Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-03-14
Behind the
Scenes In
Politics
BY
Rusch
Chairman

America have always demon
strated a strong tendency to
allow their selfish greed to in
jure the welfare of the entire
population, even though they
harm their own interests at
the same time.
Throughout the entire
Roosevelt administration re-
dictionary forces cried loudly
against the mild restrictions
placed upon them by the New
Deal. Yet it was because
of the social reforms sponsor
ed by the Roosevelt admins
trations that our economic
system did not completely
collapse.
About a half-century be
fore the advent of the New
Deal, the industrialists thought
that the golden age of big
business had arrived, because
development of machine mass
production made it possible
to produce a greater amount
of goods with fewer workers.
In some instances q single
machine displaced so en-
ployes and cost no more to
operate than the wages of one
worker.
There was, of course, one
slight hitch in the rosy cal
culations Of the industrial
barons. That hitch was that
machines do not purchase
commodities. Lo and behold!
The ruling cliche finally came
to recognize that Johnny
Overalls was a consumer.
ADVERTISING
Then came the great adver-
tising campaign to get John
O. Public to buy the works.
Over radios, on billboards, In
newspapers and magazines the
manufacturers warn d the
public that unless their prod
ucts were bought and con-
sumed the ordinary citizen
had no chance for a happy
and contented life.
The public being fond of
the better things of life CO.
operated to make the adver-
tising campaign a bowling
success.
Again, the short sighted in
dustrial tycoons tried to up
set the applicant by being too
greedy. Wages were too low to
permit John Public to buy the
things he wanted, surplus
goods piled high on shelves
Workers were laid off be-
cause the commodities re-
mained unsold and production
was curtailed by management
even though the public need
ed the things it did not have
the money to buy.
Encouraged by the New
Deal, labor began to organize
in the mass production indus
tries. Now, after organized
labor has made possible the
survival of our system through
the depression and the war,
the short sighted industrialists.
and their equally short sight
ed stooges in the legislature,
are calling for passage of laws
designed to destroy the labor
movement-the bird that lays
the golden egg.
Their line of reasoning is
vicious as we'll as peculiar.
They argue that a union shop
constitutes coercion. This in
society in which compulsory
education, taxes and conscrip-
ton are accepted as matter
of course.
Industry does not criticize
the existance of huge corpora
tions, cartels combines and
trust companies, but contends
that industry-wide bargain
ing constitutes a labor mon
opoly?
TWO VIEWS
They contend that unions
should be subject to suits for
breaches of contract while
employers repeatedly violate
contracts without any legal
penalties.
They regard strikes by
labor as something detrimen-
tai to public welfare, while
no attention is paid to the
fact that the Withholding of
products from the market by
management is equally as bad.
Only a strong labor move
ment can match wages to the
cost of living and prevent the
next depression. So the reac-
tionaries are determined to de-
stroy the labor movement.
Like the man who was so
anxious to drown another with
him in a rowboat, who when
he tries to overturn the boat
may drown himself also,
the selfish groups of this ma
ton are bent on destroying
our whole civilization.
We must let our national
onI Stafa 1aoicIatarS lxpnuy in