The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-24

part Of the right wing to subjugate
the rank and file, to exterminate all
left wing leadership and militancy
but it is becoming clearer that it is
also in the nature Of smoke-screen.
Reaction in the trade unions has be-
come so brazen, the connection be-
tween officialdom, the capitalists and
capitalist government is becoming so
apparent, that the drive against the
left wing has been planned and UNI
doubtedly serves to distract attention
from officialdom's corruption and its
amours with the enemies of the labor
movement.
TIE joint drive of the social-demo-
4 cratic officialdom and capitalists
of Germany upon the militant section
of the working class was followed by
the notorious Barmat scandal and
there are important indications that
there are developing in the American
labor movement the conditions for
similar scandal of major proportions.
Frank Harrington, president of Dis
trict ~ (Illinois) United Mine Work
ers of America, was exposed last fall
as a $4,000 per year agent of the
Peabody Coal Company in the miners
union after he had been assiduously
prosecuting militant members of the
union and posing as a defender of
"Americanism" against the reds"
for number Of years.
The DAILY WORKER published on
Monday, March 81, an exposure of
Frank Ledvinka, former president of
the Bellaire subsdistrict of the UMWA
(said to be the largest sub-district Of
the union) in connection with his re-
ceipt Of large sums of money from
lawyers ostensibly defending members
of the union arrested in connection
with the 1922 strike. Ledvinka, the
charges state, received a percentage
of the attorneys fees.
This thrifty official was an active
supporter of John L. Lewis las was
Farrington) and led the fight on the
progressive unionists in southeastern
Ohio.
IN the recent elections John Walker
and Victor Olander, president and
secretary respectively of the Illinois
State Federation of Labor supported
Frank L. Smith, the insult traction
interests candidate for the United
States senate. insult admitted to the
senate investigating committee that
he was financing the Smith campaign
to the extent of $125,OOO and the re-
sultant scandal was of such proper
tions that the subsequent convention
of the Federation of Labor did not
dare to openly endorse Smith altho
Walker and Olander continued to sup
port him.
Walker and Olander are always for
Americanism and against "reds"
One is permitted in the face of the
facts to doubt the undiluted altruism
of these Illinois labor leaders and
voice a suspicion that here too there
is. corruption.
1T is common knowledge that the
ware campaign managers corrupted
practically all of the union officialdom
in Pennsylvania with the exception of
James Maurer, president of the State
Federation of Labor and with this ex-
ception the few that did not sell out
to Ware were on the payroll either of
Pinchot or Pepper.
The looting of the Pittsburgh
Brotherhood Bank "a union labor in
stitution) by an inside ring of Off
Gals is another recent instance of
corruption.
Following the lead given by Green,
Woll and others the local officials of
the Central Labor Council raised the
cry of "red" when rank and file dele
gates demanded a thoro investigation
and punishment of the guilty parties.
100000 was the modest sum in
volved in this strictly union affair.
THE New York City labor movement
furnishes glaring recent instances
of union corruption: