Split Personality of Progressives
Split Personality of Progressives *|"*H K turn of the Wisconsin Progressives toward isolationism is symptomatic of a division of motive and principle which has been evident among the followers...
...One of the reasons is that it is the way of the brass •»ts in the War and Navy Departments to do things j j * big, sweeping way without regard to the consci e n c e s beyond their own narrow military horizons...
...The direction seems pretty clear...
...But that ain't the way to change it, Mr...
...After stating that 400,000 citizens were naturalized in 1943 and an even larger number are expected to be naturalized this year, OWI noted that former citizens of the British Empire accounted for an estimated 30 per cent of all naturalisations, and that the second largest block was IS per cent and came from Poland...
...By over-ordering the •amber of men needed, the brsss hats have boon creating labor shortages...
...To explain mid-Western isolationism by reference to citi/.ens with German antecedents in Wisconsin is an nvei simplification...
...On the other hand, the NLRB obviously did not wish to discourage the desire of straw bosses for legitimate unionisation, nor to east any unfair or unjast aspersions on the current union activities of the straw bosses in the Detroit area...
...W h s fact is that the present confusion has reached ? point where> a man'a home address may mean '•La than his age or occupation in determining Hasher or not he will be drafted...
...Not just for the political campaign, but for the supreme national effort,' we should have a new formulation of objectives...
...We cannot be rich in a poor world We cannot live at peace in a world at war...
...Mellett's disrespect to logic...
...So they favored, improvement in our own backyard...
...And that, it seems to me, explains Mr...
...But no peace, no collactivi security, will be possible without international col' laboration...
...The elder Senator Robert it...
...The latter have organized themselves into an independent union, and are seeking collective bargaining contracts with their employers...
...Here's one of the things...
...Hershey's estimate had not even been within ahouting distant e One may argue he should have known...
...None here ever believed for a moment thai an* tiring a» important ss the opening of the Weetern Front could occur while the President waa away frees the betas Cor, rather, that the President wonld have chosen anrh a Bsoatent for a vacation), and as Mr...
...Why does ho now object when the Poles retaliate in self defense...
...That being true, we recognise the right of an employer to protect his neutrality by requiring his supervisory employees to refrain from unneutral activities which impinge upon the right* of their subordinates, and to take appropriate measures to t h a t end...
...But we were Wrong— avail though our charge was true...
...Mellett la an honest guy . . . wit hs blind spot...
...Mellett...
...Instead they adopted a "straight A met lean" policy, suspiciously dose to the nationalistic posi tion taken by the Republican reactionaries...
...Two days later—on May 8—the United Mine Workers withdrew their application for reaffillation, which had been pending for a year...
...To be sdre, it's still just "thinking...
...The invasion can roase any day, any moment now...
...And I am sure Mr...
...At the moment the Poles regard the Roosevelt Administration with jaundiced eyes...
...But that won't »t noticed With the Western Front going full blast •V that time, it isn't probable that the newspapers and radio will have much space or time for political conventions anyhow...
...IK the District of Columbia and Virginia no men j j «i are now being called, and Virginia doesn't Sheet to lift the ban until July at the earliest...
...Why the confusion...
...By talk of needing another million men er more, they have been creating fear of even greater labor shortages...
...Especially as the •piiiton came on the evening of the same dsy that Hannegan himself was elevated to a position comparable to that of James A. Farley before him...
...Such fears may possibly be exaggerated . . . though obviously not greatly so...
...America cannot progress toward • better society il splendid isolation...
...aa fallows: • "Two national (draft) officials were asked to comsaont on the statement by Colonel Henry C. Stanwood, Ifarylsnd draft director, that being in an essential activity was not enough to postpone a man'a induction thst he had to border an being a 'necessary man.' "One cf these officials said men merely had to be la an essential activity, and if boards varied it was because they had different ideas of what waa essential He admitted there was no reference to 'necessary sseti* in the postponement order...
...But his main point is one that is not at all substantiated by tha party's platform statement...
...They want," he say*, "to come ot grips with the raimet of war...
...What he states appears to Indicate a most desirable American orientation...
...In his letter to AFL President William Green requesting return of the application, UMW President John L. Lewis charged that political considerations at the instigation of "New Deal politicians" were responsible for the year-long delay...
...They were against Wall Street, the East, the international bankers...
...L*Fol lette is against American imperialism, but the onlj practicable alternative to a world federation ia Imper ialism rampant throughout tha world...
...I should agree completely with Mr...
