Evening Star Newspaper, October 24, 1937, Page 31

Editorial Page Special Articles Part 2—8 Pages U. S. SENDS “LIGHTNING” TO 9-POWER CONFERENCE Administration Declared Determined Far-Eastern War Be Halted—Word ‘Block’ Reported Being Whispered. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. HE American delega#ion at the nine-power canference, which | will open in Brussels next Sun- | day, has sailed. It is headed | by Norman H. Davis, an old and un- | lucky hand at the many international gatherings Uncle Sam has attended since 1927. He carries an olive branch ~ in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. Mr. Davis will exert every effort to avoid adjournment at the first sign of real difficulties. Mr. Roose- velt feels that the Far Eastern prob- | lem must not be left in the same state of confusion European diplo- | mats have left other situations which were discussed on the basis of exist- ing international treaties. The nine-power pact in itself is the expression of a pious hope that its signatories—the United States, Great Britain, France, Javan, Italy. the Netherlands, Belgium, China and Portugal—will respect China’s terri- torial integrity. It contains no spe- | wcific penalty for the nation which disregards its solemn pledge. It merely provides “a frank exchange | of views between the signatories” in the event one of them violates the provisions of the pact. Frankness has never been the strong point of European and Asiatic diplomats. Two Powers Left Out. Like most treaties which were con- cluded soon after the World War, two powers. with vital interests in the Far East, the U. S. S. R. and | Germany, have been left out of the convention. In 1922, when the pact | was concluded, these two nations were still considered pariahs in the concert | of world powers. The far-seeing diplomats who engineered the agree- ment did not conceive that within less | than a generation Russia and Ger- many might once more become powers to be reckoned with. It is obvious to the Washington | administration that Russia will have | to be invited soon after the opening of the’ conference. Not only has the | Soviet Union as vital interests in China’s integrity as the other signa- tories, but should a showdown become inevitable it is hoped that she will become the “torchbearer of the West- | ern democracies.” In an everyday business transaction the individual who is required to put up a substan- | tial amount of cash must be given | a place on the Board of Directors. | And that is the position of the | Government is tfle Italian government last week pro- hibited the sale of arms and ammuni- tion to China. Under the circum- stances, Italy is not expected to sup- port the American-British-French point of view regarding China’s in- tegrity. Davis Has Two Advisers. Ambassador Davis is going to Brus- sels fully cognizant of the pitfalls of this momentous conference. He has two advisers. Dr. Stanley Hornbeck, the Far Eastern expert of the State Department, has closely followed the vagaries ol the American and the Japanese diplomacy since 1931. He is a staunch advocate of the status quo in China. After many years’ | experience in Far Eastern affairs, he knows that a policy of “please be | good” toward Japan has little chance of being successful. Pierrepont Moffat, the chief of Eu- ropean affairs in the State Depart- ment, is the other adviser. Endowed with a prodigious memory, he will be at Mr. Davis' elbow to watch the | moves of th: European powers as they endeavor to divert the discussion from the Asiatic situation to a conflict be- tween fascism and communism. This is, one of the best chances the European nations have had in the last four years to burden Uncle Sam with their problems. While the American people begin to realize the importance of the Far Eastern problems for them- selves, they seem unhesitatingly op- posed to taking onanother war. The administration is determined | that the Chinese-Japanese undeclared war must be stopped. It would nat- urally prefer an amicable solution through mediatfon of the other na- tions. It will not hesitate to examine Japan's grievances, and it is prepared to recognize that on certain occasions China may have been unwise in her dealings with Tokio. The American willing to shut its eyes to the actual aims which have prompted the Japanese to invade Chi- nese territory. It is prepared to ac- cept the word of the Tokio govern- | ment that it has acted under provoca- tion. The Brussels meeting will offer Japan a perfect opportunity to prove both that it has been provoked and that it has no territorial aims. Other Conferences Arranged. Should the Japanese and their con- federates decide to torpedo the meet- ing, however, Mr. Davis will discuss on the spot other methods for settling he Swunday SStad WASHINGTON, D. C, Radio Lanes of the Future BY JAMES E. CHINN, ‘ UST one peep behind the curtain | of technicalities surrounding the Federal Communication Commission’s sweeping wave | length allocations of last week is pro- | phetic of what may be expected in| radio in the near future. | Seven hundred broadcasting sta- | tions—double the present number— | probably will crop up throughout the | country to add to the already existing bedlam in the ether. Nineteen broad roadways will be | available for television, radio’s ex-| pected child