Evening star., 1948-11-18
Poyinq the Debt to Labor

If one were to judge from the headline
aspects of Secretary of Labor Tobin's
speech to the AFL convention, the union
leaders are going to be able to write their
own ticket in the next Congress. 1t is
almost as though Mr.. Tobin were saying
that the Democrats are prepared to sign
on the dotted line, and will not even bother
to read labor's bill of particulars.
Mr.. Tobin views the election results as
"a mandate for the positive and unequiv-
ocal repeal" of the Taft-Hartley Act. He
indicates that the mandate" will be
obeyed He would go further and repeal
as well the Lea Act designed to prevent
Mr.. Petrillo from compelling radio sta
tionS to hire musicians they do not need,
and also the Hobbs Act, which was adopted
to put an end to form of highway rob-
berry which some union teamsters practiced
against farmers and others trying to truck
their produce into metropolitan marketing
areas.
1t is most unlikely, however, that Mr..
Tobin or any one else can say what the
next Congress will do about these matters.
and there is reason to doubt that the
President wants to 60 as far as the labor
leaders say they would like him to go.
Whether one chooses to accept the elec-
ton returns as a mandate or not, the fact
remains that majority in both houses OF
the next Congress will be composed of
members who voted for the Taft-Hartley
Act. All of those in the House were up
for reelection and majority of them were
returned So if AFL President William
Green is right when he says the issue in the
campaign was outright repeal-not amend
ment-of the law, these members may
we'll ask themselves whether their mandate
was not to keep the statute. 1t is very
probably true that Congressman from pre-
dominantly labor districts who voted for
the law and who were beaten in the elec-
tion owe their defeat to labor hostility.
Thus, there may well have been mandate
from those areas. But a mandate from
the people of the United States is another
thing.
1t is not reasonable to believe, and
nothing in the election results suggests
the belief, that the people voted for a
revival of all the old labor abuses It is
simply fantastic for Mr.. Tobin to imply
that the people, in electing Mr.. Truman, or
in knocking the Republicans out of con-
troll of Congress, were voting for a return
to the days when union teamsters could
safely beat up farmers hauling their own
produce to market and compel them to
hand over the price of union driver when
in many cases no services whatsoever were
rendered.
The Presidents postelection caution in
stating precisely what he will ask for in
the way of labor legislation indicates that
he holds no such view. Mr.. Truman has
had his troubles with unions, and he prob
ably is aware that he can expect more
trouble in the future. It Is most unlikely
that he would want to 60 back to legisla-
tive climate in which any union would be
free to paralyze the national economy
For as responsible President he could
not tolerate such a condition. and as the
political leader of the Democratic Party he
must feel that it would be very bad politics.
This time, the full responsibility for any,
thing that is done will rest with the Demo-
Gratis and they will find that the whole
people will hold them to that RESPONSE
bility when other election days come
around