|
<br />0""""-7
<br />i-.J~
<br />1945
<br />
<br />CONGRESSlONAL RECORD-HOUSE
<br />
<br />for personal injuries and damages. The
<br />Federal Ga\"ernment has been definitely
<br />1J'ljured In this strike by failure to func-
<br />tion as it should function, yet I have
<br />hellrd of no etlarts made or any expecta-
<br />tion on the part of the Go\"ernment to
<br />enforce the Srnlth.Connally Act by a suit
<br />against that union.
<br />Mr. HOFF1dAN. I thank the gentle-
<br />man. I predict that yoU .".ilI not hear
<br />of any.
<br />Mr. SMITH of Virginia. If the gentle-
<br />man wllJ yield further, I ha\"c never
<br />heard of any suit being brought by the
<br />Federal Government under that act, al-
<br />though there have been many cases
<br />where strtkes have bE-t>n eaUed ,>,1thout
<br />notice.
<br />Mr. HOFFMAN. There is no question
<br />about It. \lnd the reason 15 plain, at least
<br />to me. There has been a political tie-up
<br />between the politJclans in office and the
<br />labor politicians who want speciallavors,
<br />Rnd the trading bu been carried on for
<br />the last 8 or 10 years, ever since the sit-
<br />down strikes began In M.Jchlgan on lhe
<br />last day ot DecembeT 1936,
<br />Just carrying on that suggestion by
<br />the genUeman from Virginia, this morn-
<br />Ing I drafted a bill which I dropped Inl0
<br />the hopper, which makes a declaration
<br />of policy. In brief, It Is that no one shall
<br />have the right 10 1nterfere with the op-
<br />erations ot the Federal Government. and
<br />that the Capital Transit Co. be author-
<br />Ized and direcled to step out forthwith
<br />and employ a su.mclent numbE>r of indi-
<br />viduals to operale its transport.atlon sys-
<br />tem 50 that Federal employees engaged
<br />in Federal buslnes.s can keep the Govern-
<br />ment in operation; w that the Army and
<br />Na\'y can move along In the discharging
<br />of men who are entitled to be discharged,
<br />The time for fooling around with those
<br />who have no regard for their solemn
<br />agtp.ements, no wnslderation for thel.r
<br />fellow workers, who for the 9.dvancement
<br />o( their own interests prevent thousands
<br />getting to their daily tasks on time has
<br />ended.
<br />The SPEAKER pro tfompore, The time
<br />of the gentlr1Uan from Michigan has
<br />again explrrd.
<br />(Mr. HOFFMAN asked and was glvf'n
<br />permission to revise and t'xtend his re-
<br />marks.>
<br />AMERICA AT THE CROSSR<..AD5
<br />The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under
<br />pre\'lous ord!"r o( the House, the gentle-
<br />man (rom Mls5lsslppl [Mr. RANXlI\IJ Is
<br />recogni;>,ed for 30 minutes.
<br />Mr. RANKIN, Mr. Speaker, I ask
<br />unanImous consent lo revise and extend
<br />my remarks and include copies of the cir-
<br />Culating statement of United States
<br />money: also some excerpts Crom a cou-
<br />ple of magazine articles.
<br />The SPEAKER pro tempore. L~ there
<br />objection to the rCQuest of the gentleman
<br />from Mississippi?
<br />There was no objection.
<br />Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Speaker, America
<br />today Is at the crossroads, In fact our
<br />chilizatlon Is at the crossroads.
<br />We are going through an ordeal test-
<br />ing whether or not constitutional gov-
<br />ernment, human liberty, and fre-e enter_
<br />prise shall endure.
<br />I know some Members of Congress will
<br />take me to task when I speak In favor of
<br />
<br />free enterpr:ise. because of my attitude
<br />on the power question: so I will ~peak
<br />of that briefly to begin with.
<br />I am not exaggerating when I say that
<br />I have done more for the development
<br />o( the_""ater power of this Nation than
<br />any other Member of this House. that I
<br />have done more for rural electrification
<br />than any other Member of lhm House.
<br />The power business ls a public businc~.
<br />E]ectrlclty Is now a nl'ces.sity of our mod~
<br />ern life; and It has to be handled b}' a
<br />monopoly. You cannot ha\'c four or five
<br />con<;:erns supph1ng e1ectricHy to anyone
<br />community. for the overhead would eat
<br />them up.
<br />In addltion to that. the water power
<br />of lhe Nation already belongs to the Fed-
<br />eral Government: and I have no apology
<br />far my tiJl:ht far the last 16 years to devel-
<br />op that water power and see to it that It
<br />Is distributed to the people of the wun-
<br />try at rates ba.scd upon the cost at gen-
<br />eration, transmission, and distribution.
<br />I sland for that policy today, and shall
<br />continue fighting far it as long a~ I am In
<br />public life or until we gel electricity to
<br />every home in America at those rates,
<br />and untU we electrify every farm home
<br />In the United States at those rales.
<br />But, Mr. Speaker, I was very much
<br />alarmed on yesterday listening to the
<br />speeches made on the so-called full
<br />employment bUI. and especially after I
<br />read the bm. because in my opinion there
<br />runs through .thl.!; lell;is1ation the element
<br />of totalitarianism that America w"nts
<br />10 avoid. I know they will tell you-
<br />those wJ:ld-eyed fanatics who are going
<br />up and down the country argulng that
<br />we Should "abolish the United Statfo.s"-
<br />they are going to tell you that II; totali-
<br />tarian government is more powerful and
<br />more erncient than a republlc:. Let us
<br />see about that.
