The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-12-28

steel shortage and unemployment
4 Their predictions were borne ou
less than three months later whel
the defense program got started
4 All antitrust legislation, however
, / died in committees.
i LOBBYING: The biggest pres
sure group plagueging the capita
| in 1850 was the doctors lobby. Th'
| American Medical Assn carried it
j fight against health insurance int
| the Congressional election cam
paigns. A vast advertising cam
4 paign was staged by the ANA
and it's friends during October
Many liberal candidates blamed
their defeat, in part, on its effects
The ANA also managed to kill {
bill to solve the doctor shortage by
providing federal aid to medica
schools.
/ Information about other lobbying
groups was uncovered by Rep
Frank Buchanan Cd, Pa in an in
vestigation of some of the shadiel
attempts to influence lawmakers
The probe indicated that the reaI
estate lobby and other big outfits
were tied together in a network
headed by the Committee for Con-
stitutional Government and the
Constitutional Educational League
1t was revealed that they had used
the franking privilege of certain
congressmen to mail their propa-
ganda at the taxpayers expense.
Leaders of these anti-Deal
groups were cited for contempt OF
Congress because they failed to
give the committee information
about their contributors. The only
other group refusing to cooperate
in the investigation was the Com
munist-front Civil Rights Congress.
ANTI SUBVERSIVE BILLS:
Senatorial behavior hit an historic
low in March when Sen. Joseph
Mccarthy Or, Wis., started hurl-
ing charges of Communism at the
State Department. A special sub
committee was set up to investi-
gate and found the harg s
"fraught with falsehood from be-
ginning to end"
After the Korean war started,
however, anti-Communist hysteria
mounted and Congress began draft
ing anti-subversive bills. By the
end of August things were so bad
that one large union had to warn
it's members against manhandling
Communist sympathizers in the
plants. A television actress was
fired because she was branded Red
by an eX-FBI agent.
Congress passed the Wood-Mc-
Carran bill, a measure requiring
members of Communist-front or
ganizations to register with the
Justice Department. Nobody did.
In December the Supreme Court
ruled that a witness can refuse to|
answer a question about Commun-
list connections on the ground that
reply might be self-incriminating.
Some observers believe the ruling
will knock out the registration pro-
visions of the McCarran act, as
well as a flock of contempt of Con-
gress citations facing persons whoI
defined the House UnAmerican Ac-
tivities committee.
TAFT-HARTLEY: The T tt
Hartley act is still on the books.
During the year, the Senate sub
on Labor Management
Relations, a watchdog for the law,
held series of Investigations intol
labor relations in the textile, phone
and maritime industries. Commit
tee Chairman James Murray (D,l
Mont.) said the testimony showed
that changes are needed.
A labor-spy racket on the east
coast waterfront was brought tol
the attention of the Senators dur
ing the inquiries, as well as law
less situation in the South, where
textile workers have been beaten,
and terrOrized.
Robert Denham, eX-czar Of the
law, met his downfall in 1850. The
year had barely started when he
advised employers to go to court
whenever the NLRB ruled against
them.
At the time, SO,OO0,O00 soft coal
miners were out on strike. Denham
sought an injunction against the
United Mine Workers and John L..
Lewis, charging them with violat-
ing the act by insisting on well
fare fund. Even Taft questioned
authority to ask for an
Injunction under the circumstances.
the strike was settled,
out the court cases dragged on.
In September, after months of
bitter open feuding, Truman final
Y fired Denham and named Asso-
late Counsel George j. Bott tol
succeed him. l.