Evening star., 1949-07-06
Administration Bluff
Seen in Withdrawal
On Labor Bill Fight
Likely to Press Action
In House Both in This
Session and in 1850
By David Laurence

quandary about what to do with
respect to labor legislation at this
session Of Congress or the next
session or the session beginning in
January, 1851.
OF all the absurdities dissent
mated in recent years. the impress
sion widely broadcast in the last
few days that the administration
has decided to make an issue of
the labor legislation in the 1850
Congressional campaign takes the
prize.
For, on it's face, no such deci-
sion could be justified on the
stump. While there is. for in
stance, a question as to what
might or might not yet be done to
enact a labor management law at
the present session, it hardly
makes sense to declare that moth
ing will be done at any time dur
ing the session which begins in
January, 1850. To refuse to dc
anything in an entire session
would be indefensible in political
strategy.
ANY such course would mean
that, because the administration
refused to accept those amend
ments which are conceded to be
an improvement, it would prefer
to have no legislation at all until
January 1951-when the Con-
gress elected in 1850 convenes.
Would Reveal Hypocrisy.
II this were the case, it. would
reveal the transparent hypocrisy
behind the argument that the
Taft-Hartley Act is such a bad
law. For if it is bad, then any
improvement is desirable as an
alternative to the continuance for
nearly two years of law con-
sidered by labor-union bosses to be
undesirable in every respect.
The truth is that the reasons
given publicly for the stalling are
not the real reasons. The truth
is that the aft-Hartley Act isn't
the slave labor" law it has been
called and. as time goes on. the
labor-union chiefs are having a
harder and harder time juStifying
that characterization.
What has really happened is
that, despite all the outcry about
a mandate" for repeal of the
Taft-Hartley law supposedly given
In the November, 1948 elections,
a majority of both houses of
Congress do not want "a one
sided labor law such as the old
Wagner Act provided. A major
ity, however, is ready to correct
the Taft Hartley Act to remove
such inequities as its ambiguous
language revealed in practice.
The Administration, moreover,
has been defeated in the House
as well as in the Senate in the
attempt to do the bidding of the
or-union leaders. who served
notice that they wanted total re-
peal and nothing else. Since the
administration is completely sub
servient to the labor-union groups
and does not venture to have a
policy Of its own, the press was
quick to assume that the strategy
announced by the labor chiefs was
that Of President Truman and
the Democratic leadership.
Wiser Counsels Prevail.
Then wiser counsels prevailed
and conferences were begun
among administration leaders in
order to appraise the situation.
Now 1t turns out that a program
of trying to get through the
House a bill which is milder than
the Senate bill will be attempted
and that in the Joint conference
between the two houses later an
effort will be made further to
weaken the Senate bill. Failing
in this, the question then will be
whether Mr.. Truman prefers to
veto d bill which gives him halt
a loaf on the ground that he
wants the entire loaf or nothing
1t would be a difficult veto mes
sage to write.
Such an issue likewise would
be welcomed in the campaign
by the Republicans and Demo-
Gratis opposed by the labor unions.
Once the public comes to under
stand that all efforts to write a
balanced labor management law
such as the Democratic platform
recommended have been frus-
trated with the idea Of getting
. one-sided labor law enabling
unions to do as they please while
putting employers in a strait
jacket, interest in the whole is
sue will be diminished and the
election will be decided on other
questions.
There were many Democrats
elected in 1948 from rural dis
tricts which are normally Re-
publican. The Democrats can
not hope to hold thes.. districts
If they make labor the paramount
issue: Likewise, they cannot make
any further gains oy those tao
tics.
When all the bluff is removed,
It will be found that the ad-
ministration will press for labor
legislation again in the House at
this session and that 1t will do 30
once more In January. 1850. The
question rs to whether this prob
lem will become an issue in the
November. 1850 election cam
paign will not be decided until
the spring Of 1850. The admin
tstration cannot be in the posi-
ton Of refusing ut two consecu-
tive sessions to press labor legis-
lation vhen IL IN in control nj