Capital Comment
Capital Comment Unanswered Questions InkDR'sMessage ¦ y JONATHAN STOUT C—On purely Logical and intellectual grounds, few thing! are harder to understand Hum Mr". Roosevelt's recent conducts...
...4. a re-enactment of the Stabilization Statute...
...1. A realistic tax law...
...And the bill also encompasses the germ of a weapon which a dictatorial-minded President might conceivably use some time against the industrialists themselves...
...This suggests: that the cause of strikes is not the lack of legislation, but something moipe basic—dissatisfaction with social conditions, war aims, the ri«-e in the cost of living, high profits for industrialists...
...Therefore it to likely to result in more strikes, not fewer, just as did the Smith-Connally Act, and in sabotage and 'unrest...
...Roosevelt's recent conducts particu tolly that of the past few weeks—reaching a climax ui fau demand for a labor draft law...
...As in the case of hjs earlier proposals with regard to inflation, the President tbrnks schematically...
...Its advocates argue that if men are drafted to fight and die on the battlefield, it is only fair to draft men to work at home...
...philosophy behind it rises like the Phoenix from the ashes...
...All opposition to labor conscription measures on the part of business management is on the basis of the Austin-Wadsworth bill's ideas...
...a cost of food law...
...What Army and Navy men do not understand is that righting and working require different psychological conditions...
...It m bacons* of this that the ones toon now arise* ahathcr .having two price-control laws to...
...We need not imitate the fascists to defeat them...
...Nevertheless, there loomed the strong probability that with the President engineering the propaganda campaign and lending the weight of his prestige and position as commander-in-chief in a time of war, the new coalition of anti-labor reactionaries, the totalitarian-minded military and the President would work up a majority for a labor draft law in the present session of Congress...
...1W> -f.^-f,> FDR, the Workers and the War •1*1 IK message delivered to Congress on Tuesday will •» proDftjoflj' stand out us the greatest of KDR's state document's jip to date...
...But the President has had the facts on food war profiteering The OPA's own Wsr Profit Studies — which were first revealed by The New leader more than s year age—show wsr paamtaai* these middlemen ranging from m per cent to 1,000 per oant abev» pre-war levels...
...And b«ewcsot Mr...
...At the present time the President proposes action in five directions...
...What is ne^ed is a new New I>W, not involuntary servitude in this democracy...
...Certainly Mr...
...One of the dangerous possibilities is that the President's hill— if, as, and when—may aim at splitting the unanimous opposition of lsbor, big business and little business to the ides of labor conscription by effering management a weapon ostensibly against strikes, but covertly against union organization...
...ftjlfh^o^ which contained so much of what they deemed to be questionable in sincerity ulso contained what Mr...
...ignore offers any uwfmahtga o>egjmspJng only one prlee-control law to ignore...
...That's an investment that the Austin-Wadsworth Bill would make worthless...
...Among the many reasons cited against such a measure wire: 1. There can be no justification for labor conscription when steel and aluminum plants and copper mines are closing down because of overproduction...
...Tim Wow 0«wf U P—4 Lnficj Lfv* tho Now 0ao// Roosevelt msy have buried the term New Deal-but the politics...
...The fifth would provide greater control, over labor...
...Capital Comment Unanswered Questions InkDR'sMessage ¦ y JONATHAN STOUT C—On purely Logical and intellectual grounds, few thing...
...In addition we agree with Phillip Murray, William Green, and the host of labor loaders who have opposed compulsory labor on prwctplr...
...tlpar^^WtfJ wants no part in the adsainistra-dataValotojr draft law...
...Roosevelt himself called 'a second bill of rights" to assure future economic security and independence in the modern world...
...And a very dangerous precedent will have been established—for the labor draft is essentially n totalitarian measure...
...The only enthusiastic advfrrntes of such e> measure as demanded by the President in his annual message to Oongreea last Tuesday appear to be the rabidly anii Ubor re* -tionaries, the uxaliUrioa-niinoed ©f*5n via j-jhWr ttfda- of the fer^e, itTjS more than to»i i it!ajp >t-may W hVffy significant—that> or- • ganiied laljor b'net atone in its opposition to a laU f tlraft lew Also or reeerd,' though perhaps not wHli quite ax rntxb vehemence nor single-voiced unamnlUy, is thv opposition of the U. S. Chanibtr oi C'mm^ejind the Natw**{ 'Aittftirtion of Mmnu-laeturtm...
...Enactment of the first four measures, recommended by Roosevelt would rnuke compulsory labor unnecessary...
...The idea behind the Austin-Wadsworth Bill finds management allergic to the notion that control over their labor force be taken out of their hands...
...It is because of this failure of Mt Roosevelt's to enforce the dear **rde of the 194...
...JPhe .plain, fact of the record is that President never used those powers...
...5,^a national service law...
...2. the continuation of the Renegotiation Act...
...If it seems odd that the memorandum should so Strongly opptose universal labor draft . . . and then wind up curiously with the assumption that such a law would be passed, ^t'nfenge way of .putting things can be explained yjp- MeNptCs inside information...
