Milford chronicle., 1951-04-20

players sold out to the gamblers.
In the history Of this country, the admin
istratiOns of two Presidents, Grant and Hard
ing, are associated with scandal and corrup-
tiOn. In neither case was the President him
self engaged in graft or dishonesty. In both
cases it was a matter of Chief Executives
who were not fitted by training or tempera-
ment for their posts having implicit and un-
shakable faith in crooked friends and shady
pOliticiOns. And in both cases. once the truth
came out, a salutary wave of public revulsiOn
swept the nation. Mr. Fulbright clearly feels
that we have again been in a period of moral
deterioration, and that it must be corrected.
Fuel to this fire has been added by the
natiOnw wide investigation of organized gambl-
ing by a commission headed by Senator Ke-
fauver. This inquiry gripped the headlines
with an iron hand, due in large part to the
underworld personalities who were brought
in for questioning. AS J. Edgar Hoover of
the FBI told the committee, gambling and
associated rackets on the scale disclosed
would be impossible without the cOnnivance
of local governmental officials - mayors,
sheritfs, police chiefs, councilmen and so on.
The most modest estimates of the amount of
money the gamblers pay officials for prOtec-
tiOn are staggering. And here again, on a
different level of government, we have seen
a tawdry disregard of moral principle.
1t remains to be seen what will happen
and who, if any, will be punished for cOrrup-
tiOn. In any event. the ably conducted Full
bright and Kefauver Investigations have
cast white light on cancers in the body pO-
little.
$500
THE LAST RAILROAD STRIKE
The latest railroad strike, that of the
yardmen, ended sometime ago. But the sig
nificance of that strike remains as a live
and vital issue. Everyone knows what the
strike did. Freight and mail were embar-
COED. Armies of men were thrown out of
work when factories could no longer obtain
supplies. Shipments needed by our troops
abroad were delayed. BOxcars which should
have been performing maximum service sat
by the thousands on sidings. What everyone
should know is that this strike was viola
tion of a settlement between railway man.
agennent and labor which was signed at the
White House just before Christmas, and
which gave the men substantial pay increases
retroactive to October /. The President of
the United States denounced the strike.
Union heads asked the men to return to-
work, without avail. Not till the Army or
dered the men back did the strike end. If
one unauthorized strike of this nature can
be called, so can a dozen more in the future.
Then collective bargain, which is so neces-
sary to the interests of labor, management
and the public alike, might as well be forgot
ten. The very essence of collective bargain
ing is that each side appoint responsible rep
resentatives to negotiate an agreement. If,
after that, either side repudiates what has
been agreed to, collective bargaining be-
comes a meaningless mockery. A relatively
few willful men can paralyze great and es-
Sential industries, directly undermine the
dpfnOSn effort and throw r1i11ioYC f O4oo1.
men out of work. The record is sorry one.
The nation can only hope that no segment of
labor will again abandon its agreements and
repudiate its obligations and responsibilities.
RSGG6G
UNDER A BUTTONWOOD TREE