Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-04-09
The Steel Seizure

President Humans statement to the Amer
lean people last night lacked even the virtue of
simple candor.
He spoke not as President of all of the
people, but as an Incorporate partisan who did
not hesitate to manipulate facts in an attempt
to justify his arbitrary and possibly unlawful act.
One of the key issues in the steel dispute
is the recommendation for union shop. Mr..
Truman never mentioned that. He threw the
full weight of his office behind the wage recon-
mendations, but he avoided any reference to
the union shop ISSUE The effect was to distort
the picture and to dodge the question of whether
he favors or does not favor action by the Gov
eminent to compel people to join unions when
they do not want to do so.
Neither was the President candid in COM
menting on his failure to invoke the Taft-Hartley
Act. It is true the strike could be delayed only
for 80 days by applying that law. But it is not
true, as Mr.. Truman suggested,> that shut
down in the industry of from one to two weeks
would have been inevitable had he invoked the
law. MIR. Truman was not required to wait
until 80 minutes before the strike deadline be-
fore acting. Under the law, when an impending
strike threatens a national emergency, he is
empowered to appoint board of inquiry He
is not required to wait until the eleventh hour
But Mr. Truman did not take timely action He
deliberately waited until it was too late to
invoke the law. And then he tried to blame
the law rather than accept responsibility for
his own failure.
He said that the recommendations called Tor
wage increase In 1852 of 1924 cents an hour
and an additional 212 cents next January. And
he added that this would cost the companies
only from 81 to S. ton.
Here again he was manipulating facts For
the cost of the total wage and benefit package
instead of being 1914 cents, as the President
implied, runs to at least 26 cents Industry
estimates place the total figure much higher
In any event the total award to the union and
the total cost to the industry run substantially
higher than the President indicated.
Mr.. Truman was anything but even-handed
in his treatment of the parties to the dispute.
He defended the Wage Sterilization Board as
fair and impartial agency. Perhaps he had
forgotten that the board was set up after
successful strike by union leaders against the
original board headed by Cyrus Ching and its
proposed wage formula. He accused the steel
companies of recklessly forcing a shutdown of
the steel mills, the union strike call presumably
having nothing to do with it. He unqualifedly
Endorsed the wage recommendations. Then he
said he was summoning union and industry
members to Washington today to bargain on
the basis of the recommendations"
There Is no need to dwell on Mr.. Truman's
attitude in this matter. The important thing is
to recognize what 1t is that Mr.. Truman is really
trying to do. This, in effect, is compulsory
arbitration The arbitration Is conducted through
an agency that was set up in response to union
pressure and on basis designed to appease
union demands. It has been publicly stated that
its recommendations are merely advisory and
not binding on any one. But that Is false. In
this instance the President seeks to make them
compulsory through the device of Selling the
industry-and this without specifically stating
what lawful authority, if any, he thinks he has
for such an act.
The majority of the people may not be con-
cerned with this kind of Government. Perhaps
the Presidents demagogic attack on the steel
industry will lull them But they should be
concerned. For if President can seize the steel
industry today he can seize some other industry
tomorrow. And on the following day he can
seize union or farm cooperative. If we are
going to have compulsory arbitration in this
country it should be carefully spelled out by
statute and set up on basis that would be fair
to both parties and binding on both parties.
To leave this to the whim or the prejudice Of a
President-any President-is not little step
toward the loss of our freedom. It is long and
dangerous step.
Tenrher cunnIv nnd Denonnd