TWELVE MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Wednesday. March 29, 1950
British Labor Backers Accuse
Socialists of Unfair Practice
By Lyle C. Wilion
United Press Correspondent
London, Mar. 20 (U.R) Great
Britain's socialist government is
under fire today from its organ
ized labor supporters on charges
of enforcing an unfair wage
freeze during a, period of rising
prices.
Nearly five million organized
British workers are bucking for
wage hikes. Socialists and tories
alike agree that a general break
through the wage freeze would
disrupt and perhaps wreck the
socialist planned economy pro
gram.
Some trades union leaders are
threatening to break with the
government on the wage freeze
issue. Others warn that their
members mav refuse to do fur
ther overtime work unless pay
is adjusted.
Manpower Tight
The manpower situation here
is so tignl inai overiime is neces
sary to maintain scheduled oper
ations of such vital industries as
shipping and railway transporta
tion.
Rank and file rebels among
dock workers are capitalizing
labor unrest by proposing a ban
on overtime. Without overtime
work, the turn-around time for
merchant ships in British ports
would be doubled, or worse.
Leaders of the Dockers union
oppose this slowdown, but the
National Union of Railwaymcn
spokesmen openly threaten to
stop overtime work unless wages
are adjusted.
Representatives of the British
Trades Union congress met last
night with Sir Stafford Cripps
to protest the wage freeze and
the rising cost of living. The
TUC is the overall outfit of Brit
ish organized labor. Cripps in
the British government is chan
cellor of the exchequer, cor
responding to our secretary of
the treasury.
But a British chancellor of the
exchequer has as much authority
in determining the British bud
get as a president of the United
States has in Washington.
Few Get Look
Only Prime Minister Clement
Attlee and two or three senior
cabinet ministers will have any
Information about the 1H3U bud
set before Crinos presents it in
the house of commons on April
18.
His budget program will re
veal whether burdensome sales
taxes can be eased and the wage
freeze lifted somewhat.
Widespread objection to the
wage freeze puts Cripps in a bad
spot. Organized labor voters are
the backbone of socialist power
here. Without them the present
government would not be in of
fice. Even with labor's support
the socinlists barely squeezed in
last month. Since the February
general election death has cre
ated several house of commons
vacancies among labor scats.
The government margin in
commons today is a scant three
votes. Many socialist members of
commons side with the unions
In the wage freeze dispute. It
goes back to last September's
devaluation of the British pound
sterling from $4.03 to $2.80.
The effect of devaluation is
Just now beginning to be felt by
housewives and olher purchas
ers of taxed, goods in British
shops.
Prices May Go Higher
There is general agreement
that prices are likely to go high
er here as the effect of devalua
tion becomes general. The "New
Statesman and Nation" a maga
zine friendly to the government,
reports "there are many indica
tions that purchasing power, es
pecially of lower paid workers,
nas been driven down to a dan
gerously low level."
British imports of raw mate
rials in February, paid for with
the devalued pound sterling, cost
38 per cent more than imports
In the corresponding month of
1937. The Impact of that upward
spiral of cost shortly will be hit
ting British home markets. Econ
omists argue that piling wage in
creases on top of rising raw ma
terial costs would so inflate the
price of British goods that the
export market would collapse.
Would Be Fatal
That would be fatal to a na
tlon which has been warned by
its government that it must ex
port or die. Cripps' difficult de
cision will be whetner to risk
pricing British goods out of for-
Incident eDfails
Given by Witness
To Near-Drowning
Further details of the incident
In which a 13-year-old . Rogue
River boy was saved from
drowning last week in the Med
ford YMCA pool were given to
day by an eyewitness to me
event, and Boy scout and "Y"
officials, who said that great
credit for prompt life-saving ac
tion goes to Boy scout rvorman
Bean, who administered ariin
cial respiration to the boy.