...It was believed noteworthy that the President deliberately by-passed the Austin-Wadsworth Bill which is al-leady before Congress...
...In its temper, in its scope, in its whole sweep and purpose it is a masterpiece...
...only one—stabilisation of wages—was ever realized...
...The first four of these would extend government control over production and profits...
...In Britain, where there is a national service act und the Minister of Labor is empowered to order any man to do any work,- strikes have increased, ¦nilhough the ministry is manned by labor leaders...
...Underneath all of the exptaaations and alibis he may put into conscious phraseology either for himself or for others, ft is srgued, Mr...
...fWt'ftt ftrom Congress, S Price Control Act in October, 1942, which gave him th* power to set and control prices...
...fteeeeVoit must be suffering from sn inner sense of guilt...
...It compel* the warvh to be mad* on other grounds...
...And his further statement that "Returning 'rroto my journeying* (to Cairo and Teheran), I must confess to a sense of let-down' when I found many evi-pn«m of fsulty perspectives here in WasjHngton," with its rather clear implication that this sudden conversion ^today") to a labor draft law was brought about by the recent steel and .<tsfhr*y wsge disputes...
...With its main intent The New Leader is in agreement...
...His OPA Administrator suppressed the- Wsr l-rontu Studies m Order to appease the war profiteers who were fsMttstp'sy- hatting the spotlight "VtVfac* is the President ssked for...
...Roosevelt had made it plain that he BM >*lMp.«J-hi* mind he wanted such a law and JP*»Mered It necessary only to prepare the puhlie BP* Y*rj^ in order to -pot- it over...
...Retionsliza-tion, however consummate, never succeeds in shutting out the constant scourge of the inner conscience...
...Shut apt Shut upl PHUT UP...
...Everyone intimate with industrial production agrees that compulsion in factories and mines would lead to lower morale and output...
...Roosevelt's sharp turn against labor...
...Also open to serious question is his ..sincerity in asking for a "cost of food law.1* Such s law, he says, would enable him "(a) to place a reasonable floor under the prices the farmer may expert for his production, snd (b) to piati s eeUing on the prices a consumer will have to pay for the food -** buys...
...Roosevelt's demand for u labor draft law seemed to show a majority against the idea...
...It'tea-been' Warned reliably that the day before the President sont hi* message to be read before C*Htfi lea, < War Manpower Commissioner Paul lieNutt sent Mr...
...With unemployment already beginning to show its head, many Congressmen fsiL to see the necessity of drafting labor...
...Which W&t* TP...
...And the effort to shut it out has the frequent effect of leading to eenstsntly increasing dictatorial conduct, as though relief from an inner sense of guilt can be attained by shouting louder and loader: "I am right...
...Compulsory labor means suspension of the functions of the trade unions...
...Bat' this makes only the more inexplicable the President's ailvocacy of the nwosure...
...And K,tof?7lit six months ago...
...Roosevelt has the facts which prove that the revolt of labor is due to his many broken promises to bring down prices and to his failure to enforce the Price Control Act...
...Price Control Act •Mat the responsibility foY labor unrest rests squarely iu his lap...
...He wants...
...himself urged Congress to enact S New Deal program —whether sincerely or not...
...N» completely satisfactory answer can be found by any logical process of thought...
...tad Settle each hmi'its own reason for •jejoaifjon 'it, *ucfc" tegisfatiun, the fart remains that all layer* elf the imTJusfrtal stricture of the nation are against it...
...But what happened to the 7-point nnti-inflation program arouses scepticism.' ?Of the seven measures proposed nearly two years ago...
...introduction of auch a bill is now looked for...
...Except for the recommendation of a national service act (Le., involuntary servitude), his program is one of social reform far ahead of what Congress is likely, to adopt...
...The explanation offered for Mr...
...Today, however, I grA eonvineed ef Its necessity...
...We want conryJete devotion to the winning of the war— with every citizen in his place doing his share of work he is best fitted to do, We want, after the war, international cooperation to preserve the peace and, at home, -such securily and prosperity as wilt form the su'e basis of a continuing democracy...
...there ensued the series of coal strikes, the ¦ one-day steel stoppage, andthd threat of a railway strike...
...The fact that the President bypassed the Austin-Wadsworth Bill may have been for purely partisan reasons, Austin and Wadswdrth being Republicans...
...And when the stest packer* INh defer trust putted a meat and hotter strike on the nation to atop iMerMMI-lMRis and force OPA to raise reHtngs by deliberately curtail mg meat and butter production—did *fpinr>eei4eitt ftt least rebuke those >|y*Wsdtwus "strfkers" publicly...
...Roosevelt .never euiosved that isw, because as a result irieee outstripped ursges to such an mrtenr ¦ that, workers everywhere demanded action...
...2. The War Manpower Commission is opposed to a labor W^rra^'flet JTOWd tt in not necessary...
...This trill cast about 1760 million for tss> f» MfMfc pears, as the tMed amy rteaire...
...d«led...
