Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 September 1949 — Page 28
The Indianapolis Times
- A SCRIPPS-AOWARD NEWSPAPER
-
ROY W ,, HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE { id Pd Editor
PAGE 28 rn i WE
ted Yon. Seripps-Howar, wrpaper Alliance, NEA Bervfos and Audit Bureas of Clrenlations
HENRY W = Business . Manager
Thursday, Sept. 22, 1949
County. 5 cents a for, 42 ar pred hora carrier Pole 4 fa ay, hah on! rates In Indiana. Wo We » Jy ally 00 a year. Sunday ho Mates. U possess Aearians Canada and Sunday. a cop
ily $110 a month Telephone RI ley 5551 Give L4oht and the Peonis Will Find Their Own Way
v
A Battle of Giants That
Threatens Disaster
HIS country is heading for possible disaster. Combined coal and steel strikes could disrupt American business and bring a depression. In turn, such an event could destroy the whole world recovery program. Yet we seem to be rushing toward this tragedy with a deleatist attitude that nothing can be done to avert it. The reason is that both coal and steel controversies are on a scale so vast that they are getting beyond ordinary means of control. The policy of nation-wide industrial bargaining now
is plunging toward what may be its supreme test. The | results can be ruinous to the two laboF unions and the
two industries involved—and, above all, to the American
people. . I] . yy »
THE details of this vast and complex struggle are But the basic, fundamental cause |
many and debatable. is that true collective bargaining has been destroyed. About 1600 companies have contracts with “the C10 United Steelworkers headed by Philip Murray. About 4000 companies employ members of the United Mine Workers, * bosged by John L. Lewis.’ -But these individual companies, and the local unions of the men who work for them, have no chance to bargain. “They caniot meet and reach a settlement for. themselves,
designed for theig ows particular interests. "They have. to
follow a pattern set for them in a struggle of a few giants. ‘While there is fault on both sides, the vast monopolistic ‘system of industry-wide bargaining has chiefly been forced by Messrs. Lewis and Murray. U. 8S. Steel, the leader on ‘management's s side, is big and strong, but does not have the monopoly powers of those two union leaders.
«a & » dn»
coal strike and threatened steel strike have in effe@® become two halves of a single struggle. E is a three-cornered fight. In qne corner is Mr. Lewis, in another is Mr. Murray ind in the third is U. 8. Steel Presiden Ben Fairless and a few industry companions. The issue is a system of pensions toward which the workers do nqt want to make any contribution.’ Mr. Lewis has such a system, but it has gone broke. It hils been financed by a private tax of 20 cents on each ton pt coal mined. The fund wis depleted because from “the start benefits paid out were too large for its. income, becaise its revenue was sharply reduced when Mr. Lewis decreed a three-day week in the coal fields, and because somé operators wouldn't pay the 20-cent tonnage tax after theig contract with the union expired. Mr, Murray also wants a pension plan financed wholly “ by employers. The fact-finding board named by Mr. Truman:recommended it, but on a smaller scale... Those recommendations were not binding. President Truman so.stipuand the steel companies expressly raserved their when they agreed to take part in the hearings. But now Mr. Murray demands that the companies accept them in total before he is willing to Rogotiate,
AS FOR steel, it is in an uncomfortable position. It has wo different pension policies. It provides pensions for exedutives and coal miners toward which they do not contribute. But it claims that system is wrong in principle "for a third group of its employees—the steel workers. The Lewis pension system originally was negotiated by the government after it had seized the coal mines during a strike in 1946. The companies claim they had to accept it to get back their mines, But in 1947—when there was no seizure—-U. 8. Steel and Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal
her
Co. took the lead in negotiating a master contract for the
whole coal industry. The contract accepted the pension system, doubled the contributions, and included a provision that miners need work only when “able and willing."
This litter clause made John Lewis economic, as well |
as labor, boss of the coal industry. It enabled him to call all sorts of legal strikes for various purposes, and to cut operations to a three-day week in order to restrict production. Other companies violently Opposed the settlement —but finally had to accept it.
NOW the leaders in this three-cornered battle are caught
on the horns of the dilemma they have created. So is the goverfiment which is chiefly responsible for industry-wide bargaining.
