How Better Will the New World Be?
How Better Will the New World Be? ThE International Labor Organization made history at its Philadelphia conference. In setting up social aims for the consideration of the United Nations, the ILO...
...This would certainly take ten or more years, and its success is very dubious...
...The drive behind the plans drawn up amounts to much more than the official authority of the delegates...
...On the con15k* Committee refused support to a public Ztotration by the United Committee Against the rdTfax Filibuster, and in addition put heavy pressure -jmipt »och as the Fraternal' Council of Negro (^atehm to withdraw their support of the protest...
...g u t Senator* opposing the repeal bill claimed to ^ (gainst it on the ground that federal action on „unf tight* is unconstitutional...
...Populations in dependent territories are to have the same principles applied as rapidly as possible...
...They know that the abolition of poverty-as a threat to the world will require a long-range drive...
...Every move made at Philadelphia was reported in detail and general approval was quick and enthusiastic...
...We must still depend on federal action...
...But if it does that It will be insulting the > intelligence of important sections of the human race...
...J—Enforcement of the I4th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for a reduction in the repre•entation in the rjouse for those states which do not permit their citizens to vote...
...Their governments are to be directed "primarily to the wellbeing and development of the peoples of such territories...
...He correctly declared less than an hour before the May 15th vote in the Senate on the motion to break the filibuster by closing debate: "If aay Senator believed in the institution of democracy, I do not see how he could vote against the right of a Majority of this body to favor or to oppose the pending kilL" The Senator further declared the issue was also whether "we are to allow the practice of democracy on . the part of our people . . . and in the Senate...
...Senator Pepper, who refused to introduce the poll tax repeal bill ia this session of Congress, as he did la the previous one, had been silent on the poll tax issue since this session began...
...But whatever method is used to t ry to get the poll tax abolished, it can't be successful unless a great nationwide campaign is waged militantly—with real effort to get popular understanding that a tiny Southern bloc rules Congress, and that our democracy is weak indeed when ten million citizens can't vote because they are too poor to buy that right...
...An effort to secure enforcement, led by Moss Plunkett, in the form of a court suit to force Virginia to permit a local man to file a petition to be placed on the Fallot as a candidate for Congressman at Large...
...Columnist* Marquis Childs and Thomas Stokes properly charged that the Senators were going through planned sjeves in a sham battle to secure the Negro vote without antagonizing the powerful Southern bloc in the least...
...That is how Senator White himself voted—against cloture—following the example of the late Senator McNary of Oregon who, while Republican leader, also toted against cloture in November, 1,042...
...One fly in the ointment is that Russia was not represented...
...The Philadelphia Charter and the statement of social aims recommended to the peace conference define the remedy of these condtiom...
...The Philadelphia Charter might well be adopted as the official definition of the War aims of the United Nations...
...The members of the conference were determined not to let these ambitious ideas linger on as nothing but words...
...The peace conference, when it meets, may disregard the ILO proposals...
...They outlined the methods and prescribed the first procedures...
...In setting up social aims for the consideration of the United Nations, the ILO conference suggested a different sort of peace than has followed other wars...
...This would be possible if AFL, CIO and Railload Brotherhoods waged a determined campaign •gainst Senators who opposed cloture...
...If they jsttj a n for it, they could better indicate it by action nthar than words...
...It will re. quire the relaxing of restrictions on production and trade both within each nation and among the nations...
...The basic principle of the whole program is the fine sentence from the Charter: "Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere...
...The Committee made no efforts to secure militant JBk sgainst the poll tax filibuster...
...Republican Senate Leader Wallace H. White, Jr., of Maine, let the cat out of the bag when he stated that|"Tha Senate voted by a substantial majority against Cloture...
...2—Passage of an amendment to the Constitution forbidding any tax on voting...
...They could not formally or officially speak for the United Nations, but they felt a compulsion to do important work preparatory to postwar reconstruction...
...What Walter White of the NAACP, in understateattnt, called the "lackadaisical attitude" of anti-poll tax Senators made the filibuster victory an easy one...
...They recommended that the United Nations call an official meeting to "consider an international agreement on domestic problems of employment and unemployment...
...f«t to win the ballot for 10,000,000 voteless citizens, jo isn't depend on glib statements from the Bilbos mi Connellys...
...But one great gain has been achieved...
