f THE CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
(and Dixie Farm New*)
Office of Publication: 118 Eaat Sixth Street, Charlotte, N.£. J
Telephones 3-3094 and 4-8802 v **
Address All Communications to Poet Office Box 1061
H. A. Stalls, Editor and Publisher W. M. Witter, Associate Editor
Published Weekly at Charlotte, N. C.
Official Organ of the Charlotte Central Labor Uaion and Approved by
• The American Federation of Labor and the
North Carolina Federation of Labor
Entered as second-class mail matter September 'll, 1931, at the Post
Office at Charlotte, N. C., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879
»■" *—. ■— ..11,1 ..,i ....'f* .
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The Labor Journal will not be responsible for opinions of corre
spondents, but any erroneous reflecting upon the character, standing or:
reputation of any person, firm or corporation which may appear in
the columns of The Labor Journal will he gladly corrected when called
to the attention of the publisher. Correspondence afid Open Forum
TRUMAN'S NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN
President Truman called' upon Congress to enact a broad
national health insurance program which would cover and
protect all Americans “who work for a living" and their de
pendents.
His message was immediately hailed by AFL President
William Green as embodying the principles which the federa
tion has long espoused. / Mr. Green oped for universal sup
port of legislation to carry out the President's plan.
This legislation was promptly introduced in Congress by
Senators Wagner and Murray and Representative Dingell.
The President reiterated several times in his message that
the five point program he submitted is not “socialized medi
cine" and should not be misrepresented as such. ; - "
He insisted that the health of the American people is a
national concern and must be treated as % national problem
on an insurance hasis.
Besides health insurance, the President's program included
increased grants to states for construction of hospital facili
ties; expansion of public health, maternal and child care
services; sickness and disability insurance for workers and
federal grants to public and non-profit institutions to pro
mote medical education and research.
in most respects, the program waq similar to that con
tained in the original Murray-Wagner-Dirtgell bill which was
originally drafted by the American Federation of Labor.
Mr. Green pledged support to the President in a telegram
which said:
I congratulate you on your vigorous and forward looking
message to Congress on national health- Your five-point pro
gram is in complete accord with the program initiated and
supported by the AFL. It meets the urgent human needs
of our nation and merits support of all men of good will.”
In his message the President said f\ 4> {
“Under the plan I suggest, our people would continue to
get medical and hospital services just*as they do now—on
the basis of their own voluntary decisions and. choices. Our
doctors and hospitals would continue to deal'with disease
with the same professional freedom as now. There would,
however, be this all-important difference: whether or not
patients get the services they need would not depend on how
much they can afford to pay at the time.”
* Mr. Truman said that Americans would be free to choose
their own physicians and hospitals, and free also to pay
* for medical service outside the health insurance system
just as they are free to send their children to private instead
of public schools, although they must pay taxes for public
schools.
Likewise, he said, physicians would remain free to accept
or reject patients. They would be allowed to decide for them
selves whether they would participate in the health insur
ance system full time, part time, or not at alL
Hopsitals, he said, would have the same freedom of action.
President Truman told Congress that he favored the broad
est possible coverage for the national health insurance sys
tem.
“I believe,” he said, “that all persons who work for a living
and their dependent should be covered under such an in
surance plan. This would include wage and salary earners
those in business for themselves, professional persons,
farmers, agricultural labor, domestic employes, government
employe and employes of nonprofit institutions and their ]
families.”
In addition, the President said, needy persons and other i
groups should be covered through, premiums paid for them ;
by public agencies. Congress, he said, should vote appropri- |
ations to reimburse the states for such premiums as well as j
for expenditures made by the states in paying for medicalj
services provided by doctors and hospitals to needy persons, i
The program would be financed largely through increases
in social security taxes. j
A summary of the specific recommendations m^de to Con
gress by President Truman follow:
Recommendation 1. Construction of hospitals and related
facilities. Federal aid should be provided for construction
of hospitals, health centers and other facilities where they
are needed. These are essentials if doctors are to be able
to furnish modern services.
