The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1947-05-15

Now comes forth in full flowel
a public relations campaign by th'
. AT of l. that has all the earmark!
of being a lulu.
1t is all to the good and it ough
not die when the present Legislative
emergency passes, just as it ought
to have begun years ago.
1t has taken some of the leaders
a long, time to figure out that
there is such thing as public SEN
timent and that it can be very
potent.
Even a movement as strong as
ten million Americans can find that
it needs the support of some other
Americans who are not eligible to
| join a union.
| When the cards are down public
sentiment can swing issues and
very often it does. Especially when
the public gets good and mad.
The question now is whether
Senator Taft and his crowd haven't
got too much head start. 1t is
hoped this is not the case, for the
Senator from Ohio has cooked up
a witch's brew of demolition legis-
lation that, in the end, can do no
one any good.
With Senator Taft the situation
seems like this: He is losing
ground, but he can win this i'm
mediate battle to put through his
omnibus labor bill and still, in the
end, himself lose out in popularity
and vote-getting ability.
What happens to Senator Taft's
political fortunes later on isn't the
immediate question. The immediate
question is to stop him with his
labor busting proposals.
The labor campaign to win pub
lie support is costing money that
ten years ago would have looked
like the national debt. But the cost
is warranted now.
Plenty of persons know that a
much more modest sum, appropri-
ated ten years ago and wisely
spent in a continuing campaign,
might well have prevented the cur
rent crisis before it got started.
But that's water over the dam, or
under the bridge, as you like.
The point is that at last there's
a modern campaign on and may it
be a blinger!
Of course, along with any pub
lie relations campaign there has to
go a course of conduct in keeping
with the campaign.
You can't get much Of anywhere
by throwing your weight around
promiscuously while you try to win
friends with full page spreads and
network shows.
Let's hope that that public rela-
tions counsel talks up and gets re-
spect. That's what it's for.
In one most important matter
the AT of l. is fortunate. 1t has
in its unions the tops in the field
of radio and public relations. 1t can
get for free lot of talent and
sound advice. And what it can't get |
for free it can pay for.
One good thing about the free
workers is that they don't have to |
be Eyes men,. They can talk up
and they can clear out when opera
tions start going sour.
Now back to Senator Taft and
his rumbling omnibus. That boy |
seems to have gone somewhat pow
er crazy. He seems to have lost his
sense of proportion-or else he is
getting to show how much of it he
never had any way.
You can't cure anything with ex-
tremes of legislation. You can't set
a nation right by merely throwing
words around in law. If the law
isn't sound, or if it doesn't COM
mand solid support among the peo-
pie, then you have a dead duck
and nobody wins anything.
This nation, by all the signs, is
not reactionary, when it knows the
facts.
What has happened in prepara-
ion for Senator Taft's little stage
show is that an awful lot of people,
,gged on by some nOt-too-good re-
porting and lot of political mis-
representation, got very angry at
some labor doings.
Some political leaders, partly
lngry and partly looking for the
main chance, said to themselves
hat here was their meat. Senator
Taft got himself into the lead
lorse position.
Proper informing of the public
night easily have stopped him be-
ore he got started. But anyway,
he job is at last under way. 1t
will be studied, even by those who
lon't like it. May it be good. 1t had
.otfa ho uoodI CMW |