Evening star., 1948-11-07
Bottle in Congress Looms
Over Toft-HortIey Issue
Union Demands for Repeal May Bring
Serious Legislative Impasse

Union Demands for Repeal May Bring
Serious Legislative Impasse
By Gerard d. Reilly
While American commentators have been
explaining President Trman's unprotected
triumph in terms Of the numerous tactical
and personality factors which tip the balance
between defeat and victory in any campaign
where the result hinges upon the last minuts
decision Of or 8 per cent of the electorate,
the British press, with Its fondness for viewing
events In larger perspective. has read great
significance into the election returns.
Typical Of this reaction is the comment Of
the semiofdcial New Statesmen and Nation"
one of the most influential Of the British
Socialist organs. 1t regards the American elec-
ton as reflection Of the worldwide trend to
the left. It states that the American people
have sought preference for a liberal middle
way between the extremes Of Coolidgeism and
communism, which is at least analogous to
the middle way for which Britain stands"
When it is considered that the middle way"
which Britain has adopted under the COM
plete control Of its government by Socialist
trade unions has been the naturalization Of
its farms and industries, and the virtual elini-
analogy becomes startling. Moreover. since the
fruits of the middle way in Britain have been
the debility of its mining and manufacturing,
its disappearance as a great commercial power.
and the disintegration Of its empire, the
analogy, if correct is scarcely heartening for
the future OF the United States
Fortunately, Mr.. Truman himself does not
interpret the close outcome that way. In his
felicitous post election statements he indicated
that he would faithfully represent the whole
American people. Indeed he would scarcely
have received the votes Of the Wilsonian Demo-
Gratis who finally rallied to his support to say
nothing of the prosperous farmers who believed
Gov. Dewey would not support inflated food
prices, or the middle-class housewives who be.
heved the President would bring them down.
If they suspected the Democratic nominee had
a MARKHAM program up his sleeve.
The great danger is that the President In
some Of his campaign speeches may have set
In motion forces which he cannot easily con.
troll. An example in point has been his com.
mitment to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act. Ac-
complishing this objective, Of course means
restoring the monopoly position of the leaders
of organized labor, thus entrusting the stability
Of our economy to the rnercies Of the same
group of powerful labor leaders who operated
without any legal or moral restraint In the
immediate postwar years.
If this happens, the United States will have
indeed initiated the example of those forward
looking European countries whose domestic
and foreign policies can be frustrated at any
time by industry-wide strikes.
The President has generally coupled his de-
nunciation Of the Taft-Hartley Act with o
promise to present constructive labor legisla-
ton to Congress The White House inner cir.
Gle has explained that what the President has
in mind is offering an amendment in the ma
ture Of substitute to the Taft-Hartley Act.
His bill, it Is said, would preserve the restric-
tions intended to keep radical and racketeering
unions from getting out Of hand, but remedy
ing the cumbersome procedural machinery for
dealing with Nationwide strikes.
Top union offcialdom, however. which, hav-
ing vainly tried to defeat Mr.. Truman at the
convention, now is claiming credit for his vic
tory, will not be satisfied with any such pro-
gram. The provisions In the Taft-Hartley Act
against the closed shop, the secondary boycott
and the jurisdictional strike 60 to the very core
Of union monopoly and their repeal will be
demanded. They are also bitter against those
provisions which permit rank-and-file workers
to file petitions for Identification, as well as
changes in National Labor Relations Board
procedure designed to make the board itself O
judicial tribunal.
What the union leaders would like to see
would be the kind Of meaningless bill which
number Of prounion Senators offered as
substitute last year when the amendments to
the Wagner Act were being debated as gesture
to public opinion. This measure evaded all the
real issues and merely provided for strength
ening' the mediation and arbitration machin-
cry Of the Cancellation service and establish
ing commission to study and recommend leg
islation. (Through some inadvertence the
first draft contained compulsory arbitration)
The only changes contemplated In the Wagner
Act were making very limited types Of sec
ondary boycotts and turisdictional disputes
unfair labor practices, without, Of course. In
junctive remedies
It met the problem Of organization of FORE
men merely by denying the resort Of supervisory
organizations to the Labor Board II they a1lali-
ated with other unions. It also proposed to
embody into statute certain rules Of decision
which the board had already promulgated. It
included . union registration section which
required the unions to file only what was
already public knowledge. In short the bill
was something Of fraud and the Senate
recognized 1t as such. Yet 1t Is very likely to
be revived.
In the recent campaign the big unions spent
tremendous amounts Of money and effort TO
induce rank-and-nle workers to vote against
those members Of the Eightieth Congress who
had backed the Taft-Hartley Act. To do this.
Of course, meant grossly nisrepresenting the
actual content of this legislation. The extent
to which this technique Of distortion succeeded
was largely due to the fact that Gov. Dewey
let it 60 unanswered. Had he been less con-
fdent of coasting in, he might have realized
that the President had diverted public atten-
ton from the real failings Of the Eightieth
Congress by seizing upon its labor record as
his central ISSUE