The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-31
Lewis Machine
Pays Officers
F at Salaries
BY WILLIAM 2. FOSTER.
Continued

Instead Of organizing the I'M
organized miners in West Vir-
ginia, Lewis organizers there
spent their time getting resolutions
passed asking that official salaries
be increased. With great enthusiasm
on the part of the machine-made
delegation Lewis salary was raised
from $4,000 to $4,000 per year.
Chris. Golden, of the anthracite lead
ers, declared that it would be an in
suit to ask Mr.. Lewis to work for
such low wages, especially as he had
just been offered the presidency of
the John Mitchell Life Insurance
Co. at $4,000 per year. Vice-presi-
dent Murray said, "You can consider
me a miner with grievance. l am
fighting for just wages" He was re-
ceiving only $1,000 per year, and
about the same in expenses. His
salary was raised to $4,000. Thus
act the miners "leaders" in the face
of the greatest crisis the union has
ever known.
A few items from the practices of
Frank Harrington, until recently
president of District 10, will illus
trate the widespread corruption in
the Miners Union in the matter of
salaries and expenses. Harrington
received $4,000 salary yearly. He was
allowed an average o. about SIS per
day for expenses. This was sup
posed to be paid him only while he
was on the road. But he got around
this little technicality by maintaing !
his official residence in Indianapolis
and charging road expenses for all
the days he spent at the union head.
quarters in Springfield. In this way
he managed to squeeze about ,00l
out of the union yearly as salary
and expenses. How much he also
got from the operators and from his
many financial ventures remains a
mystery, except the famous $4,000
fee of the Peabody Coal Co. Even
the petty gratis of putting all his
relatives on the union payroll, of
stealing on telegraph bills, ETC., were
not overlooked by Harrington. Small
wonder that he, in company with
various coal operators, owns great
pecan and orange orchard in Ala
bama, that he owns beautiful homes
in indianapolis and Springfield, and
that he makes trips to Florida and
California, like other rich men,
whenever the spirit moves him.
Such leaders are the curse of Amer
lean labor.
Building Trades Takers.
When it comes to gathering in the
money from salaries and expenses
the building trades leaders, who are
so expert in milking both workers
and employers, stand in the very
forefront. Take for example, Presi-
dent Hynes Of the Sheet Meta :
Workers Union. In three years he
was paid salary of $17,S75 and ex-
penses of $24,974. His yearly bill
to the union is larger than the sal
airy of any official in the Federal
government with the exception of
President Coolidge. 1t is more than
that of any of the governors of the
4S states, and it is almost twice as
large as that of admirals in the
navy and generals in the army. Mis-
leaders of labor come high in the
United States. Typical salaries Of
the heads of building trades unions,
exclusive of the usual enormous ex-
pense accounts, are: Bricklayers,
pres, $4,000, sec'y, $4,000; Paint
ers, $4,000; Elevator Constructors,
$4,000; Hold Carriers, $500; Struc-
tural Iron Workers, pres, $500;
sec'y, $4,000; Carpenters, $4,000;
Electrical Workers, $1,000.
Local business agents receive
from $500 to 5000 per week, or a
minimum Of about double the going
wage in the trade. This is aside
from the big sums they wiring from
the employers and otherwise skin
the workers out of. Small wonder
that so many of them quickly be-
come rich. They spread their con-
sentative influence far and wide and
are a wet blanket on every pro-
yressive movement.
To Be Continued