Evening star., 1950-09-26
Congress Members
BewiIdered by Mood
OF fhe Electorate
Whole World Situation
Hangs Like q Threat
Over Domestic Scene
Bv Dapid Laurence


Members Of Congress have gone
home somewhat bewildered about
the mood of the electorate they
face in the autumn elections.
Normally the issues would relate
to the pros and cons Of the huge
deficits since 194s or to the higher
trends in wages and profits or to
the pressure for larger social bene-
fits. But the times are not normal.
The underlying fear Of another
world war has been accentuated
by the aggression in Korea. The
whole world situation now hangs
like a threat over the domestic
scene. Politicians cannot figure out
just what this may mean on elec-
tion day.
On other occasions when elec-
tions have been held in wartime,
the demand for national unity
and the fear of changing horses
In midstream" has Influenced the
voters. But this is not a presi-
dental year, and the people. more
over, show signs Of restiveness
over what they believe has been a
lack of leadership in the national
administration. So it may be that
the Truman policies will, in part
at least, prove a burden to the
Democratic nominee in some
areas.
Question Of Weakness.
A few years ago, 1t will be re-
called, the Democratic Party was
q lot stronger than Mr.. Truman
and many members of Congress
ran ahead of him on the Demo-
cratic ticket. The question now is
whether those weaknesses Of the
administration which cannot be
protested this time by a vote on
the presidency itself will make
themselves felt in a discomfort
visited upon the Democratic Sen
ators and Representatives. The
Republicans, of course. will try to
lump Congress and the admins
tration together as jointly re-
sponSible because the Democratic
Party has had majority control OF
both Houses and presumably could
have provided better check on
the Executive than could the
minority party.
II there's an emotional issue at
the polls, the party out of power
will benefit. It matters little that
the opposition has failed to
present any constructive policy of
its own as an alternative. Political
custom indicates the party in
power in the White House, If un-
popular, suffers the blame. The
people vote against things, rather
than for things.
The Democratic members of
Congress, particularly in the north
where the real contests are to be
fought, have as their allies the
national labor unions with their
vast pools of union dues now toI
be used in really big sums for the
first time. While labor unions in
the past have had political organi-
cations of their own and used
money for political purposes, moth
ing In previous years compares
with the millions of dollars to be
spent this time in plain violation
of the spirit, if not the letter, of
the Federal Corrupt Practices Act,
which is now an integral part of
the Taft-Hartley Law.
Law Circumvented
This law has been circumvented
by setting up separate political
committees. But these are largely
paper affairs. The time and en-
ergy of paid salaried officers Of
unions is being contributed to the
campaign and the union member
ship is being used as basis for
precinct organization in industrial
cities. It is not clear whether the
sums being used have been volun-
tarily donated especially for poll
tical use or whether union assess
ments collected for political cam
paigning have been imposed 50
that the union member, unless he
acquiesced in the assessments,
might lose his card and his job.
Union labor politicians. particu-
larly in Ohio, are stirring up the
voters, and many workers who
have had to contribute against
their own political convictions will
not fail, in the secrecy OF the
voting booth, to express their pro-
test against the effort at thought
control represented by compulsory
assessments.
The strength of the so-called
labor vote cannot, on the other
hand, be discounted. The balance
of power in many congressional
districts is held by small number
of voters. Labor strategists have
been working in those districts.
theoretically, the AFL and the
CIO have been operating together
toward a common goal-the seats,
for example, of members Of Con-
gress who voted for the Taft-Hart-
ley Law. But, actually, the skilled
workers of America in the AFL
who are highly paid are not going
to allow their wages to be leveled
off in the industrial unions favored
by the CIO. One of the troubles
about repeating the Taft Hartley
Act is that, if in its place the old
Wagner Act is re-enacted, the AFL
unions will be raided again as they
were before by their CIO rivals.
So all is not harmony in the labor
camp. despite outward professions
of unity.
1t remains to be seen how much
the war issues may overshadow
domestic controversies of this kind.
The presence of draft law on the
statute books, with regular month
ly calls of young men to the Serv-