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Show National Service Act Is Answer to War Disputes Too Many Cooks' Root of Labor Disputes; Pressure Groups, Individuals Unwilling To Lay Aside Financial Desires. By BAUKHAGE NewM Analyst and Commentator. (FND Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. Why did the President order the trmy to take over the railroads? You can get seven reasons from leven different presidential advisors. I won't repeat them. I will name hree. First, the epitome of those the po-Itically po-Itically minded probably gave; it Hiil be a good thing for 1944. That s the sum total of a number of contusions con-tusions of the master minds who ire advising concerning the political tampaign which is ahead of us. There are two other reasons which lome of the time-hardened officials n Washington offer (aside from the hreat, real or fancied, to the war effort). ef-fort). These officials let the political itream flow over them. They are nore Interested In getting the par-licular par-licular job assigned to them done han figuring out its political effects, heedless to say, they belong to that arge, conscientious army which nost people outside of Washington target exists, an army of people vise or unwise in their judgments ut beholden to no political party tor their positions. These are the two probable rea-lons rea-lons they offered; first: The roads were seized as a threat igainst other industrialists who night make trouble in accepting erms of future labor wage deci-lions, deci-lions, such demands for increases vhich can't be easily dodged (per-laps (per-laps just demands, perhaps not, lepending on who holds the scales). The second reason offered is this: Simply because many of the Pres-dent's Pres-dent's present labor advisors have lad little or no experience in labor elations, in the methods of labor eaders. And so finally, the man with the long cigarette holder, just back from the world battlefronts where "so-much-per-hour-per-day" wasn't the argument, but "so-many-lives-per-hour" was, where world maps were being re-drawn, where America's attitude at-titude and action was about to rewrite re-write history, became a little impatient. im-patient. The Action Date "We have come to the action date," said the President, "we have been talking here since Sunday. If you can't take action by agreement, I will have to take action by myself." my-self." He took it and he took the railroads. rail-roads. To say that Washington was hot surprised would be to misjudge Washington. The root of the whole trouble In this and all the labor disputes has been that -there were too many cooks. The trouble with the confusing confus-ing statements which come out of Washington is that there are too many cooks. And yet, we have that paradox that when there are too many people handling war problems, prob-lems, the only cure so far has been to substitute too few to pass the buck to one man the President. The answer to that is that one man simply cannot do it all. The war is too far away from us. We cannot lay aside our personal and natural desire to make as much money out of it as the next fellow. This has gone on from the beginningemployer, begin-ningemployer, making his profits, essential labor demanding and getting get-ting his high wages, the farmer, his incentive, and then those who follow fol-low after, shouting, "you did it for them, do it for me!" Not one group is blameless, only those who have been unable to bring pressure, hesitated to do so. And, for the most part, each group sincerely sin-cerely believing that it was getting no more than its just due, the rest were the prorferxs. the chiselers. The (Solution? At this writing, a National Service Act that will order who does what and for how much just as it is in the army. Misunderstanding There are a number of signs which night point to reason one as the one phich turned the scales, but, like nost of the other motivating forces n many of the recent labor deci-aons, deci-aons, they spring from the same oil as does reason two: misunder-rtanding misunder-rtanding of the methods of labor eaders. ! You will recall that William reen, A. F. of L. chieftain, when te made what since seems to have leen an ill-starred attack on the ttarshall statement that threats of itrikes might prolong the war, stat-id stat-id flatly that the railroad unions had tever intended to strike. That statement isn't questioned In pite of the angry denials of the ailroad union leaders. It is what 'ou heard in every railroad office rom every old time councilor and idvisor in Washington before the oads were taken over. Unfortunately, the whole situation reminiscent of the conversation loncerning the dog. The dog rowled. The owner said, "Don't i te frightened, I know he won't bite I rou." "But," replied his friend, 1 'does the dog know it?" i You see the friend had no under- i itanding of dogs, j If you had slipped into the White louse on a certain day not long J lefore the deadline for the strike tall of the so-called recalcitrant un- ons (enginemen and firemen, and ' onductors) had been reached, you ! oo might have been alarmed. The ! inion representatives (I am told) i fere making a noise very much like i dog that is going to bite. Now the old timers were used to he noise. But the two gentlemen ! ipon whom the President leans for J idvice In matters of stabilization 1 nvolving wage and price boosts, Jessrs. Byrnes and Vinson, were at accustomed to the sound. They lid not know that a labor leader's ark is often worse than his bite. ' ("There never was the faintest lossibility of an actual walkout on he nation's railroads." William reen.) Messrs. Byrnes and Vinson be-leved be-leved what they heard and it was Jenty. That experience, I think I can ay, is authentic. The labor lead-ts lead-ts emphatically and enthusiastical-p enthusiastical-p threatened, Messrs. Vinson and iyrnes took the warning growl for i real threat. Others of the Presi-ent's Presi-ent's council were convinced that I nere was excuse enough to do ' omething which they thought would e advantageous for political rea-ons. An Abiding Peace Common Sense Treatment Books on the postwar world can almost be described as the only commodity of which there is now surplus production, but this is one "Towards an Abiding Peace" that can be taken seriously. R. M. Mac-Iver, Mac-Iver, professor in Columbia university, univer-sity, for one thing writes a clear, simple unprofessorial language, laying lay-ing what he means directly and without with-out qualifications. He is for a world order but is too practical to believe you can have it by just writing a world constitution. constitu-tion. He wants a temporary peace which in a way carries on from the war alliance, and then a second stage in which we move to real international in-ternational control. Furthermore, he thinks that sooner or later our present enemies must be taken in unless we are going to let the third World war slowly fester. An international order is an international inter-national order to Mr. Maclven There are no weasel words. Mr. Maclver has worked out his plans in some detail. There is a lot of common sense in "Towards an Abiding Peace" on a subject on which a good deal of pretentious philosophizing is being done. Bond-Selling Plan Rep. Richard P. Gale of Minnesota Minne-sota has a plan for increasing bond sales to individual citizens the sales which it is most important to make. He thinks it is a cheap and easy way for the government to increase sales and interest in sales on the part of the average man. Senator Guffey offered a similar plan. Periodically, at intervals not greater than three months, he would have the treasury make a drawing. And the person holding the winning number he would be a bondholder, of course, would get a prize of from a hundred to 25 thousand dollars. It wouldn't be a lottery because nobody could lose you would have your bond for the money you invested invest-ed and your bond would be your ticket. |