Evening star., 1948-01-04

D6 TcpulSlt6 70 Illul-IlOG D6CauSe Oh
any narrow prejudice but because Of
his profound religious convictions. .
Race and color may seem "irrele-
want" to the committee. Yet differ
ences OF race and color have divided
mankind for centuries. They may
fade in the coming centuries. But
they cannot be wiped out by state
or federal law; and every such fool
ish effort only intensifies prejudice
and intolerance, creates disrespect
for law, and is itself an intolerant
violation of individual liberty.
Curiously enough the committee
observed that an essential part OF
our freedom is that we ARE free to
be different" Evidently the COM
mittee is willing to have us differ in
our taste for cigarettes, but not in
our taste for companions. But, in
another breath, the committee says:
I'm a democracy, each individual
must have freedom to choose his
friends and to control the pattern
of his personal and family life"
Nevertheless. in order to eliminate
segregation" and to prevent dis
elimination the committee insists
that this free" American shall be
compelled to spend his working life
with undesirable associates, and to
send his children to schools, to eat
in restaurants, to live in hotels and
enjoy all public amusements, in the
company of those whose company
he would not voluntarily choose.
Losic Hard to Follow
The logic of the report is very
difficult to follow. But; as the King
said in Alice in Wonderland, If
there's no meaning in it that saves
a world of trouble. you know, as we
needn't try to find any"
Let us assume, however, that every
like or dislike based on race, color or
religion is unreasonable and un-
fair, and that such prejudices ought
to be eliminated from human think
ing. Nevertheless. is it proper or
even possible for the Government Of
a free people to attempt to prevent
men and women in business or
social life from acting in accord
with their prejudices? Now this Is
an entirely different question from
asking whether the Government
itself should deny equality of OPP
portunity to some of its citizens.
Political equality, in the right to
vote, in the administration OF jus
tice and In the rendering OF public
services, Is due to all citizens. But
unless Government is to destroy an
economic system Of competitive
freedom and social system Of free
association, it cannot undertake to
level down the inequalities that re-
suit from differing abilities and
opportunities, or to interfere with
the voluntary selection of ones as
sociates in work or play.
No one would dare to propose that
an employer be given the right by
law to compel man to work for
him. That would be involuntary
servitude"-slavery. Yet it is SOL
emnly proposed lin Senate bill s84.
which Is evidently approved by the
committee) that an employer shall
be forbidden to refuse to employ
a qualified" man because of his
race, color or religion. This means,
in practical effect, that If Gov
ernment regulator says that a man
is qualified" and rules that he has
been denied employment because Of
race, color or religion, then he must
be employed.
Lesson of Experience
We know from experience under
the Wagner Act that the employer
would be presumed to be wrong.
Sentence first, verdict afterwards"
is the conventional procedure. 1t
seems to be forgotten that an en-
ployer works for his employees, just
as they do for him. He is obligated
by law to do great many things
for his employe. So the proposed
law would force an employer into
involuntary servitude to men who
are under no obligation to work for
him.
Specifically, it may seem to be a
noble project for government to In
sure to all citizens an equality Of
opportunity to earn livelihood and
ito enjoy the benefits of society"
But, no government can insure
equality of opportunity to human
beings who differ 50 widely in
natural capacity and who, because
of parental variances in ability and
fortune, are so differently nurtured.
It should also be pointed out that
the benefits of democratic, free
society are not gathered by an ON
nipotent government into one treas
ure house for distribution to de-
pendent population. On the con-
trary, individuals in q host of big
and little enterprises, work and pro-
duce things and seek to gain out OF
their cooperation with others the
benefits and satisfactions which
they desire and for which they are
willing to work and sacrifice.
The concept Of society in which
all are working for the common good
and obtain only their proportionate
share of the total product is the
idealism of communism. Now that
the world has had good look at
communism in actual operation, 1t
has become quite clear that only
ruthless despotism' can compel
human beings to live and work in
such a regimented society. Fur
thermore. it has been demonstrated
up to date that the productivity Of
free men and women, working pri-
narily for their own gain and reap
ing individual rewards, Is far, far