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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Israel Registers Diplomatic Victory By Agreeing to 'Cease Fire' Order; Lewis Qsaits First Coal Conference I By Bill Schoentgen, WNU Staff Writer I (EDITOR'S NOTE i When opinions are expreaaed In these colnmn. they ara thoaa of Western Newapaper Union's news analyst! and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Walkout Y t""' . ;1 . v- ' i i ' : ! 7 j DAIRYING: To a Crisis While the U. S. dairy industry was busy promoting its 12th annual an-nual June Dairy Month for the purpose pur-pose of selling more milk, butter, cheese and Ice cream it also was taking a long, critical look behind the scenes and not liking what it saw. Industry analysts had spotted what appeared to be a dangerous trend. In its simplest form the trend could be defined as an inexorable in-exorable increase in the U. S. population. popu-lation. At the root of the problem was a stubbornly entrenched economic condition whose factors were the war, widespread hunger abroad and domestic inflation-Continuing inflation-Continuing high prices for beef and veal have been instrumental in sending many dairy cows or potential poten-tial dairy cows to the slaughter house. Too many American dairy farmers have discovered how they could reduce their herds drastically, drasti-cally, put more land Into money-making money-making grain crops, realize greater profit and still have more leisure time. Adding those conditions to the fact that during the past few years the nation has experienced about a 45 per cent increase in its birth rate, the dairy industry came up with a grim conclusion: If these circumstances continue at the present rate, and there is every likelihood that they will, by 1952 the U. S. will be approaching the critical criti-cal point at which it no longer will be able to produce enough milk to satisfy its own needs. That, according to some prog-nosticators, prog-nosticators, might mean strict rationing ra-tioning in a land which hitherto had literally flowed with milk and honey. i PALESTINE: Diplomacy What the Jews of Israel lacked in irmed strength to resist Arab attacks at-tacks against their new state they aad made up in shrewd diplomacy. It was just possible that the deci-live deci-live blow of the Palestine war was itruck when Israel, foreseeing military mili-tary defeat, agreed to order its irmy to cease fire on all Palestine tronts if the Arabs would do the lame. That development, which took (ilace as the battle for Jerusalem mtered its sixth day in an unholy itmosphere of rattling guns, burst-ng burst-ng shell and violent death, made Ihe most favorable impression pos-lible pos-lible in the United Nations. Thus having the onus of prolong-rig prolong-rig the Palestine fighting shifted mddenly to their shoulders alone, toe Arabs were put on the spot In he U. N. and in world public opinion. opin-ion. It was a clever diplomatic maneu-rer maneu-rer on the part of the Jews but, it least at the outset of this new Ina of circumstances, the Arabs were having none of it. They reiter-ited reiter-ited their determination to wrest ill Palestine from control of the Tews. Actually, all the Jews had done iras to issue a surprise cease fire irder in compliance with a U. N. lecurity council request that the Jghting be brought to a halt. Neither the security council nor inyone else had expected the re-luest re-luest to be observed. But that put it up to the Arabs who, faced with a deadline set by (he U. N., were having trouble deriding de-riding whether or not to cease fire. If they stopped fighting now they mould have done so without attaining attain-ing their prime objective the Te-roking Te-roking of Israel's claim to sov-irelgn sov-irelgn statehood. If they continued ihe war beyond the deadline they would be laying themselves open to possible security council sanctions of the economic variety. SECURITY: Desperate Plight President Truman came up with mother sound plank to reinforce lis campaign platform when he demanded de-manded that congress overhaul and Broaden the social security program. pro-gram. To relieve the "desperate plight rt the aged and needy in this inflationary infla-tionary period he called for a 50 per cent increase in old age insurance Denefiti and asked that 20 million more persons be protected. He offered a five point program tnd said he wanted quick action m it. For three years, the Presi-Jent Presi-Jent pointed out with some irritation, irrita-tion, similar requests on his part ttave been shunted aside. This time le was asking: 1A 50 per cent increase "atleast" in old age and survivors' insurance in-surance benefits; allowing pensioners pension-ers to earn up to $40 a month in-itead in-itead of $15 without losing benefits; raising of the tax rate from 1 per cent to 1 per cent next January 1. 2 Extension of coverage to farm and domestic workers, the lelf-employed and others not now covered. 