Evening star., 1947-01-28
Congress Democrats
Lack Positive Policy
Seek Way to Find Tax Cuts
Despite Firm Budget Stand
Rv Dnpid LnsCrsnce

Despite Firm Budget Stand
By DaOid Laurence
The Democratic Party hopes in 1s4s
to recover control Of Congress. but It
viii never do 20 II 1t attempts to satisfy
both radicalism and conservatism at the
same time and winds up with lack
Of coherent policy altogether.
The principal dilemma which confronts
the Democrats In Congress today comes
from their embarrassment over the
Federal budget. Having announced that
no tax reduction Is possible, the Demo-
Gratis are already beginning to figure out
ways and means Of approving tax re-
ductions where 1t will bring them the
most votes.
The paradox developing is that Of q
presidential leadership which says the
budget cannot be cut materially and that
tax reduction is impractical, while at the
same time various Democrats in Con-
gress line themselves up to vote for .
bigger cut In taxes in the lower income
brackets than their Republican brethren
had planned. This doesn't make for
q renewal Of public confidence in the
Democratic party.
Positive Policy Lacking
The Democrats as Q minority have
failed to give the country an indication
as yet that they have . positive policy
toward Federal spending. II they vote
for the budget cuts and then for tax
reduction, they will be flying in the face
Of President Truman's Recommendation.
If they vote against cutting the budget,
they will be voting in favor Of New Deal
spending and continued extravaganza. If
they vote for budget-cutting and then
vote to give the benefits to the citizens
in the lower income groups, they will
be saying in effect that they agree with
the Republican policy. The Nation then
would certainly have no reason, on this
basis, to 60 back to Democrats who are
merely following the lead of the Republ-
cans.
What the Democratic policy really
ought to be, in order to serve construc-
tive purpose in bipartisan setup, is to
help to cut the budget, but to urge that
every dollar of saving be applied to the
reduction OF the public debt. That
would be a sensible opposition policy.
Again, on the matter of labor rela-
tions, 1t looks as If the Democrats are
not going to take cognizance Of the
trend Of public opinion. which certainly
favors the eradication Of monopoly when
exercised by corporations or by labor
unions.
The tendency already is to gloss over
the labor problem as one admittedly
beset with few excesses but as really
not worth legislating about. The New
Deal Democrats want to play ball with
the labor group, which, Of course, doesn't
want any new legislation passed or any
old legislation repealed. The conserva-
tive Democrats may step over the line
on this issue and vote with the Republi-
cans.
Certainly the majority Of the Demo-
Gratis are counted on by the labor union
monopolists to defend their vested inter-
ests. If the Democrats do this, they
will become tarred with the monopoly
brush far more than the Republicans
ever were when corporate monopoIes
were at the height Of their power.
1t may not be realized by the present
generation that 1t was the Republican
Party which In 1890 passed in Congress
the Sherman Antitrust Law and first
put the ban on restraints Of trade.
Closed Shop Issue.
The so-called CLOSED shop" issue has
developed evils far worse than corporate
monopolies. The big unions OF today
exercise far more control over the live
ihood Of the workers than the corpora
tions ever did. Already the argument is
coming from the Democratic side and
from some misguided Republicans that,
after all, the CLOSED shop" Is imbedded
in our system and "had better be left
alone" The same kind Of argument is
always made for monopoly or good"
trust-how much better it is for the pub
lie to preserve the monopoly. The same
kind of argument has been made for
international cartels. There are some
businessmen who like CLOSED shops"
This is natural. They are not concerned
with the workers rights or with the
regimentation that the closed shop has
brought.
True liberalism in American politics
is the opposite of totalitarianism. Yet
many Of the big unions are run along
totalitarian lines and the constitutions
Of many such unions do not give the
worker the opportunity for democratic
choice. To accept that kind Of monopoly
not only is illiberal, but means the
sanctioning Of totalitarianism. The
miners union, for example, is run on an
authoritarian plan. When the entire
mining industry is in control Of one
union and this monopoly can cause the
whole economic system to be paralyzed
overnight, then the dangers Of such q
Nationwide monopoly become apparent
no matter whether 1t Is called . closed
shop" or a union shop" or by any other
name covering the compulsory member
ship device.
If the Democrats In Congress take
the Of monopoly" in the Tight to
emancipate and liberate the American
working man, and the Republicans take
responsibility for the major reform that
is 50 much needed, it will be long time
before the Democrats can venture to
call themselves liberal" again.
Many decisions Of strategy In the
Democratic Party remain to be made,
but the indications thus far in Con-
gress are that the Democrats have not
learned much from the 1916 election
and still think it was just little mis-
take over meat control.