which now has been so | long in arriving that a Caesananf operation may be necessary to bring it out of the laboratory. mysterious ether lanes for police work, | allowing 25 additional municipal and county governments and four State governments to make use of the most modern weapon in crime prevention EDITORIAL SECTION New paths will be opened in the " SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 24, 1937. W ing 700 regular broadcasting stations to those already In service without congesting the ether. There are already a few stations us- ing the 41,020 to 43.980 kilocycle chan- | nel for experimental purposes. One | is using 40 kilowatts of power. And | all of these are called “apex” sta- | tions because they need such high | radiating points to be able to shoot | out their signals. Action of the commission in taking over the additional radio channels followed out the recommendations of its engineers as a result of studies supplementing prolonged hearings in June, 1936. The channels over which it will have supervision range from 10 to 300,000 kilocycles. Heretofore, the commisison rarely bothered with frequencies far beyond 25000 kilocycles—they were generally regarded as yadio’s “no man’s land.” Recent experiments. however, showed their potential worth. |\ Part Two | l C SUPREME COURT HOLDS INDUSTRIAL PEACE KEYS Decisions Must Interpret Wagner Act in Ironing Out Disputes in Sev- veral Important Cases. BY JOHN H. CLINE. F OUTSTANDING importance on the Supreme Court docket this year are a number of delicate legal questions bear- ing on the employer-employe relation- ship which have arisen with the growth of the labor movement and which must be answered before there can be any assurance of industrial peace. The Wagner labor relations act, labor's “magna charta,” was de- clared constitutional by the court at the last term, but that momentous decision marked only the commence- ment of the task of defining the re- spective rights of the working man and his employer. The Wagner de- cision sanctioned the philosophy em- braced in the legislation, but left to the future the equally important work of defining the scope of its application. For example, the act requires the employer to bargain collectively and in good faith with his employes, but does not require that an agreement be reached. Here, obviously, is a field that wil be productive of con- troversy for many years to come. Not Specific. The phrase, bargaining in good faith, is not susceptible of a hard and fast definition, and Congress wisely did not attempt to define the term. It is a matter that must be left to the Labor Relations Board and the Federal Courts, each controversy to | be decided on the facts of the particu- lar case. ‘Without a doubt, the Supreme Court will deal with this question as it has dealt with the problem of inter- state commerce. The Constitution gave the Federal Government power to regulate commerce among the States, but did not define the term. In a century and a half the courts, likewise, have not attempted any comprehensive definition, but by deal- ing with each case as it arises, de- claring one activity to be interstate | commerce and another not to be, a line of precedents has been estab- lished. These precedents furnish some guide as to what is meant by inter- state commerce, but that it is subject to change without notice is best ex-| emplified by the Wagner decision | itself. | The court last week took, its first | step, set its initial precedent, in de- fining what is meant by good faith | in collective bargaining. |a passe in the negotiations had been | reached. The answer to this is that | nearly a month of ‘cooling time’ had elapsed since the negotiations of June 15 to 20, the status of the con- troversy had undergone considerable change as a result of the operation | of the plant, the striking employes | after nearly a month of idleness were doubtless willing to make concessions to compromise the matters in differ- ence and conciliators had arrived upon the scene for the purpose of trying to secure an adjustment. It is true the act does not require the parties to agree, but merely to negotiate with each other, but it is based upon the |idea that negotiations honestly en= | tered into will generally result in | the settlement of differences, and com= mands negotiations for that reason. Findings Held Reasonable. | “Whether the refusal to negotiate | further in this case was unreasonable ! |and on that account an unfair labor | practice was a question of fact as to | which we are bound by the finding of | the board, if it has substantial sup- £ | port in the evidence. We think that it has such support. We cannot say » that the failure of negotiations to re- . sult in agreement in June so clearly | precluded the possibility of agreement |in July under the changed circume stances then existing that the find- * ing by the board, to the effect that the refusal to negotiate was unrea- | sonable and grew out of a desire to be rid of the union, is unsupported by & the record. On the contrary, we 3 think that the finding is a reasonable one upon the facts. | ““If an employer in the presence of |a strike could rid himself of the ob- - ligation to ' negotiate by declaring | further negotiations to be useless and refusing to recognize as employes | those failing to return