The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-09-16
tn Law Is Depression Club

By ridicung cartoons and silly editorials now
being treated to nationwide propaganda campaign cacu
lated make the people believe that the TaHatey Act
has been Large corporations like General Electric
are distributing leaflets in this campaign.
The general theme that thru all of these propa-
ganda statements indicates they have They
actually boast that the Tatarey Act has not yet made
slaves of American workers One of these propagandsts
Philip W. Porter writing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer OF
August H. 948 stated that the aftHarey Act has
tany not torn down any legitimate unions the contrary
it has tended to build them up The balance of his article
cites several instances where unions that to Porter not
legitimate have been destroyed by not being allowed to
representation elections because their officers dd
not sign the un-American Reconsideration oath.
AS many times pointed out, the Taft Hartley Act has
not vet been applied to accomplish the complete job union
busting it's trainers had in mind In the first place.
contracts have not yet for consideration In the
second place. the bosses enjoying such fabulous profits
afforded by the HARTLEY Act In its truest light the
TafHarey Act is proftnsurance for depression periods
It's unonbuStng purposes Will not come into fu play While
profits are at the $40 billion annual rate
But nevertheless the Act is having it's effect Leon Key
serlng vcecharman of the Presidents Council of Econ
oc Advisers testified before the Senate Banking and Cur
rency Committee at the recent special session Of Congress
and very ominous testimony He warned of the
dangers facing economy and stated that 1929 itself
dangerous year, and salaries made 659 cent
of the national income and profits 8 per cent
This year. wages and salaries dropped to 81 cent and
profits jumped to 1873 cent He declared that increased
production alone would not solve the problem for
purchases of national production dropped from cent
1899 Coz 1913 frSt In other words,
in the supposedly prosperous year of 98
able to purchase smaller percentage of the national
ducon than they purchased 1889 which, of is the
natural result of the shift in national income from and
salaries to profits
The handwriting is on the wall The trainers and sup
porters of the TaHartey Act boldly declare that it's pur
pose to weaken unions to make labor representatives
more conciatory 1t is this characteristic of the Taft
Hartley Act that has caused labor properly to describe
"slave-labor act Let these trends continue whereby
wages and salaries become smaller and smaller part of the
national income while profits become greater and greater
part of the national production and the time will
when free labor will be slave labor Such the inevitable
suit of weakening unions and strengthening monopoly
Without unions the worker cannot hope to bargain with
his employer AS his slave he will take what his employer
offers starve Of to the Taftartey Act support
ers long the worker has the alternative of freedom to
stave he could not be cassed slave but slaves
supposed to be fed
There should be added to these ominouS economic
threats the fact that the NAM Congress amended
income tax laws to shift the burden of income
increasing it 900 per cent the $2000$3000 class while
reducing by than 60 per the share of the tax bur-
den borne by the $25, ,00O-and-over class.
Despite the avalanche of propaganda appearing in
newspapers in costly corporation pamphlets and being ut
tered by ckspe radio commentators the greatest issue
before American workers today is whether they shall be
free slaves under law whose provisions harsh
for workers that if comparable provisions applied to
employers there would be screaming from the housetops
that our free enterprise system is being destroyed
The supporters of the Taft Hartley Act do seem to
realize it, but that Act gradually destroying the free
terprse system in America for it destroying free labor
and you have free enterprise without free labor
Apparently business executives at least family
of this fact for recent survey by Business Week
magazine so cent of the employers favored changes
in the Taft Hartley Act