Evening star., 1947-02-07
Stassen and Taft
Clash on Labor
Bills at Hearing
Ex-Governor Also
Hits Ball Plan to
Bon Closed Shop
By J. A. OLeory

Two RepuDucan PRESIDENTIAL
poSsibilities-Harold E. Stassen
of Minnesota and Senator Taft
of Ohio-clashed before the Sen
ate Labor Committee today over
the best methods of improving
labor management relations.
The former Minnesota Governor
also took issue with Senator Ball,
Republican, of Minnesota over the
closed shop, which the Senator is
proposing should he outlawed. Mr..
Stassen argued that management.
and labor should be left free to bar
gain over the closed shop, the union
shop or the maintenance of men,
bership plan.
A large crowd filled the spacious
Senate caucus room in anticipatio
of just such a debate between the
tall, broad-shouldered young Mid
westerner and Senators Ball and
Taft. Senator Ball came to the
Senate originally on an appoint
ment by the then Gov. Stassen to
fill vacancy. Later Senator Ball
won election in his own right.
Taft Hits Strike Ballot.
After Mr.. Stassen had laid stress
on the Minnesota system of having
all the workers in an industry take
a secret ballot before striking, Sem
ator Taft broke in to declare:
II have no confidence that the
men are going to take any different
position from their leaders. I. see
no objection to it the secret strike
BALLOT, but as a solution of the
strike problem think it is trivial"
IT definitely disagree with you,"
Mr.. Stassen replied, land our ex-
perience in Minnesota has been to
the contrary"
Earlier Senator Ball had inter-
rupted Mr.. Stassen's defense of
keeping the closed or union shop
principle as bargaining point, to
assert: 1.-The closed shop today is
more a device for increasing the
power of the union over the en-
ployes, rather than its power over
the employer" .
Stassen Sees Assumption.
Mr.. Stassen replied that Senator
Ball was assuming that leadership
of the union would control the secret
ballot of the employees. He said he
does not agree with the Senator,
provided the process Of voting on
strikes Is put on democratic basis.
The former Governor, who is
openly seeking his party's presiden-
tial nomination for 1948, suggested
to Senator Ball that banning the
closed shop might weaken labor's
position generally and put 1t back
where he said it was between 1920
and 1929.
During the 2e's, Mr.. Stassen said,
the unions were not strong and the
hourly wage rate in this country
went down from 81 cents to 49 cents.
Even after the depression, he said,
it was slow in climbing back.
Senator Ball came back with the
argument that the conditions Mr.
Stassen described occurred before
the passage of the Wagner Act,
which protects the right of workers
to bargain collectively.
Asks About Situation Today.
The Minnesota Senator asked Mr..
Stassen whether he feels the en-
ploye today would be afraid of his
employer, if left free to join or re-
main out of a union, in view of the
protection contained in the Wag-
ner Act.
Mr.. Stassen stood by his opinion
that labor should be permitted to
obtain the closed or union shop by
bargaining with management.
After Republican Senators had
spent more than an hour exchanging
views with Mr.. Stassen, Senator
Pepper, Democrat, of Florida, OBJ
served with a smile:
Governor, don't want to do you
any disservice, but want to compi-
ment you on the fairness of your
statement"
Returning the smile, Mr.. Stassen
replied:
81 see the Senator is an astute
observer of national psychology"
AS the hearing adjourned Mr..
Stassen shook hands with Senator
Ball. Although Mr.. Stassen, Senator