Evening Star Newspaper, March 26, 1937, Page 11

1937. * A—11 Who’s Who THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, News Behind the News This Changing World q’HE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among © | Power Ample to Intervene in Strikes Federal Law Prescribes | | Duty on President to Guard Rights. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. RESIDENT ROOSEVELT has ample authority to intervene in “sit-down" strikes through- out the Nation and see to it that orders of the local courts are respected and the property rights and liberties of citizens are fully safe- guarded. ‘There's a little-used statute which not only confers this power upon the President but . specifically com- & mands him as a duty to exercise that power, Hav- ing taken an oath to “faithfully ex- ecute the office of President,” Mr. Roosevelt need not ask Congress for more power but can act in- stantly. The law is to be found in the United Stat . Revised Statutes. payig Lawrence. Section 5299, and reads as follows: “Whenever insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combinations, or conspiracies in any State so obstructs or hinders the execution of the laws thereof, and of the United States, as to deprive any portion or class of the people of such State of any of the rights, privileges, or immunities, or protgction, named in the Constitution and secured by the laws for the pro- tection of such rights, privileges, or immunities, and the constituted authorities of such State are unable to protect, or, from any cause, fail in or refuse protection of the people in such rights, such facts shall be| deemed a denial by such State of the | equal protection of the laws to wmcn; they are entitled under the Constitu- tion of the United States. Duty of Action Imposed. “And in all such cases, or whenever any such insurrection, violence, unlaw- ful combination, or conspiracy, opposes or obstructs the laws of the United States, or the due execution thereof, or impedes or obstructs the que course of justice under the same, it shall be lawful for the President, and it shall be his duty, to take such meas- ures, by the employment of the militia or the land and naval forces of the United States, or of either, or by other means, as he may deem neces- sary, for the suppression of such insur- rection, domestic violence, or com- binations.” Now what has happened in Michi- gan? A group of workers seized the plants of other persons and the courts ordered eviction. The orders of the courts were not obeyed. The constituted authorities were flouted and, indeed, challenged to enforce the orders of the courts. Subsequently, &s & matter of negotiation between employers and employes, the plants were evacuated but only on condition that the employers agree to give the workers the equivalent of their “sit- down” strike—a stoppage of all opera- tions and a stipulation that tools, dies, or other property should not be removed. Deny Right to Work. ‘What the “sit-down” strikers gained by voluntary evacuation was an ac- ceptance of the objectives of the “sit down,” namely to shut up the plants against the rights of other citizens | who might wish to work therein. As for the “ourt’s orders, they have been flagrantly disregarded and the Governor of Michigan and the sheriff have failed to carry out the equal protection of the laws of the State of Michigan required by the statute quoted above. No punishment has been meted out to the persons who this week disobeyed the court’s orders in connection with the “sit-down strike at the Chrysler plants or to the persons in Flint, Mich., who defied the orders of Judge Gadola's court. Although Judge Gadola issued or- ders that the “sit-down strikers” were in contempt of his court, he has had no backing by the Governor of Michi- | gan. Thus, not only have a number of citizens in Flint and in Detroit been deprived of their rights but many & person who “obstructs or hinders | the execution of the laws” of Michi- gan can feel free to do so in the The Williard Shoy OUTFITTERS TO GENTLEMEN CONN. AVE. AT L ST. N.W. Trial Technique Believed Used in Court Plan Hearing as Justice Department Agents Investigate Witnesses. BY PAUL MALLON. VAGUE atmosphere of great hidden power is beginning to be evident in the Senate committee hearings on the Roosevelt court program. It is puffing out in several little ways. ‘When Prof. Moley testified, for instance, his cross-examiner seemed to know everything Moley ever wrote. The questioning showed clearly that some one had done a regular trial job of rehearsing Moley’s past. Similarly, a Roosevelt witness, earlier, barked back at critical Senator Connally, reciting the exact page in the Congressional Record where long= forgotten things Connally said years ago, in a Senate debate on the con- firmation of Chief Justice Hughes, could be found. Obviously, this is not the usual hit-and-miss manner of con- ducting senatorial arguments. As Senators have neither