Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-17
Road to Perdition'

Congratulations on your
recent editorial "Steel Indus
try Appeal" outlining the
economic dangers of current
union practices. 1t is en-
couraging to see a fortnight
stand on this issue in the
public print. We are in trouble
when the japanese steel in
dustry. a disjointed heap of
rubble only few short years
ago, can begin forcing the
American market on price
alone. We are in trouble
when it becomes cheaper for
American fabricators to buy
aluminium shipped from Can
ada to Germany and all the
way back again than to pur-
chase our domestic produc-
ton.
1t takes no great per-
ception to see that healthy
and competitive domestic in
dustries are essential to the
economic and military we'll
being of the United States.
But how is it possible to have
a healthy economy under
present conditions? 1t is
getting to the point where
we can't afford our own stuff,
let alone sell it abroad. And
the wage-price spiral has been
primarily responsible.
The simple fact is that
labor has been pricing itself
out of the production Sc
quence. Management is being
forced into more and more
INFLAMMATION. The cost of a
machine is a known quantity.
The cost of a man, on the
other hand, is a variable
which is very likely to in
crease through the years with
no offsetting increase in out
put. This is more than I'M
fortunate; it is tragic, for the
lohg-term prosperity Of labor
and management alike de-
ponds on full employment.
But full employment will
never be possible if it costs
more to employ a man than
his work can conceivably earn
for his employer.
Antiracketeering legislation
has been foiSted on the Amer
lean public as the great pana-
cea for all our labor problems.
We have been led astray by
politicians afraid to face up
to the real issue. Gangsters
are not our basic problem. 1t
is already illegal to break
someone's skull with a tire
iron, throw bombs and wreck
private property. Violence
can and will be stopped with
little change in the present
legal machinery. The real
problem is to put the small
business man back in a posi-
ton where he can bargain
with labor as an equal.
Is it bargaining when the
employer knows that he is
outgunned in capital, man
power and influence by the
national union; when the
union can agitate among his
suppliers and customers and
threaten them with strikes if
they continue to deal with
him; when an entire industry
can be brought to it's knees
by the word of one man?
All the small employer can
hope for is to salvage some
of the pieces and not be
forced this year to sell out to
his larger competitor who
can better afford labor bar
gaining"
1t has all happened too
quickly. The revolution of the
American worker has become
a fat accompli while our at
tention was focused on fight
ing wars and foreign ideol-
ogies. Yet the well-meaning
and uniformed from all
walks of life still cry, as they
did in the 1930S, for the
rescue of the poor union man
from the mighty entire
preneur. But labor has been
saved. We must now save
private enterprise.
These facts are known to
our labor leaders, business
men, Government officials
to anyone who has made a
study of the situation. They
know that continuation Of
this coSt-induced imitation
will rob US of our prosperity
and sap us of our strength.
Mr.. Mcdonald and the other
labor leaders cannot help but
be aware of these facts. But
they have created a mon
ster which they are afraid
to stop. It must be stopped,
however, and every labor
leader. businessman and pub
lie official has an obligation
to work toward this end.
Every American working
man must have the chance
to examine the simple facts
and decide If he is willing to