Evening star., 1949-08-25
MoreeII Sees Threat
To Free Economy in
Fact.Finding Boards
BY The Assoeiafsd Press

by the kssoeiaisd Press
A former Federal coal mines ad-I
ministrator, now . top steel In
daastry executive. believes the
practice Of having Government
fact-finding boards step into major
disputes Is = step toward . con-
trolled economy.
The view was given the Senate
Banking Committee yesterday by
Admiral Ben Moreell, president Of
the Jones d LAughlin Steel Corp.
AZ . Government ofncial. he helped
negotiate postwar wage settle
ments for seized oil and coal In
dustries.
Noting that presidentially -ap-
pointed fact-finding boards. like
the one currently sitting the steel
wage dispute, are limited now to-
recommending settlement terms,
Admiral Moreell said:
ut may take time but 1t soon
will become APPARENT that, trres-
pective Of politics, the findings OF
these boards must be enforced. The
adoption Of q regular system Of
compulsory arbitration Is then only
q short step away. One import
ant foundation stone OF q free
economy will then be gone"
Other Controls Predicted.
Once it is decided that outsiders
viii hand down binding solutions
In labor disputes, he said, control
over prices, production and the en-
tire economy will eventually follow.
Admiral Moreell testified at hear
ings aimed at analyzing the eco
nomic power Of labor unions. He
said be is anxious to preserve un-
lon bargaining power. But he con-
tended that industfy-wide bar
gaining has given them monopoly
control OVER wage costs and pro-
duction.
Such bargaining, he said, forces
identical wage terms on all seq
ments Of an industry regardless
OF varying economic conditions.
It also permits entire industries
to be closed down by strikes, he
said.
He asked that Congress immed-
lately enact legislation to curb the
power Of labor leaders to limit pro-
duction or to Impose undesirable
restrictions upon industry. He
also said q union should be con-
fined to q single industry.
In this last connection, he noted
that John L. Lewis mine workers
union has expanded into industries
other than coal. and that the CIO
Auto Workers represent agricul-
tural implement manufacturing
workers and those In other indus
tries.
Opposes Extension Of Power.
II believe that's too great an
extension Of their power" Admiral
Moreeu said.
The witness recalled . converse
ti6h. he once had with Mr.. Lewis
In which the union leader sx-
pressed fears about the conse-
quences Of Government-aided set
Elements of labor disputes. :.
Admiral Moreell said the con-
versation took place in 1946, when
he was coal mines administrator.
In that same year, Admiral Mo-
reeH heiped negott4tGs pytSts
ments contract with Mr.. lewis
covering the seized coal industry.
The agreement established for thk
first time the health and welfare
fund for coal miners. The fund,
now Z 500, ,000. 900 q year opera
ton, is generally regarded as one
Of the biggest concessions Mr..
Lewis ever got.
Mr.. Lewis told him then, Ad-
mird Moreell said. that over .
long period Of years more men
favorable to management than
those sympathetic to labor would
be named to Government boards
selected to deal with labor dis
putes.
And since the Government ap-
points the boards. the only way
labor could protect itself would
be to take over the Government -
Mr.. Lewis was quoted as saying.
National and local government
office holders in Great Britain now
total 2,146,000. Ten years ago 1t