In Washington's Chamber of Commerce Building, in the eye-winking glare of flash bulbs, three men signed their names to what may be a historic document. The men: U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Eric Johnston, C.I.O. President Philip Murray and A.F. of L. President William Green. The document: a labor-management charter for industrial peace in the postwar world.
The charter was the distillation of some two years of quiet talks between the three. It was brief. It contained some obvious points: that increased prosperity can come only through technological advancement, improved productive efficiency, broader social security and an expanding foreign trade. It...