...In reply, the N'l.KK this week ruled that straw bosses, when they engage in bona fide union activities, are entitled to the protection of the Wagner Act and may not he fired...
...The reel clue to Mr...
...It may be necessary to remind those with short memories that it was the split-up of labor into rival CIO and AFL faction that paved the way for the downfall of the New Deal . . . that undermined the New Deal's underpinning . . . with all of the bad news labor has been getting since then...
...Seven of the group mjr* working at Jobs listed officially as essential...
...They—and many other citizens like them—could be swung into line if they were reassured that we are fighting for, not an imperialist peace, but a people's peace...
...A couple of days later Selective Service announced east the order was only a "request" and that actually Selective Service had no power to put anybody into labor battalions...
...Mellett of course is not a Communist...
...On April 7, Hershey ordered, the draft boards to tot tough in deferring men from 26 up, no matter bow essential their war jobs might be, because the Army and Navy said they needed 1,008,000 more men • t July 1. [And the very next day—April 8—Hershey ordered Aflat postponement of induction for a l l men over 25 m essential jobs...
...Kvery deepening of the cleavages in the house of labor is a chasm...
...Now, Mr...
...But, said the NLRB, the Wagner Act does not extend to a union of* straw bosses the right to be designated a unit for collective bargaining...
...He uses all the stereotypes about Morgan, Willkie and the eastern bankers...
...Before we entered tht war and for the first months of our participation he put our war objectives into inspiring form...
...Reosevelt'e return to the White House is regarded here as sounding the "alert...
...It is believed that J[ the present confusion is clarified as...
...It is taken for granted in Washington that the race *ttj be Roosevelt versus Dewey...
...It is difficult to imagine them aup porting Thomas E. Dewey...
...And it's that blind spot, plus his loyalty to his axboss, that inspired his.one-sided crack at the Poles...
...The case arose out of a strike by several hundred "supervisory employees" in the Detroit area...
...So part of tha answer lies ia the fact that tha Army and Navy are atill continuing their efforts to pat throagh a compulsory labor draft law...
...and a hint's as good as a kick...
...Mellett...
...Mellett well knows, the Russian propagandiata began the fight by trying to influence American public opinion against the Polish Government...
...Why does he use it now to Polish propagandists...
...Practically all American populist movements have shown the aame traits...
...The tact is he didn't...
...The Capital appeared to accept...
...Opening a three-day session with Stat* Psft director*, Selective Service Director Hershey last Monday expressed concern over- the excess number tf draft-eligible men who have been placed in Class W—m view of diminishing Army and Navy draft calls...
...The ""•ted quote for next month is taken as an indif*t*on that military estimates of replacement needs ™* l*en revised downward, thereby relieving further ** draft pressure on men over 26...
...To this day one of the stock arguments against interna-1* tional cooperation is that, J. P. Morgan is for it...
...4n]hjt in nearby Maryland, a draft board last week J|M' }g older men to the Army and Nary...
...Split Personality of Progressives *|"*H K turn of the Wisconsin Progressives toward isolationism is symptomatic of a division of motive and principle which has been evident among the followers of the LaFollette family from the start...
...Mellett Is equally aware of that state of feeling...
...Although Hannegan prefaced that statement by making it clear that his opinion was a personal one and, that he had not discussed with the President "his own desires or intentions," Washington bussed with the news the next day...
...But he opposed any sort of participation of the U. S. in tha tangled power politics of Europe...
...Those Wisconsin Progressives an basically idealistic...
...The return of the President also touched off the first authoritative statement coming from official oust tera ss to Mr...
...In all the years I've been in Washington—and that goes back to the beginning of the New Deal—I have never heard Mr...
...American participation H-iifht not have made any decisive difference in the interval between wars—but then again it might have, and without the V. S. the League waa paralyzed The new world organization, if one hi formed, may also be a league of imperialist powers dominating the world...
...he was again.*) "entangling alliances...
...The Poles have been watching the Ruaaian propagandists in America getting away with murder (and in the cases of Erlich and Alter it was literal murder) for a long time...
...The statement came from Democratic National Committee Chairman Robert E. Hannegan...
...While there is no way of proving it, there is little reasonable doubt that political considerations play their part in the situation...
...What the NLRB, in effect, told the Detroit atraw bosses was to make up their minda what side they Were on—labor or management, • * • November «aaj t h e Foils* Vere Administration eonetrn for the Polish-American vote is evidenced by Lowell Mellett's column in the Washington Star last Tuesday...
