Department of Labor of Puerto Rico, t o misunderstandings, b u t t o unions lous

employersand b y so-called
headed by ClarenceSenior,hashad being ’ a t fault, &Ir. Perez said ‘unions’ which are in reality nothlng
an office in NewYorkCity since i t would be necessary t o call a rneet- b u t rackets which’bang on the fringe
1948, and does the major jobin ing of the executlveboard to deal of the 12bor movementinorder to
assisting thePuertoRicanmigrant withsuch cases. When askedhow explolt the new immigrants,” and it
to find employment,housingand manytimes it hadbeennecessary calIed upon the
Ethical
Practlces
adjustment on the mainland. But it t o call such a meeting, Mr. Perez Committee of the AFL-CIO “tocome
is not equipped to handle complalnts said“never.” into New York City to help us once
I againstunions, andas
these com- “Whenthecomplaintsareabout and for all get rid of the so-talled
plaints kept increasing, i t asked the d~shonest unidns there is nothing ‘unions’ which are blackening the
unions in New YorkCity t o take that I oranybodycoulddoabout name of the trade union movement.”
some responsibility in handling such i t because labor hasn’tcleaned up A t the time of this writing, Mr.
problemsthemselves. The result of yet. Being a labor representative Perezsaidhehad as yet hadno
thisrequestwastheAFL-CIO La- myself, T couldn’t take action of any reply on the matter from the Ethical
bor AdvisoryCommitteeonPuerto klnd,” Mr. Perez said. PracticesCommittee, b u t explained
Rican Affairs, formed in- 1955. It ’ T h e committeeholds anannual that “those things take a long time.”
has onefull-timestaffmemberand conference, a t which time it passes So thePuertoRicans work, and
is supported by $5415 monthly con- resolutions. Atitslastannual con- wait. Contrary topopular mythology,
tributions from its sixty member lo- ference, the committee passed resolu- the New York Department of Wel-
cals. It is“limited”inits work. tions “On the Hungarian Situation,” fare has reported that Puirto Rican
Jose
Perez, the committee’s di- “On a Citation .to Governor Munoz workers mare quicker to leave the wel-
rector, says that most of the com- Marin of Puerto Rico,” “On Civil fare l~sts than any other “nat~orial”
mittee’scornplaintsare due to mis- Rights,” “On Mayor Wagner’s ,Ac- category of workers. They havecome
understanding between the workers ceptance of SpanishCitation”and here to work-our industry needs
and the bosses or the workers and the “On Discrimination in Housingand them. They come as Americanciti-
uniondelegates, andthatmost of Schools.” It alsopassed a resolution zens, but because of languageand
t h e complaintscan be handledby noting that “It has been the sad his- cultural background, they come ’ as
a phone call. ,When asked what hap- tory of everygeneration of immi- strangers. You have just read some-
pens t o complaints ,that are not due grants to beexploited by unscrupu- thingaboutthe welcome they get.

AS OUR TEXT for today, let’s be- last analysis, the decisionherestill the diverting of precipitationfrom
gin by recalling t h a t ingenious lies beyond the realm of human onearea t o another would have ef-
French film, Generals TV&Amt But- jurisdiction. The primary respons- fectsnotonlyuponthecrops or
t o m . Thesituationthere exploited ibllitystilldependsupon“acts of reservoirs immediately involved, but
for comic effectconcernstwoad- God” in accordancewiththe hal- also upon property values in general.
joiningtowns thatwant different lowed principle, “Man proposes, God All told,tremendous sums could
kinds of weather, and petition their disposes.” changehands;andintestine brawls
saints accordingly.Onetown wants B u t t o expose a further problem aboutthe“bureaucraticyyallocating
d r y weather, for grapes; theother here, let us suppose that men do of good weather could make the al-
wet weather, for cabbages. And this perfecttheirability t o control t h e tercations between Communism and
conflict of material interests, involv- weatherby sheerly“scientificJy or Capiralism look pale by comparison.
