Evening star., 1948-01-20
Wallace and Union Chiefs
Struggle for Labor Vote
PEA Pledges on Wage Increases
Seen as Likely Bait for Workers
By Gould Lincoln

by UOM0 Lincoln
CHICAGO, Jan. 2o.-A desperate tug-of- war
struggle between Henry Wallace and his
projected new Peoples Party" on the one
hand and the leaders Of organized labor on
the other for the rank and file vote OF labor
has now been launched.
At the meeting of the Progressive Citizens
Association here-Wallace's principal organiz-
ing group-Mr. Wallace went all out for labor.
The Pea In national convention wrote pro.
gram that backed up all the Wallace promises.
Principal among them was promise to sup
port an immediate increase in wages for labor
MIR. Wallace's cute idea for attacking infla-
ton. Others included q pledge to work for q
new minimum wage law for $100 an hour,
which Is Is cents more than President Truman
asked in his recent message to Congress, Inn
mediate repeal Of the Taft-Hartley Labor Act
and Of the Portal-to-Portal Act, and wide
extension Of all social services, plus reduc-
ton OF income taxes for labor.
Whitney's Thumbs Down.
Noticeable, however was the fact that repre-
sentation Of organized labor was distinctly
absent from the PCA-Wallace convention. No
important leaders of labor turned up-although
there was plethora of left wing educators
and writers. A. F. Whitney, president Of the
Brotherhood Of Railroad Trainmen, the last
hope OF the Wallaceites for aid among the
big labor names, sent discouraging letter,
resigning his membership in Pea to take effect
Immediately Mr.. Whitney took this step, he
said, because he could not go along with the
third party movement He Is going to stick
to Mr. Truman and the Democrats. although
at one time he made the extravagant state
ment he would use millions Of dollars to de-
feat the Democratic president.
Further, the CIO, at a regional meeting here,
turned thumbs down on the third-party
movement
MIR. Wallace's structures on President Tru-
mans labor record were severe in the extreme
and also the Pea, in its program, which Is
expected to be the basis Of the third-party
platform, was violently denunciatory. Again
and again they struck at Mr. Truman because
OF his proposal to draft the workers into the
armed services to prevent railroad strike and
because Of hts use of the injunction to end the
coal strike. Lip service to labor was all that
Mr.. Wallace accorded President Truman.
Next to the bait which Mr.. Wallace and his
followers tossed to labor voters, the most strik-
ing thing which happened during the Pea
convention was its friendliness to Soviet
Russia and the Communists The Pea pro-
gram, unanimously adopted, might almost have
been written by the American Communist
Party-or emanated from the Kremln itseelf-
as 1t dealt with foreign affairs.
Would Destroy Atom Bombs.
It called for the immediate destruction OF
our atomic bomb stockpile It demanded that
no more bombs be manufactured. It proposed
drastic reduction in expenditures for the
American armed services and the removal of
all military aid to Greece and Turkey. It
would leave Chang Kai-shek and his govern
ment without aid from this country in their
struggle against the Chinese Communists It
proposed in place Of the Marshall Plan for
Western European recovery a United Nations
aid program for the nations most devastated
by the Axis armies Ito which this country
would contribute the lions share as it did to
UNRRA). This would mean billions of aid to
Russia.
All Of this, according to Mr. Wallace and the
Pea, would be in the name of peace-partic-
ularly between the United States and Russia.
AS matter Of fact, such q program would be
an invitation to Soviet Russia to extend its
Communist control in Europe and Asia-an
invitation that would be accepted with alacrity.
The wallace peace program still looks like
appeasement-no matter what they call 1t.