to work on his terms, the statute enjoining col- lective bargaining would largely fail of its purpose. We do not think that it can be brushed aside so easily.” While this approved precedent is limited in its scope, its importance should not be overlooked. First, the Supreme Court, following a well recog- nized legal principle, has approved the doctrine that an employer must have an overwhelming predonderance of the evidence on his side before he can secure the reversal of a Labor Board finding that he had been guilty of an unfair labor practice. It is also important for what it may be worth an indication that the Supreme Court will be reluctant to impair the U. S. S. R. in the present Far Eastern | a situation which is endangering the | The step taken by the commission Aj Labor Victo: d pproves r Victory. and control. conflict. | Whether Japan will send a delegate | to Brussels remains to be seen. Her | position at that meeting will be the | dual one of judge and defendant. It is possible that Tokio will have sense of humor enough to enjoy such a situation, but so far all the indica- tions from Japan are that the Rising | Sun government is not in a jocular mood. Italy Is Signatory. Ttaly is a signatory of the treaty and, much as some of the others might like to leave her out, she must be invited. She will accept the invita- tion if only to act as an atlomey‘ for the defense of Japan. | The western democracies may decide | to expand the parley by inviting the | four nations which later adhered to the | nine-power pact—Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Bolivia. In such an eventuality, the attorney for the de- fense is likely to raise the question of why Germany, with at least equally important political and economic in- terests in the Far East, has not been asked to take a seat .t the green table. Normally an extension of a confer- ence from nine powers into a world meeting would have heen welcomed by | the State Department. Secretary Hull is a strong believer in international gatherings where the discussion of some purely local questions could be | extended in a consideration of world | problems, including the resumption of international trade. But at this par- ticular time it is doubtful whether he would welcome such a wide-range parley. Battle Is Zorecast. It will be a miracle if the Brussels conference, summoned to discuss the flagrant disregard of a treaty by one of the signatories, does not become, after a few days, the battlefield be- tween the dictatorships and the de- mocracies. The same forces which have heretofore nullified all the en- deavors for a quick settlement of the Spanish problem will again face each other at Brussels. It is a foregone conclusion that as soon as the inviting power, Belgium, raises the question of asking the Soviet government to send a delegation, Italy's representative will demand the same courtesy for Germany. And from the point of view of an honest | solution of the Chinese puzzie, there can be no objection to having these two nations_represented. But what is logical to the ordinary mind becomes illogical these days to the diplomat. The presence of the two antagonistic groups, France, Great Britain, Russia in one corner of the ring, and Germany, Italy and Japan in the other, might easily result in a free-for-all fight. And Uncle Sam might find himself in the role of a somewhat biased umpire who might be shot in the melee. Possible Parley Slogans. ‘Washington recognizes a strong pos- sibility that the paramount question of the “integrity of China” might be relegated to the background soon after the get-together. rsnd the old “we are fighting against communism” or “we are fighting for democracy” may become the opposing slogans of the Brussels parley. The American delegates are fully aware of the fact that an agreement “to fight communism,” with all its inevitable implications, exists today among Japan, Germany and Italy, Until a few weeks ago the .atter power kept a discreet silence regarding its obligations toward Japan. But in the last two weeks Mussolini has come out in the open. The Italian Ambas- sador at Tokio called pointedly at the foregin office to inform the Japanese government of Italy’s sympathetic atti- tude toward the former's aims in China. Despite Rome’s half-hearted denials of the withdrawal of the Ital- | | fan aviation mission which was “thrown in” with the sale of some de- crepit “Ethiopian” airplanes to China, d peace of the world. t he will confer with the British, French and Dutch to see what can be the | best means of enforcing the treaty signed in 1922. And the word “block- ade” is already being whispered in most of thé Eutopean capitals. The American delegates will listen to any other propagitions which the prolific brains of the Edens and Del- boses of Europe may suggest. But they will be careful to avoid the pit- falls of suggestions such as, “We shall join you in curbing Japan, but you must join us in curbing Hitler and Mussolini.” Mr. Davis and his col- leagues are going to Brussels to try to settle—either with the olive branch or | with thunder—the Far Eastern prob- lem. The administration is convinced, and hopes that the other attending powers will share its conviction, that if one of the international desperadoes is curbed now, the others will show themselves more likely to listen to reason. (Copyright. 