The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-28
$4,000 A WEEK
BUILDING RINGS
| LEVY ON LABOR
Thousands of Workmen
! Pay Tribute of 81 a Week.
( Inquiry Reveals.
MORE EXPOSURES TO-DAY
Aids of Hettrick Offer to
Make Clean Breast to Avoid
Prison Terms.

Developments in the investigation of
The building scandal revealed yester-
day that operations Of the graft ring.
which has fastened it's tentacles on
every branch Of the industry in New
York, are more extensive and amazing
and the trilute collected far greater
than even had been limited in the pre-
vious disclosures made before the
Lockwood committee. Important fea-
lures brought out during the day in
cluded:
: Eighteen thousand common laborers
organized under the Building Trades
Council have for more than a year
been paying So a week and upward in
graft as fees to the ring. Following
the recent break in that union 10000
men were left to pay the fees levied
for the privilege Of doing ordinary day
labor. Thousands are known to have
paid more than So. This fund alone is
believed to run about $4,000 week.
One man will appear as a witness
to-day before the Lockwood committee
in City Hail and testify that he paid
$4,000 In person to one of the most
conspicuous labor leaders In the city,
whose name has been mentioned re-
peatedly in the inquiry.
Several men identified with the Het-
trick code of procedure have sent rep
resentatives TO counsel of the COM
mittee to ask whether they could es-
cape with fines and not face prison
terms il they made clean confessions.
They have not been answered.
Brfndell Plays Strongest Cnrd.
Robert p. Brindell. president Of the
Building Trades Council. fighting with
his back to tho wall to save his all pow
erful organization now under fire. is
said to have sent his 1877 walking dele
gates to their unions with pleas that
they stick and has held out the promise
that II they do he will break the Lock-
wood committee and put a new wage
schedule in effect on January ]. This
schedule viii give every workman in
every branch Of the building industry
dollar day raise in January, he says,
even IL IL is necessary to call general
strike on all building in New York to
accomplish it.
Two big wrecling corporations doing
o million a year business have been /
ruined and put out OF business In the |
lest few months following their refusal
to submit to the rings terms for the reg
ulation OF their business.
Gov. Smith signed the formal order |
calling for a special term Of the Su-
preme Court to convene on November
20 to empanel the Extraordinary Grand
Jury which will handle the criminal
prosecution Of the case. Justice John V.
McAvoy will preside.
Assembyman Theodore Roosevelt will
b, substituted as member of the Lock-
wood committee in place of Thomas A.
McWhinney of Nassau IL the latter de-
cides TO resign his seat following his
Indictment In Nassau county In connec-
tion with the gambling case.
In the mass of evidence which piled up
yesterday on the desks of the counsel
for the Lockwood committee that which
shed most illuminating light on the op-
erations OF the building graft ring re-
lated to the organization of the Common
Iaborcrs Independent Organization
formed within the Building Trades Coun-
Gil This followed the disclosure that
each OF from ZOO to 500 workmen en-
ployed as wreckers In tearing down
buildings were paying the ring $40
weekly.
cate Up" Smaller Unions.
When Brindell started his council he
made q fight against the Hod Carriers
Union. The result was the formation of
the independent union, into which IS, 1000
men came eventually. The council seized
all of the Hod Carriers Union.
which had included briclslayers. The
council promptly increased the wages OF
the $4,000 men 81 a day. The men liked /
e. Then the council proceeded to levy |
tax OF at least 81 week on each OF the
is 900.
Recently demand came from the
council for n larger fee. The workers
did not like that, and after a fight about +,
s 900 OF them quit the council and went :
back TO their parent organization. That I
left about 10000 members in the Com
mon Laborers organization, all OF whom
are supposed to be now paying mt least
q, A week 70 some ono, making the total
about 100000 O week. The investigators
are not positive about tho limit. They 4
say 81 week was the minimum, and
that it ran as high as IS week for
some OF the men.
With the promise OF further raise 10 }
Geo for all lcbor and from 81 TO IS a
1ay FOR helpers, to go into effect on Jan
Dary ! there came n demand for larger !,
Ices, according to the Information which
rame to the Lockwood committee, and
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