Show 4 THIS WEEK I 1 I 1 I 1 in es with WA clinton Clin folk davodson Dav Davi ldson DevI davlan doon THE PENDULUM SWINGS one of the simple laws law ol of physics we learned an a a chiu child F is a that when a swing owing goes far out in one direction the force of gravity invariably pulls pulla it back to center and then momentum carries it out in the other direction in more than 30 years of association with washington we have learned that there ex ests a similar and equally ture phenomena in government public opinion in this case serves the some came function as gravity does in the example of a swing owing congress and the ad administrative agencies of govern ment react to public opinion in the same manner as an object such as aa a swing or pen bulum reacts to gravity one excess almost invariably Is followed by an excess in the opposite direction big business buiar tho the colonists reacted to ex taxation by the british with violence that erupted at the boston tea party an early congress enacted trade barriers and tariff walls to halt cheap competition from abroad business protected by high tariffs tariff and aided by cheap labor adopted a policy of the public de damned and in the process accumulated huge per bonal fortunes A wave of public resentment forced through congress antl anti trust and other repressive laws some of which have since been modified at the time of the forma tion of standard oil and the U S steel corporation the pendulum was far on the side of the power of big business the excesses that occurred in this period resulted in the pendulum starting darting to swing toward government regula tin the public demanded protection tec tion from the excesses of big business congress created the interstate commerce commission the federal trade commission and the antl anti trust division in the justice ti department the pendulum had begun to swing away from business teddy roosevelt gave it quite a push and later his cousin franklin helped push it fur ther congress created the F federal e d e r a I 1 communications Communication i commission the securities exchange commission the civil aeronautics authority the TVA and other at al phabe control agencies labors labor turn while business was being shackled with regulations congress passed the wagner labor relations act which gave labor many advantages including exemptions from antl anti trust regulations imposed on business the result was wa big labor in the place of dig big Busin elic irresponsible labor leaders leaden promoted a reign of intimidation and in many instances instance lawless terror through strikes and violence Gernen ment sanctioned and in 0 tome m e cases encouraged ed those excesses hearings and invest Igat lons ioni by the senate mcclellan committee into labor union practices have hate shown very clearly that the pendu lendu lum has swung too far on labors side they show that legislative advantages given labor have been misused and in some instances have en dangerud dang ered the democratic prin caples of sell self government public opinion has bs begun to demand that the he government curb the activities of such labor officials as james cioffa the pendulum has be gun to swing away from labor dictators and the inno cent will suffer with the gull guil ty editors note the second column in this series will discuss irresponsible regulatory agencies |