the time nor inclination for such painstaking preparation of cases, it seems some one behind them must be telling them some questions to ask and some answers to give, There is. Backstage evidence indicates the “G-men” have moved in on the Senate and are using some of that skilled technique with which they sent all those gangster kidnapers to jail without a chance. EIE ] The man in charge seems to be the same who planned the perfect Government cases in the Urschel and other kidnapings, Joseph B. Keenan, assistant to the Attorney General. As every one knows, Mr. Keenan has never been slow enough to let a writ of habeas corpus or an extradition paper catch up with him. His technique has been to push men into airplanes and carry them where he wanted them to go. So far, no Senators have been taken for one of the famous Keenan-Hoover sky-rides, but a few of his sengtorial mouthpieces are beginning to complain privately about being pushed around. For instance, an idler in the Senate lobby has heard a Ju Department agent call a Senator on the telephone and say: that list of opposition witnesses out of Senator Burke right away. we must have them.” The Senator complained he had tried and Jailed, but the agent insisted in @ manner which few Government of= ficials care to employ against United States Senators. It is a matter of common report within the committee that defense witnesses have been taken to the Justice Department and examined on what they would say. Advance copies of direct testimony by several defense witnesses likewise bore the typographical style of the Justice Department mimeograph machine. There is really reason to believe the Justice Department has been do- ing little else lately except “trying this case” during the last few weeks. * kK ok X To an outsider, this may not seem to make much difference, but to any one who knows senatorial rope-jumping, it means plenty, especially in view of the fact that the opposition is unorganized, bi-partisan and un- aided. No law firm or groups of law firms in the country can command the resources and power of the Justice Department. They know, or can find out, everything about every one. They know what to do with it when they get it. x * x % With Government officials talking about an economic crisis, with sit= down strikes sweeping the country, with Mussolini making faces at England again—Congress has never been less busy. A Congressman figured up for his own amusement how long the Senate and House had actually been in session during the first seven weeks. He computed the Senate debating time at 35 hours and the House at 175. There is nothing to do. Important legisia- tion, like the President’s governmentalreorganization plan, has not yet gone through the advance committee machinery. % * ok ok x The real neutrality bill will now be written in secret. The Senate having passed one bill and the House another, conferees will get together and draft the final form, which will be different from either. No one much cares about what form the bill takes. The admin- istration has been playing down interest in the subject. Discussion embarrasses their trade treaty megotiations, and, anyway, they do not erpect war within a year. The proof of the neutrality debate will come in the kind of admin- istration President Roosevelt chooses to give it. He will do about what he pleases. * Kk K K The only known occasion in the history of the country when a Senator was speechless was reported the other day. One of those Senators who obtained judgeship nominations for friends about the same time that they decided to support the court reform program was stopped by Senator King in the hall. King said pleasantly, “Well, I see you got your judgship nomination.” The silent glare which the congratulated Senator bestowed in reply would have filled three pages of the Congressional Record. (Copyright, 1937.) P FIREMEN KEEP BARS future because other offenders have been immune. The Federal statute, it will be noted, makes it the obligation, in fact, the | duty of the President to intervene | when “from any cause” the consti- | RENSSELAER, N. Y., March 26 () themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. Is C_losed Shop Real Issue? BY DOROTHY THOMPSON. 