Strike Deferred

No Washington lobbyist is worth his mimeograph machine unless he is a master at the game of political trading. No Washington lobby is more numerous or active than that of the American Federation of Labor, with its fine marble headquarters overlooking a tiny public park adorned with a statue of the late great Samuel Gompers. But the records show that the A. F. of L. has a poor score for political trading. During the War Gompers traded the credo of the Socialist-Pacifist Federation for union wages in Government shipyards and munitions plants, a swap which helped demoralize the Federation in the five following peace years, during which its membership was reduced by one-third. Hook-line-&-sinker the Federation went for the New Deal's NRA, which washed out disastrously under a Supreme Court decision last month. Last week the A. F. of L. was in the midst of another intricate political deal, which promised to turn out no better than average.

A. F. of L.'s prime trader nowadays is bull-necked John Llewellyn Lewis of United Mine Workers. With United Mine Workers' contracts about to expire simultaneously with the late NRA on June 16, Miner Lewis has been brewing a big bituminous strike to keep wages up (TIME, June 10). In wholehearted sympathy with him are most of the Northern bituminous mine operators, who will continue to pay high wages if the Government will continue to help hold coal prices up. Miner Lewis, abetted by the owners, has been working a trade with the Administration whereby he would call off his coal strike in return for passage of the Guffey bill. This measure, devised and sponsored by the first Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania in 54 years, would declare soft coal a public utility; authorize the Government to buy up $300,000,000 worth of submarginal coal lands; enforce adherence to a code by means of a tax, 99% of which would be remitted to subscribing operators. Last week Miner Lewis' coal strike was within 48 hours of going into effect and Senator Guffey's coal bill had not even emerged from committee. While Congress haggled, President Roosevelt called in Miner Lewis, drew headline credit for WINNING STRIKE TRUCE for another fortnight.

Though the Guffey bill was prominently listed among the President's "must" legislation for this session, Attorney General Cummings, it was learned, had been quietly asked by the White House to look the measure over in its present form, give the Administration a steer as to whether it was constitutional.

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