{ | | | |
The steel industry apparently cannot follow one pen-
sionsplan for coal miners and exec utives, and another plan
for eel workers. Some uniform system seems “essential |
to restore peace. “Thus two industry-wide union hops headed by ~ rivat and hostile and powerful leaders, are caught in a single dispute. They are intent on fighting it out almost excllisively with the biggest company in the steel business, It is a clash of giants. These ‘concentrations of power Are 80 great that the
pip
average citizen and company and local union seem unable | to do anything to avert the disaster. That is why there is |
a defeatist attitude today. “sw . * » 80 WHAT is the answer? Obviously, if this struggle develops as now.threatened,
government will step in. That may be toufth on big steel and
big ‘steel workers and big coal miners, and on Messrs. Lewis, Murray and Fairless. : But it can be even tougher on the American public and - the American system of free business. The leaders in this struggle are overreaching them- - Selves to the point that their struggle can wreck free union. Jam a an fre business.
‘ {llness and mishaps, against medical expenses
_is a matter of forcing bigger benefits as new w ‘contracts are signed.
- benefits to any Tom, Dick and Harry? "it try to hold thém for the favored few—such as
. only among the larger corporations or'in fields | “where there is a union ‘monopoly, such as coal and steel:
to do so, somebody in turn would have to insure
. the new proposals,
' PENSIONS... By E. 1. ooh = | Can Man's Life
Be Made Safe?
Security for Worker Could Change Whole U. §. System
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22--What the worker is after in this drive-for pensions and Insurance benefits is lifetime decurity. | What the fact-finders in the steel case advo- | eated was that industry should provide it for | him, | If this happened, then the biggest day In a |
man’s life would be the one when he landed a |
~—permanent job.
Getting on a payroll would no longer be just a matter of immediate wage or salary. It would determine also the worker's protection against
for his family, against want in his old age, and even against meeting funeral bills and the care of his family after death, All those things are provided under the Insurance and pension plan which John L, Lewis | established in the coal fields, by imposing a private tax on the purchasers of coal. Other union heads never will rest content until they catch up with Mr. Lewis. He never will be content to let them do so.
Complex Theory
IT SOUNDS simple to say, as the steel factfinders did, provide pensions and social insurance, It Is | hard for anyone to deny their claim that employers should “take care of temporary and permanent depreciation in the human ‘machine’ in much the same way as provision is made for depreciation and: insurance. of plant and machinery.” In short, treat a man as well as you would a motor, | That is a simple and humane policy. . | boss buys the machine and takes care of it; The hires the worker and takes care of him. us It sounds elemental. Actually, it may prove to be the most complex undertaking in our en-
| tire history. It can change our whole economy, | the outlook of the individual worker, and fi- | nally, our form of government. i
For the sake of simplicity, look at the matter [
first from the standpoint of the worker. The | young man takes a job, which pays wages, in- | surance benefits and some day—in what looks { like the dim future to him-—it will pay old-age pensions.’ All of this seems to be at the cost of the-boss,
Freezing Man on Job
ONCE HE gets such a job, the young worker is secure -—in theofy. Just so" he stays put, and nothing happens to the rir. His future largely
It's a way of freezing a man on his job and a group on an employer. But later the young man may want to change. If so, what of the insurance and pension angles? Can he start anew with the same benefits as workers of longer service? Will an employer, with the heavy liability of insurance and pensions, want to hire anybody except young workers? Or will a union with a better than average contract want to extend the Won't
relatives? Not all businesses can have such systems. | Most Americetn firms are small. They come and gO, succeed and fall. Once on the payroll of a firm with social security, will theaverage worker dare to take a chance—such as going into business for himself or accepting better pay in a new venture?
Not Same Systems
WHAT OF workers not covered by these schemes? Obviously the better ones will exist
The farmer, store kgeper and. small businessman --who are the majority of Amerfea's proprietors—will not have the same systems as the giant firms and giant unions. Yet all Americans those covered and uncovered by these schemes —will help pay the cost of them, For, actually, they won't be free. They will be.a part of the cost of doing business—and therefore a factor in fixing the prices of goods | and services for everybody,
The steel fact-finders sald business has an obligation “to provide insurance against the eco- | nomic hazards of modern industrial life. But
business against -the hazard of modern commercial life. Otherwise suppose a firm loses money or goes broke? What will happen to its security system? The answer, 6f course, would be a demand that government fake over the business, But government, too, can go hroke. Particularly in times of poor business. And government already has its own social security system which is inadequate and unpopular, These questions are not intended to condemn They are just a few of the many perplexities created by the report of the steel fact-finders. We are apt to spend yeas trying to find the facts they didn’t find when they reached their easy solution.
