The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-11-11

peaYed in the DAILY WORKER Of
October 80; taking O'Connor to task
for his tacit defense of Warren S.
Stone, director of the notorious
scab Coal Rivers Galleries company
Editor, DAILY WORKER Your
paper, In leading editorial of Oct
30, described me as press agent
for Warren S. Stone,' and as having
entered the fray on the side Of his
paymaster, Stone
Your remarks are very misleading
to the thousands Of your readers and
must ask the liberty of making
correction. So far from being a press
agent for Stone. I have met the man
but once and that but for few mo.
ments. The only connection that can
possibly be traced between Stone and
myself, is that we both work for the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers
he as president and l as an assistant
on the Brotherhood's Journal.
1.-THE Journal has not commented in
any way on the Stone-Lewis controv.
ersy over the Coal River Galleries
except on the page known as The
Presidents Page and written by Stone
himself. Certainly no orders or intim.
atoms have ever been transmitted to
me In regard to the Galleries dispute.
nor has any pressure Of any kind ever
been exerted on me in any way in
writing Of this dispute.
"As Cleveland correspondent for the
Federated Press, have attempted to
portray faithfully and impartially the
news events Of the local labor move.
ment. That is my duty, neither more
nor less. Certainly as a news repre-
sentative of the Federated Press, it is
neither expected of me nor allowed to
me to defend or attack Stone. AS you
very well know, it is not the function
OF Federated Press correspondent to
retail his own opinions in his news
dispatches. 1t is that very tendency
in capitalist newspapers which has led
the labor press to form its own news
service, in order to escape opinionated
and colored news stories.
Referring to the Cleveland dispatch
to which you take such violent ex.
ception, l must say that believe it is
OF great value to the labor press to
know what reasons Stone advances
IN behalf of his stand on the Coal
River Galleries. 1t is up to labor edit.
ors to comment as they please on this
defense, but certainly not to attack
the correspondent who, serving with.
out pay, has made it possible for labor
newspapers to know what Stone has
to say.
May l close with this observation?
Being in Cleveland, l naturally have
access to Stones statements that the
correspondent in other cities does not
posses. If | were in indianapolis, /
would have similar access to Lewis
statements. But am l to be assailed
for handling such legitimate news as
Originates in Cleveland? In writing of
the Lewis-Stone dispute, have leaned
backward in an attempt at fairness. In
that and all other controversial mat
tiers, nothing more can be asked of
the newspaper correspondent. It the
editor wishes to comment on the re-
porter's article, that is his province.
Harvey O'Connor."
Reply-On October 30, we com.
mented on news article in the Fed.
Grated Press service, with a Cleveland
date line, sent in by Harvey O'Connor.
assistant on the editorial staff of the
Locomotive Engineers Journal of
which Albert F. Coyle is acting editor
under the direction of Warren S.
Stone, now president of the Brother.
hood of Locomotive Engineers and
head of the Coal Rivers Galleries COM
pany, a mining corporation owned
by members of the Brotherhood and
now operating non-union. O'Connor's
story told of the action of John l..
Lewis in sending two miners officials
into the Cleveland district to work
against Stone. They visited local un.
ions, retailing the story of Stones at
titude towards the United Mine Work.
ers Of America, and his refusal to
sign an agreement with them on the
basis Of the Jacksonville Pact.
Two Wrongs Not One Right
The Federated Press dispatch sug.
gested that Lewis was acting in the
interests of Calvin CoolIdge's can.
didacy which is quite possible and
characteristic Of the notorious labor
faker Lewis. But that does not jus
tify Stone. In fact our attitude to.
ward both is one Of contempt and
bitter hostility for their betrayal of
the labor movement and their open
collaboration with the capitalist class;
Stone sitting at the same table with
the Wall Street bankers and Lewis
the agent Of the big coal operators and
radical-baiter extraordinary.
The cOrrespondence between Stone