f
Oldest
Bona Fide
AFL
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VOL. XVIII; NO. 44
CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 17. 1949
Subscription Price $2.00 Year
9
T-H REPEAL APPROVED BY SENATE GROUP
Lei’s Watch Our Dollars
And Not Pinch Pennies
The following editorial in The Machinist of March 10 of
fers food for thought during these hectic times when, as
The Machinist points out, suspicion is spreading that there
is waste and inefficiency in the use of our spending dollars,
and the publication goes on to say that if this attitude be
comes general it could lead to foolish disarmament and se
riously damage the security of our country. The editorial
follows:
“Some pretty good Americans are beginning to wonder
whether this country is getting a good buy for the money
it is spending for defense. The suspicion is spreadng that
there s waste and inefficiency in the use of military appro
priations. #
“If this attitude becomes general, it could lead to foolish
disarmament, to still further disintegration of the aircraft
and shipbuilding industries and seriously damage the se
curity of our country.
“Trustees of the National Planning Association, includ
ing Eric Peterson, I.A.M. General Secretary-Treasurer, re
cently cited four factors which appear to be adding unnec
essarily to the cost of defense. Here they are:
“ ‘An intense rivalry between different branches of the
armed services, especially between the Navy and the Air
Force.
“ ‘Easy-going attitudes toward spending on the part of
the armed services, a result of habits formed during the
war when money costs just didn’t count.
“ ‘Top-heaviness in the military establishment. In other
words, too much top brass. (NPA reported that the Army,
not counting the Air Force, now has 150 Major Generals
alone, although it has only 11 Divisions to ve commanded
by those Major Generlftf.)
“ ‘Lack of long term planning with the result that each
service is pressing for heavy appropriations now for fear
that sentiment may soon turn toward foolish disarma
ment.’
“After the Civil War and again after World War I, Con
gress met similar problems by putting a rigid ceiling on
military appropriations. This resulted in the elimination
of funds for needed experimentation more often than the
elimination of traditional waste.
“This time, the National Planning Association is propos
ing reform of the administration and budgeting in all three
military arms. To make sure that these reforms are car
ried through, and to let the American people know when
they ae not. the NPA has proposed that a body of highly
qualified civilians be established as a regular agency of gov
ernment to investigate defense expenditures. This body
would be authorized to look into any and all aspects of de
fense administration at its own discretion and to report its
findings to the President and, subject to security considera
tion only, to Congress and the public.
“Union members, like most Americans, could stand some
reassurance that Uncle Sam is getting the most for the
money he spends on defense. We think the National Plan
ning Association has offered a worthwhile suggestion.”
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Voters Decreed T-H Repeal,
' Rep. Madden Tells Hearing
WASHINGTON. — Representative Ray Madden of Indi
ana, testifying before the House Labor Committee as it be
gan its public hearings on the administration bill to repeal
the Taft-Hartley act, called upon Congress to carry out the
mandate of the last election.
That mandate, he said, was for the prompt repeel of the
iniquitous statute foisted upon the country by the 80th
Congress.
Mr. Madden, a former
member of the House Labor
Committee, said the Taft
Hartley Act was ‘rammed
down our throats” in 1947
at a “secret session” when
the Republicans, then domi
nant in Congress, limited
i consideration of the far
reaching measure to four
hours.
Asked to comment on the
Taft-Hartley Act, the Indi
ana legislator said:
“When you study the hid
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As the hearings opened on
the House side of the Capi
tol, Senators were waiting
for the Thomas bill to be
brought out on the floor of
the upper chamber. The Sen
ate Labor Committee has
concluded its hearings and
has reported the bill without
change. Because of the fil
(Continued on Page 3)
VOTING PLACES
C ITY PRIMARY. APRIL 25, 1949
CITY ELECTION, MAY 3, 1949
Following is a list of the Voting Precincts and their
locations, as furnished The Labor Journal by the office
of Elections Chairman Brenizer:
Precinct 1—Court House
Precinct 2—501 8. Alexander St.
Precinct 3—401 East 9th St.‘
Precinct 4—1600 N. Brevard St.
Precinct 5—601 North Graham St.
Precinct 6—329 Irwin Ave.
Precinct 7—825 Westbrook Drive
Precinct 8—2000 North Allen St.
Precinct 9—Y. M. C. A.. E. 36th St.
Precinct 10—3501 Plaza Road
Precinct 11—1620 Club Road
Precinct 12—Mid wood School, Central Ave.
Precinct 13—1400 Louise Ave.
Precinct 14—1241 East 10th St.
Precinct 15—537 Lamar Ave.
Precinct 16—2539 Westmoreland Ave.
Precinct 17—1028 Waterman Ave.
Precinct 18—2701 East Seventh St.
Precinct 19—Mint Museum, Eastover
Precinct 20—500 Cherokee Road
Precinct 21—111 Barnett Place. Off 1800 E. 4th St.