Recommendation 2. Expansion of public health, material
' and child health services. The existing co-operative health
programs between the federal and state governments should
be expanded with the help of increased federal funds. All
parts of the country and all groups in the poulation should
be able to benefit from them. Expansion is especially im
portant to prevent disease and to provide services’for moth
ers and children. 'Approximately 40 million persons in the
United States live in communities which still lack full-tme
public health services.
Recommendation 3. Medical education and research. We
cannot /emain satisfied with what we alreay know about
health or disease. The opportunities for further health prog
ress are very large. Research pays large dividends. Pro
fessional education should keep pace with progress. Federal
grants in aid should assist and encourage research, so that
we shall learn more about ho wto prevent and cure disease.
Federal aid should also support more adequate professional
education. Special emphasis should be paid to research on
Ihe cause, prevention and cure of cancer and mental illnesses.
Recommendation 4. Prepayment of medical costs. Every
one should have ready access to all necessary medical, hos
pital and related services. The costs of essential medical
services should not stan4 in the way of the patient who
needs care.
A compulsory national health insurance system is proposed
toward attaining this goal. It would be a system for pre
payment of the costs through premiums which people could
afford, and which are paid while they are well and working.
’ This is not socialized medicine.
Prepayment would relieve families of worry about medical
coats and would encourage them to receive care as soon as
* Thus, it would also work toward preventing
Id remain free to choose their doctors. Doc
tors would remain free to accept or reject patients. Hospitals
would continue to manage their own services. Voluntary
Organizations could participate in the Insurance system,
either; to provide services and if paid therefor, or to assist
in administration, depending on their functons.
Decentralized administration would provide for needed
local adjustments in fees, methods of payment and arrange
ments for services.
Doctors and hospitals could expect improvement and sta
bility of income, at the same time that patients are relieved
of unexpected and burdensome costs. *?r'
Recommendation 5. Protection against logs of wages from
sickness and disability. Disability insurance would protect
America’s families by guaranteeing some income when they
are sick or permanently disabled.
The President urged the Congress to consider such health
legislation now. This five-point program would strengthen
the nation to meet future problems! It would contribute
greatly to freedom from want.
ON PUBLIC OPINION
If you are of ray generation, probably you are as impressed
as I am with how well versed people are today in what is
going on in the world. Maybe the radio has brought this
about—but I like to think it is something more than that I
like to think that it is all part of a sincere desire to find out
what is what, and why.
Ignorance never settles a question. This has been proven
again and again throughout history. Public opinion is usu
ally in advance of the law. And public opinion is baaed upon
what people think and know about a question. As Josh
Billigs said: “It is better to know nothing than to know
what ain’t so.” But it is much more impqrtant to be well
informed. J % <**v«sf|
Fo^—mark it well, there is nothing s well informed public
opinion cannot do. Occasional error of opinion does no harm
so long as reason .s left free to combat it.
It is reason, and reasoning, that is needed at the present
moment when our knowledge of all subjects — history,,
trade, labor and industry—must all be global in character.
We cannot afford to pigeon-hole a single fact. We cannot
afford to isolate our minds. We cannot afford to assume
knowledge.
We must know the background as well as the foreground
—for in the last analysis the peace of the world, the peace
of the future will not be in the keeping of the rulers of the
states, but in the keeping of the people who support those
rulers. Centuries ago a Chinese philosopher said: “The peo
ple are the hosts and the ruler is the guest; the hosts always
live in the house, while the guests may be invited to stay or
asked to leave.”
In the last analysis no dictator can stay in power without
the public behind him. People may not always have the
government that they deserve, but they will always have j
the government they applaud.
Of a pelf-governing people, of a free people, one says that
they know what they believe. Their beliefs are their pur
poses. Let men be good and the government cannot be bad.
Get all the facts. Listen and study and then make up
your mind—for you are public opinion.
—Ruth Taylor.
