Evening star., 1950-06-15
No Chonce This Session
For Toft-HortIey Repeal
Borden Choirmonship Moy
leod Only to Amendment
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

The new chairman Of the House Com
mittee on Education and Labor. Repre-
sentative Barden. Democrat. Of North
Carolina. voted for the Taft-Hartley
labor law. voted TO override PreSi-
dent Truman'S veto OF the measure
and in the present Congress. voted for
the Wood bill as q substitute for the
administrations bin TO repeal the Taft
Hartley law and return to the old Wagner
Labor Relations Act.
His elevation to the Craftsmanship of
the committee, Of which he has been q
member for many years. does not augur
well for any future attempt TO repeal the
Taft-Hartley Act outright
Yet Mr.. Barden is not anti-labor,
Any man would be q fool to say he
is anti-labor or to be anti-labor." is the
way he puts it.
He is confident he can give labor a
square deal, and has so informed labor
leaders who have visited him since he
became the obvious selection for chair
man to succeed the late Representative
Lesinski, Democrat. of Michigan. But
Mr.. Barden is frankly against the repeal
OF the Taft-Hartley Act which President
Truman has promised the labor leaders.
Favors Amending.
He Is OF the opinion that the labor law
can be amended in some respects and
should be amended. So far, he is not
aware Of any harm the Taft Hartley Act
has actually done organized labor.
Mr.. Barden's own congressional dis
trlct contains large number Of workers
railroad, cotton mill and wood workers,
Ihey are friends of Mr.. Barden, who has
peen renominated for his present House
seat and Will be reelected in November.
Ihey are for the most part substantial
homeoWRerS whom, as Mr.. Barden says,
no one IN New York can call up and say,
you vote for so and So"
The new chairman, in expressing his
views on labor legislation, makes 1t clear
he is not speaking for the committee.
And when 1t comes to considering legisla-
ton. every member of the committee will
have consideration. Mr. Barden, however,
will never be kicked around. or take Or
ders, no matter what the pressure may be.
I don't like stacked committees. or
stacked anything else" Mr.. Barden says.
Umpires are not selected because they
are going to favor any particular person
or cause. and personally want to be Just
as good as any major league umpire"
New for Committee.
Admittedly, however, Mr.. Barden il
something new as Democratic chairman
OF House Labor Committee For 10
years, from 1887 to 1947, Mrs. Mary Nor
ton Of New Jersey was chairman. and in
the present Congress Mr.. Lesinski held
the office. And to put it mildly. both we're
violently antagoniStic to the Taft-Hartley
Act. and to any change in the lopsided
Wagner Act.
Mr.. Barden's committee has before 10
another extremely controversial legis-
lative problem-Federal aid to educa-
ton. He himself is the author of the
aid to education bill which reused the
ire Of Cardinal Spellman. because it
made no provision for services. such a.
bus transportation. for children attend
ing parochial schools.
With Mr.. Lesinski sitting on the lid.
the Barden bill, as well as a bill passed
by the Senate. has been tied up tighter
than drum. Mr.. Barden has changed
his position on this measure not one
iota.
No slightest chance that either a labor
bill or an aid to education bill will be
taken up during the remainder of the
present Congress seems to exist, unless
Congress should remain in session in
definitely. That is not in the cards.
with an election coming UP. However,
II the Democrats elect majority of the
House in the new Congress, Mr.. Barden
will remain chairman of the Education
and Labor Committee, and the fur may
fly.