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Show Union Rank and File Ask For Extended Labor Peace By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. WNU Service, 1016 Eye Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Sitting In the committee room where the hearings on the forthcoming labor bills have been taking place I often have wondered won-dered how close- ly they were being be-ing followed by the ranks and file of the union members. Of course, the leaders lead-ers were listening listen-ing with cocked ears to every syllable syl-lable were they listening with the same ears as the men? The reason I ask that is be- 1 1 they don't have one and good news when they do, which is every year since 18G3 when Abraham Lincoln signed the bill authorizing establishment estab-lishment of the department of agriculture agri-culture and outlining its functions. At this writing the book is still in galleys but will be out soon. Circumstances Cir-cumstances which interrupted the annual an-nual publication of this work have combined to make it perhaps the most interesting in the history of the department. Its title is "Science in Farming" and it will reveal some of the tremendous advances which have affected the products of agriculture agri-culture during and because of the war. The editor is Alfred Stefferud and the authors of the some 150 odd articles which it contains are mostly scientists in the department. Some are staff members of state colleges, state agricultural experiment experi-ment stations and other government laboratories. As editor Steflerud says, this yearbook will furnish "a wealth of information on how to live better and work better, information about food, clothing, housing, gardens, gar-dens, pests, forests, new processes and many other things." There isn't room here to list all of the contents but the articles which deal with plant and animal genetics recount tremendous strides made in breeding, feeding and care, and combating insects and diseases. dis-eases. The hen getting her respiration respira-tion measured in the picture is an example of the studies of conditions favorable to health and well being of poultry, cattle and horses which have been studied. " Then there are the new products which have been created out of old ones: Utilization of corn-cobs and stalks and straw; the manufacture of vegetable meals that used to be dumped; chapters on penicillin and -! ' i ?- ' : V r:; ' i-vJ V 1 1 J I -H L .w .v..-.4JkJ cause of a letter I received which Baukhage asked: "How can the thousands of union members like myself make people understand that what the leaders of our unions do are not the views of the small fry rank and file members?" mem-bers?" He goes on to claim that these "international officers are elected at a convention attended by a certain few. And we who stay at home and pay their salaries by our monthly dues have nothing to say about who our national officers are to be or what policies are to be followed. The first inkling we have of what Is going on is when we read it in the paper." He points out that people like himself him-self have no huge financial reserves, no way to make themselves heard. "All we want," he insists, is to be "left alone. We want to work. We want to work hard because we are all financially broke. It is our fervent fer-vent wish that everybody let us ' . alone and let us work in peace." When I read that letter on the air, another 59-year-old automobile worker (member of a CIO union) wrote in immediately to agree with the sentiments. He says: "All I ask for is 52 weeks' work in a year (including (in-cluding one week vacation with pay), no strikes, no lay-offs and no increase (underlined by the writer) in wages. Industry and farm prices would take away all and more of any increase I might get. I too, wish we could get a secret poll of CIO members on such matters as above, but that is quite improbable improb-able the union leaders would discourage dis-courage any such vote." Another listener reminded me of the so-called "Barnes bill" in Massachusetts Mas-sachusetts to compel unions to file certain statements with the Commonwealth Com-monwealth a bill fought by union leaders which was carried by so large a majority that observers figured that more than 50 per cent of the members of unions in the Bay state had voted in its favor. A woman correspondent added her voice in support of the first worker. She wrote: "Men looking for work are trying to avoid jobs where they have to join unions." Of course, there were many who disagreed. One of the most vehement vehe-ment was a 78-year-old Virginian who began work on the railroad in 1886. He described early days when unionization union-ization was just getting under way. He said: "When I joined the Brakemen, it was a crime. In fact, you had to keep it a secret or off went your head." He characterizes the union man who criticizes his leadership as "a parasite glad to get a raise and better working conditions, con-ditions, but who will let the other fellow pay for his fare." An Ohio union member concurs, saying: "When anyone tells you that they do not have a say in what their officers do, they show no respect whatsoever for the truth. They should attend their meetings and help shape their policies, and don't blame their officers for what is done because it is their own fault" Obviously, situations differ in different dif-ferent unions. When the bill is written by congress, I believe it will be so phrased that it will make it possible possi-ble for the majority of union men, if not the majority of the leaders, to vote without qualms for the men who wrote it. That seems common political sense. Bio-physicist H. G. Barott of department de-partment of agriculture places hen in respiration calorimeter to measure intake of oxygen and output of .carbon dioxide and heat, rutin showing the new bond between agriculture and pharmacy. I never 'guessed that rutin can be made from some 35 different plants and the richest in yield is the one that produces pro-duces those tasty buckwheat cakes that I used to drown in maple syrup in my youth. Then there is the story of "velva," the toothsome product made of over-ripe fruit. You may or may not know that one of the most difficult flavors to preserve is that of the apple. It was never captured even in candy, successfully. Now, however, how-ever, it has been anchored and there is an apple flavor as satisfactory as vanilla. Incidentally one of the most fascinating articles is the result re-sult of a survey which reveals what Americans eat and why. After even a rather hurried glance at the contents of this volume I realize how lucky are the people who have a friend in congress from whom they can obtain a copy of "Science and Farming." Under the law 260,000 copies of the yearbook are printed as congressional documents docu-ments and nearly all of these are I delivered to congressmen. It is left to their discretion to distribute them. They also can be purchased from the superintendent of documents docu-ments of the U. S. government printing print-ing office. The price has not been announced at this writing but I imagine it will not exceed $2 this year. New Book of Wonders When I was reminded that there vas going to be an Agricultural Yearbook this year (the first one since 1942) I hot-footed it over to the editor because the Agricultural Yearbook is news. Bad news when |