3 Broadening of unemployment insurance to cover employees of small firms (having fewer than eight workers), federal employees ind others. a Disability insurance to protect workers from loss of earnings caused by sickness and injuries. 5 Increased federal benefits to match state aid for dependent children, the needy, aged and blind. Whatever his motives in presenting present-ing the problem of inadequate social so-cial security benefits again at this time, Mr. Truman did have a good, iven a noble, point. "People whose sole income if from social security payments have ust about reached the breaking point. All of them face a desperate des-perate struggle in trying to procure pro-cure bare necessities at present prices." Both President Truman and the ged and needy were hoping fervently fer-vently that congress would be able, to squeeze social security legislation legisla-tion into the crowded docket it had prepared for the month preceding adjournment. As for congress itself, It was on the fence again. ECONOMICS: Wage-Price While prices continue to climb iteadily, wage increases are beginning begin-ning to show signs of levelling off, lays the latest department of commerce com-merce report on inflation. Possibility of a business reces-lion, reces-lion, and with it the prospect for tower prices, vanished like mist in the sun after the foreign aid and i military preparedness programs began to take shape in March, the I department survey revealed. This photograph of the west end of John L. Lewis going east out of a door is perhaps symbolic of trouble to come in the nation's soft coal mines. First conference between the United Mine Workers and the coal producers on the miners' 1948 contract ended in frustration when Lewis walked out after refusing to seat a representative rep-resentative of the Southern Coal Producers association at the par- , ley. NO CONFERENCE: Lewis Again It was all typically Lewisian. "I make the observation that there is now no conference," quoth John L., chief of the soft coal miners, as he walked grandly out on the first meeting to negotiate a new contract between the coal operators and the United t Mine Workers. UMW's present contract expires June 30. Lewis broke up the discussion on 1948 wage agreements when he objected ob-jected to seating Joseph E. Moody, president of the Southern Coal Producers Pro-ducers association, at the conference confer-ence and was outvoted by the operators. He was not against Moody personally. per-sonally. Officially, his union's position po-sition was that the 14 regional organizations or-ganizations which comprise the Southern association must bargain in 14 separate groups, rather than delegate bargaining authority to the all-inclwsive association. According to Lewis' accepted pattern pat-tern of operation, his balk at the Southern Coal Producers was the opening tactical stroke in his 1948 campaign for an improved miners' contract. Following that, he could sit back and present the UMW wage demands de-mands in his own good time. Then, if the coal operators did not accede, ac-cede, he could call the annual Strike. Lewis knew his position was good. The UMW's recent pension walkout had left the nation's coal reserves seriously depleted. By the time June 30 rolled around soft coal stocks would not yet have been built up to the point where industry could stand a long strike. Barring unforeseen circum-stsnces, circum-stsnces, it looked like this would develop into another injunction case. The union still is under an 80 day court injunction prohibiting renewal re-newal of the pension strike; but the court might rule that another walkout would be a brand new strike. In that case a new in-' junction might have to be sought by the government under Taft-Hartley Taft-Hartley procedure. HARVEST: European Europe may look forward to possibly pos-sibly its best year since the war if food production prospects continue con-tinue to be as favorable as they are right now. U. S. agriculture department said that the continent will produce a larger part of its food needs this year than it did last year and that the crop outlook was good over most of Europe and the Soviet Union early in May. Prospects indicate a considerably larger crop of bread grains wheat and rye than last year's desperately desper-ately small one. A severe winter killed most of Europe's winter wheat and rye last year. European production of bread grains may surpass 1.8 billion bushels, which was the size of the 1946 crop, largest since the war. Production last year dropped to about 1.5 billion bushels, compared with a 2.3 billion average before the war. Long Voyage Previous flight range records paled into insignificance when an air force B-36 superbomber flew an unprecedented 8.000 miles nonstop non-stop with a dummy bomb load of about five tons. It was aloft for a day and a half. The B-36 returned to the ground with about 1,200 gallons of gasoline remaining in its tanks, enough to keep tt aloft another two or three hours h necessary. |
