The daily worker., 1925-05-13
CARPENTERS OLD
AGEHOME A nice
THING FOR HUTCH
A $4,000 Kitty to
Play With
BY MIKE ROSS.

For a number of years propaganda
was spread by the general officers of
the carpenters union, for the neces-
sity of an old-age home to take care
of the old and inflrm members.
1t seems peculiar that an admins
tration that has persistently defeated
the will of the membership and SO
notoriously worked against their well
fare, should suddenly become so in
terested in the welfare of the old
members.
A few examples Of their actions are
shown in the signing of the Chicago
scab agreement by William F. Hutche-
son.
Czarist Actions.
In the expulsion of 65 locals Of New
York by Hutcheson in 1916 because
they fought for a higher scale of
wages. Lately the expulsion Of all
those militants who actively fought
for the welfare of the membership
and the ruling that the progressive
carpenters campaign program, on the
basis of which Morris Rosen, candi-
date for general president, asked the
members to support him, is "uncon-
stitutional."
When such corrupt administration
becomes so anxious for the welfare
of the old members that it goes to
the extent of falsifying the referen-
dunn vote and violating the constitu-
tion in order to get the old age home,
as proven in the evidence published
in the pamphlet Whats Wrong in the
Carpenters Union?" then it is high
time to wake up and examine the
reasons.
Raising the Kitty.
The first thing done was to increase
the per capita tax to 10 cents per
member per month for that purpose,
netting an increase in revenue to tho
general Office of about $4,000 per
year.
The second thing done was to pur-
chase the land at Lakeland, Florida
The inner details of the transaction
will probably never be made public,
yet there is a rumor that the land
was first purchased by private com
pany in which certain union officials
were secretly interested and then re-
sold to the carpenters union at a
great profit to this private company.
Big Graft in Land.
Whether this is true or not, at any
rate many people who know the value
of land there claim the price paid is
greatly in excess of its value.
So important was the old-age home
considered that every issue of The
Carpenter had articles on it, and at
the last convention almost half the
time was devoted to it. An appeal
for the repeal of the proposition was
suppressed and the chief spokesman
Mulcahy, was expelled from the con
vention.
Despite all this treachery, fraud and
corruption, the old-age home was de-
feated in the last referendum vote
after the convention.
Since then many locals have asked
that the land be sold and the 10-cent
per capita tax per member per month
be relinquished, but the officials are
in a dilemma. If it is sold it would
have to go at a great loss. This would
cast suspicion among the membership.
Give Back the CASH.
AS to the tax, it is now six months
after the old-age home was defeated,
and they show no intentions of giving
back to the membership S42O,0OO per
year.
In this fight the selling of the land
and the dropping of the tax, the mill
tants must take the lead, not because
of the tax or land itself, but as 6
means of rallying the membership
around the left wing and exposing the
corruption of the machine.