...The final action on the peace settlement was taken on the initiative of the United States delegation with the vigorous support of the British...
...The delegations contained important and representative men and women speaking for government, business and labor...
...The conference represented forty-one nations...
...He broke that silence after he was re-nominated May 2nd, and attacked Governor Dewey for saying "too little too late" on fall tax repeal...
...Never has a conference of the International Labor Organization received such public recognition as this one...
...The Philadelphia Charter proves that decisive groups in all countries understand how conflicts come and what must be done—deep down where people live—to make them unnecessary...
...I think that means that the members of the Senate, after long consideration, out rf an abiding conviction have expressed themselves as hostile to the anti-poll tax bill at this time...
...These anti-cloture Senators, it is important to understand, are really against repeal of the poll tax...
...The Senate showed, however, it didn't believe in democracy, for 44 Senators—31 Democrats and 13 Republicans—voted against cloture, while 36 Senators —17 Democrats, 18 Republicans, and Senator LaFollette —voted for cloture...
...The expanding economy it to include all nationt and groups in which poverty and ditcontent have been a threat to peace...
...In two document* adopted latt week at Philadelphia there wai clearly implied the conviction that the war and fascism rote out of social and econmio condition...
...The Story Behind The Poll-Tax Defeat By Morris Milgram vs| **m v¦ w sw twm wm>^0• ufic National Secretary, Workert Dsfenst League...
...Host likely it would suffer the fate of the child-labor imendment, now dropped after having been ratified by too few states...
...Backing HR 7, the bill introduced by Mareantonio, •"ty-Hne follower, after it had pledged its support the identical measure bearing Rep...
...But we have evidence that important groups in practically all of the countries on the Allied aide are ready for practical steps toward realizing a better world...
...It included all of the allied powers except Russia...
...The new peace conference may go on to commit all of the stupidities which we associate with Versailles...
...What is proposed is the creation of more stable conditions within and among all nations...
...Stability ia to be achieved, not by force or any sort of pressure from above or without, but by increasing production and spreading prosperity...
...The Atlantic Charter hat been interpreted in termt of bread and money and work...
...The delegates who approved that sentence were not starry-eyed idealists, hut practical men of action and realistic experts...
...Another is that the imperialistic drives within the great powers can disregard the Philadelphia decisions...
...They made provision to have the experts of the ILO on hand and ready to give any needed assistance during the drawing up of the terms of peace...
...Special to Tm Nfw Lkadeb WASHINGTON, D. C—The poll tax repeal again ks* been killed in the United States Senate by a shameless coalition of Republicans and Democrats ¦gainst the 10,000,000 poor people of eight Southern states who are disfranchised.by state and local taxes on the right to vote...
...The 44 who voted against cloture included a fair number of the 50 who claimed to be fir the repeal bill, but who raised their voices in honor against the idea of limiting debate in the Senate...
...In the fight for poll tax repeal, poor leadership was riven by -the National Committee to Abolish the Poll It made many wrong moves, some of them be«*«se of the bias of the controlling • group...
...Governments must accept their "common obligation to foster expanding production and employment on a sound basis, free from disruptive fluctuations.'' This means regular work, regular income for workera and forms of social security which will ensure purchasing power for all elements in the population...
...That group included l l f , gf the Southern Senators, who, like Senator sat* of Mississippi, said: "Personally, I do not believe iota* pot' tax...
...They aae cloture as a bogey, to give them an excuse for fevering an anti-democratic voting system which ia repugnant, aa the Gallup poll has shown, to their constituents...
...These Senators have yet to be heard of ia the state by s t a t e poll tax repeal fight...
...There are at least three possibilities: l_Senalf paisage of a federal poll tax repeal bill ia the next session of Congress . . . or even in this •emton...
...Had the bill been Baldwin's, party tojfclty might have brought a shift in the cloture vote, •»* some Democrats, afraid of lettirtg the Republicans to be the champions of poll tax and Negro righto, "¦"tot also have shifted...
...Wrong ¦awes include: 1. Listing Communist-controlled organiWfons, such as the International Labor Defense, National Federation for Constitutional Liberties, and National Negro Congress, in ads and literature, as •¦"porting the Committee...
...Joseph Clark "¦Wwin^s name...
Vol. 27 • May 1944 • No. 21
