Walter Philip Reuther, 49, the redheaded boss of the 1,500,000 United Automobile Workers and vice president of the 15-million-man A.F.L.-C.I.O., remained utterly aloof from the tawdry discourse about Jimmy Hoffa and Johnny Dio going on in Washington. Instead, the U.A.W.'s Reuther chose to initiate a new public debate, not about labor corruption, but about economics. Aware of public concern about inflation, Reuther astutely proposed that the big three automobile makers cut prices on 1958 models by $100 or more below 1957 prices, whereupon his union would give "full consideration" to lower company earnings in preparing wage demands (TIME, Aug. 26).
The automakers...
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