Evening star., 1953-01-13
The Political Mill
@. O. P. Senator Smith
Seeks Industrial Peace
Plans MethodieoI Inquiry
Into Chances for Agreement
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

oy SouIo Lincoln
World peace is not the only great
objective of the Eisenhower admins
tration. Peace in the industrial world
of the United States runs a close second.
This is certainly the idea of Senator
H. Alexander Smith, Republican. of New
Jersey, who is to head the Labor and
Public Welfare Committee of the upper
house. The New Jersey Senator,
however, is not proposing to rush pell-
nell into the draft of labor legislation.
IT is his purpose to talk as speedily as
possible with leaders of both labor and
management. He is anxious to test the
atmosphere of labor management rela-
tions-as the new administration gets
under way-before beginning hearings
on legislation. He will meet with George
Meany. president of the AFL: with
Walter Reuther. head of the CIO; with
John L. Lewis, president of the United
Mine Workers, and with Eisenhower's
new Secretary of Labor. Martin Durkin.
He has on his list, too, number Of
prominent industrialists.
"The objective" Senator Smith points
out ''iS better relations between labor
and management. I do not intend to
take any steps which would result in
sharpening the claws of two contenders.
That might be the case if we sprang
right into public hearings on proposals
to amend or repeal the Taft Hartley
Act. So do not believe we will get to
the hearings stage on legislation until
sometime in February"
Plans Methodical Manner.
Senator Smith plans to 20 about his
task in methodical manner. He in
tends to find out, if he can, the areas
OF agreement of labor and manage
ment in the present Taft Hartley law,
and also the areas Of disagreement In
this way, 1t will be possible to limit
hearings to the controversial matters.
He has been encouraged by the state
ment of Mr.. Meany that he is willing
to try to work out improving amend
ments to the Taft-Hartley law, rather
than to continue demanding outright
repeal OF the law. He hopes that, even
tually. this will be the attitude of the
new CIO president, Mr.. Reuther, too.
In the opinion of Senator Smith.
the relations Of labor and manage
ment should be removed from partisan
poltlcS. There is no good reason, he
believes, why a Republican should be
an enemy OF labor, and a Democrat a.
1rlend,-or vice versa. He is convinced
tnat Gen. Eisenhower has taken and
Will take steps calculated to remove
the anti-labor label from the Republi-
cans and to bring about non-partisan
consideration of the whole labor-man-
agement problem. The generals Sc
lection OF MIR. Durkin for the labor post
in the cabinet has been approved by
leaders Of both the CIO and the AFL.
and it has been favorably regarded
by many industrialists.
Mr.. Smith is not so naive as believe
there are no serious differences be-
tween the labor leaders and manage
ment over Federal legislation. He does
believe. however, that the whole mat
ter Of Taft-Hartley amendment can
and should be approached with the
idea of getting legislation measurably
satisfactory to both sides. rather than
with the idea OF trampling over the
PROSTATE body of one side or the other.
Point Of Controversy. ,..
A controversial matter is how to deal
with Nationwide strike in a given
AAAAuoGAS-do Ill SLCCl OT COdl-WQlcn
might seriously threaten the health or
safety of the American people. Senator
Smith-and in this he stands with
Gen. Eisenhower-favors the "preven-
tive" approach to Nationwide strikes,
and indeed, to all strikes. Senator
Smith believes it is far wiser to begin
conciliation and mediation work before
a strike is called-rather than to wait
until the strike weapon has already
been employed. He proposes to
strengthen the Federal Cancellation
and Mediation Service, and to see that
it may be used in advance of a strike
or lockout. 1t sounds like sense.
Over period of nearly 20 years, or
ganized labor, as represented by it's
leaders, has tied itself closely to the
Democratic Party. So closely, it has
been difficult to determine at times
whether labor owned the Democratic
Party, or the Democratic Party owned
the organized labor leaders. Whether
this alliance can be broken depends in
large measure on the ability of Eisen-
hover and the Republicans in Congress
to convince organized labor it will get
square deal' at the hands of the
G. o. P.