6REEN OFFERS «D
rl TO AMERICAN LEGION,
Chicago^ A PL President Wil
liam Green told the American
Legion in a challenging address
that the futnre security of veter
ans and workers depends upon
lasting international peace and na
tional prosperity.
The nation’s debt to those who
fought and won the war, Mr. Green
said, can only be redeemed by
“making good our sacred pledge
that the last war shall be the last
world war” and by according to
the living “the fullest opportunity
for a decent living.’’
Mr. Green emphasised that or
ganised labor is deeply conscious
of its obligations to servicemen and
will insist that they get a fair
break in civilian life.
MBut the basic economic prob
lems of the nation’s servicemen
cannot be adequately solved
merely by protecting their legal
rights or even by extending pref
erential treatment to them,” he
continued.
- in me long run*' it wuuiu oe
come a tragic mistake to place j
them in a unique class, separate
and apart from their fellow citi
sens. I am convinced that the'
veterans themselves do not want
anything like that. They know
that they must stand or fall to
gether with all other Americans.
They realize that their chances of
getting ahead depend upon wheth
er all of us, as a nation, can suc
ceed in making our democracy
move forward.
“Unless there is full employment
in America, veterans as well as
workers will suffer. Unless we
recapture prosperity, veterans will
feel the pangs of depression along
with the rest of the people.”
Declaring that veterans will not
be satisfied with limited oppor
tunities becaue they know so much
more can be made available for
all by unified national affort, Hr.
Green then dramatically stated
labor’s program. He said:
“The question, tnen, is shall we
make that effort? Labor says yes.
Shall we speed up the lagging
pace of reconversion? Labor says
yes. Shall we expand peacetime
production to the point where the
needs of the American people can
be met? Labor hopes that indus
try’s answer will be yep.
“Shall we establish full employ
ment at wages high enough to al
low our people to purchase the
products of farm and factory and
thereby keep the wheels of pro
duction turning at full speed?
Labor insists the answer must be
yea?
“Shall labor and industry try to
get together on a sensible and co
operation basis Much mil respect
each other's rights and freedoms
yet provide assurance for ind
trial peace? The American F
e ration of Labor says yes.
“Shall we halt government* en
croachment upon the daily lives of
our people and drop wartime con
trols as rapidly as safety permits?
Again the answer is yes.
“These are the essentials of an
economic program on which the
natjory** workers and the nation's
retmns can unite wholeheartedly
with all other Americans. It will
take more than wishful thinking to
carry out this program, but the
American people do not mind hard
work if it is going to get them
somewhere." .
To prevent future wars, Mr.
Green urged strengthening of the
United Nations organization and
the highest degree of national de
fense.
xie Bam me Af l snarea me an
tagonism of the veterans to Fas
cism, Nazism, Communism or any
other form of totalitarianism.
Throughout its history, he said,
the AFL has “staunchly resisted
the infiltration of such subversive
influences into the ranks of labor
and we are determined to carry
on that policy even more firmly in
the future.”
#
Mr. Green bluntly told the Le
gion labor disagreed with its views
on compulsory, universal military
training.
“New scientific developments,”
he said, “have takbn this issue out
of the controversial field. The
atomic bomb, jet propulsion and
rockets are bound to revolutionise
future defense strategy. If war
ever breaks out again, it will not
be fought 'by large standing
armies, arrayed against each other
face to face, but by death-spout
ing machines which can wipe out
entire cities and kill millions while
operating thfpsands of miles from
the object orattack.
“In the first'place we cannot
contemplate or permit such a war
because it would destroy civiliza
tion itself." In the second place, to
prevent such a catastrophe from
occurring we must concentrate oa
developing our scientific and me
chanical equipment to such a point
that aq, aggressor will dare to fire
the first shot We cannot defend
ourselves or intimidate any future
enemy by compelling all our young'
men to spend a year of their lives
learning how to do squads right or
squads left, or how to shoot out
moded rifles.’ *
• ■
OPENS DRIVE FOR
HOUSING LAWS
(Continued from Page 1)
t. ■££ ■ f.. 1
nn attack against repetition of
past failures, an attack toward a
dearly-stated objective of a decent
home for every family, we cannot
escape large-scale unemployment
and we cannot avoid another de
structive ajnd disastrous depres
sion,” Mr. Green declared.
