Walsh Confident That Menacing Labor Crisis Involving Automobile Industry Definitely Passed

"With the establishment of the board of three as a meditating agency, I believe that the crisis between the labor and the employers in the automobile industry is definitely past," declared J. Raymond Walsh, instructor in Economics, in an interview with the CRIMSON yesterday.

"I am quite certain that this neutral board will be successful in its efforts to bring about some definite agreement between the two opposing groups.

"The problem has been to devise some means whereby the officials of the American Federation of Labor and other labor unions might be assured that there would be no discrimination against these employees who are members of the unions. It is necessary to reveal the names of employees who are members of labor groups in order that the credentials of representatives of the labor organizations might be confirmed by the employers.

"Heretofore, the union officials have persistently refused to reveal the rosters of their groups, for fear that union men would be discriminated against by the employers. The unions, however, have almost enthusiastically accepted the proposal of the Administration that membership lists be submitted to a neutral board instead of the employers themselves.

"Under the present plan the names of the union men will be given to the board, which will then decide whether or not the representatives of the laborers were chosen by accredited employees. Thus, these names will not be revealed directly to the employers and the danger of discrimination against members of labor organizations will be minimized. It is hoped that this arrangement will break the deadlock which has existed up to now and lead to a satisfactory agreement between the employers and the labor representatives accredited by the neutral board.

"Within the next few years it will be necessary to create much machinery to mediate between conflicting interests in industry. It is not unlikely that such a neutral board as created in this emergency will be called into existence in the future to settle disputes in other industries.

"I am pleased that the crisis in the automobile industry has been averaged since it constituted a serious menses is the tendency toward recovery. If the unsettled conditions had persisted in this, a majority industry the doubts and seats of those who are skeptical of the return of recovery would be given added weight.