<br />The United States, wlllh Hs free enter-
<br />prise syswm did more to Wln this war
<br />than all other elements combined. The
<br />United States was able to develop an In-
<br />dustrtal machine to produce the mate-
<br />rials of war. It was the United Stales
<br />that de\eloped what they c:all the prox.
<br />Imlt}. fuze, radar, the atomic bomb. and
<br />that vast Army, Air Force. and Navy
<br />that broul,::ht victory to the Allied call...~.
<br />All that was done Mder our system of
<br />free entforprLse.
<br />I am R!"tting tired of hearing men get
<br />up on this floor and using the word
<br />"Pasclst.. toward those of WI who stili
<br />believe in the American system "of coo-
<br />stltutlonal government and free enter-
<br />prise. I have heard the CommWllsts
<br />and their fellow. travelers refer to the
<br />white people of the South as Faschts
<br />and refer to the businessmen of this
<br />country as Fa.sclsts until I am tired of
<br />It. We "'ere fighting fascism In this war,
<br />and we destroyed a, and nobody on earth
<br />contributed more to that end than did
<br />the white people of the South wbom they
<br />are now tr}'ing to smear by Calling them
<br />PascIsts; and nobod}' contributed more
<br />to that end than did the bwinessmen of
<br />this countr}' whom they are now trying
<br />to smear with that sinister appellation.
<br />But I want to draw the line betwl"l"n
<br />wmmunism and free government, be-
<br />tween communism and free enterprise.
<br />Communlsm and fa.selsm are merely
<br />different umptoms of the same disease.
<br />
<br />10639
<br />
<br />One of them Is the chill and the other Is
<br />the fever ot a d}1ng civilIzation.
<br />Remember that we do not owe anyone
<br />a ll\'lng in this country, except the dis-
<br />abled or the aged, Let me repeat that:
<br />We do Dot owe anyone a Ilving at the
<br />expense of the Fed"ral Go\'ernment, ex-
<br />cept the dl.sabled or the ~ed: but we do
<br />owe 10 everyone the duty 10 see to It that
<br />he has a right to work for a living, that
<br />he has a right to earn his own living,
<br />That Js what free enterprise and free
<br />American institutions mean. Are they
<br />getting It?
<br />Mr. RICH: Mr. Speaker, will the
<br />gentJeman yfeld?
<br />Mr. RANKIN. I yield to the gentle_
<br />man from PennsylvanJa. _
<br />Mr. RICH. And he ought to do a good
<br />day's work for the pay he receives?
<br />Mr. RANKIN. Yes. There are Mem-
<br />bers who talk about paSSing a full em-
<br />ployment bill, then point to these C(ln-
<br />ferences now .atng on here in Wa.~hJng-
<br />ton where there Is a Il;roup of labor
<br />leaders. drawillJt salaries greater than
<br />the members or the Supreme Court of
<br />the United States, and repre.'lentJng less
<br />than one-fifth of even the industrial
<br />laborers of the country. no farmers at
<br />all, none of the unorganized people, none
<br />of the businessmen. They are gatherlid
<br />down here, encouraging this strike that
<br />Is paralYZing the transportation system
<br />In the city of Washington.
<br />Mr. RICH. The gentleman did not
<br />mean to .say that the businessmen are
<br />enC(luraglng it?
<br />Mr. RANKIN. No. I say they do not
<br />represent the businessmen. The busl-
<br />neS<lmen are not encour8.(dni it.
<br />Some men refer to communism as de-
<br />mocracy. Why, there Is not any more
<br />democracy in Russia or In any other
<br />rommunl~tic country than there was In
<br />the days of lhe totalitarian monarchy
<br />before the birth of Christ.
<br />Let us draw a line down this aisle here.
<br />I want to show you where we are driving.
<br />and I am lj:olng to give you the remedy.
<br />I ha\'e \'ery little respect for a man when
<br />he gets up and criticizes and does not
<br />offer a remedy for the condltlons that
<br />he berates.
<br />Let us draw a line down tbls aisle. On
<br />one side of the aisle Is rommunism.
<br />CommunIsm Is based on atheism. the
<br />atheist teaChings of Karl Mane, whose
<br />hatred for Christianity is well known to
<br />all students of history.
<br />On the other side of the als]e Is tree.
<br />constitutional government. based on the
<br />pbUosophy of Christianity, which has
<br />been the controlling Impulse or this world
<br />for 1.900 years. On the communLstlc side
<br />1s totalitarlanlsm. dictatorship, and rt'1l:i-
<br />mentation. On the other side Is free ROV-
<br />ernment--democracy, It YOU please-
<br />liberty and free enterprise.
<br />On the communistic side, as I said, is
<br />regimentation. the taking away of ever)'-
<br />thing that a citizen may own. his factory,
<br />his farm. his home if )'(Iu please. The
<br />Individual be<:omes the slave of the stat.e.
<br />Go Into a cor:ununlstic country today
<br />and what do you find? You find th~
<br />farm land has bet-n taken. They are
<br />trying to farm It from Moscow or from
<br />the capital of the country, In 1931 they
<br />levied a tax of so many bushels of wheat
<br />on all the farmers of the Ukraine. They
<br />
<br />I
<br />
<br />I
<br />
<br />I
<br />I
<br />I
<br />I
<br />I
<br />
<br />I
<br />I
<br />
<br />I
<br />I
<br />
|