Evening star., 1947-04-01
Lewis Order Called
Mockery Of Low

- Wa 0Ss AbbSA
Mockery Of Low
Work Stoppase Termed Violation
Of Smith Connally Act
By Dap;d Laurence
John L. Lewis has maae : mockery
OF the law and has made President Tru-
man look very foolish.
The Smith Connally law says there
can be no work-stoppages while mines
are In Government possession. To se-
lect the word memorial" which custo-
marily means day OF mourning. and
order whole weeks work-stcppage Is
to laugh at the law and the Govern
ment at the same time.
Mr.. Truman never did prosecute Mr..
Lewis or the district mine leaders for
violating the Smith Connally law, even
though the language Of the Supreme
Court opinions. both majority and nli-
nority, indicates that such q violation
did occur.
The Supreme Court ordered Mr..
Lewis to purge himself and his union
Of contempt or the fun fine Of $s,5G3, 900
would have to be paid. Mr.. Lewis with
drew his original order to strike and
then turned around and stretched the
word memorial" to mean . stoppage
OF week, thereby cutting OF the in
come Of the miners and the mine opera
tors and, in effect, confiscating property
estimated at many millions of dollars.
The Truman administration main
tanned, in asking for the recent injunc-
ton. that the unions contract with the
Government could not be preached by
one side. The clause about the ''me-
mortal" is open to differing interpre-
tations, just as Is the termination clause.
Custom Is to Consult.
The custom is for one party to con-
suit the other with respect to any such
serious deviation as is involved in a
whole weeks work-stoppage. Obviously
the miners union chief did not consult
the Government but went ahead and
interpreted the word "memorial' to suit
himself. This Is unilateral interpre-
tation. and 1t would seem that the orig
inal court injunction applies to any
such marked departure from custom.
II Mr.. Lewis and his union can today
decide that memorial" can be pro-
claimed for weeks duration to express
sorrow for the Ill victims of the Cen
tralia disaster, there is nothing to pre-
vent the miners union from proclaim
ing soon memorial" of a month to
commemorate the loss OF many times
that number Of lives in mine disasters
In the last 10 years. The moment the
Truman administration or the courts
open the door by ignoring violations
OF the law, that moment abuse can
be introduced and the law circumvented
by an alleged technicality.
The Smith-C Connally law under Sec
ton says:
Whenever any plant. mine or facility
Is in the possession OF the United States,
it shall be unlawful for any person "a to
coarce, instigate, induce, conspire with
or encourage any person to interfere,
by lockout, strike, showdown or other
interruption, with the operation Of such
plant, mine or facility ="
Memorials Not Mentioned.
There Is nothing in the law which
speaks Of memorials" and even the
acquiescence by the administration in
the vague terms Of a contract originally
made with the private operators cannot
be superseded by any unilateral interpre-
tation.
1t would appear that the calling Of
Nationwide work stoppage for one week
as memorial" Is unprecedented. It is
not the customary length Of time for
memorials" in the mining world.
The letter. as well as the spirit, of the
Smith-C Connally law is against employ
ing any unusual reason for causing a
work stoppage. The Government can
prosecute whenever any one orders a
work stoppage of any kind, no matter
what the terms of the old contract hap
pened to be and especially when the
pretext for the stoppage is so far
fetched.
Apart from the legal aspect of the
episode, the developments indicate how
far the power Of one man over the lives
OF hundreds of thousands of workers
now extends. 1t shows also what the
. CLOSED shop" means. And this closed
shop in particular was imposed by the
Roosevelt administration on the mine
owners with the assistance Of Wagner
Labor Relations Act machinery.
The incident emphasizes that In
America another system of government
has emerged which holds itself above
the elected Government and does what
1t wills to the economic life of the
country. One man can infiict economic
loss. and a supine administration lets
him get away with it. win the Truman
popularity curve go up or down now7
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