Show ROUND MERRY Shi Ship Walk Walkout i Caused S SJ J By Bungling By DREW FE PEARSON WASHINGTON Inside Inside Ide facton fact facton on the jumbled maritime strike is that both the AF L and the C CIO X I 0 maritime unions union could have had hada a 2250 monthly Increase in increase In- In crease creale as early as last June if there hadn't been friction between between between be be- tween two powerful C CIO I 0 labor leaders leaders Harry Harry Bridges of at the the west coast longshoremen n and Joe Curran of at the National Maritime Mari Mar time union What happened was that last of or Labor lenbach and Granville Conway war shipping administrator had hada hadn a n talk with Hoyt Haddock Washington rep representative c for Ci Currans C CIO I 10 0 maritime union Both agreed that the seamen were entitled to a substantial wage b boost ost The tentative figure fig fig- tire ure re of ot 30 a a month was mentioned mentioned mentioned men men- with time and a a half halt for tori work over 48 8 hours hours' Haddock later sent a telegram telegram telegram tele tele- gram to both Bridges and Curran reporting this an and to his amazement got a 8 hot wire back from B Bridges r rid I d g e s Haddock to mind his own busin busi busi- n ness I. I Bridges Bridge even told Haddock to go back to and Conway and inform them to disregard disregard disregard dis dis- dis- dis regard their previous conversa conversa- tion This Haddock did i Labor Retreats Later when the Cl CIO 0 maritime strike was called public reaction flared The railroad strike had occurred occurred occurred oc oc- oc- oc only a short time before beCore and Congress was WM seething with labor resentment The Case bill was under discussion and labor leaders knew that if it the C CIO I 0 maritime unions went out on strike drastic legislation legislation legis legis- lation not only would pass Congress Congress Congress Con Con- gress but would not be vetoed by the president So in the end C CIO I 0 leaders settled for 1750 a month in In- In crease This was far below the 30 30 figure ligure tentatively discussed by Haddock with and Conway b before e f for o r e Harry Bridges had wired him to mind his own business On June 26 just 12 days after the 1750 award iward was fixed Conway who as war shipping administrator operated 70 per percent percent percent cent of the nations nation's ships completely completely com corn ignored the 1750 for forthe forthe forthe the C CIO I 0 and agreed to 2250 for A F L seamen Obviously this meant bitter war between the C CIO I O A 0 A FL r L rivals Also it meant trouble with the Wage Stabilization board which had just set the increase at 1750 However Mr Conway blundered ahead just the same same So 50 later when the Wage Sage age Stabilization board scaled down downs the A F Ls L's 2250 to the C CI I Os O's 1750 the AF L struck The whole up tie-up could have been avoided by a little more government government government govern govern- ment largely foresight foresight largely on the part of Conway Exiled S E C C While the diplomats diplomats diplomats diplo diplo- mats battleS battle over over displaced perSons persons per per- I sons Bons and migration to Palestine Palestine Pales Pales- tine big business Is battling priva privately ely over a displaced agency The TheS The'S Securities and Exchange commission exiled to PhIladelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadel Philadel- phia in 1942 now wants to come comeback comeback comeback back home hoine But But reactionary congressmen congressmen congressmen con con- gressmen a and n d bureaucrats secretly egged on by big business business business busi busi- ness are opposed S SEC E C wat watchdog of ot the stock market was was' one of Franklin D D. Roosevelt's first and best re re- re- re forms Remembering the watered stock and phony deals which helped bring on the 1929 crash nobody can deny SE SEC's SECs Cs C's importance However pro-big pro business and utility pro elements ele ele- ele- ele ments In Can Congress gre s s and the budget bureau have sniped at atS atS S SEC E C for years cutting its appropriations appropriations appropriations ap ap- ap- ap considered it a major victory to get S SEC E C out of Was Washington ington Now these interests have vowed to keep S SEC El E C in Philadelphia Phila delphia where it cant can't defend it- it self cant can't cooperate closely with other bureaus cant can't mt crack down 9 on cn utility lobbyists now running wild in the capitol Byrnes Speech Speech Final Final decision for the Jimmy Byrnes speech on Germany was was' Imparted Jo to high officials ls in tn Washington about 12 days before he made it The suspicion suspicion sus BUS is that the Russians learned about it at the same Mme time Byrnes telephoned President Truman about 12 days in advance advance advance ad ad- vance told him the Russians were on the rampage that nothIng nothing noth noth- ing could be done to satisfy them He therefore proposed that the United States and Great Britain try to set up a German government which bould could be won over to democracy and which could serve as a bulwark against Russia President Truman agreed Whether or or not the Russians tapped the transatlantic phone or whether they had other ways of at knowing what was going on Is anyone's guess Maybe it was just coincidence Anyway it was shortly after this that Foreign Minister lter Molotov Molo- Molo Molotov tov toy made his sudden mystery flight night to Moscow Simultaneously Simultaneously Inspired stories began to leak out of ot Po Poland and that Russia Russia Rus Rus- sia sla would take Silesia away from Poland oland and give It to Ger Ger- many Obviously this was Ger Get man bait to counteract the offers otters Byrnes was going to tomake tomake tomake make to Germany If It Russia RUia go goes goos s ahead with this policy of the Soviet and the Soviet away It will cause the toughest showdown so t far r exp experienced between Moscow and Washington Copyright 1946 Bell Syndicate |