Evening star., 1948-06-05
Rail and Coal Unions
Again Raise Threats
OF National Crisis
Labor Bosses Seen Exertine
Same Old Squeeze ond
People Will Foot Bill

Same Old Squeeze ond
People Will Foot Bill
By Frank r. Kent
The situation created by the union
bosses in the railroad field and by
John L. Lewis in the coal field again
threatens national crisis which, as
Samuel B. Pettingill, "the Gen.
tlen1an from Indiana" recently de-
clared, easily may cost US more in a
month than. the whole European
Recovery Program in year.
One supposes that again a way
will be found to avert the ultimate
calamity of a completely strangled
Nation. But the price will be great
and our national humiliation deep.
Experience has shown that every
such settlement" in very short
time is followed by renewed de-
mands, defiance, threats and throat
squeezings. The result is always the
same-the Government Is compelled
to yield; the labor bosses get theN
way, prove themselves stronger than
the President of the United States
and the Congress. And the people
pay the bill.
The moral and material damage
to the country of these endless pub
lic-utility strikes against the Nation
for that is what they are-cannot
be exaggerated and there is no
more damaging indictment OF the
American people than that, with
the power in their hands to put a
stop to such shameful exhibitions.
they supinely submit again and
again and again. Apparently, they
cannot be induced to face the facts.
Even when these are squarely pre-
sented, they are not stirred into the
kind of resentment that would force
Congress to discard its fear Of the
labor vote" and act in the general
interest.
Real Issue II Power.
As In the case Of the waste Of
Federal funds. the people continue
lethargic and inactive, though these
strikes menace their very existence.
The real issue raised by them has
nothing to do with the merits of
the union demands. The real issue,
as Mr.. Pettingill points out, is
Should any man or any group Of
men for any reason have the power
to take this country by the throat
and squeeze it until 1t yields to him
or them?" OF course, the only
answer to that Is mo" Yet, neither
Congress nor the people will face
up to this question. than which there
is none more vital. Every time a
crisis is created that question pro-
Tudes-and Is lodged.
Only once in the last Is years
has the White House incumbent
stood up and fought instead of
knuckling under. Certainly, Mr..
Truman reached the peak of his
popularity on the days when he
slugged 1t out, first, with the rail-
road bosses and, second, with Mr..
Lewis. 1t Is ironical that but for
the Taft-Hartley law, which he We
toed and now wants repealed, the
President would have no legal
weapon to meet the new coal strike
threat, which certainly puts him in
a rather absurd position to make
his campaign for reelection. Is it
not clear that an intolerable Situa-
ton exists? Is 1T not clear that
there is no law to take away this
squeezing power which affects the
lives of all the people? Is 1t not
clear that regardless Of injunctions
and fines, presidential attitudes,
congressional and journalistic de-
nunciations, we shall continue to
60 from crisis to crisis, losing ground
all the time until our degradation is
complete, our independence a joke
and civil rights" just silly phrase,
obsolete and meaningless?
To permit individuals and groups
to coerce the Government of the
United States into concessions that
weaken the fiber of the Nation, de-
stroy our pretensions to industrial
efficiency and inflict injury upon
the citizens as whole makes no
sense whatever. 1t is an idiotic per-
formance made possible by two
things - one, the inertia Of the
masses; second, the cowardice and
selfishness Of the politicians. For
q long time now in both parties
these have operated in dread Of a
labor vote which, supposedly, Is
swung by the labor bosses and upon
which the political lives of candi-
dates for office depend. Recent rec
ords Of the well established Dunn
survey show that all save a few
OF the blacknsted Taft-Hartley bill
Congressman, who the labor bosses
promised to drive out of public life,
have been already renominated, thus
demonstrating that the solidity of
this vote is fictitious and the ability
Of the bosses to swing it nonexistent.
Resentment Appears.
Further, these surveys show that
at last a sense OF the true situation
appears to be permeating to the
people and resentment not dis
cernible before is beginning to ap-
pear. What they seem to want is
some man at the top OF our public
life who will sound the note of
alarm and lead the way to action.
That they would respond in a big
way there is so little doubt that 1t
Is amazing one has not appeared be-
fore, this
OF course, the ideal spot for such
q. man is in the White House. The
man who is there now could do it.
He has his chance He had it
few weeks ago when strangu-
lation was threatened, first by the
railroad unions and then by Mr..
Lewis. He has it now on the trip
across the country on which he has
Just started. The railroad strike is
not over and Mr.. Lewis, despite
punishment by the courts, is still
defiant and determined, ready with
more demands, refusing to nego-
tiate except upon his own terms.
For a man in Mr.. Truman's politi-
cal plight this seems an ideal setup.
What more does he want? He not
only could gain great political pres
tige but he could be right at the
same time. Yet. we are told that
one purpose of this trip is to cline