LABOR: Easy Does It

For bumptious James Caesar Petrillo, exigent czar of U.S. musicians, it was a week of unparalleled tributes. From Toledo came flattering news: somebody was going around representing himself as Petrillo. In Hollywood, movie magnates cheerfully upped his studio musicians’ pay by 33% (previous annual wage: $5,200), agreed to a 44% increase in the number of regularly employed musicians. From Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Nicholas Schenck came the most gracious accolade of all: “We had a very lovely and friendly three weeks of negotiation.”