Mediterranean Algiers Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 1943, Algiers, Algiers                                Sunday May 30, 1943the stars and stripes labor strife spreads in u. S. Industries John l. Lewis files his formal petition to enter Al Washington a labors no strike pledge effectively upheld Bince december 1941, threatened to collapse this week As Union leaders frantically attempted to Check the growing unrest among their rank and file membership. At the same time the War labor Board which was established in january 1942 after a conference Between labor and management to Settle labor disputes was faced with its biggest crisis since its inception. For the third time in less than a month the 12-Man Board headed by William h. Davis and composed of three members representing the Public labor and management had been defied by labor. I rubber strike As the week ended More than 40,000 were still out on strike in protest against a Board ruling awarding the rubber workers an increase of three cents an hour instead of the eight cents it had asked for. The Auto Industry was slowed Down from May 20 to 25 when an estimated 34,000 employees stopped work at the Chrysler Plant despite the fact that r. J. Thomas and other United Auto workers leaders termed the strike  the strikers blamed management a alleged refusal to adjust grievances and charged the Board with a a needless  while it was considered possible that the boards regional offices could handle the disputes in the Auto and rubber industries the Board was making Little headway with John l. Lewis president of the United mine workers in the my Coal Issue. Lewis truce Lunt Fontaine get Best acting award new York new Yorkus drama league this week presented its annual a a Best performances award to Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine for their acting in s. N. Behrman s new play. Quot the  Skippy Homeier the 12-year-old kid who plays the role of a Young nazi in a tomorrow. The world a received special mention for his a a sustained and emotional role. A As for the Best play of the season there has been the usual differences of official opinion. Thornton Wilder who wrote the super simple a a our town a this year produced a a skin of your Teeth a a complicated fantasy about Man through the Ages and received the pulitzer prize for it. However Sev eral weeks before new York drama critics had selected sgt. Sid Ney Kingsley a play about Thomas Jefferson a the patriots a As the years Best. Sgt. Kingsley now on detached service in Washington authored such plays As a dead end and a a men in  Pac 3 foxtrot dirty Certie from Bizerte word by pvt William l Russell mum by 5ft Paul Reif Congress agrees on Compromise tax legislation Bill s passage certain As committees end 4-month debate f m int Rattrap Bai. Ted it Wrob cm.�?T7 c 7 de flite or Madr her boy Friend a c in 7 c 7 Edsel Ford Dies foresight hailed / / a truce called by John l. Lewis on May 18 at the request of the Secretary of the Interior Harold l. Ickes expires at Midnight May 31. Neither Lewis nor the Southern Coal operators gave any indication of backing Down from their original position. Behind All the turmoil caused by the strikes was labors dissatisfaction with the a a Little steel formula evolved by the Board last july which was in line with president Roosevelt a plan of putting a ceiling on salaries and prices to prevent inflation. Last june the United steelworkers of America Cio asked for a Dollar a Day raise for the 180,000 employees in what Are known As the a a Little steel companies. It was the first request made to the Board for a general wage increase. From the time the president in May called for a halt in the Rise of prices the Cost of living had risen 15 percent. The Board then decided it would Grant a 15 percent increase to employees in those industries which had not received a raise since january 1941. Applying this formula the Board granted the steel workers an increase of 44 cents a Day. I Little steel since then the Board has rigidly followed the a a Little steel formula. While there was a ceiling on wages nevertheless the Cost of living continued to spiral upward placing a Strain on the a a Little steel formula. Leaders realize that labor would suffer More than any other group from inflationary increases of pay but they wore also aware of the discontent among a membership who find War taxes and increased food prices diminishing their weekly income. The Board also found itself severely criticized by the american federation of labor which said that the current operations of the Board were in direct conflict with the agreement reached by labor and Industry when tile Board was  neither William Green Al Detroit it was the Genius of Henry Ford that developed the automobile but it Wras his son Edsel Bryant Ford who was largely responsible for gearing the great factories to War time production of military might. Edsel Ford died thursday at Detroit. He was 49. Death was caused by und ulant fever. At the time of his death he was president and treasurer of the Ford motor company and with his father the Only stockholder in this Gigantic concern. An Only son the Young Ford was reared by his father with the great