1937.) Total of Centenarians In Bulgaria Over 4,000 ATHENS —Bulgaria might well be called a nation of centenarians, lat- est statistics revealing there are more than 4,000 persons who are more than a hundred years old in that country. Most of them live in vil- lages or mountain districts, leading regular, but primitive, lives. They at- tribute their longevity to the healthy climate and their diet of fresh vege- tables and fruits. One of their fav- orite dishes is sour milk, and they are very fond of garlic. These two items, with brown bread, are the staple daily fare of this long-lived race. Peripatetic Newspaper Is Published in Hungary BUDAPEST (#)—Imre Peak pub- lishes every edition of his weekly newspaper, Uti Kalondok, in a dif- ferent Hungarian town. The name means “Adventures of the Road.” Peak rides on his horse from village to village, collecting news en route. He then goes to the nearest print shop | and, while some 1,000 copies are being printed, writes the addresses of his subscribers and posts the copies. In the frame of | he provisions of the nine-power pact | | so-called “all wave” receivers on the Set to Collect News. Newspapers will have an opportunity to use mobile radio sets to collect news from points where wire facilities are unavailable or inadequate. | And the Bureau of Air Commerce will ‘have more radio lanes to' warn | | congested points and on mountain | peaks which have taken a heavy toll | | of life in recent years. | But what is the effect of the com- | missiop’s latest move “on the vast majority of radio users—the listeners in the home? Technically, what the commission has done is to assume regulation of the entire radio spectrum, and allo- cate the additional wave lanes to various services. In other words, the Government has undertaken to regu- late 10 times the amount of space it | hitierto controlled, and in doing so, created 75 additional channels for conventional broadcasting stations. Below Regular Channels. The new wave lanes to be assigned | for regular broadcasting service—sta- tions that provide music, speeches, educational information—are far be- Jow the regular channels in the band from 41,020 to 43,980 kilocycles. The present broadcast band ranges from 550 to 1,500 kilocycles. Radio engineers predict it will be possible for at least 700 additional stations to operate on these 75 new low-wave broadcast channels, because certain scientific conditions will limit their range, regardless of power. But the average receiving set will be un- able to pick them up. Only some of the most expensive market, it was said, would tune in any of the stations licensed to operate on the 41,020 to 43,980 kilocycle channels. And from a practical standpoint, util+ ization of these new bands will mean developments in both sending and re- ceiving sets that will create new mar- keis for radio equipment. Largely because of this situation, commission engineers believe all sta- tions licensed to operate on the new broadcast channels will be experimental in character for at least several years. In the meantime, radio manufacturers will have an opportunity to redesign receiving sets and have them on the market by the time the low-wave broadcasting stations emerge from the experimental stage. These new short-wave broadcasting stations, however, will be limited in | of vision. J"FRANK R. | transcontinental planes of dangers at | Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. MENINCH, —Underwood & Underwood Photo. range by natural conditions. power behind the transmitted signal | will have little effect simply because | the high frequency will not permit it | to travel far. As a resuit, the anti | cipated 700 new stations are expected to be strictly local in character, serv- | ing an average radius of 20 miles. The range of the new broadcast stations will closely approach the line ‘Take, for instance, a sta- tion with 500 watts power—the same as WRC—Ilocated in the business sec- tion of Washington with a relatively low antenna. From the top of the antenna a person with normal vision The | might see 10 miles to the horizon. | centrate on short distance develop- | That would be the range of the sta- | tion. | But suppose the same station had | its antenna on top of the ‘Washington | Monument. The range of vision might be 20 miles. Its signals likewise would be audible within that radius. ‘Thus, it will be possible for the com- mission to license numerous stations of this character throughout the country which would offer no inter- ference whatever with other stations using the same wave band, although | less than 20 or 30 miles apart. In this factor alone lies the possibility of add- |London-Berlin Secret Horse Trading May Kill Italy’s Aggressive Role BY WILLIAM BIRD. Special Dispatch to The Star. PARIS, October 23 (C.P.A.).