| Show DO john L lewis leading anti wage ceiling fight man who came back responsible for battle against little steel formula of increases by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator service union trust building washington D C there Is a new candidate in washington for the title of the man who came back he has come back before so it Is probably no great thrill tor for him but it Is a terrific pain in the neck tor for a number of people who hoped this tali tah dark ghost had veen been laid away f for 0 r the duration if not for longer I 1 a am rn speaking 0 of f john lewis stripped of his robes as head of the CIO which he hewed out of the rock of AF of L opposition but if his head Is bloody it is bowed in no humility whatever lewis nay may not be all the way back but it seems very much as if gro green len and murr murray a y are going through some preliminary shuffles that may be a dance to piper lewis tune lewis loudly sounded the keynote for or what he be hopes to be the death m march arch for the little steel formula w which hi c h held wage raises do down wn to a I 1 15 5 percent per cent maximum when murray tin and d green heard of lewis press conference on the day he sounded his threat they hurried to the white rouse house w where h ere the president who seeing j just anybody permitted the visit and let the CIO and the AF of L talk to reporters on the white house steps but they had nothing to say which could drown the lewis roar rear I 1 talk talked ed with a man who has f fought h t labo labors r a cause f for or in many 2 ny a year without affiliation lation with any group he s said a id to me th there ere are only two things that will keep from blowing the whole price pric e control system into the high heavens either murray and green can t turn u rn their backs on lewis put aside their fears that he will win the plaudits pl audits ot of labor away irom from them by being the sole champion of wage raises and say boldly to their followers low rs well do what is best tor for you and everybody inflation will be worse in the end than the squeeze you feel you are getting now it if they dont lewis will have his way i the alternative he went on Is to 10 have the president call in both the be farm and the labor leaders and say all r right ight how much of an increase do you yon want twenty per ce cent nt thirty but then prices will go up by just hist that much you and everybody else will be that much worse off of course there Is another alternative a cast iron ceiling on prices but the metal to withstand the upward pressure has not been found with this situation before him almost an anyone yone would rather raither be right or left eft of center than president different problem recently to add to the troubles of the labor leaders them themselves selves as well a as s the government there was evidence of a different type ot of problem in scattered hot spots to in the labor we world ald undisciplined groups which one man described as made up of men who even take orders from stalin some workers in a zinc smelter in moundsville Mounds ville W va gave notice that they going to work saturday or sunday without overtime pay this in spite of the fact that they worked only 38 36 hours a week the orders are clear that double time is only paid for a seventh day ot of consecutive work but these men said orders or no orders they going to work saturdays or sundays without that overtime zinc Is one of the bottle necks neck s the war production board was frantic these are only pin pricks and not typical but they cause a near crisis every time they occur in industries producing essential materials quick comeback to mcnutt edict there has seldom been a quicker comeback in a washington bout than the smart jab to the chin that followed paul Mc Hutts haymaker delivered at the boys to in nonessential non essential industry the echoes of the work or fight ukase of the manpower commission were still reverberating rever berating up and down the corridors of the long list of industries dus tries from boot blacking to win dow curtain manufacturing when the house military committee arose with its no no a thousand times not nol representative kilday allday of texas texa arre obtained b a promise from chat chairman an may of the military affairs committee for or immediate hearings on hla his amendment to the selective service act et and the block mcnutt move w was a soon heavily under way As you know representative kit days bill is aimed to make depend ency the basic cause of deferment while McNut ts move was to establish participation in the war effort in field factory or the armed forces as the principle governing the order of induction McNut ts order set the boys in the non nonessential e s essential sentral businesses hammering at th the e doors 0 of f the united states amplo employment y men t offic offices es all over the ca country ry and consternation and co confusion n reigned then up spoke mr kilday the attitude of those favoring the measure to draft the single men first everywhere ery where before the married men and the others with dependents go is this they say they do not want the selective service act ma made de a weapon to for force cemen men into essential jobs they ney claim the act was never so intended legislation they say must be passed after careful study which will lay down a manpower program military service Is an honor as well as a duty it must not be used as a threat Kil days views I 1 talked with representative kilday before the hearings began he was optimistic over quick committee acceptance of his bill though he said he want to hurry the hearings and he realized all sorts of opposition might develop H he e pointed out that his measure would not alter the present deferments that it mean as some seemed to think that single men now deterred deferred under the present deferment rules will be yanked out of their jobs and thrown into the army opponents say however in some cases this will be the actual effect whatever the effects on agriculture and industry may be it if the bill passes it will sink the present manpower commission program without a trace and with all hands bands on board there is plenty of public appeal in the kilday measure the argument that it is more important to keep the family together than to fill quotas for industry or the army and the navy the argument that there Is no authority in the selective service act to do what the manpower commission order Is aimed to achieve namely to state what job a man is to hold and that side of the argument abs has particular appeal in a congress exceedingly jealous of its prerogatives roga tives sworn to prevent usurpation of its powers by the administrative branch A prediction last week r reported the prediction by a keen observer of this whole problem to the effect that one more desperate measure would be attempted by the manpower commission r before it would be forced to step aside for some other agency mcnutt a acted c ted and within 24 hours of that prediction the military affairs committee announced hearings on the kilday bill looks very much like a bird of ill omen echoing the second P part art of the dire prediction the end of the manpower commission as an agency with any power of initiative left to many high army officials there is grim satisfaction in what is happening long ago it was intimated that sooner or later the military would have to take over the whip hand find and settle the manpower question in its own way some military men would be quite happy to have the kilday measure pass sweep everyone drat draft table able into the armed forces and then do its own reallocation screening out the men necessary to industry and agriculture and furlough them back as military needs first and the Indu second demanded one can imagine however how union labor would like to see khaki and navy blue manning the stam stamping P machines and the lathes b beside aside the workingmen in civvies divvies labors objection to the biu bill was expected from the first and so we have a tour four way clash legislators manpower commission military labor once more a labor draft looms as the headlines say highlights in in the weeks news 0 horse meat on sale in washington s being received very well so did the muskrat served to secretary and vice president wallace soon the order will be one porterhouse Porter Forter horse steak well broken someone suggested marionettes Marln Marin ettes for the marine corps girls auxiliary it take even a she devil dog wont be a puppet etl 1 w until it was announced that general eisenhower Elsen hower was to continue to have lull full command in north africa a string of stories kept coming duj out of 0 london to the effect that it iam might ight go to a british general it was considered antl anti eisenhower propaganda newsmen returned from rom north africa are not enthusiastic over the harems hares they claim they saw |