objective of fitting him to carry on in the business he went straight from a Detroit preparatory College to the Ford Plant and became vice president at 25. Though overshadowed by his fathers Fame Edsel Ford had a mind of his own. He rationalized and expanded the revolutionary Ford theory of production the moving Assembly line the Complete assembling of the vehicles at 35 Quot consumer centers throughout America the use of Only native labor in foreign branches. He stoutly defended his fathers labor policy High wages and Good working conditions but no unions until the United automobile workers brought him to terms in 1939. When War came the Ford plants thanks to the foresight of Edsel and to his interest in aviation were among the first to Send military vehicles including the jeep Down their Assembly lines. A huge air plane factory was built at Wil of run Michigan and the Ford Promise of mass bomber production has been realized. He married Eleanor Clay in 1916. In addition to his widow four children survive Henry ii Benson Josephine and William. Site we vol a cd c 7 f Iez tie Quot Mio la Trine foe nine teen Tim to. Kit Parade tin pan Alley quiet a Gerties pops up Here sgt. Paul Reif. Tunesmith famous for his a Isle of  has just composed music to a dirty Certie from Bizerte Quot in answer to the Hue and cry for a song to go with this famous african chant. Not Content with this accomplishment sgt. Reif has also accepted our invitation to keep Africa posted on news of hit songs in the slates As received by him on this continent from his Many friends on tin pan a . By sgt. Paul Reif special to the stars and stripes but not before it was made Clear that All National unions if readmitted would be expected to conform to the Overall policies of the Al which Means a no strike policy. Would that mean that Lewis was ready to Settle the Coal strike if so he gave no sign of it. Instead he continued to flout the authority of the Board and turned a deaf ear to their request that he show up in Washington for negotiations. The Long Road that Lewis started on when he broke with the aft. In 1938 Over the Issue of draft ver tin pan Alley and the hit Parade seem to have gone into a musical Calm the past months judging from letters in be just received from the states. As a result most of the current tunes to which everybody is singing and dancing Date Back to last year. Some were getting started before the african invasion began. One reason for the dearth of new tunes for Public consumption s the dragged out fight of the musicians Union with the radio chains. Publishers Are holding Back new numbers because outlets Are Uncertain and no new recordings Are being made the majority of name singers and bands holding off until the argument is settled. Favorite War tunes still Are a a Praise the lord a a stage door canteen a a this is the army a Quot Worth fighting for and a a buckle Down Buck private to mention the outstanding ones. But the folks Back Home still Are waiting for the War song of this conflict to come along the song everyone says the american soldiers will sing a a As they March through the streets of Berlin and  there Are two new songs which have been separately hailed As the song a there la never be another w Are and a a coming in on a Wing and a prayer a but As far As we re concerned we i wait and see. Heading the list Topping the nations song hits is a tune called a a done to get around much  ifs another one of Duke Ellington a compositions. Number 2, on the hit Parade sus Industrial unionism has thus come to an end. On the verge of or weeks is a tune from the film becoming the most important a a a Casablanca called a a As tune t Iona i figure in labor when he Coes  a sentimental Ballad formed with nine other unions the tie tune was written some ten president nor Phillip Murray Cio Congress of Industrial Organiza i years ago and faded soon after it president who has also been at tons in 1938. Lewis egoism and was introduced. Now tis Spe Tacu Odds with the Board gave any indication that he would repudiate the no strike pledge. Imp to Al one of the most surprising developments of the week was the formal application made by Lewis for re admittance of his United mine workers to the american federation of labor. The Al executive Council pleasantly surprised welcomed the application. Heard Here is Quot there a a Harbor of dream boats which is climbing. Gertie again but while we re wondering what they re singing Back Home everybody there is wondering How a a dirty Gertie from Bizerte goes. The april 17 Issue of billboard mentions in an article Quot the most popular song among soldiers in North Africa is called dirty Gertie from  a in the singing world Frank Sinatra former Singer with Tommy Dorsey a orchestra is the new sensation and is being touted As Bing Crosby a  at the moment Sinatra a Sweet and modified a boo Boot vocals Are sending the gals into swoons in a vaudeville tour of the country. The Type of music expected to be popular in the Post War world also is under discussion. Or e. Burgess noted University of Chicago sociologist foresees music influenced by South american and perhaps by desert rhythms. He adds that developments in the style of past War music