...What kind of dopes would Mr...
...These people have been for reform in domestic affairs but for isolationism in foreign relations...
...In many ways he is a fine and admirable person...
...And, as was stated on this page on April 22, "After the Germans and Italians, the Poles sre the most numerous 'nationality' group in the United States and swing a lot of potent political wallop, as indicated by the number of Congressmen with Polish names on Capitol Hill...
...Mellett use such language to the Russian propagandists in America...
...It was with this end in view that they invoked the Wagner Act...
...That ruling hakes into account the possibility that otherwise a slick employer could instigate his straw bosses to form a company union for the purpose of harassing the legitimate uniona la his plant...
...What he says is that the isolationists do not favor going it alone...
...However, an unexpectedly large pool of men •nder 26—approximately 1.7 millions—was uncovered...
...My •ersenal geese favors May IS er 24...
...any kind will be better than none at all The Progressive Party did not apeak out for a dam ocratic, anti-imperialist, cooperative peace and codec ttive security...
...Mellett's part...
...Or what kind of a barnysrd do you run...
...Ain't ssuce for the goose also sauce for the gander, Mr...
...It means, in short, that straw bosses may join a union, but cannot becom* a union...
...a Ignre I arrived at by ssaltiplying say sge hy my address sad dividing it hy my Social Security nnsaher...
...the "opinion" aa authoritative...
...You can toss that explanation out of the window...
...But equally desirable would be a display of logic on Mr...
...Last Honday afternoon Missouri Democrats elected Hannefaa their committeeman to the Democratic National Committee, and pledged their 32 national convention votes to President Roosevelt...
...The kirk-back may be surprising and unpleasant...
...Unity should not be made to wait on political results— whatever they might be—for political results can only follow unity...
...One was the opening of the Western Front...
...At that time it was indicated the suspension would t u t only SO to 60 days, a guess baaed on Hershey's estimate of how many men under 26 were available...
...A year Iff last December the monthly quota was 450,000...
...It may protect Russian imperialism in Europe British imperialism in Asia, American imperialism ii the western hemisphere...
...Mellett if only he were consistent...
...The lattei told a Thomas Jefferson Dinner sudience in New York last Monday night that he was firmly convinced tha President would run again...
...o o * UMW Talk of TMr4 Labor fodorofJoe Last week—May 6—it was reported in this space that "it is a safe bet t h a t the readmission of the United Mine Workers in the AFL will not take place until after the November election is out of the wsy...
...He explained that the Army and Havy now said they want only young men under 26 **d it no longer mattered whether or not the draft eiards failed to fill their quotas...
...wt as they over-ordered the quantities of food, clothmf and military supplies it is possible to ship or • w e in the available warehouses, just so—it is now **Hly admitted by Hershey—the brass hats ha"ve overordered the number of men they need for the armed services...
...The Poles feel America and Britain share a responsibility in falling to keep Stalin from treating the Atlantic Charter as a 'scrsp of paper,' and keeping him from trying to hold the Polish territory he grabbed as his share of the loot during the joint Hitler-Stalin pact and rape of Poland...
...Earlier this the monthly quotas ran around 250,000...
...And Miss Oltenberg, who is the Washington Star'a expert on the draft, added the comment: "How those plans will affect the electrician next door or the bus driver down the street, however, is going Is depend not only on the planners at national heatlajaarters, but on what the State directors think the planners mean and what the local boards think the State directors mean " A further revelation of the failure of the Selective Service System to know the most elementary facts •bout its job csme to light'when the induction,of men over 26 in essential activities was suspended in April...
...Foremen and t h e Unloos—a NWLI View The National Labor Relations Board this week raised an interesting problem with respect to foremen and other straw bosses...
...Consequently, the right under the act of supervisors to protection in their organizational and other concerted activities is not a n unqualified one, but ia subordinate to the organisational rights and freedom of rank and ilia employeea, and to the need of an employer to maintain bia neutrality...
...He was the moat vigorous and consistent New Dealer of his day...
...Wh»t was behind that...
...The other was the presidential campaign...
...From the latter point of view, every lost opportunity to forge greater labor unify is an enormous loss...
...In the past five weeks there have been these developments of confusion, stemming trom Hershey's •sacs: One day Selective Service sent out the older that seless 4-Fs immediately got into essential jobs, they Would be drafted and put into labor battaliona...
...Together, those fears create the environ stent for a saereosfnl campaign for a labor draft...
...Most of • 2 i f were in their middle 30s...
