The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-08-26
BERRY BRINGS
GRIST TO HIS
OWN BUSINESS
Uses Union Funds for
Private Ventures
CONTINUED from page y

methods Of fighting the employers will
undoubtedly benefit the reactionary
officials, but they will only prove mill
stones around the necks of the mem
bership.
The Charges.
Chicago Printing Pressmen's Union
No. 3 specifically charged the officers
Of the international Union with many
offenses, including having used union
funds to finance wholly or in part the
following concerns in which they were
personally Interested: Il
Clinchfeld Hydro-Electric company.
Clinchfeld Land and Lumber COM
pany previously the Clinchfeld Land
and Timber company
Clinchfeld Mercantile company.
The Knoxville Printing Shop.
Berry's Grist Mill
! A little item of graft on the credit
side Of Berry's ledger is a contract
with the United States government for
the transportation Of the mails be-
tween Rogersville and the Pressmen's
Home. For this he received $3.50 per
year. Berry has no equipment for this
work but he uses the employees Of the
International Union to do the work.
Berry puts the compensation in his
own pocket. While he was roaming
around Europe after the war, in re-
turn for his services to the employers,
the quarterly payments received from
the contract were turned into the
union treasury
Facts Brot Out.
Berry secured ten lawyers OF defend
himself against the charges made by
Chicago Printing Pressmen's Union
No. 8, but he was not successful in
keeping the story from reaching the
public. The following facts were brot
out in court:
The Clinchfield Mercantile company
with branch offices at Rogersville and
Alum Well was founded with money
taken out of the treasury of the Inter
national Union. George L. Berry is
president of the corporation. Joseph
C. Orr, ecretary-treasurer of the un-
ion is also ecretary-treasurer Of the
company.
Berry and Orr had way Of making
money that would win the admiration
of o. Henry, author. of THE Gentle
Grafters" and other short stories. The
bills of the Mercantile company "a
country department store) we're met
by the International Union and the In
| ternational Union gave notes for the
bills of the ClinchfeId Mercantile
company. The International Union
then bought supplies to cover the
amount of these bills and the Mercan-
title company naturally made a profit
on the goods sold to the international.
In other words Berry and Orr for
their company bought goods with the
money of the union and then sold
those goods to the union at . profit
to themselves.
Berry said that no profit was de-
rived from the operation Of the Mer-
camille company. Yet the company
made enuf money in 1918 to show a
surplus of $4,000 and paid an income
tax.
Even Berry's own auditors and his
secretary-treasurer admitted that the
company made profits. Who got the
dough? 1t certainly did not go into
the Golfers of the International Union.
The court records showed that the
stockholders and the officers of the
Clinchfield Hydro.Electric company,
another Berry concern, built with the
funds of the. international. are George
L. Berry, Joseph G. Orr, Mrs. George
L. Berry. Mrs. Joseph C. Orr and Mrs.
Genres (Berry's mother-in-law.)
Berry admitted having loaned this
company $4,000 of the union funds.
altho he tested that he did not know
who the stockholders were outside Of
himself. AS a matter of fact the enor-
nous sum of $4,000 was sunk In
this quagmire and there is a letter
on record written by Berry to the
Western Electric company, promising
to make payments to that company for
electrical equipment Just as soon as
the war emergency assessment began
to flow in.
In contract entered into between
the Hydro-Electric company and the
|. p. P. and A. U. the International
Union was to have the privilege OF
buying the plant at the end of ten
years on the payment Of $4,000
$4,000 cash and the $4,000 stock
made out in Berry's name.)
Another Berry Business.
Another one of Berry's enterprises
is the Clinchfield Land and Lumber
company. In this also Berry and his
pal Joseph c. Orr are the principal
partners and stockholders. This COM
pany had no equipment to haul freight,
yet Berry and Orr with the concur
renee Of McHugh, Brophy and Marks.
contracted for the unions hauling with
the Clinchfield Land and Lumber COM