooner
or later the President and the Congress
must come to grips with the problem.
In the case of the telephone industry,
the logical solution Is governmental ma
chinery for compulsory arbitration.
The rates Of the telephone company
are regulated by governmental body.
Wages can be regulated either by gov
ernmental agency or by means Of an
arbitration tribunal set up under Gov
ernment auspices. It would be helpful
II the legislation prescribed various
methods whereby collective bargaining
could be availed Of before any arbitra-
tion procedure became necessary but,
in the last analysis, an umpire with
power to settle the dispute has to be
called in.
A tribunal Of arbitration for the trans
portation and communication industries
analogous to the Interstate Commerce
Commission would be logical. For the
railroads, too, are having dificulty max
ing ends meet. Since their profits are
regulated by the Government, so also
may their costs be regulated. The big
item of costs is wages.
There is no involuntary servitude
about no-strike law which forbids con-
certed action to produce work stoppages
and requires arbitration. Amy individual
would still have the right to quit work
or refrain from working on railroad or
in telephone company, but concerted
action to force o work stoppage would
become Illegal.
Government Employees Can't Strike.
The employees of the Federal Govern
ment are not permitted to strike. and
New York State has just passed law
applying the same restriction to State
employees. Workers on the public utili-
ties that are Government-granted mo-
nopolies are quasi-governmental en-
ployes. Hence, machinery to arbitrate
disputes would be even more adyanta-
geous to them than are the remedies
available to governmental employees.
Long ago Congress decided that 1t had
q right to protect the public interest
when Interruptions to interstate COM
merce occurred. There is, therefore, con-
stitutional power to make laws regulat-
ing the flow of commerce. There can be
no doubt that interruption Of transpor-
tation and communication has direct
effect on interstate commerce.
It is up to the President and Congress
to deal with the legislative problem.
Nothing Is to be gained by deferring ac-
ton in the hope of an amicable settle
ment of the phone dispute. The posi-
bility of future crisis exists, and when
the war powers have really been repealed
in their entirety the situation will have
to be faced anyhow. There will then be
no seizure powers to rely on.
Will the President, as the man who
holds the power of veto and who has
been trying to soft-pedal labor legisla-
ton for several months, announce now
what kind Of legislative proposal he
would sign? When this is known. Con-
gress can proceed to enact the necessary
laws to cope with the situation.
Decentralization Rights Reseryed.)