ingrival processionb each designed materialmeans.Fromthen on, ob- For very good “positive”reasons,
t o enlist the special favors of Heaven viously, God w d let them make over we’d be in a position hke that of the
a t t h e expense of the other faction, some of HIStraditionally heavy work superstitioussavage
who believes
’ !ea& te picturesquequzrrels evez in this are2 of motions and rnctives. thatthe y ~ m sin his g x d e n can
’ inthe
midst of attemptstomake Fromthen on,, thesubject of each flourish only if the yams in his neigh-
peace. day’s weather wdl iiot be mereIy a bor’s gardenwithcr,sincethere is ’
Despitethesepositivegrounds of matter of prognostication and/or not enough good fortune. . availabIe
conf!ict, we mightsaythzt, ir? the prayer. It will zlso becgrne decidedly for bothgardens ( 2 m a l ~ ~ o ustate
s
a Controversial Issue, with squabbles of mind which our grand mixture of
KENNETH BURKE, poet a.nd that could become quite tough. industrialismand worldpolitics has
critic, iJ th.e author of Permanence For millions andeven billions of recently been expanding to “global”
andChahge:AnAnatoniy of Pur- dollars wouId become involved in proportions).
pose and other books. d<
decisions on weather-policy,”since Already, though the Scientific Co-
322 The NATION
 1 ,
ercing of the Weather ( a s practiced
by skdlcd Clmatogogues) i s stillin
itsInfancy,newspapershavepub-
lished many , reports of grumbling.
CIoud-seedmg in
some states has
been said to lob other states of their
r~ghtfulshire of rainfall,asestab-
llshed by I ancient
meteorological
custom datingfromtimes
before
weatherbecamesubject t o control
by legal contract. Or, on exactly the
opposlte slde, there’have been re-
ports of complamts that cloud-seed-
l
rg111 the Far West shows up several
i
dayslarerasextrarainfallinareas
of theEast whereagricultural in-
vestments,established & the basis
of previous’conditions,callfor but
light rainfall. Andwehaveoften
heard speculations aboutthe pos-
sibility thatthe weather is being
affected by the. various” thermo-nu-
clear,experiments now methodically
poisoning the world’s atmosphere.
ALL SUCH claims arenecessarily
tentative and inaccurate. But at‘least
theyserve
to
indicate just
gravely Controversial the subject of
the weather couldbecome, once a
technique ‘for the scientificcoercing
of the weather is established.
I can even think of ultimate iron-
involving
ies exactly
opposite
theoriesonthecareandcure
weather. Thus, one school of weather-
doctorsmight favorahallopathic
treatment of hurricanes,contending
that ’ they should be discouraged
from the very start. Others might in-
cline towards a’ homeopathic remedy
inaccordancewith the Halynemann
principle of ri?niZin ~ i w t i l i b ucurem’tur,
~ weather-control, is concerned, the
ortheequivalentin Milton’s view
of tragedyasstated in hispreface
t o Santsom Agowistes:
Tragedy, as it was anciently com-
posed, hath everbeenheld the grav-
est, moralest,
and most profitable
of all other poems;therefore said by
Aristotle to be of power, by raising
pity and fear, or terror, t o purge
the mind of thoseandsuchlike pas-
sions-that is, t o temperandreduce
them, to just measure with a kind
of delight, stirred up by reading or
seeini those passions well mutated.
Nor is Nature wantmg in her own
effects to makegood his’ assertion-
for so, inphysic,thrngs of melan-
cholic hue and quality are used
Aprd 13, 1957
against rnelarichoIy, sour against
sour, salt to remove salt humors.
T h a t is, thinking along such lines,
some theorists and practitioners
might hold +at the systematic frus-
tration of lnttle hurricanes would but
outrageNaturetothepointwhere
In exasperation she burst the bonds
imposed upon her by
man-made
meteorologicalpolicy, andbroke in-
to a tempestuous rash that made her
present Hazels and Connies seem by
comparison like
merechicken-pox.
So our best
p,rotection
against a they should not perfect anyother
super-hurncane, according t o this
school, would be got by inoculating
the Caribbean area dally with dpses
how
of tiny hurricanelets-and thus she
morbidity would be avoided by
boostershots thatkept it always
with us, but in a non-vlrulent form.
M7E COULD go on and on. For the
weather is perenniaI
a subject
of conversation. But I wanttodrive
homeoneparticularpoint,Ghich
thinkbearsdlrectly on thematter
of the part
that appliedscience
(“technology”)canbeexpected
playin matters affecting human re-
lations.