...They have spent millions on labor recruiting and personnel programs and departments...
...It brought the comment of a familinr phrase for a familiar technique: "Pie in the aky . . . bye and bye I" The immediate Congressional reaction to Mr...
...And what did the President do shout these mel»tts*sT IMd he con trtlmtii the wy mfarimuss that might *iir«^**e* expected of Mm—help atasa warprtjtaerittg unpopular by ouulicly rebuking these war prof iteers...
...The fact is the President ignored dnd ihj i ei1 • eerfeect uVtjhari haw...
...McNutt had good Wa^liin^loii and flu* Xalioii Whe President's Political Irrationality idntT the "National Service Program nwRf.it tanasnw-9im»m-1»he Presi-Srgt mmSmftf M attention...
...tfOegtjIoo the President's statement in his message to Congress pBftt, "A* 7°° know, I have for three years hesitated to recommend a na Jbuti sirvtee set...
...MfT is this all in the President's message that is open to question...
...Roosevelt an urgent memorandum saying: .Of...
...The answer to both questions Is no...
...Rut labor will watch, with skeptical grin, to sec which parts, of the program Congress puis through...
...l-faflto manpower aitnatiesi Is in excellent shape, with no trouble even remotely in sight...
...2. The statement of Sum Eubanks, executive vice-president of the American Newspaper (iuild and chairman of the Free Labor Committee of the Workers Defense League: "The President's proposal for a National Service Art is a big step on the road towards a native American totalitarian ism...
...That language stakes it seem as though the President was aiming st the wsr profiteering food middlemen ttn> packers, nmnerH, grain* specula -tors, skippers, etc.—who have been suueeslag the farmer* at one end and holding UP the consumers at the oth-er...
...The fallacy of that argument is that If we have compulsory labor at home, the soldiers may be fighting in vain, and coroe home to a society in which a basic human liberty has been lost—at least temporarily and partially...
...r ^.*«UT a pretty hot spot to be on, Mr McNutt ^plained, because both labor and industry were **»in*t such n measure, and his own MWC Labor-¦Msnagiment Committee had adopted a strongly-resolution condemning it...
...Precisely because we want to achieve the President's purpose, we are opposed to the means which he suggests...
...The Thirteenth Amendment forbids 'involuntary servitude.' But what else can we call the application of legal compulsion to millions ef Americana working for private employers, who make private profits out of this labor...
...Ami np matter how it may be phrased, a national service net that works will result in' involuntary servitude...
...McNutt re-y*qj*lri4tly to intimate* that he ?was under con-"•WCW pressure from the White House to ask for • Wjojl draft law...
...If his entire program were accepted by Congress, the wur would be shortened, lives would he saved, and our future would be assured...
...Roosevelt ia a lawyer and therefore is expected to recognize the mesas rut of nonfeasance in office...
...It can be a weapon in the hands of the labor-haters and cypro-fascists...
...On the other hand...
...The bill also would wipe out the advantages enjoyed by Big Business over Little Business in the field of lsbor piracy...
...He followed this with V plant for s .',4,000-mile network of super-highways /across the eentfaseat, la utotfisls work for 2,000,000 returning soldiers is the post-war period...
...Kefyfttt's memorandum told the President that the WMC had held a meeting of all Its regional directors just a few days before and that there had been unanimous agreement on the three points...
...General Marshall's patently "inspired" calumny against labor as being responsible for a situation that, in the President's own words, "carr lengthen this war—it can kill American boys," the unreasonable and unreasonable demand for labor conscription, all point to a psychological motivation...
...Business management is conditioned against any suggestions of further regimentation...
...That Act Mid-prices were to be stabilised st the revel of September, 1942...
...The basis for such conjectures is found in the belief that the President's recent conduct—particularly that of the past few weeks, climaxing in his demand for a labor draft—can find adequate explanation only on psychological grounds...
...Each suggested measure fits into the whole...
...And far more radical then the new Communist program...
...The dimffcr in such a law is suggested by the slogan accepted everywhere among American workers: "Free labor' can boat sJave labor any time anywhere...
...Out of this sort of discrimination by Congress came much of our present trouble...
...That is a further thought that frightens some industrialists...
...But it was also taken to indicate that the President has a hill of his owe., containing ideas of his own, up his sleeve...
...The President specifically states: "I would not recommend a national service law unle«s the other laws were passed to-keep down the cost of living...
...B^*^<fr^jW|Wrnrfi that In sending his m'emo-aWNHf ikt mm Howae, Mr...
...It is further pointed out that it is typical of an inner tease of guilt that it should express itself in anger and hostility against the very persons who have been wronged, since they are a constant reminder of this uncomfortable feeling of guilt...
...TjjvrVt to that six months ago Mr...
...A - survey -of< opinion here* shows a. curious lineup m tlw> tmMm of a labor draft la...
...In fact, ia his mi stage to Congress, F.D.R...
...The whole tradition of democracy condemns it—our Constitution guarantee* citizens against "involuntary servitude...
Vol. 27 • January 1944 • No. 3
