The Man in the Iron Collar

Beetling his forested brows, John L. Lewis strode majestically into the Senate Labor Committee's hearing room last week to testify on the proposed amendments to the Taft-Hartley law. His opinions on Taft-Hartley were as well known as his mighty scowl, but an overflow crowd was on hand just to hear him say it again. The old (73) king of the United Mine Workers and master of the scrambled metaphor disappointed no one.

"The Taft-Hartley Act," he intoned, "should in its entirety be repealed, cast aside and held for naught . . . Even if clothed in amendments as varied as the colors of Joseph's coat, this act will remain a thorn and a spear in the side of American labor. A liberal application of cologne or a generous sprinkling of Chanel No. 5 cannot and will not deodorize an otherwise odorous creature or make it a more decent or useful animal."

Vast Superiority. John L. Lewis offered a new proposal: after repealing the Taft-Hartley Act. Congress should not even bother to revive Franklin Roosevelt's Wagner Act. This would leave the Norris-LaGuardia and Clayton labor laws as the "federal rule" in labor relations, Lewis said, would do away with "government by injunction," and would permit industry and labor to bargain freely.

Asked Ohio's Robert A. Taft, an ancient Lewis antagonist: "Do you not think that [would be] rather a return to the law of the jungle . . .?"

"No," Lewis rumbled, "The law of the jungle would not prevail because the labor organizations now are vastly superior in numerical strength than they were when the Wagner Act was first enacted by Congress. And they have a more enlightened public opinion . . ." Soon after this exchange, Taft left the hearing room and West Virginia's Democratic Senator Matthew Neely began to feed Lewis leading questions. "In your opinion," asked Neely, "has the operation of the Taft-Hartley Act been injurious or beneficial to the United Mine Workers?" Son of Privilege. Lewis raised his head as if to catch a scent. Said he: "Oh, most injurious, most destructive, most costly, most harassing, most disturbing . . .

[It] is a fiat from the throne of the predatory interests of this country acting through their manservants who have seduced Congress and beguiled Congress in anger and haste to commit this crime and atrocity on free America . . . We say, away with it ... Senator Taft ... is a son of privilege ... He does not under stand why an American citizen working in a coal mine retches at the thought of his oppressive act ... The labor unions of our own country must be free from these iron chains that Taft and his ilk have fattened upon ... I want no iron collar around my neck like a Saxon thrall." When Lewis finished his 2 1/2 hours of testimony, there was a moment of respectful silence. Then he rose from the chair, surveyed the hearing rooand made his exit.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.