So far as.our present cCfable”about
conclusion seems obvious. Insofar as
themeansandmethods of control-
ling the weather do become a recog-
nized part -of ourposltivescientific
powers, then necessarily a corres-
pondmg new batch of moralistic con-
trols wdl be needed. We should need
awholenew area of r e g u l n t i o n ~ ,es-
tablishedby ZegisZ,attom. Similarly,
since anylaw is powerless unless
there are penalties t o enforce it and
agencles to impose and ’enforce those
penalties,this will meannewareas
of crime (crime being made bv law,
since no act is a , crlmeuntil
legally so defmed). Also, it will mean
a new set of institutions (“bureauc-
racy”) designed tp Ccimplcment”the
methods, with
correspondmg con-
flicts as regards jockeyin& for office,
argumentsover policies, thehonest
or corrupt favoring of rival interests,
plus the rhetorical
agon
whereby
the advocates of honestpohcies are
made to look corrupt and the crooks
- a k made to look honest.
PLEASE GET me straight. I’m not
saying that men shouId nottinker
w ~ t ht h e weather, tothebest of
their atbillty. Nor am I saying t h a t
positive ,power over the resources of
nature. I am merely asking that We
bring ourselves t o recognize explicit-
ly what kinds of $7-obbernr will rqces-
sarily accompany 211 ‘such “progress:”
Too many people be‘coml’sb da’zzled
with the promise of the “,$ositives,33
they unconscibusly 6qnsRire ’ rwith
one another to overlook thk lidgatives
(the correspondingmoralisticthbu-
shalt-not’s, with the institutions ap:
proprlate to those negatives, and the
particular problems that go with
those institutions),
There’s too much of an easy-going
teltdencgtoassumemerely t h a t ‘‘If
we were’ibsti’sc~ientificenough,J’ all
this pother would be :eiinimated. And
I submit that, if we view the “pro-
of mises” of applied ’ science i n t h a t
,light, we’re in for a mighty bump.
I I n sum, I’d propose that we form
our expectancies along these lines:
Every new pqsitive power must be
to a source of coqzflict, the occasion for
anew battle over p ~ o p t sy ~ i-iglzttr
(with all (I thenegativity of the
‘‘Keep, Off-No Trespassing”prin-
ciple that hedges all
property,as
dwinity doth hedge ‘a king). Every
new power must raise new demands
uponourmoral scruples, plus cor-
respondingincrease in legislation t o
rnake up for the defisiencies in moral
scruples and for moral though trou-
blous
tendenciestoward disobed-
ience, plus corresponding increases
inactual or imaginedcorruption t o
do withtheesercising of thispar-
ticular power, plus theincentive t o
protect special interests not only by
identifyingtheseinterestswithlove
of God,countryand good oId Spe-
i t is dunk Academy, but also by identify-
ingopponentswithwhatevername
or movement happens a t the t i m e t o
323
be uppermost in the public imagina-
tion as the perfect instance of Un-’
adulterated Evil.
Say’ if you will, that all this
negativity would not be (that the
dialectic of material positive and
moral negative would be abolished),
“if men were but scientific enough.”
And unquestionably,, you can define
“science” in such a way that this
“positive position’: follows from
your definition.
It’s not my purpose here to argue
with that view, which is by defini-’
tion unassailable. I would but have
us admonish ourselves that, at least
“for a long time to come,” “until
people do become scientific enough”’
every additions to the p&tive pow-
ers of appEed science, will be an add;-
tion ‘to the realm of hurna?h co?$ict.
You can also observe, if you will,
that there are Sources of conflict just
as pressing, and maybe even more
pressing, in any failure to perfect the
resources of technology. And you are
right’ alas. For regardless of whether
technology holds out the promises
that its apologists claim for it (the
material “positives” without the cor-
responding batch of ethical “nega-
tives”), there certainly seems to be
no other “hope” (ar least if people
must go ‘on proliferating like the
plague, and if all the wo;ld is to
pick up our bad habit of making no
distinction between gadgetry sand a
high standard , of living-for this
equation helps stimulate the fabu-
lous wastage of our resources in tim-
ber, land, minerals’ water and man-
hours resulting from the production
and distribution of commercial prod-
ucts most of which are culturally
worse than wdrthless).