—Be- hind the scenes of “open diplomacy” a lot of old-fashioned horse trading is going on. As usual, each of the parties is trying to get the most he can for his horse or for his money. The sharpest bargaining is being done by Germany on one side and England on the other. What Eng- land is trying to achieve is obviously the elimination of the Italian threat to Mediterranean communications. -“What Germany is after is primarily the consolidation of her “empire” over Southeastern Europe, and sec- ondarily, the recuperationo f her colo- nies. At first sight, it would seem out of the question for Germany to bargain away Italy’s menacing Mediterranean position, especially after the ostentatious rewelding of the Italo-German alliance in Berlin recently and in view of the equally sensational return visit that Hitler is to make in the Spring. But the essence of secret diplomacy is that it operates always at the expense of third parties, and there can be no doubt that Hitler will readily sacri- fice Mussolini if by so doing he can gain any solid advantage for Ger~ many. Italy at the present moment is distinctly “out on a limb.” The Ethiopian conquest is by no means consolidated as yet. Italy is main- taining a huge army in that country at enormous expense, and without any immediate prospect of making the new territory pay its way. Recent reports that have eluded the Italian censor- ship indicate that even the military conquest of Ethiopia is far from complete. A state of guerilla warfare keeps the occupying army constantly on the defensive. But more important is the fact that Italy lacks the neces- sary capital for the exploitation of the country. And, as if this were not enough, Italy has an army estimated very conservatively at 60,000 men in Spain, and these troops must be provisioned and munitioned from Italy. Hb6w many millions of dollars that army has cost to date nobody knows. The current cost is estimated in French military circles as “not inferior to $1,000,000 a day.” Yet it is not enough; to insure victory, it is believed that Italy must at least double that force during the coming ‘Winter, in prep- (See BIRD, Page C-3.) =\ #said Dr. Goldsmith, “is that experi- according to Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, veteran radio engineer, has pushed radio to the frontier of microwaves. From now on, he explained, the only unopened field for radio experimenters is below the one meter wave length. “Further significance of this move, menting can go forward in the true ultra-short wave domain. It means that radio research is going to con- ment, from 20 to 30 miles, whereas engineers have been developing most | of their work to long-distance com- munication.” Radio Set of the Future. In allocating television and its ac- companying “sound tracks” to new wave bands, as well as to ultra-high frequencies for local broadcasting, the commission pointed the way to the radio set of the future—a receiver that will tune in audible programs on the rnow existing wave bands, visual programs on ultra-short wave lengths and other audible broadcasts on ultra- short wave lengths. Somewhere in between there is left a space for fascimile—the reception of still pic- tures by radio. Television now uses seven ultra- short wave channels between 44,000 and 108,000 kilocycles on an experi- mental basis. These are retained under the commission’s latest order, but 12 more channels are added be- tween 156,000 and 300,000 kilocycles. Each channel is 8,000 kilocycles wide— some 600 times the width of the pres- ent audible channels, the width being essential to transmit and receive visual images. Each 6,000 kilocycle channel also includes “sound tracks” for synchronizing sound and music with televised images. Ten Kilocycles' Wide. The band of frequencies is 10 kilo- cycles wide for each broadcasting station. To use & narrower band would change and distort the music, speech and other sounds transmitted by the radio wave. Television, of course, has been in the labratory stage for some years. It's like the nearly forgotten depres- sion that took so long to turn the corner, But the commission. believes television eventually will emerge tri- umphantly like the return of pros- perity, and for that reason gave it a prominent place in the new wave length allocation. But the commis- sion at the same time sounded this warning to the public: “Don’t expect it too soon.” Cartoon Summary of the Week's News in Foreign Affairs WAVE THE OLIVE BRANCH NORMAN , BUT IF NECESSARY REMIND THEM THAT THE AMERICAN EAGLE CARRIES A FEW ARROWS IN WIS OTHER CLAW/ UNCLE SAM DISPATCHES NORMAN A PEACEFUL SOLUTION OF THE PROBLI DAVIS 9 POWER TR TO THE ‘BRUSSELS EATY, WHO SEEK CREATED BY EM ~JAPAN'S [NVASION OF CHINA IN ‘VIOLATION OF THAT TREATY. 4 b fi | WILL GIVE You ANYTHING NOU WANT; (ALvosT) BABY / MUSSOLINI PROPOSES AN INTERNATIONAL Pssr! dusr ANOTHER CHORUS OR TWO AND WE'LL BE FINISHED/ | CAN't FiGHT WITH You BUT I'M CHEERMG COMMISSION TO ARRANGE FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF FOREIGN TROOPS FROM SPAIN. IN THIS SEEMING ACCESSION TO THE DEM- ANDS OF FRANCE AND BRITAIN HE IS SUSPECTED OF SEEKING TO GAIN TIME THROUGH LENGTHLY DISCUSS- IONS FOR A DECISIVE INSURGENT VICTORY. This action did not come in the form of a decision, but rather in the | | refusal to review a decision of the| Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This, in effect, places the Supreme Court on record as approving the_decision of the Circuit Court, whieh, in:‘this case, was a distinct victory for labor. The case involved an appeal by the | Jeffery-DeWitt Insulator Co. of West | Virginia, and presented two main questions: 1. Whether an employer must renew negotiations after an impasse been reached and a strike called. 