Word: drafting
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Decision. Harry Truman ignored the senatorial advice. But he listened to his political henchmen-to National Chairman Bob Hannegan and Crony George Allen. Politician Hannegan argued that a veto would salvage some vestige of the labor support the President had lost when he rushed to Congress with his own draft-strikers measure on "Black Saturday." At week's end, in Washington's 90° heat, the President called off plans for a cruise, toted a briefcase full of reports to the White House living quarters...
...liberal and leftish press was in similar full cry. Wrote the New Republic's knowing Washington Correspondent "T.R.B.": Draft men who strike, in peacetime, into the armed services! Is this Russia or Germany?" Screamed New York City's PM: "A dictator's life-and-death power over American labor." Speaker after speaker-Senator Pepper, Harold Ickes, Henry Morgenthau - cried that Franklin Roosevelt would never have done what Harry Truman did. They were right. True, Franklin Roosevelt, only three years before, had asked Congress for exactly the same power.* And twice-in 1944 and again in 1945-Franklin...
Then loyal Majority Leader Alben Barkley got busy. He tried to avoid the issue, but his move to recommit the bill to committee for "further study" was beaten. The Senate was ready to argue the bill on its merits. And when it came to merits, the proposal to draft strikers into the Army was soundly beaten, 70-to-13. Senator Taft's first lone cry had grown to a chorus...
...Taft who held up the warning hand when the President's emergency labor measure, whipped through a wrathful House, came before a wrathful Senate. He saw the danger to U.S. tradition in the draft-strikers measure. He also foresaw the political repercussions it would set up. He spoke out in leadership against it, pulled 69 Senators (including all but 13 Democrats) with him. Arch-conservative Bob Taft emerged, to the embarrassment of the Administration and to the surprise of labor, as labor's stern protector...
...might have been law before John Lewis went to bed that night if various Senators, for various reasons, had not forced postponement of debate. This week, with tempers somewhat cooled, the Senate considered it. In advance of debate, many Senators, both Democratic and Republican, were opposed-especially to the draft provisions...