1 HE truce in the Chrysler-C.I. O. struggle is a great relief to| the public, which is involved | by the fact that it is the pub- lic that eventually pays the bills for all industrial struggles. But the public has still only the foggiest notion of what the real issues in this fight are. It is not a fight for trade union rec- ognition, because the trade unions have been recog- nized in law and recognized at the outset by Mr. Chrysler. Tt is not a fight for wages and hours, because those are negotiable without this strike. It is not essentially a strike for modi- fication of the speed-up system, or for such matters as recognition of seniority, because, again, these could | be negotiated. It has apparently de- veloped into a struggle for the closed | shop, although the words closed shop are substituted by those vaguer ones of the Wagner labor relations act, “sole collective bargaining agency.” It is the closed shop which Mr. Chrysler opposes, and it is the closed shop which Mr. Lewis desires. Then, the strikes ungquestionably have an- other purpose. They are called as demonstrations of power, for the pur- pose not only of making an impres- sion on employers, but for the pur- | pose of making an impression on the workers, of making them union- minded, and of convincing them that they won't get their rights handed down to them on silver Just the same, the public has some questions to ask. ‘The public is the people of the United States. It is not organized labor, no matter what Mr. Lewis says. The majority of the wage and salary earners of this country are workers, but they do not belong to the ranks of organized labor and they never will under a democratic political system. They are engaged in agri- culture, in services, in free professions, in little businesses—in a thousand and one pursuits which cannot be union- ized. The people are not organized capital either. They may own a share | here and a share there, but they don't | depend on these to pay the grocery bill. This public is getting a little apprehensive. It sees that on the one side there is a powerful organized capital and on the other there is about to be a powerful organized labor, and they wonder where n either strife or agreement they are going to come in. | They wonder whether they may mnot | turn out to be the group holding the bag. Dorothy Thompson. Questions for Both Sides. | So the public is beginning to ask some questions, and to ask them of | callin, —Rensselaer's volunteer firemen can | keep their bars in the firehouses, the | Board of Public Safety decided last | capital, labor and Government. It is asking capital the following: Is capital | willing to recognize the principle of tuted authorities of a State “fail in or | night over the protest of the Women's refuse protection of the people” in Christian Temperance Union. the exercise of their constitutional By a 2-to-1 vote the board voted rights. vx yor Willi ight's pro- Not only have laws of Michigan dogn MeyorgWillam i AW s e D been violated but Federal laws as well. There are severe penalties for interfering with the delivery of let- ters or interfering with the proper receipt of mail by persons lawfully authorized to receive such mail. The main issue, however, is the failure of the constituted authorities of Michigan to give protection to the courts of the State and to the citi- zens of the State with respect to rights guaranteed them by the Federal Constitution. (Copyright, 1937.) i out delay.” - —_———— Twenty Years Too Late. LEAD, S. Dak. (#).—The newspaper story said “the Homestake Mine would employ any number of men of the 4th | Regiment at $3 per day,” so two Pierre | men drove all night to get & job. Arriving at Lead they were told there were no jobs. Closer scrutiny of the paper revealed the item was under the “20 years ago today” column. To Gentlemen who have to premacy bring. you your AND TOPCOAT within you’ll welcome. dress well Men in the lime- light, political, so- cial or professional appreciatd and rec- ognize the impor- tance of dressing impeccably. These men come to the " Williard Shop s knowing they will get fine fabrics, patterns, designs. For those who make Easter an oc- casion for dressing we recommend our cutaways, striped trousers and pearl grey vest. The prices are reason- able and within reach of every one. They start at fifty dollars. —hand needlework Suits & Topcoats By Fields Well Styled—Well Made and Priced to Answer Popular Demand We feel like a million dollars in our new home. With our beautiful surroundings—our unlim- ited displays of the finest clothing the market affords and the marvelous opening we have just experienced—we have been made very happy. But we haven’t gone “high hat.” Fields style leadership and value-giving su- and 31 5.50 DELUXE MASTERBUILT SUITS An amazing value at this price—the product of true clothing craftsmen custom-made garments. independent trade unionism and allow organization without interference? 1Is| capital willing to abandon the sham! union? Is capital willing to do away | willing to recognize any one union as | new SPRING SUIT a price range that Suits & Topcoats $ 2.50 with features of $95,50 Chrysler Truce Hailed as Opportunity for Public to Ask Questions. sole collective bargaining agency for all, and if not, why not? Is capital willing to accept the check-off system, by which union dues are collected by the employer out of the pay envelopes of the workers and passed on to the union? If not, what are the argu- ments against it? What sort of ma- chinery for the adjustment of disputes, in advance of and following the out- break of a strike does capital suggest be set up? And—how much of in- creased labor costs must be passed on to the