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Show Social Security Program, Labor Laws Face Congress Proposed Legislation to Bring Unions Under Definite Restrictions; New Insurance Plan To 'Out-Beveridge' England's Program. By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. ( x m WNU Service, 1343 H Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. Ase ship of state pulls out of the holiday doldrums, skipper and crew are setting their jaws for rough weather. There are cross currents ahead in the new congress which are going to set the old ship rocking. Symbolic of conflicting movements, move-ments, the debate of which will soon be filling the Congressional Record, are these two: A proposed bill to oring labor unions into the restricting restrict-ing pale of legislation such as business busi-ness has to contend with under the anti-trust laws, and a social security program which some say will out-Beveridge out-Beveridge England's new Beveridge plan. That program, its author, Sir William Beveridge says, is "in some A'ays a revolution." The "holiday doldrums" I mentioned men-tioned were not entirely a seasonal affair this year. There was the usual usu-al letdown while congress went home ind the nation turned to festal relatives; would provide a working woman with a bonus when she married mar-ried so she wouldn't be penalized for enjoying connubial bliss. All this would be done on the principle of ordinary commercial insurance except that the government would run the .machinery, both labor and capital would contribute as such and the people as a whole, in accordance with their income, would pay a share through taxes. The plan is not new. But it is a considerable extension of the present security laws such as Britain has had for a long time and such as the New Deal brought to America. No sane American politician, no matter how far he leaned to the conservative side, would suggest repealing re-pealing America's social security laws. It couldn't be done. But the controversy will arise in congress when attempts are made, as they will be, to extend the benefits, both o in amounts nniH finrf to new Noughts. There was also a pre-j pre-j meditated lull which was necessi- j ;ated by the turnover in the last ! ilection. The administration knew ! liat no matter what was done in he interim between November and January, it would, in some measure, 5e undone when anti-administration Democrats and the increased Republican Re-publican minority got together in the jew congress. Mop-Gap Arranged Since manpower is the prime consideration con-sideration of the moment, a stop-gap was arranged. With much fanfare Manpower Commissioner McNutt was given new powers and a far-lung far-lung program was ballyhooed. But .t was mostly ballyhoo and just before be-fore Christmas wide publicity was jiven to a document which was obviously ob-viously the forewarning that much itricter regimentation of labor was n the wind. The long-postponed, jut inevitable, national service act , ,'aised its head again. The document was a draft of a Dill made by Grenville Clark, an attorney at-torney who suddenly emerged as a presidential advisor. It was announced an-nounced that he made a special trip xi England to study the British man-lower man-lower setup. Clark remained silent intil just before Christmas and after jongress had gone home, but every congressman received a copy of the proposed legislation. About two weeks earlier, shortly ifter the Beveridge report was nade public, a cabinet officer was leard to remark: "We've got to get jusy and draw up a program that its America's needs a little better Jian the Beveridge plan would." But the lull was still lulling then nd when the President was asked it a press and radio conference If le were preparing a message for .ongress on the subject that was ibout the time of the remark of the :abinet member he said "no." ! The Beveridge plan was the nat- , iral result of the Battle of Britain. Then a common danger brought the British people closer together. The categories of workers. Such extensions exten-sions are contemplated in the plan now cooking in Washington. Labor Regulation That is one trend we can look for. Running counter to it on the surface, but really also shooting at the ''greatest good for the greatest number" num-ber" is the trend toward regulation of organized labor. Probably a dozen bills have been drawn up, all of which tend to put the screws on labor unions. Many liberals feel that the unions have it coming. The growing number of strikes in wartime, when maximum production is a matter of patriotism as well as necessity, the existing union rules which tend to interfere with maximum production, produc-tion, the various "restraints" considered con-sidered as evil as the "restraint of trade" resulting from monopolies, all have been highlighted by war conditions. Bills will be presented to root out these ills. Much of the restriction of unions could b avoided avoid-ed if the unions cleaned their own house. In America, as in England, when a nation is called upon to make the sacrifices demanded by this war, it can be expected that the people will insist on a democratic distribution distribu-tion of opportunity and reward of effort when peace comes. The war will also have taught that maximum production means maximum prosperity. pros-perity. There are plenty of people to consume peacetime products; there are plenty of natural resources whose development can furnish the jobs for the consumers and provide the pay which makes it possible for them to buy what is produced. Any group or institution farm, labor, la-bor, management which stands in the way of this maximum production is bound to have its wings clipped. Meanwhile, the people will demand and get greater "assurance" against rainy days, which come even when prosperity is with us. And in providing pro-viding it, if Britain comes along, America cannot be far behind. mderfed, underclothed and under-loused under-loused had to be taken care of. lass lines don't exist in the sham-les. sham-les. A bombed-out duchess can e as cold and hungry as a waif. The poor suddenly realized that if hey could be taken care of as well r better in an emergency, they ught to have a little better distribu-ion distribu-ion of the ordinary decencies of life n prosperous peace times. Wise eaders didn't wait until the war was jver to face angry demands which night turn into real revolution. Sir ffilliam Beveridge's committee drew lp the blueprint for what they called 'a British revolution" In the coun-iy's coun-iy's economic setup under which, is one spokesman described it, "the people would contribute by their iwn preference, to a national insur-ince insur-ince fund rather than take a hand-nit hand-nit from the state." Assurance' ' The goal of the Beveridge plan is ! .0 lay the ghost of insecurity by neans of "assurance." Assurance s the British word for what we :all "'insurance" and which really lefines the commodity better than jut word assurance that men and ffomen would have a subsistence hrough sickness and unemployment ind old age; would have money to ake the baby through its difficult !arly stages; enough for a decent jurial without burdening friends or Sightless Workers Lockheed officials report that 13 blind workers who are helping build fighting and bombing planes in the California plant are in some respects re-spects better than average and turn out more work than their fellows because of higher concentration. Including In-cluding two women, these sightless workers passed a month's placement test in the Lockheed factory and are now working as tubing assemblers, assem-blers, burring-roll operators and assemblers as-semblers of switch boxes. One is a parts handler on a conveyor in the paint shop. Guide dogs bring the blind employees em-ployees to the plant each morning and doze all day beneath their masters' mas-ters' benches. Miss Hazel Hurst, sightless president, of a foundation for training blind persons, worked at every job before selecting the blind worker to be placed In it. However, the number of jobs they can perform with safety will always be limited, she said. Lockheed hopes to find jobs for more sightless workers. work-ers. It's Uniforms Now! The importance of Harry Hopkins' bathrobe conferences with the President Pres-ident are on the wane as far as their importance goes. The President is paying more attention to advisors in uniform. |