Show economic highlights national and problems inseparable from local batai welfare it has become obvious to almost everyone that labor la is the number problem in the defense drive ou april oth defense director knud sea een said bald that 90 per cent of strikes must be eliminated or the he defense program will tall fail under the best beat ot of conditions our atma program la is not coming up to original hopes and when strikes occur precious days and weeks are irretrievably retrievably li lost the waste occasioned by strikes strike was computed in one vt of general johnsons johnsona late columns according to him during january february and tho the first three weeks ot of march the strike tou toll was waa manday and that as te be further farther observed does not tell the whole story stori many of the strikes took place in m key factories the result being that other factories could not noc get need materials so ao hundreds of thousands of man days were lost elsewhere labors excuse for strikes la Is that it Is now getting its fair share hare of profits that the industries which lave have been given war contracts are rolling up unprecedented gross revenues and that the worker should be paid substantially more and be giver given other non monetary benefi benerita benei ita in addition this argument may be valid in some cases but so tar far as most industries are concerned pross press profits are a poor gauge ot or net profits the tax burden alone la is taking most of the increased earnings and there can be no doubt that taxes will be still higher in the years to come furthermore the very pace of the drive is adding heavily to indu operating costs you can carry ou on an operation in the most economical way when you have plenty of time you must often take the most expensive way when the days daya ar arsi flying by and a deadline for delivery is at hand the cost of most moart raw materials Is on the rise long ago top government officials ciali said thatus one la I 1 going to get rich out of this war that will be pretty largely true through taxation the government can control and limit income just about as it pleases A number of thoughtful friends 0 of f labor are of the opinion that the beikes are arc laa ina sense suicidal that they may alienate public good will to the extent that the immense gains made by belabor labor during the past eight years may be lost every poll indicates that uie the public Is fed up with what it regards oa as lab labos racketeering they indicate and overwhelming mijo majority rity of dt cit fzens favor some sort of forced me mediation by government that will prevent strikes As raymond clapper a columnist who certainly has never been anti labor recently wrote dont think that thousands of families into whose homes conscription has reached will vu not support po rt roosevelt it 11 it t Is driven to take the hard boiled way mr roosevelt will have public sentiment fay behind him this ali is feeling la is obviously shared in gouin ment circles according to columnists also alsop and kintner such episodes as the chal mers strike have filled the con gross gress the best of all reflectors vt 01 public opinion with violent resentment the demand for strong measures to deal with the labor situation would have produced results long loag ago had not the bouw and senate leaders leadelia struggled manfully to hold their followers back the me demand will soon grow too pressing to te ie ignored iu in short unless labor listens estens to reason you can look forward to severe laws to strikes the late defiance of aseer detary knox and commissioner knudsen by a CIO 1 leader eader in the aula alus ohal chal mers mera strike was ft as almost universally condemned by the nations press and ithe threat of tar far more important strikes in oaf our most moat vital industries has caused some meaningful ir fist clenching in washington As the president bassand has bas said profiteering ite ering cring industry will also get short shrift government through the tha priority system can literally choke aej any business into submission it if worst comes to worst he can use the power to commandeer labor leaders are mistaken it if they think they can get away indefinitely with holding up the defense program in this thib Is more than an arms drive to millions of americana it is a crusade and they mean to see it through hitler as usual moved Ite reluctantly luct into the balkans Bal kana for the protection of the balkan peoples iles against their 11 criminal leaders also as usual he blamed the balkan war on oa the british and and jew war mon gerst military experts think the german steam roller will wilf win some important initial successes then will slow down as it bita the bouto going la in the meantime british aeo control la abw now practically unquestioned with a arge part of the I 1 italian atalla flat fleet out of achon the no ot of the war may come soon NIL |