Evening star., 1947-05-16

commentators, VINO lar outnumper
any other kind. /
Approval of the ortal-to-portal
pay bill with his advocacy OF mini
mum wage. increases seems to have
swollen this chorus rather than
diminish 1t. For many weeks some
of the more conspicuous of these
political interpreters have been
asserting, as though they were
authorized White House spokes-
men, that the President would dis
approve the bill and that, in conse-
uuence, there would be no labor
legislation at all They have not
qualified these assertions. They
made them as fiat statement of
fact long before they knew the
shape of either the House or the
Senate proposal. Now, though no
one can tell in what form the meas
ure will emerge from the confer
ence committee, they are repeated.
The situation in which all this
puts Mr.. Truman is not tenable
one-particularly when that 68-to-
"a Senate vote on the Taft bill is
considered along with the even
larger majority by which the House
passed the Hartley bill. n
Two Things Clear.
These votes make two things
entirely clear: ID that the veto
surely would be overridden in the
House and very probably In the
Senate; ca that a veto would
amount to a reputation OF his own
party in Congress, a considerable
majority of Democrats IN the
House having voted for the Hartley
bill and one more than a majority
voted or announced for the Taft
bill in the Senate.
Thus, whether his veto is sustain
ed or overridden, the position OF MI.
Truman would be unfortunate. II
sustained, full responsibility will
rest upon him for blocking law
to protect the country against In
defensible labor union abuses-a
law supported by a majority OF
Democrats in Congress and unques-
tionably desired by a very large
majority of the American people. as
attested by every poll in every Sec
ton. Or, if his veto Is overr1dden,
as now seems likely, this labor re-
form will have been effected by
q Republican Democratic conbi-
nation, representing more than two
thirds of Congress, against his de-
termined resistance.
Veto Would Please Communists
So far as anyone knows, this re-
sistance is justified only by the
arguments poured out in a steady
stream by the CIO publicity agen-
cies; who violently inveigh against
any labor proposal (other than the
utterly inane ones advanced by
their senatorial stoogeO as "puni-
tive" drastic" vicious" and de-
structive of labor's inherent
rights" all Of which is complete
nonsense.
Looking at it from the low plane
of practical politics and not from
that of the national interests, 1t Is
to ask whom and what
Mr.. Truman would please, under
these conditions, in espousing the
cause of the labor bosses and exert
ing the full weight of his great office
to nullify the will of Congress and
preserve the union power to eco
nomically strangle this nation?
Undoubtedly, he would please
the Communists, with whom ne
has no sympathy whatever, but
who, as clearly shown by the Daily
Worker, oppose all labor legisla-
tion and urge q veto. OF course.
too, he would please the CIO and
AFL bosses, the professional lib
erals, all the left-wing radical
groups and the extremely vocifer-
GUS New Deal columnists. many Of
whom until recently were exerting
themselves to disparage and be-
little him. In addition, he might
even get a kind word or two
from Henry Wallace, now touring
the country denouncing the Tru-
man doctrine" and enhancing his
reputation as q public pest. But
whom else he would please IL Is
difficult to name.
Net Loss by Veto
An additional fact to consider Is
that whether he vetoes the bill or
not. the great bulk of these radical
and labor groups win support him
in 1948 anyhow. Clearly there Is
nothing else for them to do. They
cannot vote Republican and third
party is so impracticable as to be
absurd.
On the other hand, veto would
lose Mr.. Truman the sympathy and
support of millions of independent
voters, completely fed up with the
abuses of arrogant labor bosses and
anxious to see discontinued the de-
grading alliance between the White
House and the CIO, upon which
the latter built up its power.
It would deeply disappoint many
OF his friends who warmed toward
him for the way he stood up and