2. Whether a striking worker losses his status as an employe for purposes | of collective bargaining. There had been prior decisions that a striker remained an employe, but | the question of how long an employer was obliged to continue seemingly hopeless negotiations in the face of a deadlock was something new. The Jeffery-DeWitt Co., admittedly engaged in interstate commerce with- in the meaning of the Wagner de- cision, employed from 82 to 166 work- ers, the majority of whom belonged | to Local Union No. 455, United Brick and Clay Workers of America, an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor. The company had bar- gained with this unionr since 1933, but a breakdown came in 1935 when the union demanded a closed shop, the check-off and certain seniority rights. When the company refused to meet these demands a strike was called June 15 and the plant was| shut down. Company Loses Case. Conferences were held on June 16 and June 20, and when these failed of producing an agreement on the dis- puted issue, the plant was reopened with a greatly depleted force. The strike continued to July 15, when outside mediators attempted to per- suade the company to reopen nego- tiations, but the company refused on the ground a hopeless impasse had been reached. The union filed a complaint with the Labor Board, and that body found the company had been guilty of unfair labor prac- tices. Supporting the board's action, the Circuit Court said: “The company’s second contention is that it was not guilty of an unfair labor practice in refusing to bargain with the union on and after July 15 for the reason that efforts to bargain with it prior to June 20 had resulted in failure and an im- IN CZECHOSLOVAKA KONRAD HENLEIN, LEADER OF THE 3,300,000 GERMAN CITIZENS , DENANDS THAT THEY BE GIVEN FULL AUTONOMY RIGHTS has | | benefits to labor envisaged by the act | Must Re-Employ Strikers. Another section of the Labor Board's ruling, also approved by the court, required the company to re-employ the men who went out on strike, even if this meant dismissing men who had been hired to keep the plant open during the period of the strike. The Supreme Court is expected to announce tomorrow whether it will | review two cases in which the Labor Board received setbacks at the hands of the Third Circuit Court of Appeal and a case calling for a decision on the legality of a sit-down strike. The case in which the Labor Board has sought a review of adverse deci- sions involve two important points: 1. Whether the Labor Board has statutory authority to order an em- ployer to “disestablish” a labor organi- zation found to have been dominated and interfered with by the employer. 2. Whether an order of the Labor Board directing an employer to bar- gain collectively with a certain labor organization continues to be enforce- able after an employer has entered into a contract with all his employes through another organization by the use of methods the board found to be coercive. In the first case, involving the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, Inc., the court approved the board's order in part but denied enforcement inso- far as the order directed the employer to withdraw recognition of a so-called company union and to post notices that the union was “disestablished.” “Outlawed Without Hearing.” Suporting its position, the court found that “no election has been held; the union enjoined has not been notified or heard, but in advance of an election by the men, the union is for all practical purposes outlawed, and that without a hearing.” The second question arose in a proceeding against the Delaware-New Jersey Ferry Co. In this case, the board, contending the company had made its contract with its employes through representatives allegedly se- lected by the company, issued an order requiring the concern to negotiate with another labor organization. Re- fusing to enforce this order, the court said: | “There is now no controversy; no | complaint; no grievance. The en- gineers have disposed of any con- | troversy there may have been by unan- imously making a contract on terms suitable to them with the employer.” The Labor Board takes the position, however, that the engineers’ union was forced out of existence by the company’s tactics, and that a moral victory would result and the union might be revived should the Supreme Court uphold the board’s order by re- versing the Circuit Court. The case involving the sit-down strike - was brought by the Apex Hosiery Co. of Philadelphia for an injunction and triple damages under the anti-trust laws from the American Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers. According to the complaint and the opinion of the Circuit Court, the company’s plant was occupied last year by members of the union, who were not employes, with considerable resulting damage to the plant and the concern’s business. Granting the injunction, the court held the occu- pation of the plant and the sit-down strike to have been unlawful. From this decision the labor organization has appealed and, should the court agree tomorrow to review the case, a final ruling on the legality of these strikes should be forthcoming. If the court declines to review the case, the decision of the Circuit Court would stand undisputed. The high court already has agreed to review two other labor cases in which the courts below announced conflicting rulings. )