Memorandum from Harold Enarson to John R. Steelman

407, Stike stul JUL 2 9 1952 June 24, 1952 Memorandum for Dr. Steelman # Subject: Steel Strike - The Cat Comes Back In his message to the Congress the President "put the cat on their back." He quite properly pointed out that the choice of Taft-Hartley or seizure was one which the Congress alone could make. After pointing out the dangers of Taft-Hartley, the President said that "If, however, the judgment of the Congress, contrary to mine, is that an injunction of the Taft-Hartley type should be used, there is a quicker way to do so than by appointing a board of inquiry under the Taft-Hartley Act. That WO 1d be for the Congress to enact legis- lation authorizing and directing the President to seek such an injunc- tion, without waiting for any board to be appointed and to report." The strike is now three weeks old. with each passing day, the threat to our national security grows. Clearly the Congress does not yet regard the stoppage as really critical. In any event the Congress is getting off the hook. The Senate very quickly, and by overwhelming vote, rejected all seizure proposals and passed a resolution requesting the President to use the Taft-Hartley Act. There is every indication the House shares the passions of the Senate and that tomorrow (June 24) the House will also "choose" Taft-Hartley. When the Senate acted, the cat began the trip back to the White House. The House votee on Wednesday will almost surely put the cat right back on the White House doorstep -- and what a snarling, disreputable old tom he is! It is perfectly true that the Congress will not order use of Taft-Hartley, or trigger the Act itself by authorizing the President to get an injunction without going through the formality. of a Board of Inquiry. The Congress will not make its choice along the lines set down by the President. It will not do so because it has not the courage and because it will not want to amend the Taft-Hartley Act and admit its previous bad judgment. Congressmen, of all persons, are least likely to make public penitence. The White House can, if it chooses, insist that the steel strike is still the responsibility of the Congress, and will remain so until it enacts a seizure bill or mandates use of the Taft-Hartley Act. But this is hardly a tenable position. In a crisis the people look to the President to act. They look to the x409 - B steel seizure x407- Lafe Hantley