Evening star., 1947-04-16
6. @. P. Beaten Before
In Labor Legislation
Omnibus Bill Veto Would Mean
End Of Action This Session
By David LasOrence

Omnibus Bill Veto Would Mean
End Of Action This Session
By David Laurence
The House Of Representatives ha,
heretofore passed Just as drastic legisla-
tion restricting the activities Of labor
unions as is called for In the pending
blu, but the public seems to have for
gotten all about 1t because the labor
union lobby smothered such legislation
In the Senate Committee on Labor.
Representative Howard Smith, Demo-
crat, Of Virginia has led the fight for
fair deal for employer and unions
under the National Labor Relations Act,
but every time he succeeded in getting
q majority Of the House. he was check
mated by the unions and the New
Dealers who controlled the Senate. ALI
the bills died there.
The Case bill vetoed last year by
President Truman was the first piece
Of legislative reform affecting labor
unions to reach the White House since
the Wagner Act was passed in 1895
and now the labor -union lobby Is try
ing hard to defeat all legislation again
by q presidential veto.
COP. Determined to Act.
The news that President Truman
really has agreed to the arguments OF
the labor lobby and will veto the bill
has resulted In q strengthening Of the
determination Of the Republicans to
present him with one bill. Until Labor
Secretary Schwellenbachs testimony on
Capitol Hill, which indicated that Presi-
dent Truman had already reached q
decision to play along with labor and
veto the bill. there was some prospect
that a series Of bills might be passed
and that all the reforms would not be
Jumped in one measure.
The argument for separate measures
was that MIR. Truman could sign one
or two bills and veto others and that
some legislation would be enacted any
way. But as soon as the left wing"
press indicated that President Truman
was going to veto any or all legislation
anyhow and renew his plea for joint
committee to give further study to the
labor problem, the strategy Of the Re-
publicans changed.
Now the plan is to write the kind Of
bill the majority in both Houses want to
see passed. In the House large num-
Der of Democrats will vote for the legis-
lation. In the Senate substantial
y,,1rohor of Dop,ocrote will a1sr xy>,t. Sar
the measure. It Is probable that the
Senate Bill will be softer measure than
the House bill, from the viewpoint of
labor unions, but in joint conference
the House will insist on Its major
provisions.
Veto Will Block Action.
When the bill goes to the White House
with an all-or-none problem for the
President to decide, q veto will mean
the end Of labor legislation for the
present session. Congress is expected to
adjourn by July under the new re-
organization laws advice. 1t will prob
ably be June before the labor bill reaches
the President for consideration, and II
he vetoes the measure 1t Is not likely
to be passed over his veto. There Il
two-thirds vote in the House to over
ride . veto, but not In the Senate. At
such late stage Of the session, it will
not be practical to start all over again
and enact separate bills. The chances
are Congress will adjourn without any
legislation on either the strike problem
or on the employer -employe relation
ship.
This means that the country will be
subjected to a series of strikes and more
labor-management trouble In the second
half Of 1947 than in the first six months.
1t also means that appropriations for
the Labor Board and the Cancellation
Service will have harder shedding, be-
cause the appropriations require only
majority vote of both Houses. If .
tug Of war ensues between the Presi-
dent, who uses his veto power to kill
labor legislation, and the Congress,
which uses the power of the appropri-
alton bill to answer back, the country
will suffer from the stalemate and
the issue will be carried into the 194S
campaign.
1t begins to look now as If the 1948
contest will be the battle Of the CEN
try, with President Truman lining
up on the left-wing and pro-labor
side and the Republicans arguing for
some form of restriction on labor
union monopolies. Incidentally, the
President may be faced with an even
more restrictive bill regulating labor
unions early in the 1948 session than
he will have before him this year.
More labor strife in the autumn will
stir up demands for action in the 1948
session Of Congress.
Reproduction Rights Rsserved.S