Evening star., 1952-12-09
Trumun's Way in Coal Case

President Truman's reversal Of the
$3.50 per day increase granted the
miners by the Wage Sterilization Board
and his award of $190 per day instead
is the last gasp of a repudiated admin
istration. He made no attempt to show
that the Boards decision was in error
and the curious substitute he uses for
logic deceives but few. The whole affair
reeks with poisonous fumes. H T. has
proved again that his administration is
not one Of law but of small men. The
abject surrender Of a. government to
satisfy the ego of an old man whose
greatest assets are bushy eyebrows and
arrogant contempt for the democratic
processes he prates about, shows that
the voters made no mistake on No
vember 4. The end result of the $l.90
increase is no help to Eisenhower. It
merely opens wide the door to new and
bigger demands by other unions in 1853.
The deeper smell comes from the sud-
den agreement of the coal operators
and the union for the $190 increase.
With several months supply of coal on
hand and miners working half time or
less, the operators could fairly have
stood out against anything more than
a small cost of living increase. Why did
they Jump to $1.90 per day raise without
even the formality of honest collective
bargaining? Coal is losing customers
steadily for industrial and home use
to oil and natural gas. Frequent strikes
and high prices are the big reasons.
Why did the operators further punish
themselves by giving almost double what
the miners could hope to get by col
lective bargaining without collusion?
Could it be that the big operators are
trying to bankrupt their smaller rivals
and thus eliminate present competition?
Could 1t be that the Justice Department
can't see the difference between bona
fide collective bargaining and concerted
action by operators and union in vio-
lation Of the Sherman Act? The long
suffering public will certainly relish a
thorough investigation after January 20,
1858. Even this great Nation cannot
continue to prosper if big unions and
industries may with active White House
assistance dout the law of the land.
James J. Hayden,
Dean.
Columbus University Law School.
In overruling the Wage Sterilization
Boards recommendation that a pay
boost for miners beyond $1.50 day
would be inflationary, the President con-
firms again his desire to run one-man.
dictatorial show. His last-ditch effort
to line up labor for Democratic Con-
gressional victory in 1854 is as trans
parent as an icicle. On November 4,
labor made it clear that its vote is not
bloc to be used as football by poll
ticians and labor leaders.
Labor and everybody else can see that
the Presidents recent action is only
creating an inf1ationary situation for the
new administration to face while he
proclaims that his reason for approv-
ing the full $1.90 daily wage increase
for John L. Lewis soft coal miners Is
because he doesn't want President-elect
Eisenhower to have coal strike crisis
on his hands when he takes office next
month. Mr. Truman's sudden concern
for the well-being Of the miners and
the new Republican administration is
touching indeed. He should have thought
of these things last October when the
miners claims needed attention, and
when ne was so busy attacking Gen.
Eisenhower.
Labor and everybody else can see, too.
that in the $3.50 pay boost, the Presi-
dent is completely disregarding, or else
he is completely ignorant Of, the eco
nomic forces which are part and par
Gel of the wage-price spiral. Perhaps
he thinks the extra money in the miners
pockets will make their wives completely
unaware of the increased cost Of gro
ceries, and other necessities, which will
follow in matter Of weeks.
How can the President expect the
public to have confidence in his pro-
grams for wage and price control when
he, himself, ignores the organizations
he. himself, has created to control
imitation?
In January. Mr.. Truman, parting will
be such sweet sorrow.
Louise Leonard.