Evening star., 1949-02-27
Public Interest Suffers
In Labor Law Debate
Adverse Reaction Predicted IL Fight
For Taft-Hartley Repeal Is Won.
By Frank x. Kent

By Frank r. Kent
AS, certainly, only small minority of the
members Of House and Senate have them
selves read either the Taft Hartley Act or
the substitute which the Truman admins
tration seeks to force through Congress 1t, OF
course, is too much to expect the average
citizen to grasp details of this issue or dis
Germ clearly the facts behind the multitu-
dinous arguments and allegations on both
sides.
However, it is not too much to expect them
to understand the more unconcealed and
basic things which protrude and concerning
which there is little dispute. The first
of these is that the real force behind the
drive to repeal are the CIO bosses and their
publicity agencies. OF course. the AFL also
is for repeal, but from the start Of the fight
last session it has played second fiddle to
the CIO. 1t is from the latter that the pres
sure on the President chiefly comes, ths
political threats emanate and the propa-
ganda flows. In brief, though the AFL the
United Mine Workers and the Railroad
Brotherhood leadership occupy the same po-
sition, primarily this is CIO fight One
reason is that CIO relations with the White
House are closer. and their Truman support
in the election was more active and solid.
A second unconcealed and basic thing is
that the anti-Taft-H Hartley propaganda is so
vastly greater than the prot Taft-Hartley
propaganda that there just is no comparison.
Most of the former has been-and is being
manufactured by the CIO. In violence, in
volume and in cost it has exceeded all pre-
vious propaganda-on any proposition in our
peacetime history. 1t also has broken all
records for reckless statements and unre.
strained Misrepresentation This is Prov
able and not often disputed fact-except,
of course, by the CIO publicists. Literally.
millions of dollars have been spent by the
combined labor unions on anti Taft-Hartley
publicity-but more by the CIO than all the
others.
A third unconcealed and basic thing is
that in their fight to repeal the Taft-Hartley
Act, its opponents make almost no show Of
concern for the public interests. The labor
bosses frankly ignore them. Avowedly, their
concern is exclusively for the labor unions.
which means themselves. They do not pre-
tend to be concerned about anything else.
AS for the administration. its pretenSs OF
protecting the public interest against the un-
restricted labor-boss power to economically
strangle the Nation is so flmSy as to be
wholly negligible. Certainly. far more ro-
bust pretense would be obliterated by the
unadulterated administration acceptance
and support of the CIO propaganda.
This has been true from the start. Per-
haps the most significant evidence was in
MI Truman's veto message last year in
which he used not only the argument of Lee
Pressman asSailing the Taft-Hartley bill but
much OF his actual language. 1t will be
recalled that at that time Mr.. Pressman was
general counsel of the CIO Months ago he
was ousted from the organization because Of
his left-Wing Affiliations and leanings.
Subsequently. he became one of Mr.. Wall
laces campaign managers. Since the elec-
ton. neither Mr.. Truman nor his Secretary
of Labor, Maurice Tobin, or his Attorney
General, Mr.. Clark, have done more than
wave a feeble hand in the direction of the
public interests. All of their hearty gestures
have been for the labor bosses whose views
are fully reflected in the administration
proposals and whose influence is dominant
in the White House. .%@
A fourth and unconcealed and basic fact
is that the administration attitude is so
clearly political as to leave little room for
any fair consideration of the merits of the
legislation and almost none for the people
of the United States outside the unions. The
claim Of the CIO and the other labor fac
tions is that Mr. Truman could not possibly
have been elected but for them. Mr. Truman
and his aides have fully accepted that claim.
During the campaign Mr.. Truman joined
with them in denouncing the Taft-Hartley
Act as a monstrOuS and evil thing. Thus
committed up to his neck. after his election
there was nothing for Mr.. Truman to do
save follow the CIO lead in the effort to
wipe Taft-Hartley off the books. And that
is what he is doing despite the fact that
majority of the members Of his own party
in the last Congress voted to put it on.
Even the most virulent CIO propagandistS
will find it hard successfully to contradict
these statements. There is not one but can
be proved to the hilt. To be sure, there is
in them no discussion Of the merits either
of the TIL. Act or Of the administration
proposals But once their truth is admitted
AS it must be by fair-minded men-thers
can be little doubt as to which is the meri-
torious side The outstanding thing to keep
in mind is that having regained their White
House influence through Mr.. Trumans elec-
ton. and having their political indispensa-
bility fully accepted by him and his STRAIT
egists, this is fight by the labor bosses to
achieve unrestricted power and complete
legal immunity. If they win, they will. for
o while, dominate the country. In the end,
however, it will react against the whole
labor movement. because unrestricted power
is always abused, and abuse of power brings
its own punishment. Meanwhile, the inter-
ests of the people and of the Nation, deeply
involved In this situation, are in a secondary
position.
fathers house at DUPONT Circle only recently
was wrecked to make room for an apart
ment building.