Lumber Monufqclurers Toke Strong Stcrnds on Government qnd Union Pressures on Business

l3oston, May 1S-Spokesmen for the nation's lumber producers called on Congress and the Administration today to cut taxes and federal spending and end all government subsidies not vital to national security. Concluding a three-dav Spring meeting in this historic city, directors of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association also appealed for legisIation which would:

1. Ban compulsory unionism.

2. Curb union "terrorism" in labor-management disputes.

3. Make the unions subject to existing anti-trust laws.

4. Repeal federal statutes regulating wages and working hours in private employment.

NLMA directors urged these reforms in adopting a ne\\r 3,000-word policy statement bolstering the association's stand on a wide range of public issues.

Central theme of the new policy declaration is a call for less government control and greater reliance upotr "private initiativq, individual responsibility and sound economic principles."

Special attention is given to the dangers of inflation. In this connection, the association warns that inflation rvill give Communists an opportunity to step up their promotion of "government interventionst' in private industry affairs.

"The aftermath of inflationary spirals may well be the destruction or confiscation of property and incomes, nationalization of businesses, rigid government control of all activities and the loss of individual freedom," the association emphasized.

A section on forest policy reaffirms the lurnber industry's position in behalf of sound forest management practices, maximum utilization of the nation's forest resources and a minimum of federal interference rvith industry operations.

Follorving are excerpts from the nerv policy statement:

LABOR RELATION$-"Q1sa1 progress has been made through the enactment of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 7947 (Taft-Hartley Act) in correcting injustices and inequities in the field of labor relations and in creating reasonable limitations upon both labor and management. But compulsory union membership, feather-bedding, secondary boycotts, monopoly unionism and usurpation of police pou'er of the states still need correction.

"We have witnessed repeated instances of terrorism in labor drsputes which should not have been tolerated. Defiance of federal and state laws enacted in the interest of a rvell-ordered and stable society should,not be permitted. Especially the states should not be deprived of their sovereign power to enforce police measures for the protection of life and property and for the good order of the community."

WAGE-HOUR LAWs-"Legislation of wages and hours of work . is a disservice to those it purports to benefit. Wage-hour larvs are inherently inflationary. They stifle industrial arrd business expansion, reduce opportunity for employment and prevent a free florv of capital into all areas and regions of the nation. We urge their repeal at the earliest possible date."

SOCIAL SECURITY-"Jhe federal old age benefit system should be operated only on a pay-as-you-go basis. Un- einployment compensation should be administered strictly and only for the Purpose intended' Idleness must not be made attractive by excessively liberal unemployment payments. The federal social security system should not be extended into the field of health and medical insurance'"

TAXATION-"Both individual and corporate income tax rates are too high and should be reduced. Particularly are the progressive individual surtax rates unjustifiable. It can be bluntly said that there is no justification for our steeply graduated tax rates except it be the confiscation and redistribution of incomes and property accumulations on an equalitarian basis. This is the 'Open Sesame' to socialism."

FISCAL AND FINANCIAL MATTERS-"Fiscal integrity cannot be assured without a balanced budget. Primary emphasis should be upon economy in government rather than upon increased taxes. Federal grants to the states should be gradually curtailed with complete cessation as the final goal. All government subsidies not vital to the de{ense efiort and national security should be discontinued as quickly as possible. Present lending activities of the federal 'government should be eventually reduced in scope. Pending their discontinuance and transfer to private responsibility, they should be so conducted as to avoid confusion rvith the political functions of government."

MONOPOLY AND COMPETITION-"The individual seller must be permitted in good faith to meet the prices of his competitors. Labor organizations have now attained such a degree of economic power that they should be made generally subject to the anti-trust .larvs, provided the right to organize and bargain collectively is preserved. Specifically, the larv should provide that no person as a condition precedent to employment or continuation of employment shall be required to be a member of a labor union."

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS-"Areas for federal or state action should be distinguished and separated by applying the test of which government can best serve the (Contiirued on Page 74)