public? Of course, “capital” cannot answer these questions, but the basic 'zey in- dustries of the country might answer them, and if they did, we would be on our way somewhere. But the public also wants some answers from labor. It wants to know: Is labor leadership bent on achieving its ends by strikes and coercion? Is it really exhausting the possibilities of negotiation before calling out—or shutting in—the work- ers and stopping production? Is it a means of organizing? What, pre- cisely, does labor mean by *sole col- lective bargaining agency?” Does it mean the closed shop? If not, what protection is to be offered minorities, if any? If so, what protection is to be offered the public, if any? What re- sponsibilities will the unions assume that contracts will be carried out? What measures will the unions take against trade-union Tacketeering? Have the unions never employed spies and thugs? If the check-off system is adopted, what accounting do the unions give of this pay roll tax? What guarantees, if any, are there that the unions themselves are democratic in- stitutions? How do the unions feel about labor monopolies? Where Does Government Stand? And we, the public, would also like to ask a few questions of the Govern- ment. We would like to know: Just what is Government’s role in all this? Is it the role of an umpire, or is it the collaborator of one of the parties? Is the Government representing us, or is | it forgetting all about us? We would like to know what the rules and objectives of this game are. We would like to have some- thing to say about those rules and objectives. And at present we have the feeling that we are very short on representation and we trust completely either capital, la- bor or the Labor Relations Board or the labor relations apparently is everybody's slavey, to be called or dismissed as happens to be convenient. If we don't get some answers, we, too, might go on a sit-down strike. We might just fold our hands when the tax collector comes around, and fold our hands when the bills come in with every- body's gains and agreements charged up to us. The sit-down strike is ef- fective because it is psychologically so attractive. Who of us has not been tempted time and again to em- ploy it? (Copyright. 1037.) Wind Speeds Planes. Wind added 50 miles the speed of an airplane flying re- posal that the bars be “removed with- | with hired spies and thugs? Is capital | cently from Dublin, Irish Free State, | to Croydon, England. AT THE CROSS- ROADS OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL Al Alterations Ready for Easter strikes in order to win the right | | to organize, or is it calling strikes as If Diplomats Lose Tempers, What Can Be Ex- pected of Nations Themselves? BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. HE “peace capital” of Europe has moved from Geneva to London. There delegates of 27 naticns can talk about the best means to bring ebout permanent peace in the world. They are encouraged by the tremendous rearmament activities of the British govern- ment. The British explain that these war-like preparations are not aimed at any particular nation. They have simply adopted the Latin axiom: If you want peace prepare for war. o i “ar. PREPARATIONS > the representatives of foreign na- tions have a hard time to keep peace among themselves. Last ‘Wednesday at the meeting to main- tain the civil war in Spain local- ized, the delegates barely avoided coming to actual blows. The slender and elegant Dino Grandi, Musso- lini's representative, wanted to show a few Italian pugilistic tricks to heavy-sct Ivan Maisky, the Am- bassador from Moscow. Parliamentarian expressions, such as “Russian swine” and “Italian gigolo,” were exchanged during this memorable diplo- matic argumentation. Ribbentrop kept out of the fight. He explained later that had he got involved he could not have confined his activity to words; he would have beaten the stuffing out of his Russian colleague. Fights in diplomatic circles are not new. London was the scene of such fights about 300 years ago. But at that time the Ambassadors of France and Spain did not participate in the brawl personally; they ordered their retinues to fight it out while they themselves exchanged invectives from their coaches. * % K % ‘%% But even In the British capital * K Kk % The London incident has another side except the humor of the fight between these representatives. It shows that if individuals bred to etiquette, taught for years to use the most polite smile and most chosen words in dealing with their most determined enemies, lose their tempers and are ready to exchange blows, what can be expected of nations bent on oblaining by force what they consider to be their rights? * ok k% ‘The French have suddenly become aware of the danger to their se- curity of the presence of Italian regulars in Spain, For the time being there are but few such troops with Gen. Francisco Franco. But the de- feat of the black shirt legion