The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1949-03-03
Labor Bill Facts

As, certainly, only small minority
of the members of House and Senate
have themselves read either the Taft
Hartley Act or the substitute which
the Truman Administration seeks to
force through Congress, It, of course,
is too much to expect the average
citizen to grasp details Of this issue
or discern clearly the facts behind the
multitudinous arguments and allega-
tions on both sides.
However, it is not too much to eX-
pect them to understand the more I'M
concealed and basic things which pro-
trude and concerning which there is
little dispute. The first of these is
that the real force behind the drive
to repeal are the CLIO bosses and their
publicity agencies. OF course. the AFL
is also for repeal, but from the start
of the fight last session it has played
second fiddle to the CLIO. 1t is from
the latter that the pressure on the
President chiefly comes, the political
threats emanate and the propaganda
flows. In brief, though the AFL, the
United Mine Workers and the Rail
road Brotherhood leadership occupy
the same position, primarily this is
Clio fight. One reason is that CLIO re-
lations 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- Hartley
propaganda is so vastly greater than
the overwhelmingly propaganda that
there just is no comparison. Most of
the former has been-and is being
manufactured by the CLIO. In violence,
in volume, and in cost it has exceeded
all previous propaganda-on any
proposition in our peacetime history.
1t also has broken all records for
reckless statements and unrestrained
misrepresentation This is a provable
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 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 pretend to be concerned about
anything else. AS for the Admins
tration, its pretense Of protecting the
public interests against the unre-
stricted labor-boss power to eco
nomically strangle the nation is so
flimsy as to be wholly negligible.
Certainly, a far more robust pretense
would be obliterated by the unadul-
terated Administration acceptance and
support of the CIO propaganda.
This has been true from the start.
Perhaps, the most significant evil
dence was in Mr.. Truman's veto mes
sage last year in which he used not
only the arguments Of Mr.. Lee Press
man 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 Com
munist affiliations and Earnings.
Subsequently, he became one of Mr..
Wallace's campaign managers. Since
the election, neither Mr.. Truman, nor
his Secretary of Labor Mr.. Maurice
Tobin, or his Attorney General, Mr..
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