War has brought the problem
te a head, the AFL chief pointed
out. Shortage of decent living j
quarters is acute in every major
city end returning servicemen are
unable to fine homes.
“It is for Congress to decide
now upon its answer to the serv
icemen,” Mr. Green continued. “It
is prepared to tell the returning
serviceman that his inability to
live in a good home is none of
Congress' business and none of the
business of us for whom they
fought? Is that the answer to 3,
000,060 veterans who are in the
> immediate need of establishing
new homes and setting up new
families? Will Congress give this
i answer to over 6,000,000 of the 12,
000,000 veterans who will be in
dire need of housing within a
year? '
\ “Nor will labor accept any tem
porary or makeshift program for
thh provision of housing to meet
the immediate emergency as the
real anfewer to the veterans' de
mand for permanent homes. Stop
gap housing must be provided at
once W s 'temporry basis to re
lieve the immediate pressure for
dwelling accommodations. But
let me impress upon this commit- ,
tee that the real solution is the ;
long-term solution, the bold and J
comprehensive solution which S. !
1592 provides. Housing will con
tinue to be a perennial and per
manent problem for the families
of veterans, for their children, for
those for whom they fought —
housing which is not makeshift,
but durable, livable and within |
the reach of the incomes these
families will earn.
“The need to answer the veter
ans demand for postwar housing
is urgent and pressing. Let us
make housing for the veteran. But
let us not fall into the error of
stopping at a temporary solution
for what is patently a permanent
problem. As servicemen become
civilians they share in the need for
housing with all other civilians.
The homes they need are not for
themselves alone, but also for
their families, relatives and de
pendents. The homes they now
ask for are homes which are ade
quate to serve them over many
years. They are homes which
should be good enough to bring
up their children in.
“This demand for a large-scale
long-range housibg program is
America’s order of the day.”
Mr. Bates told the Senate com
mittee:
“Worker* have a vital concern
In housing as producers, as con
sumers and as citizens. It is the
function and the duty of the AFL
Housing Committee to place be
fore Congress the views which are
representative of the largest single
group of Americans who have had
the opportunity to consider and
give democratic expression to their
views and judgment on this mat
ter so vital to them through the
representative channels of the
trade unicr. "movement.
“The general housing legislation
now before you has the over
whelming support of the American
Federation of Labor membership.
Housing is today, and for the
years to come will remain, an is
sue of paramount importance to
every American family. The de
cisions Congress is about to make
with regard to long-term housing
policy will vitally affect the very
course of economic and political
life of our nation. What Congress
is about to do with regard to this
legislation will be carefully watch
ed and well noted by most families
thrcughout the land. This is one
issue on which the American peo
ple are prepared to make sure that
the public interest is truly served
by legislation and will tolerate no
sacrifice of the public interest to
accommodate special interests.
“On behalf of millions of Ameri
can wage earners, I place before
the Congress of the United States
their overwhelming and unequivo
cal mandate, their, urgent plea and
insistent demand for prompt en
actment of this legislation. I plead
on behalf of millions of American
citizens who hope for and expect
an early and determined decision
of this Congress, a decision which
will vitally affect the future wel
fare, job opportunities and secur
ity for the American people. i
“Labor and friends of labor
place the responsibility for Amer
ica’s post-war reconstruction where
it properly belongs—they place it
squarely upon Congress. They
place that responsibility on Con
gress here and now. For they
know that on the legislative cal
endar of this postwar session of
the United States Congress there
is no other measure which will five
direct and positive aid to private
enterprise, to local communities,
iml to the mass of our people, to
help them achieve full production,
full employment and a better liv
ing in the years to come."
When yon have read The Journal
pass it on to your neighbor.
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