might determine Mussolini to send several divisions of real fighters. There is no doubt that the Franco forces, strength- ened by seasoned Italian regulars, would clean up the whole situation in & short time. This the French government wants to avoid. Blum and Delbos are pressing Great Britain to announce its adherence to an effective blockade of the Spanish coast and thus warn Mussolini not to attempt to send troopships to Franco. * ok % % The British have some 80 ships concentrated at Gibraltar; the bulk of the French fleet is in the Mediterranean. An effective blockade could be established, but would be fraught with great dangers to the peace of Europe. Dictators cannot afford to have their bluffs called. If Mussolini has made up his mind to send troops to Franco he will do so whether the peace of Europe be- comes endangered or not. Re- | cently he has considered the Brit- | ish rearmament program as | aimed directly at Italy, and he | may seek a showdown before the British have actually rearmed. * ok Kk It is doubtful that a blockade such as the French advocate at present will be enforced soon. France is concerned with her security; don’t | act-—which | an hour to | | so is Britain. But while the French are concerned over Europe exclusively—their immediate frontiers—the British think in terms of Europe and of the Far East. They realize that a fight in the Mediterranean, where they and the French have the whip hand over | the Italians, will have immediate repercussions in the Far East. And the British mavy is not prepared yet to tackle two far-apart fronts, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. * kX % Count Ciano’s visit to Belgrade is not deprived of political significance. Nobody expects to see an Italian-Yugoslav alliance as a result of this friendly visit. The Belgrade government, led by Prince Paul, has adopted in the last few years a practical policy. Friendship is friendship and business is business. There is no doubt that the Yugoslav government will refuse to be drawn into a European war unless it is forced to do so by reasons of self-preservation. As long as it is convinced that the result of a war between the westérn “balkanized” nations will not affect the national unity of Yugoslavia, Prince Paul and his government will keep out of trouble. Ciano is going to Belgrade, not to detach Yugoslavia from the French, but to give the most formal assurances that whatever may happen in Western Europe, Italy harbors no aggressive intentions against her eastern neighbor, nor does she desire to conquer any parts of the present Yugoslav kingdom. i “IWhy don’t these infernal fish stop biting— it’s long past time for my Wilkins Coffec” Behind the News Career of W. O. Doug- las Akin to That of Dick Whittington. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON. ILLIAM O. DOUGLAS land- ed in New York in a box car, with 6 cents in his pocket. After a prelim- inary bout with the big town, he left | and tried it again, like Dick Whitting= | ton, this time with a stake of 30 cents. | As a member of the Securities and | Exchange Commission, he tells the New York Bond Club that “the de- structive domination of bankers in industry must be ended.” His ad- dress was taken as a hint that the underwr that investme: bankinz gener- ally might be d strin- tio s ap- it to the la Wm. O. Douglas. ’\‘“1»' at the aj of 37, Mr. D las had beer experting an item ine volving millions of dollars for Joseph Kennedy, head of the commission. He | was professor of law at Yale, of wida | repute and called by President Hutch= ins of Chicago the most knowing law | professor in America, or words to that | effect. | He was born at a Minnesota cross | roads. His mother, the widow of a | Presbyterian minister, shifted over States, trying to maintain her three youngsters. At Yakima, Wash, | young Douglas served a morning and ‘am-mmn newspaper route, gathered and sold junk, pruned and sprayed orchards and worked in the | fields. Thus, at 18, he had acq second-hand bicycle and an shirt. He pedaled to Whi | lege at Walla Walla, lived in @ te and worked as a janitor | He failed to get a Rhodes sct ship, but snared a Phi B key, which went with York He picked up a few odd jobs and entered Columbia law After six months as a law he wrote a correspondence cour law, picked up $600, and ran tr |to 1,000 by tutoring. He rode & to Yakima on the cushions to m | his childhood sweetheart. When they | returned to New York, he landed on irlw Columbia law faculty, switch | to Yale in 1928. (Copyright, 1937.) LAWYERS SENTENCED Two Plead Guilty Without License. to Practice | LOS ANGELES. March 26 (#).—Jos- eph J. Asciutto and George Scala, New York attorneys, were sentenced in Mu- nicipal Court yesterday to pay $500 each and serve 100 days in jail follow- ing their pleas of guilty to a charge of practicing law without a license. The charge was one of seven against them, alleging ambulance chasing and ! conspiracy to obstruct justice.