FRIENDLINESS
A kindly smile in greeting, A word of friendly cheer, A handclasp, warm and tender May make a friend, sincere. A spoken word, in anger t Upon a face a frown Are vou that crass offender Fach kindly impulse down? { Is there really jov in speaking That harmful, Rurtful word? f If to vou it brought no pleasure | It were better far, unheard, |
~~MARY R. WHITE A54 N. Sherman Dr. Indianapolis
“.
that industry has an obligation to | -
“pursuing an idea tots
KY J
xm
1 MY
OUR TOWN
By Anton rR
First RE in Baseball
IT 18 A MATTER of considerable concern to us columnists that tomorrow marks the 41st
anniversary of the day P ng word. “bonehead” . wormed its way into the hearts of 'lexicographers to become an integral part of the Ameri- =
can language. Up until that time v we had nothing better to
work with than words like “boob” and “nitwit,” both of which fell short of
source. Which is to say that it wasn’t until the afternoon. of Sept. 23, 1908, that anybody had even taken the pains to penetrite the process of acting stupidly and learn that it had its seat not in the mind (or lack of it), as everybody had heretofore believed, but in the
hard substance composed of lime, salts and organic material that go-to make the bones of the human skull. On that memorable afternoon, sometime around 4 o'clock (EST), the New York baseball team was playing the outfit from Chicago on
the Polo Grounds. The outcome of that game would determine which of the two should lead the National League. (It wasn't a World Series game as some slovenly historians would have our youngsters. believe.)
Dramatic Occasion
ON that occasion the setting of the stage was perfect and as dramatic as one can expect
of baseball. It was the last half of the ninth inning, the score 1 to 1. Oh Boy! New York at bat, two batters had been declared out. Moreover, the Giants had two men on base one on third, the other on first.. The runner on first was Frederick Charles Merkle. I give you his full name not only because he was tops in his line at the time, but because it was he who enriched the American language with a word | whose birth we celebrate tomorrow. To recapitulate: With two men out, two on bases and the score 1 to 1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Bridwell (the next New York player) came to bat. He delivered a clean single into center field. The runner on third came romping home with what looked like the winning run. However, there is more to baseball than meets the eye. What the uninitiated failed to realize that day was the fact that the play
Barbs—
A NOTED author says the way a man keeps his library is an indication of his character. We see our shelves as others see us. * ¢ AN IOWA barber was slightly injured when run over by his own car. Step right in and ¢ he'll tell you all about it. . * 9° 0 FRIENDLY advice to young Lotharios— keep your mind on the steering wheel rather than the clutch,
* ¢ 9
THERE were 15,106,000 children under’ five’ In the United States last July. No wonder we see 50 many frantic mothers. * ¢ 9
WE READ more and more about pog 1 barbers—top notchers, as it were. ¥ id
SIDE GLANCES
r
Jim's profs and find out how he's
: Tn ; J 7
By Galbraith | LABOR-MA
progréssin Here he $ ing to start at left end with the varsityl”
N—————————
=~ can industry, employment.
stability,
the mess in the coal industry.
workers,
Controlled by Lewis
responsibility,
ated by the steel companies.
| principle, opposed to any hot contribute as "el bo as the com
~ ~a
"Let's drive down to os school over the weekend and talk to
' Lost.”
