The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-10-31
ROUSE MACHINE
BUMPED HARD AT
TYPO. MEETING
So-called ProgressiveS
Meet Opposition ::

The reactionary record of Leon H.
Rouse, president of New York Typo
graphical Union "Big Six" has
brought the local branch of the So
called progressive. party in the Inter
national Typographical Union to the
verge of split At caucus meet
ing of the progressive party in. the
union at Shields Hall in Brooklyn
yesterday afternoon the rank and file
members wanted to put through a
resolution favoring certain progress
sive measures in New York City. The
forces on the newspapers who are Bit
terly opposed to Rouse and the older
officials of the prog machine spon-
sored the resolution, which was final
~ killed through parliamentary Jug
Cling by Willis T. Metcalf, chairman
of the local progressive party.
Big Opposition Vote.
So strong is the opposition that in
spite of the steam roller methods of
the machine the election of officers
showed almost fifty-fifty division.
Jack Mahar of the New York World
composing room, who helped lead the
fight against Rouse in the last news
paper scale controversy, was defeated
for Metcalf's place as president of
the local progressive party by but 80
votes-the vote being 262 for Mahar
and 294 for Metcalf. But the candi-
date for vice-president on the Rouse
Metcalf slate, John T. Casey, was de-
feated by Vincent J. Costello, running
on the ticket with Mahar, by vote
Of 297 to 255.
Rouse Afraid of Opposition.
That Rouse, president for fourteen
years Of "Big Six" and one of the
worst reactionaries in the labor move
ment, fears the opposition was indi-
Gated by the way he fought tc keep
the question Of a local progressive
ticket out of the. caucus. He made a
plea to the effect that Gin view of the
situation III the International, the
members should stick to the old policy
of not running local candidates on
progressive ticket until after the next
International election" at which the
so-called progressives, under the re-
dictionary Charles P. Howard, hope to
increase the minority of one on the
executive council to a majority At
present the other reactionary political
machine Of the International, known
as the Wahnetas, have the majority.
Towne Recommended"
William E. Towne, once known as
a progressive, but of late trailing
with the Howard Rouse reactionaries,
was endorsed as candidate for inter
national secretary-treasurer without
prejudice" because James Mccoy was
also endorsed for the same office.
i Towne is now up on charges of hav-
ing violated the overtime law by me-
glecting to give out his overtime to
one of the "subs" who was entitled
to it. 1t is charged that the "pro-
gressives" are using the same old tao
tics the "Wah" machine was charged
with using for housekeeping mem
beers of the union from getting work
unless they subscribe to their ma
chine.
Talk of New Alignment.
In face of the record of both poll
teal cliques in the Typographical
Union, which are equally reactionary,
there is much talk among. the rank
and file of creating new grouping
that will go into the next campaign
and challenge both of the machines,
whose enmity is based upon the
scramble for office exclusively.
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