The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-11-09

4 has been generally Well-con-
| ceived and well-paced develop
/ ment of an effective NPA pro-
| gram"
1t would be we'll if labor, too
made itself heard on these vita
issues. Labor's stake, both as pro
ducer and consumer, in housing
and other building construction, il
too great to be ignored. 1t simply
cannot afford to remain silent. The
same applies to industries produc
ling consumer and household goods
Tentative plans now under con-
lsideration call for a cut Of 20 tc
80 percent in the civilian use OF
critical materials. Just how heavily
these controls will affect the out
put of radio and television sets
automobiles, refrigerators, wash
| ing machines and other durable
products remains to be seen. AT
any rate, they forebode serious
consequences to the men and wo-
men employed in the manufacture
of civilian goods.
!. = !.
Unfortunately, politics and the
1850 election campaign seem to
leave organized labor little time
and energy for the problems af-
fecting the livelihood of the work
ers. Union leaders can, of course,
console e themselves with the
thought that manpower, is already
in heavy demand for defense pur-
poses; consequently there is no
need to get excited. On the other
hand, the painful experiences of
the second world war are worth re-
calling. There is always a severe
and often a prolonged lag between
lay-offs resulting from cutbacks in
civilian production and the employ
ment of displaced workers in the
industrial mobilization effort.
To bridge this gap, make the
transfer as painless as possible and
safeguard the accumulated labor
needs of defense production is the
job of the ODM (Office of Defense
Manpower), under the direction of
Robert C. Goodwin, head of the
U. S. Labor Departments Bureau
of Employment Security. Here the
New York Times again states the
issue well; "In the last analysis
Americas defense potential will be
determined by the amount and dis
position of our manpower. This
makes the task in this area one of
outstanding Importance"
Let's hope that organized labor
will share in an active, direct and
responsible manner in this all-im-
portant task.
:. :. :.
A few words about bureaucratic
and widening economic
controls-a subject repeatedly anal
lyzed in this column. The length
and breadth of governmental inter-
ference in the economic fields hasl
been startlingly, though uninten-I
demonstrated in anotherl
new alphabetical agency, the MEA
minerals and Energy Administra-
tion). This agency was meant toI
A categories of industry
petroleum and gas, electric pow
err, solid fuels, and minerals and
For unknown reasons, the MEA
died early, but not without numer-
Gus offspring. It's heirs are a sep-l
arate agencies in the above mem
toned fields. Thus, administrative
responsibilities are further split
and a lot more jobs have come into
being for the duration of the pre-
sent emergency. If that is not bur-
eaucracy with a vengeance, we
would like to know what it is.
i i j.
Now that the annual mud-sling-
ing season is over and politicians
have called each other thieves, liars
and what have you to their hearts
| like to recall a little
known story about President Grov-
er Cleveland. One night, in the
White House, the President was
awakened by his wife.
Very much upset, she cried out
hat there were robbers downstairs,
and what was to be done. Grump-
ly Mr.. Cleveland replied, "Oh, go
20 sleep! They are in the Senate,
,oo."