will depend on the length of the War and How Long America will have to maintain an army of occupation in Europe in which Case latin and slavic rhythms would probably predominate. In any Case he states a Victory of the United nations will result in another Happy a a Jazzy and Carefree Era. The a a frivolous fifties a or. Burgess vanity brought his decline. His studied dislike for president Roosevelt became one of his main obsessions and carried him Back to where he is forced to join forces with an organization which he used to vilify. For two years now Lewis has gone his own but his growls and biblical quotations which he likes to hurl around Are still part of his personality As he attempts to keep the stage to himself. Chinese treaty Washington president Roosevelt last week stamped with his final approval the  treaty in which the United states relinquished All of its extra territorial rights in China. The presidents proclamation declared that the treaty and Exchange of ,. Notes came into Force on May 20, Jar Success has sent recording not if Porfi companies Rushing to their files of the Exchange of ratify a i rat in of hip t in Onver nmn c of to fill Public demands for records. Another on the popularity list is an old Rumba by Xavier Cugat called  ifs the Only Rumba song that is being played. Other tunes on the big time Are a a me and my Gal a a a what a the Good word or. Bluebird a a a dream of tomorrow a a i can to be wrong and a a you a be so Nice to come Home  one song we Haven to cation of the two governments at Washington. Undershirts Montrose Colo. A aviation cadets Here were very much chagrined at their puny Chest expansion until it was discovered they had mistakenly been issued wac undershirts which Are equipped with uplifts in front. Washington following the defeat of the Ruml Quot too per cent forgiveness tax plan for the third consecutive time Early last week the House and Senate conference committees met in a Compromise Bill with the presidents views on pay As you go legislation. By wednesday of this week general agreement was reached on a Compromise plan which would cancel a full years taxes for persons owing 50 dollars in taxes or less and cancelling 75 percent of 1942 or 1943 taxes whichever is less for All others. The 25 percent that must be paid is payable Over 1944-45. Beginning july i 20 per cent will be deducted from every persons salary after a few Basic exemptions Are allowed. Passage certain first to emerge from the conference room senator Arthur h. Vandenburg of Michigan told reporters a a the child is born and thus is ended four months of congressional argument. Passage of a Compromise Bill is virtually  the principal controversy Over this Long pending and much discussed tax legislation has been Over the forgiveness Issue. After the Senate had passed a Bill which would allow the taxpayer to forget 1942 taxes completely president Roosevelt sent letters to the Senate and House tax committees in which he criticized the Bill and implied that he would veto it. The presidents main objection to such legislation was 4hat it would result in highly inequitable distribution of the Cost of the War and that it would enrich in a discriminatory manner thousands of taxpayers in the upper income groups. Ito Sevelt warning it explaining the effect that such legislation would have on men in the armed service president Roosevelt said a a in the event of such legislation a substantial part of the Cost of the War will be transferred from the upper income to the Middle and lower income groups. Our soldiers on the Bat the fronts will be among those who would later be obliged to shoulder the Burden from which our More fortunate taxpayers have been  senator Walter George chairman of the Senate finance committee one of the original champions of the rum plan revealed he would accept a Bill which would cancel 75 percent of last years taxes provided it called for equal distribution among All income groups. On the other Side of the Fence rep. Robert l. Doughton chairman of the House finance committee declared that he is in favor of total forgiveness for the lower income groups and forgiveness up to about 20 percent in the j highest income groups. A a although there Are consider it Able differences Over the forgiveness Issue we Hope to achieve current collection. The spirit is one of Compromise a said rep. Doughton Early in the week. Ruml Bill the recent House rejection of the Senate approved Bill by a vote of 202-194 was effected strictly j along party lines. A breakdown of the voting reveals that 187 republicans and seven democrats voted for the original Ruml Bill while 190 democrats nine republicans two progressives and one american Laberite voted against it. Without uttering a word the Treasury department indicated that it expected a Compromise to be reached soon. It ordered 120 carloads of paper to prepare forms for the new tax system when and if Raaf Ottawa a Canada now has More than 40.000 airmen overseas in 32 squadrons which Are currently taking part in the non Stop air offensive against Germany Canadian air minister c. G. Power told the Canadian House of commons last week. He added that the Raf currently totals 180,172, which 11,390 Are women