...In support of its ruling, the NLRB made the obvious explanation that: "As well as being employees, supervisors are also representatives of management and their conduct is held attributable to their employer when it interferes with the rights of ordinary employees to self-organisation and collective bargaining...
...The May quota was 175,000...
...What will happen next is a question which is greatly troubling those who, without partisan feeling in the present issue, are genuinely concerned with the desperate need for labor unity...
...Roosevelt's intentions with respect to a fourth term...
...But it is a trend of mind which does not bring comfort to those who ardently desir* to see a re-united house of labor—just one—in America...
...Mellett, who left the White -House secretariat to become a columnist and Administration spokesman, noted in his space that representatives of Polish-American organisations are scheduled to meet in Buffalo the end of this month "to create a central organisation of Poles in this country designed to affect American policy with relation to Poland—and Russia," and uttered this growl of warning: "This may not turn out to be a wine undertaking on the part of its promoters...
...a result of the HjMey session of State draft directors, men over ¦Pin essential activities won't face induction until late with men over SO in essential job* unlikely to bo Spa this year...
...He has courage and loyalty...
...Tbeir estrangement from the administration is partly due to the President's re pudistion of his own program...
...Thinking in UMW circles now is exploring the possibilities of forming still a third labor federation in America...
...The two nominating •Jrraiitions will now be anti-climax...
...Mellett think the Poles sre if they fsiled to pick up the Russian cue on how to "win friends and influence people" in America ? And if nobody'a going to stop the Russian propagandists in America, why should anyone atop the Polish propagandists...
...I am sure Mr...
...Mellett's column probably lies in an OWI release the other day announcing "I Am an American Day" on May 21...
...It is time for something different...
...l« • Mess— SfHI Almost on the eve of,the European invasion, Major Miami Lewis B. Hershey this week practically made « public confession that the draft situation is still •?.•ess...
...If tha folk, of Wisconsin Want a fine life in Milwaukee they in US' have a care for what life ia like in Manchester ant Marseilles and Moscow...
...As Mr...
...CapitalComment By JONATHAN STOUT Washington Buzzes With Invasion, Fourth Term Talk WASHINGTON, D. C.—The return of President Roosevelt last Saturday from a month's vacation on Barney Baruch's plantation in South Carolina put a eakium glare on two subjects of intense interest to this Capital...
...LaFollette fathered some of our basic labor and industrial legislation...
...They ware regional, rural, agrarian...
...There haa beea aa effort to blame this kind of •jafaeltn ess local draft boards and on State directors...
...Practically all that we have had left to fight for is "unconditional surrender...
...On one occasion I can remember, I thoroughly admired his guts in standing up for his honest convictions to his own financial loas...
...Mellett is afraid of the Polish vote come next November...
...Sine* the Moscow and Teheran conferences there has been nothing of that...
...Those 32 votes bring Roosevelt within a narrow spsn of the Democratic nomination for a fourth term on the first ballot...
...If the financial and industrial powers of the eastern seaboard seemed foreign and fearsome, the scheming diplomats of Europe seemed even more distant and dangerous...
...The Europesn struggle is going into what we hope will be its final phase...
...Another day Hershey announced that a large draft •f men would be immediately necesssry because the Navy had to reach its peak strength of 3,600,000 men •f July 1. A few days later, OWI issued a release quoting the Havy Department as saying they weren't planning at reach that peak strength until September 1. (Another OWI release quoted the Army as saying it had already reached its peak strength of 7.7 million men, •ad from now on would only need replacements of 7»,000 to 100,000 a month for the rest of the year...
...What the Progressives will do in the national cam paign is not clear...
...American Socialists, and many liberals, including the elder LaFollette, opposed U.S...
...That this is not so, that, in fact, tha Sasafaaiea atoms directly from National Selective ger fir...
...What they really want is a better kind of internationalism...
...In last week's Piogrtutv* the editor, Morris H. Rubin, undertakes a systematic defense Of the policies which were a few days later embodied in the party platform...
...Headquarters, waa revealed ia aa article this week by Miriam Ottoaborg ia The Washington gur...
...participation in the League of Nations, because it was a league of victors, a league of imperialists...
...The other nstionsl official aaid a man could be in aa essential activity without 'making a contribution t» the war effort.' If he waan't making a contribution, he said, the man should be drafted...
...It'is reliably understood that the June quota for *• nation's draft boards has been reduced to under «MW men...
Vol. 27 • May 1944 • No. 20
