The North American Strikes
Neither the President of the United States nor the Prime Minister of Canada has as yet used the Korean crisis to assume emergency powers which would enable them to take drastic measures to cope with the railway strikes which now threaten the industrial life of both countries. In point of fact both President and Prime Minister have more extensive powers at their command than they have yet made use of, and it cannot be long before they are forced to fall back on them. The American strike, if it is at all prolonged must have the most serious effect on the American rearmament programme. The consequent lag in shipments will, of course, have repercussions in Europe (to say nothing of holding up reinforce- ments for Korea), and will hardly be a helpful example to the Western European Governments which are trying to step up their own production, and to persuade their own trade unionists of the overriding urgency of the situation. Unfortunately railway strikes in America, of which this is not the first post-war example, tend to be long drawn-out.
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