New Britain herald., 1930-02-04
INVASION 0F SOUTH OPENS Fate Of Federation May Depend
 on Success Of Campaign

Washiugton, Feb. 4 -- The largest effort in the history Of organized labor has begun with the American ! Federation Of Labor's campaign 10 i unionize the workers of the south.
 Although thus far defeated in carly skirmishcs in few of the southern mill ccnters the federation promises that it will shortly have at least a hundred full-time organizers working below the MasonDiXon line and paying special attention to the textile situation which has attracted more attention than any other prob 1 lem arising in labor affairs for several years.
 Pursuance of the announced cam- ! paign to q successful conclusion would be one means Of helping re- |Nive the American labor movement. , It would at least partially answer ! charges of inertia, sta9nation and extreme conservatism often laid against high officials of the A. F. ! of L. Developments of the next | six months are likely to indicate whether the federation is actually going 10 make a comeback or whether an active and more az grossive labor movement is to sup plant it.
 Workers Arc Getting Busy 1 Labor men returning from the re- cent conference at Charlotte, where organizers appointed for the big drive by the fedcration's interna- tional unions got together for the | first time, reported determined en- thusiasm on the part of the men now entering the field.
 But the A. F. Of l.. is faced by three fires. There is the Com munist union, the National Textile Workers, whose influence is neg ligible except when it organizes fields neglected by the federation. i There are the southern mill owners and other business men hostile 10 organized labor. Third. there is large group of Independent labor workers and sympathizers who hold that the present campaign will not | be backed by adequate funds, that it will devote too much time 10 | ists and salving business men. that it will soft pedal actual organization, militant tactics and efforts for bet ter wages and conditions and that it will make no effort to give special aid to the A. F. of l.. mill workers who have borne the brunt Of the losing battle to datc-such as those in Marion, x. C.
 But whether the Communists are to make any more headway in the south, whether the mill owners and corporations will continue to domi- nate without serious dispute and whether the formidable group of critics are to be justified or refuted will depend on the A. r. of l.. itself.
 Inquiry reveals that about 50 actual organizers showed up at Charlotte and that 95 of the fedora tion's lO4 international unions were represented. Everyone agreed that at least 10a organizers would soon Ec on the job. Most of the or Sanizcrs appointed were southern CTS, which will make it harder for employers to assail the campaign as q foreign invasion"
 The question Of how much attcn- ton will be paid to tho textile in dustry was partially answered by the fact that whereas about IS of the 90 organizers present had been instructed by their inttcrnationals 10 concentrate on organizing their own trades. the others had been in- structcd 10 put themselves entirely al the disposal Of the committee ap- pointed to supervise the Dixie cam palgn. That committee, with cen tral headquarters at Birmingham and subheadquarters likely to be cs- tabishcd in Tennessee and in North or South Carolina, will pay particu- lar attention 10 the textile industry.
 Most of the organizers appeared to feel that employees everywhere were anxious 10 be organized and the last thing they seemed to fear was any lack Of response on the part of the workers.
 Sees No Strikes Yet
 There wasn't much strike talk
 Emphasis was placed on the need of educating" the south and organiz- ing it's workers to the point where collective bargaining could succeed by itself. To critics who insist that long series of strikes will be neces- sary before southern workers can gain fair wages and fair treatment
 the A. r. of l.. men reply that there IS no sense in calling strikes until they have built up strong unions. What the movement plans to dc : for money is not quite clear. The
 international unions will finance
 their own organizers and the A. F.
 Of l.. will finance the headquarters - and some other overhead items az ! well as its own handful Of organ, . i2crs.
 | But the report that :l.0oo. .onf ' would be raised for the campaigJ was untrue. Although at the last \. r. of l.. convention someone suc. -CStc1 he million, nothing was dont