UL
ctr mn eds |
NAGEMENT . .. By Marquis Childs
‘Nation's Welfare at Stake in Labor Dispute
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22--This is a crucial week for Ameri: plan Is unworkable is the fact that it is entirely financed by the
All the signs point to an upturn in business and But strikes in coal apd steel can reverse this frend and revive thé symptoms of recession or worse, In the negotiations between the Steelworkers’ Union and the steel companies is a hope-—albeit a frail hope-ifor sanity and A reasonable outcome of the.steel dispute, reached through an orderly process, would afford a striking contrast to
# That mess is largely the, result of the high-handed power politics indulged in by John L. Lewis, the authoritarian boss of the United Mine Workers Union. that Lewis has enforced on the coal industry is ample of how not to establish a system of benefits for union
! It has never been worked out on any sound actuarial basis, . Flagrant abuses have already put the miners’ fund in the red. There are reports of discrimination and Injustice. - v +
LEWIS is one of the three trustees of the pension fund. “A second trustee, Sen, Styles Bridges of New Hampshire, paid a salary of $35,000 a year, almost invariably votes with Lewis, ‘which means that Lewis controls the fund. But if Lewis is largely to blame for the condition of nearanarchy that prevails, the steel axecutives also must take some They agreed to Lewis’ pension terms when ne was bargaining for the workers in the captive mines owned and oper-
Under those terms the companies pay all the old-age pension i of $150 a. month. Having agreed to this only a few months ago, | the company executives now come in and say that they are, in
Surely, It should be possible. s decent and workable pension and Mapas seidy Would sow That due, fesse Soagpuivers’ puion
was_not yet completed and, indeed, would not be completed unless, and until, the aforesaid Mr. Merkle reached second base. It's in the book of rules as Mr. Harshman learned last Monday night when he failed to touch third base thereby erasing three runs that Minneap‘olis thought sure it had in the bag. :
Mystery in Play
WHAT Merkle actually. did do, following Bridwell's hit, remains a mystery to this day. The obvious thing for a player of his sagacity to do was, of course, to reach second base with
. all the speed at his command. After the game,
Merkle insisted that was exactly what he tried to do. On the other hand, it is just as able to believe. (skull structures being what they are) that when part way to second base, Merkle saw that Bridwell had hit safely permitting the runner on third to reach home safely. In that case, he may have “reasoned” that there was nothing to be gained by wearing himself out running to second base as the book of rules prescribed.
reason-..
. usually appears on Christ
At this stage of the game, Johnny Evers |
(second baseman of the Cubs and a perfectionist as pure as they come) revealed the shape of his skull. He signaled the -outfielder to return the ball to him. The outfielder attempted to comply
with Johnny's command, but was interfered
with by New York .players and the fans who |
had streamed onto the field.
Meanwhile there was a struggle over and |
for the body of the bewildered Mr. Merkle, his
New York playmates seeking to drag him to
second base; the Chicago players just as determined to - hold him back. There pandemonium every bit as terrifying as that conceived by Milton and portrayed in “Paradise There was drama ynmatehed by. anything Shakespeare wrote, - When it appeared that nothing more could be added to the conflicting interests in human life, a spectator (and unquestionably a Chicago rooter) struggled for the ball. He. got it and with unerring skill threw it to Johnny Evers who, by this time, appeared to be swallowed up BY ihe milling mob of players, spectators and police
Umpire Disappeared
WITH the ball in his hand and his feet firmly planted on second base, Johnny surveyed the field for an umpire to hand down a decision in compliance with the book of rules. To no avail, however, the one magistrate appointed for the Job that day had disappeared some minutes before "ufider the protection of a formidable escort of police. There's no telling how long Johnny Evers stood In this position. However, everybody was Agreed that -Johnny's stature increased with every minute until finally he looked like one of the fabled Greek titans which was all the more remarkable betauise Johnny Evers was one of the smallest _Players ever to grace a baseball diamond. ° Next day, the New ‘York papers credited the game to the Giants. However, they didn't have their way. After examining the book of rules, the president of the’ National League declared the*game a tie dnd ordered it replayed. In a pitcher's duel (Matthewson vs. Brown), Chicago won the game (4-2) and the championship. And ever since that day the word “bonehead” has .been fixed on those of us who, because-of skull
was |
or the like, permit perfectionists of Johnny |
Evers’ stature to show us up for what we are. qd thought you ought to know,
‘Hoosier Forum _ 21 do vot dyes with 8 word thet 00 wy, tut J will defend to the death your right fo sey I"
2 eo od
‘Opposition to Militarism’ 4
By Richard H. Shuffisbarger, Martinsville. i A column by Douglas Larsen, headed “Draft | Law Buccess,” which appedred in The Times recently, states that “most of the top generals”
pletely inoffensive to ‘the American public.” Militaristic thinking and military control over our life have become 'so widespread that possibly a majority of Americans do unthinkingly accept peacetime conscription as necese sary, reasonable and just. We have forgotten that a great many of our ancestors came from Eiirope just to escape compulsory military training (which President Wilson termed “the root
. evil of Prussitanism”). We have forgotten that
military training is essentially training for murder, which is forbidden by our laws and our religions. We have even forgotten our history, which teaches, as historian Arnold Toynbee asserts, “Militarism . . . has been by far the commonest cause of the breakdowns of eivilizae tions during the last four or five milennia. . Even so, the “top generals” are probably mistaken if they believe there exists no comsiderable opposition to their plans for putting over universal military training.
