Evening star., 1950-04-25
Administration Called
Politically Weak on
Domestic Issues
Democratic Party Hurt
By Failure to Deal Firmly
With Union Labor Chiefs

BY Failure to Deol FIRMLY
With Union Labor Chiefs
By David Laurence
The Truman administration at
the moment is politically weak on
domestic issues, and this is one of
the main reasons why the attacks
on international issues have gained
ground.
The reason for the deterioration
Of the Democratic party in recent
months Is its failure to deal firmly
with the irresponsible use Of eco
nomic power by labor union lead
srs.
When the Republicans. to their
own surprise, won both Houses Of
Congress in November 1916. it was
not so much because Of the irrita-
tions caused by OPA regulations
and meat shortage, as so many
Democrats claimed afterward, but
because the voters, including
large number of men and women
in homes Of union workers. found
in the secret ballot the only way
to express their resentment. The
public -opinion polls taken after
the election among union workers
confirmed this.
Today the recent coal strike
which kept hundreds of thousands
of children out of schools and in
convenienced millions Of citizens
has built up a political liability for
the Democrats in Congress.
Failure of Bargaining.
Now the Chrysler strike, the
telephone strike, and on top OF
these the threatened tie-up of
transportation and freight service
in the major industrial areas OF
the country have emphasized the
failure of collective bargaining.
The Railway Labor Act has failed
to stem strikes on railroads.
Senator Donnell of Missouri,
Republican, has ventured forth
with O proposal to amend this law
to require arbitration Of labor dis
putes. That's going far, but it
isn't as far as President Truman
was willing to 60 couple OF years
ago with his request for law en-
powering him to seize the roads
and to draft railroad workers into
the Army to operate them.
The labor union chiefs have
been planning this autumn to
make an issue of the repeal of the
Taft Hartley Act. but they will
find the electorate critical Of those
in Congress who have prevented a
strengthening Of the existing law.
Railroad labor matters are not
covered under the Taft-Hartley
Act but are dealt with entirely
under q separate statute-the
Railway Labor Act. On the whole.
this law has worked well for
many years. 1t provides for cool
ing-off periods and joint boards
and finally fact finding. Many a
threatened strike has been settled
under its machinery.
But today the machinery has
been disregarded. The recommen-
dations of two presidential fact
finding boards - one In 1943
appointed under the late Presi-
dent Roosevelt and the other in
1s49 appointed by President Tru-
man-have been rejected by one
of the four railroad brotherhood
unions. The firemen are insist
ing that a third man be en-
ployed in the cab of each Diesel
powered locomotive. The presiden-
tial boards have found this claim
without merit, as the needs Of
safety are covered by an engineer
and fireman.
The truth is that the railroads
for many years now have been
making economies and introduc-
ing more efficient methods in
operating trains. There are, Of
course. fewer jobs than in 1889.
80 one railroad union-the fire
men-insists that made work"
be supplied. Another union-the
engineers-says it wants jurisdic-
ton If there is to be a third man.
Picked Off One by One.
Meanwhile. no Nation wide
strike is called but the railroads
are picked off one by one so
that the voters will feel it over
q prolonged period. This is a
method of unfair competition
which is not permitted to any
other economic entity. The plan
is to cause an economic loss to
one railroad by forcing it to
divert its freight traffic to other
railroads not yet tied UP but
soon to be.
The railroad brotherhoods are
run by experienced leaders.
There is no subversive influence
In these unions. They are Ameri-
can through and through. But
they see John Lewis and the
miners union getting away with
monopoly, and they see Walter
Reuther playing off Chrysler
against General Motors and Ford.
They believe they can bring the
major railroads to their knees in
the same way.
The Democratic party controls
the White House and the Con-
gress. 1t is primarily at fault in
encouraging irresp6nsibility and
the maximum use of economic
power to fiout collective bargain
Ing and fact-finding boards.
Just why a major union sees
at to disregard a presidential
fact finding boards report may
puzzle most disinterested obser-