The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-08-04

OChIdlOI lI1CS ~
Tar Unions With
Monopoly Label
Washington (LPA)-The brave
attempt by Sen. Willis Robertson
Cd, Va.) to bolster the southern
coal operators in their negotiations
with the United Mine Workers,
and perhaps to win a few votes for
the Byrd machines candidate in
next weeks primary for the gov
ernorship, was tagging badly this
week.
After first day start minus the
television and radio microphones
of the "big-time" anti-labor probes
of the Taft-Hartley era, the hear
ing on it's second day proceeded be-
fore two Senators, nine spectators,
and handful of newspaper report
ers in the enormous Senate caucus
room.
Sen. Robertson in opening the
hearings asserted that he'd try to
find the effects on the consumer of
concentration of economic power in
the hands of unions. Though he
listed large number of instances
which he considered labor mono
poles, the Virginia Senator show
ed no interest in any except the
coal mines in subsequent question
ing of witnesses.
AFL President William Green
charged that ''it should be obvious
that the real purpose of this in
vestigation is to prop up the tet-
tering Byrd political machine in
Virginia and to bolster its anti
union issue in the current guber-
material campaign.
"If this were legitimate inves-
tigation, it should have been con-
Quoted by either the Senate Labor
Committee or the Senate Judiciary
Committee, which could logically
claim jurisdiction over the matters
under inquiry. The fact that Sen.
Robertson has seen fit to bypass
the two properly qualified Senate
committees in order to keep per-
sonal control of the investigation
is conclusive evidence of its hypo-
critical motivation"
Appearing before a House COM
mittee that's operating a thorough
and searching investigation of in
dustrial monopoly, Associate Re-
search Director Everett Kassalow
labeled the Robertson hearings as
"red herrings."
"The people in the labor move
ment," he said, bitterly resent
the notion that the sale or treat
ment of human labor power can
or should in any way be equated
with the disposition of commodi-
ties. Even if exactly like tactics
were employed by workers in sell
ing their labor power, these should
not be equated with manipulation
of commodities by business own
ers."
Three spokesmen for the coal
industry were heard first by Sen.
Robertson. All denied any plan to
set up a car to stabilize the in
dustry, but admitted that they had
planned to ask Harry Moses, pre-
sident of a US Steel Corp. sub
sidiary, to serve as their full-time
spokesman on negotiations with
the miners union.
While also denying that the pre-
sent three-day week was arrived
at by collusion with the union, the
operators indicated that they'd pro-
badly be working three or four
days even if the miners edict
wasn't in effect.
President George h. Love of
Consolidation Coal Co.
drew a fine line of distinction on
the question of coal supplies.
There's no overproduction of coal,
Love said with a straight face,
simply an oyercapacity to produce
coal.
Love said the operators thought
the UNIV had previously erred"
in setting a three-day week to sta
Dilize the industry, and added that
'for all practical purposes, this
limitation of the use of facilities is
4 confscation of a large part of
he capital invested in these facili-
les which progressive operators
see as a necessary means to reduce
he cost of coal to the consumer"
He added that under present laws,