Evening star., 1952-05-15
They're Kidding Themselves


Congress will be leading this country from
the frying pan into the fire if it adopts the
proposals of the Senate Banking Commttee-and
then stops
The committee has voted to abolish the
present Wage Sterilization Board. Replacing
it would be all-public board empowered to fix
wage Stabilization policies, but without power to
recommend any wage fringe" settlements
This might have been a good thing year ago.
But it is absurd to suppose that any such half
measure, coming at this late date, can extricate
the country from the mess produced by our
abortive stabilization policies.
How does the Senate Banking Committee
propose to induce Philip Murray or William
Green or John L. Lewis to accept stabilization
policy proclaimed by an all-publc board? Mr..
Murray has told his steel workers that the steel
industry can "go to hell" before he will accept
less than the full recommendation of the
stabilization board which the committee would
abolish. Is it expected that Mr.. Murray will
retreat from this position? Hardly-especiay
in view of Secretary of Labor Tobin's inflamma-
tory remarks in his address to the steel workers.
After that bit of cabinet demagoguery, Mr.
Murray could hardly retreat even if he wanted
to. Or is there some expectation that Mr..
Murray can be given what he demands, but that
other labor leaders, under new sterilization
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less?
If any one believes this, he ought to stop
kidding himself. The issues raised by the steel
dispute are not going to be disposed of by any
timid, half-hearted legislative patching job. It
is much too late in the day for that.
Acting Attorney General Perlman has told
the Supreme Court that the threat of steel
strike was an impending catastrophe" which
threatened "the very existence of the whole
Nation"
If that is true the country cannot tolerate
steel strike, any strike in any industry which
would threaten our national existence. Such a
strike should be forbidden by law. Congress
should face up to the fact that the right of
national survival is superior to ANY right
including the right to strike. 1t should also
face up to the fact, however, that If strikes are
to be outlawed in essential industries, something
must be devised as substitute for this tradi-
tional labor weapon. And that substitute must
be some procedure that will lead to settlements
of industrial Observation-Disclosures that will be
fair to all concerned and that will be recognized
as being fair
The strike threat which has just been voiced
by the shouting, cheering delegates to the United
SteelworkerS convention is an anachroniSm. 1t
is a threat which belongs to the dark ages of
industrial relations. It has no place, and cannot
De tolerated, Ill d ulOuclu uluuSGI4dl SOC1cCy
But neither can the clock be turned back. If
there are those who secretly hope that solution
of this exceedingly difficult problem will take the
form of legislation that cripples unions and
enables employers to dictate terms they are
sadly mistaken. For that is not going to happen.
What is needed is a clear recognition that
the public interest must come first and must be
safeguarded. To do this the industrial scales
must be brought into balance. Strikes which
shut down essential industries, and whose dura
ton is determined, not by how much punishment
the employers or employees can take, but by how
much the public interest can endure, must be
outlawed. They must give way to some equitable
and civilized procedure for settling such disputes.
But that. can only come from courageous,
forward-looking legislation, and the proposal Of
the Senate Banking Committee does not belong
in this category. If this committee proposal,
standing alone, is adopted, it will surely lead to
greater chaos than we now know.