r3
IO argue about, whether we
/ “should” or “should not” subscribe
to technology is like being halfway
over Niagara Falls in a barrel and
ask&g yourself whether or not to
turn back. You go right ahead’ and,
maybe you’ll break your neck,: and
maybe you won’t. The New Powers
are here, and that’s that, including
the Grand Bombastic Apocalypse of
atomic energy, ,with its mighty con:
itrib&on to the transforming of
scientific Xruth into conspiratorial
secrecy.’ What burns me up is the
(Lpositlve” unction so often asso-
324 ,
ciated with the “prorylissory” po- peace of mind will be your rewaid.
sition. “What do the calamity-howlers
It makes things look too damned want? Do they want us, to go back
simple-and precisely at a time when and live in trees? Our escape from
they are becoming more and more nature, great as it is, is but a be-
complex. ginning as compared with the great
heights we are yet to attain, once
SO LET ME end on a polemically man has perfected science to the
slanted sloganizing of mine enemy’s point where he can have complete
position: control ,over his own destiny. Man’s
“Man in the, state of nature was ability to Gevelop New Needs is but
comparatively weak. But with the in its infancy. Just as we prcjgressed
aid of his inventions,, he has be- from movies to radio and television,
come comparatively strong. In his so we.shall invent the tasties and feel-
weakness, there was bondage; in his its, not t?, mention the smellies.
strength there is the hope of free- We shall have artificial insemination
dom. Above all, the kinds of tech- in artificial wombs. We shall perfect
nological strength which man has, our educational mechanisms to the
developed hold , out ‘hopes for ,us, point where, if you want to learn
since they so clearly testify to the somethink, instead:, of the present’
powers of human reason. According- antediluvian methods of study, with
ly, the more thoroughly we learn to their corresponding wasteful expen-
act in accordance with the rational diture of energy, you will simply thke
genius of the instruments and meth- a pill and acquire the new aptitude
ods which applied science has per- by suggestion in your sleep. We’ll
fected, the more freedom we can ex- have a highLclass real estate boom
pect to acquire for ourselves and our on the far side of the moon, with
progeny. Science can be said to have cheap ,lots on the side that fronts on
‘failed’ us only in the sense that we the backyard view of Earth. And if
have failed science through not b’e- there is any one still crude ‘enough
ing scientific enough. But we have to sleep soundly enough ‘to snore,
already made great strides in the science &ill perfect his bazoo by
direction of. scientific rationality. clamping upon it an Eolian Harp
And with the help of education and that, in the process of his respiration,
of orianizations like the ,United Na- will give forth a resonance of heaven-
tions, we can hope for coiltinued ly concordancies. So enjoy the Great
improvement. Adventure. And to enjoy it, above
“Accordingly, a ‘positive’ attitude all be positive i?t your attitude.”
is justified-and any who speak
otherwise are but ‘neo-mediaeval
THE POSITIVE is such a sure-fire
prophets of gloom and doom who slogan, 1”m sure that, if the minus
would turn back the clock of prog- sign in mathemaiics were only now
ress.’ Every advance that we now invented, the device would be advo-
point to with pride was first viewed cated in the name of Positive Nega-
with alarm. So- don’t make the mis- tivity (in contrast with the previous
1take of selling mankind short, or absence of this symbol, a past de-
you’ll be caught by the up&ng. plorablti condition that would be
True, there are temporary’ fluctua- characteriied as Negative Negativ-
tions, and the in-and-out trader may ity). Yet I feel positively certain
get ‘badly burned-but an invest- that the full implications of this cur-
ment in culture for the long pull1 is rent stylistic unction (presumably
safe. The investor can be confi-dent so different from the days when the
that things will go on appreciating Ten Commandments were f&mu-
of themselves. Particularly if he, bias lated as a code for the guidalice of
a backlog of sound industrial stocks, human conduct) are not understood
he Can feel confident; for in addi- --and above all, thkse implications
tion to real appreciation in the worth (as regards the relations between
of his holdings, their market value positives and negatives) are conceal-
will keep pace with whatever degree ed from us when ,we adopt too “posi-
of mfla:ion the cultdre runs into. tive” an attitude towards the
So be ‘positive”in your attitude, and “promises” of “progress.”