* & 0
‘Slandering Socialism’
By R. Sprunger, City In attempts to libel and slander socialism, the apologists of capitalism either are dishonest of succeed in making themselves appear silly. Recently a contributor to the Forum been making ridiculous statements that we are being taxed into socialism. These upholders of capitalism that snivel about its consequences remind one of a person being dumb enough to plant cockleseed and then complain of the nature of the crop. ~ Taxes are collected to operate the capitalist political state and the purpose of the state is to keep the working class in subjection and their noses to capitalism's grindstone. It is futile for the working class to make a fight on high prices or taxes because in either - case, whether prices and taxes are high or low, it is intended that the working class receive only enough in wages for food, clothing and shelter,
The only way the workers can remove. the
‘parasites from their backs is-to exercise their - constitutional right for change .and. abolish capitalism along with its political state and establish the Socialist Industrial Union Republie of Labor. * oo »
"World Should Disarm’
By Clarence Love, Marshall, Ind.
“Peace on earth, good will toward men.” This is a phrase we see once a year, It cards and then withers away forgotten. s would be a good slogan for daily use by parlo instead of only once a year. It might help prevent the world from plunging into another blood bath, in which women and little children would be among the victims. ° Not an arms race but a race to disarm by all nations would help solve the present situa tion. At least it is worth striving for, Men of science warn us there will be no victors in any future world struggle. This
+ sounds realisfic and they should know.
* © 0
‘Why Are Salaries Secret?’
By Ella 8. Gregory, ‘Jasper, Ind.
Here is a little fact that needs some of the light of publicity, Having taught school for 14 ‘vears I know. that our salaries were always made public in the printed annual report of the School Board. Now, Indiana University, Purdue and the two state teachers’ colleges refuse to publish or even to give information to taxpayers who foot a good part of the bill. The treasurer's department at IU said: “Salaries paid to teaching ;and non-teaching personnel of the university are confidential matter. We would not supply this information even to the Governor.” What sort of democracy is this? Who made these state colleges and universities so sacred and untouchable?
What Others: Say
WE HAVE had. three rounds of wage ine -creases in the past three years. The country was assured that each was possible without price increases. (But) prices did increase so that the higher wage benefits were soon Pale
filed. — Herman W. Steinkraus, president, . 8 Chamber of Commerce. * 9
THE acts of the present Czechoslovak ree gime, directed toward the tyrannous domination of religious organizations by the police state, are clearly contrary to UN standards and as such are deplored by the . . , United States.—-Secre-
tary of State Acheson. . +
®¢ +
. I FEEL I'm accomplishing something-—not just sitting like that man in Cleveland.— Mrs, dean Ellis of Revere, Mass, who is sitting on » pole to protest high rents. * * . WELL, I got him.—Gloria McLean, now Mra Jimmy Stewart, _
. companies.
The so-called pension system a. beautiful ex-
=
Conceivably this could make for abuse and irresponsibility, An impartial study such as that proposed by the President's fact finding board would throw light on this and related questions.
' Public Wonders
THE average citizen looking on is bound to wonder why in such a rich and profitable industry reasonable compromise 's not possible. The companies have made extraordinarily high profits. The workers are paid relatively high wages. It would seem that Just a small degree of adjustment should prevent a sénseless fight over who gets what; a fight likely to hurt millions who have ne ‘direct connection with the steel industry. Some companies in other industries have successfully undertaken profit-sharing plans under which their employees share the gains of the owners. It may be that some such step, and it would be a comparatively short step, holds the key to another advance
toward industrial peace,
phasizing the pension and Tecomni he that pels the to these 18 n com plan to which thé workers dé aac : : 10 be union side. hbialy tutming LOF & strike to negotiate & against the board the fact-finding technique fs not
‘insurance system. Per-
recommendations of the steel fact-finding board have been well received. ‘ough investigation and on-<the basis of that exhaustive inqiiiry, made Proposals ‘that were in the interest of the general welfare and not just one or another ‘seginent of the industry.
Bitter Pill to Swallow
wo THE union's request” for a fourth- round wage increase was
The concensus is that the board did a thor«
————
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t
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