The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-07-17

dSdllloI IlS - y. LIZ LIZ 10 DCAlA5
Harry Self, while a delegate
at the Boston convention, OBJ
jected to the unseating Of Met
rick, as a member of the T. U.
e. L., on the grounds that the
man who preferred the charges gainst
Metrick was an ex-scab. The chair
man of the credential committee
pointed out that the charges had been
preferred by member of the Chicago
Joint Board. Sen, in answer, stated
that not only was Packer an ex-scab,
but that he knew of officials that had
been guilty of scabbing. Out Of this
statement charges were preferred
against Seff when he returned to Chi
cago. Before the trial committee Self
accused Max Novack, a business
agent, of having been a scab
Business Agent Scab Boss.
Novack, when not business agent,
went into business for himself Dur
ing one Of his business exploits, in the
midst Of a strike, he threw his lot in
with the bosses under cover, as he
thought, and took work from a shop
that was on strike, thereby acting as
strike breaker. This was proven to
the trial committee by a number Of
witnesses. The trial committee, how
ever, was not there to gather evidence
against one Of Perlstein's business
agents. They were there to give a
phony legal status to the disfranchise-
ment of Sen, a sentence that had al
ready been decided upon by the adj
ministration.
1t was delicate situation. Every
body knew that Novack had been in
business during the strike. 1t was not
known generally that he had taken
work from q struck shop, but the evil
dence was conclusive. There was no
getting away from the fact that No
vack had taken work from a shop that
was on strike-even the committee
had to admit 1t.
However, there is no such thing as
delicate situation to Perlstein's
roughneck politicians. They simply
had to cover up Novack's stupid blum
der Of being caught at scabbing. So
they made the remarkable discovery
that Novack was not in business at
all, that he was merely the messen-
ger boy for the man who was the ac-
tual scab, and could not be held re-
sponsible for it.
Guilty Of Telling Truth.
Even Novak seemed to be thunder
struck at this discovery. OF course
the mere fact that Novak admitted
that he was in business, or that
Schlesinger, then international presi-
dent, sometime after the strike had
denied Novak the right to run for
chairman of the Joint Board on these
very grounds, mattered little to the
committee. Orders were orders. Sen
had to be punished. Novak had to be
white-washed. And with this lame
duck excuse, they found Sen guilty Of
"slandering an official" and disfranch-
lSed MIN Tor TWO years.
Self appealed the case to the Joint
Board, and again we see the absolutely
complete control that Perlstein has
over the majority of the delegates.
Perlstein did not waste any time in
denying the charges against Novak
He told his controlled delegates that
they must uphold the committees re-
port That il they did not do so. they
would be convicting themselves for
allowing Novak to become business
agent, and that they would be guilty
of accusing the trial committee Of
bringing in false report. After this
confession Of guilt, the Joint Board
voted to uphold the ex-scab Novak and
to disfranchise Sen for two years. The
Joint Board was no means a unit on
the question. A substantial minority
voted against the committees report
Can't Ask About Money.
Sam Stein, a member OF Local IS,
is the next one slated to feel PERL
STEMS mailed fist. Sam, who is not a
progressive nor in sympathy with
those who were expelled, is under
charges. He has committed the ter
rible crime Of wanting to know what