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

body else. They want something
Especial, something nobody else can
lget.
If we gave in to the steel COM
panies on this issue, you could say
goodby to sterilization. If we
knuckled under to the steel in
dustry, the lid would be off. Prices
would start jumping up all around
Ius-not just prices of things US
ing steel, but prices of many other
things we buy. including milk and
groceries and meat.
Comes Close To Home.
You may think this steel dis
pute doesn't affect you-you may
think it's just a matter between
the Government and a few greedy
companies. But it isn't. If we
granted the outrageous prices the
steel industry wants, we would
scuttle our whole price control
program. And that comes pretty
tSAOcN W 1AOlllC.
1t is perfectly clear, from the
facts have cited, that the pres
ent danger to our sterilization
program comes from the steel
companies insistence on a big
jump in steel prices.
The plain fact of the matter is
that the steel companies are reck-
lessly forcing a shutdown of the
steel mills. They are trying to get
special, preferred treatment, not
available to any other industry.
And they are apparently willing
to stop steel production to get it.
AS President of the United
States, it is my plain duty to keep
this from happening. And that is
the reason for the measures taken
tonight.
At midnight the Government
will take over the steel plants. Both
management and labor will then
be working for the Government.
And they will have clear duty to
heat up their furnaces again and
go on making steel.
When management and labor
meet down here in WASHINGTON.
they will have a chance to go
back to bargaining and settle their
dispute. AS soon as they do that,
We can turn the steel plants back
to their private owners with the
assurance that production will
continue.
! Hopes for No Delay.
1t is my earnest hope that the
parties will settle without delay
tomorrow if possible. 1 don't want
to see the Government running the
steel plants moment longer than
is absolutely necessary to prevent
shutdown.
A lot of people have been say
Ing I ought to rely on the pro-
cedures Of the aft-Hartley Act
to deal with this emergency.
This has not been done because
the so-called emergency provisions
of the Taft-Hartley Act would be
! OF no help in meeting the situa-
ton that confronts us tonight.
That act provides that before
anything else is done. the Presi-
dent must first set up board of
inquiry to find the facts OH the
dispute and report to him about
them. We would have to sit around
week or two for this board to re-
port before we could take the next
step. And meanwhile. the steel
plants would be shut down.
Now there is another problem
with the Taft-Hartley procedure
The law says that, once a board of
inquiry has reported, the Govern
ment can go to the courts for an
injunction requiring the union to
postpone strike for 80 days. This
is the only provision in the law to
help us stop a strike. But the fact
is that in the present case. the
steelworkers' union has already
postponed its strike since last
December 31-99 days. In other
words, the union has already done
more. voluntarily, than it could be
required to do under the Taft
Hartley Act. We do not need
further delay and a prolonging of
the crisis. We need a settlement
and we need it fast.
Consequently. it is perfectly