LABOR: Season's Greetings

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After a four-hour conference in John L. Lewis' Washington office one day last week C. I. O.'s peace committee headed by Philip Murray marched to the Hotel Willard to meet once more with the A. F. of L. peace committee headed by George Harrison. Without palaver Mr. Harrison asked if C. I. O. still insisted that all its members be taken into A. F. of L. Mr. Murray replied that those were the terms and the only terms on which C. I. O. was willing to make peace. Eight weeks' negotiations to reunite A. F. of L. and C. I. 0. in one great labor organization thereupon reached their conclusion. Net result: The two sides wished each other the season's greetings.

To reporters assigned to the death watch of the peace conferences Mr. Harrison declared: "We broke up. It's all off. . . . It's useless to continue. We have not set any date to reconvene. . . ."

Emerging one step ahead of Mr. Murray, Harvey Fremming of C. I. O.'s Oil Workers Union stormed sarcastically: "We found out what a labor oligarchy is. They said, 'We can't take you in because you'll break up our little playhouse.' "

The first attempt to heal the Great Schism had been a dismal failure. But with the rank & file on both sides thoroughly fed up with what is essentially a struggle between ambitious leaders for personal power, it was by no means certain that this attempt would be the last.