The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-03-05
LABOR AKERAT
DETROIT FORUM
ATTACKS HECKLER
Mine Organizer Tries to
Block Questions
worker Correspondent


(Worker Correspondent
DETROIT, March 3-The bank
ruptcy of the A. F. of L. officialdom
has never beenlbetter illustrated than
at the recents meeting of the Detroit
Labor Forum which is conducted by
the Detroit Federation of Labor. The
particular address which brot this out
so forcibly was that by Frank Heff-
erly, organizer of the United Mine
Workers. He was substituting for
Frank Kasteh, International Presi-
dent of the Brickmakers' Union.
After a wandering talk on the condi-
tions of the miners and the benefits
of the recently concluded agreement
with the mine owners he attempted
to answer questions.
A member of the audience asked
why the maintenance men had not been
called out on strike as well as the
miners and whether Lewis was not a
traitor to his union for not pulling
them out. The speaker jumped off the
platform and rushing up to the man
told him he was going to lick him for
what he said. VIM. Collins, an A. F.
Of L. organizer stationed in Detroit.
urged Hefferly to beat him up. Mr..
Collins has always claimed to believe
in the virtues of democracy and free
speech.
Audience Gals FakiTs Bluff.
Hefferly's attack was so sudden that
the audience was taken by surprise,
but it was only few seconds before
the majority demonstrated their oh
jections to such tactics by threaten
ing to throw Hefferly out of the
meeting. Order was finally restored
by the chairman in spite of the oppo-
sition of the takers and their few
friends who seemed anxious to break
up the meeting. The reason for this
became quite evident as the questions
proceeded. ~
In answer to further query as TO
why the maintenance men were not
called out, the. speaker said that the
scale committee had agreed with the
operators to let them remain on the
job IN order to protect the mines and
that the miners always kept their
agreements. He stated further that if
they called out the maintenance men
the public would have opposed il
Someone in the audience asked.
Which public?g Hefferly answered:
IF you don't know who the public is
I feel sorry for you"
Speaker is Stumped.
The speakersfn his talk had claimed
that the two outstanding points in the
pact with the operators were the elm
nation of compulsory arbitration and
the securing OF the checkoff. In ans
wer to questions on both these points
he was unable to explain how the
cancellation board" provided in the
agreement differed from an arbitration
board, or in what part of the agree
ment it provided for the check-off.
He further stated that the pact was
very good because the miners were
on the point of starvation and would
have been licked if they had remained
out any longer. When asked why the
mine owners had been so willing to
sign, If 1t was only matter of a few
days or weeks, before they could have
made any terms that pleased them. he
refused to answer. The whole talk
was tilled with phrases about the
rights of the owners, the abilities of
the leaders. the past glory of the
union and vague generalitles.
Takers Want Dummy Unionists.
Hefferly in an interview given after
the meeting to the Free Press. De-
triot's most reactionary paper said
THAT fellow Invent after is the TYNE
that we in union circles would like 10
get rid of. They get up in union
meetings and give out their radical
convictions inathe form of questions
convinced thatIthey are safe from di.
rect action other than the speakers
answer"
In the opinion of Mr.. Hefferly and
ais kind it is crime to give out ones
convictions in.unions and other places
u they conhictwith the ideas or plans
OF the pie card artists and any one
guilty OF suchaan offense is deserving
OF the severest. punishment II they
persist they should be killed before
they can contaminate the labor move
ment with their ideas, according TO
MN A clearer explanation of the
power of the left wing in the labor
movement and the takers fear Of II
and their inability to answer Il with
anything but thuggery could not have
Deen made by any Communist in the
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