The 46-word sentence seemed to be tacked almost as an afterthought to the labor message sent by President Johnson to Congress last week. It urged repeal of Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley law, "with the hope of reducing conflicts in our national labor policy that for several years have divided Americans." But that sentence was no afterthought: it was the fulfillment of a promise made by Johnson to organized labor during the last presidential campaign—and it seemed likely to set off the hottest fight of this session of Congress.
Section 14(b) gives to the states the right to enact their...