Precinct 22—2108 Vail Ave.
Precinct 23—1601 Park Drive
Precinct 24—2131 Raddiffe Ave.
Precinct 25—1026 Providence Road
Precinct 26—Myers Park Club, Myers Park
Precinct 27—Avondale Com. House, Avondale A Lilac
Precinct 28—1612 Kenilworth Ave.
Precinct 29—Dilworth School, 405 E. Park Ave.
Precinct 30—1716 Lyndhurst Ave.
Precinct 31—1927 Dilworth Rd., W.
Precinct 32—1004 Poindexter Drive
Precinct 33—Wihnqre School, 428 West Boulevard
Precinct 34—Alexander Graham Jr. High School
Precinct 35—Wesley Hts. School, 128 S. Summit Ave.
Precinct 35—Seversville School, 1701 Sumter Ave.
Precinct 38—2436 Wilkinson Bivd.
Precinct 39—West Charlotte High School
Precinct 40—Fairview Homes, 1026 Oak lawn Ave.
Precinct 41—Hutchison School, 1400 Hutchison Ave.
Precinct 42—1607 Statesville Ave.
(Additional Date On Page 3)
Committee Sends Labor
Measure To Senate Floor
WASHINGTON, D. C.—The Taft-Hartley repeal bill suc
cessfully surmounted its first major legislative hurdle when
it was approved without change by the Senate Labor Com
mittee.
This encouraging action sends the measure sponsored by
Senator Thomas, the committee chairman, to the Senate
floor for debate and action.
However, immediate action by th Senate is not likely be
cause of the filibuster in progress against the new cloture
rule to prevent unlimited Senate debate. A showdown on
the filibuster is expected within a week.
V\ hen htc bill is called up before the Senate, however, a
veritable bombardment of amendments is certain to l>e fired
at it. Senator Taft, co-author of the Taft-Hartley act, has
served notce that he will try to reincorporate many Taft
Hartley features in the new bill. Senators Ives and Morse
are also planning to push major amendments in their turn.
In view' of this situation, the Senate fight to repeal the
Taft-Hartley act is due to turn into a prolonged pitched
battle.
Meanwhile, despite the Senate filibuster on proposals for
a new cloture rule, other congressional committees made
headway in advancing key legislation supported by labor
toward passage.
Sponsored by 11 Democrats and 11 Republcans, a long
range program of low-rent public housing, clearance and
farm housing was reported favorably to the Senate by its
Ranking nd Currency committee.
Despite bitter opposition from real estate lobbyists, the
committeee cleared the compromise measure which provides
for consruction of 810,000 units of public housing for rent
to low-income families during th£ next six years and for
loans to cities from slum clearance and leans to farmers fro
better homes in rural areas. Congressional leaders ex
pressed confidence that the measure would be adopted as
soon as an opportunity to take a vote is permitted. .
At the same time, the House Ranking and Currency Com
mittee approved a measure extending federal rent control
in somewhat strengthened form for another 15 months.
The bill eliminates existing provisions for “voluntary”
agreements between landlord and tenants to increase future
rents, provides for recontrol of hotel accommodations, but
does not include criminal punishment for rent violators.
Meanwhile, the House Labor Committee was preparing to
report out amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act
which would raise the federal minimum wage to 75 cents
an hour and broaden to some extent the coverage of the
law. The present minimum wage is 40 cents an hour.
Under the definitions of the new amendments, employers
who are only partly engaged in interstate commerce would
have to comply with the minimum wage and maximum
hour regulations for all their employes. Furthermore,
farm enterprises which employ hired labor to an amount
exceeding 5,000 man-hours in any one year also would come
under thp law’s coverage. These changes are not as broad
as organized labor wanted, but represent an improvement
over the present law, Walter Mason, legislative representa
tive of the AFL, said.
Spring Seen Ending
Dnemphyment Rise
WASHINGTON, D. C.—There is a good chance that the
usual March-April upswing in jobs will halt the rise in un
employment within 30 days, federal officials believe. Most
of the experts were uncertain whether the upturn woud
have the "kick” of the last three years that provided jobs
for more han 60,000,000 persons in all during the summer
employment peak.
Robert C. Goodwin, director of the United States Em
ployment Service, and Ewan Clague, director of the Bu
reau of Labor Statistics, said that improving weather and
the start of outdoor industries should bring the expected
employment gain.
Goodwin said that on the basis of unemployment compen
sation claims there was a further slackening in the number
of new industrial layoffs for the week ended February 26.
"The continuing downward trend in the filing of new appli
cations is the most encouraging sign regarding unemploy
ment," he said.
The Department of Commerce reported that 3,221,000
persons were unemployed in February. This was a seven
year high. But, it said, the 67,168,000 persons working last
month were the highest number of employed in history for
February. The increase in the labor force, expected to
amount to 1,000,000 this year, accounted in part for both
increases.