The youngster was Bobby Hoo
ver. According to Herb bampen
scoutmaster of Troop 4 in Med-
ford who was in the pool at the
time, young Hoover was not un
der the water more than a min
ute or a minute and a half. He
was dragged out by Bean, who
immediately began to administer
artificial respiration, coached
and assisted by hamperi.
Manv Bovs There
There were about 30 or 35
hovs in the Dool at the time
Sampert said. Three other adults
were present, but Sampert was
the only one in the pool. He
emphasized that the youngster,
who renortedlv suffered a
cramp, was spotted and pulled
from the water soon after he had
gone down, and was brought
around in about a minute.
As a result of the incident, a
set of swimming safety rules for
scouts, even stricter than those
in force at that time, have been
placed in effect, according to
Cliff Hanson, scout executive
here. He also pointed out that
the swimming that evening was
nnrl nf the Scout Drocram. and
was not a "Y" swim, which is
usually for older boys and girls.
Tonv Manno. YMCA presi
dent, pointed out that all safety
precautions possible are in effect
when the pool is used by YMCA
members.
Labor Leaders Speak
On Radio Programs
A series of radio talks by
Jackson county labor leaders is
being broadcast each triday at
12:40 o. m. over radio station
KYJC in cooperation with the
United States savings bond pro
gram in Oregon, according to
Thomas P. Gucrin. Portland,
state deputy director for the
program.
Speakers to be heard during
the next four broadcasts are Ed
win R. Olson and Paul W. Elgin,
International Association of Ma
chinists: R. R. Morrow, Congress
of Industrial Organizations, and
Robert Rucker, American Feder
ation of Labor, all of Medford.
Judge L. Peers Wilmcth, Ash
land, railroad brotherhoods,
spoke last week.
Red Bluff. Cel., Mar. 29 (U.R)
Funeral services were pending
here today for soven-months-old
Garry Duand Borlak who died
of burns when hot cottee from
an electric percolator spilled on
his head.
Salem. Ore., Mar. 29 (U.R)
The Oregon Statesman, second
oldest newspaper published on
the Pacific coast, observed its
Bllth birthday today. It was
founded Mar. 28, 1851, by Asa-
hcl Bush.
elgn markets by agreeing to
higher wages or to hold the wage
freeze line against the angry pro
tests of socialist government's or
ganized labor supporters.
The latter course of action
could not fail to cause serious
friction between the labor gov
ernment's cabinet of socialist
planners and the rank and file
of the labor movement itself.
The government's house of
commons margin is too slender
to sustain a bolt of even a hand
ful of back benchers. The gov
ernment's hold on public sup
port as recorded in last month s
general election, is not great
enough to survive significant op
position among organized work
ers.
SOC Library Bids
Due in Portland
Before April 25
Portland, Mar. 29 Bids for
the construction of a new library
and classroom building at South
ern Oregon college, Ashland, will
be received until 9 a. m., April
25, when they will be onened at
Room 203, Benson hotel, Port
land, according to C. Howard
Kable, architect for the project.
Contracts will be awarded
separately for general, mechani
cal and electrical work. The ap
propriation for the building is
ajuo.uuu.
Large Structure
The first building to be erected
at Southern Oregon college in a
numDer oi years, the structure
win be 6B by 203 feet with two
stories ana a partial basement.
exterior walls and floors are to
be of concrete.
Plans and specifications and
other information may be ob
tained from Kable at 1204 Yeon
building, Portland 4. Pre-quali-
ncaiion is required.
Offers for general repair and
mechanical work on Churchill
hall at the college also will be
opened April 25, Kable said.
Mechanical work Includes addi
tions to the heating plant. Bid
ding on the Churchill project is
optional for those bidding on the
library and classroom building.
Salem. Ore.. Mar 20 (IIP!
Dr. Raymond A. WithSy, dean of
students at Willnmittn ITni
sity, has been appointed dean of
oroiners college, urew univer
siay, effective July 1.
Berkeley. Cal.. Mar. 29 The
University of California seismo
graph yesterday registered a
moderate earthquake, believed
centered near the Aleutian island
chain.
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