Evening star., 1932-10-23

than the unfortunate few who had been
scared into signing up with the outlaw
union under compulsion.
The result of my scolding and the
States attorneys counsel was that 20
or more OF the victims stood up in
meeting and agreed to identify their
prosecutors If the prosecutor would ar
. rest them. Two days later the prose-
cutor raided the Offices of the outlaw
union. brought in its officers and agents,
faced them with the 20 victims who
had agreed to identify them-and not
one would make a positive identiflca-
tion.
This incident is typical not only of
the big city in which it occurred. but
o. every big city in the country. Such
rackets are being worked in every line
of business and industry. Their effect
upon organized labor is quite as disas-
trous as it is upon organized business.
and l am not inveighing against organ
lied labor as such. The trades union
has perfectly proper place in our So
cial and economic structure, and have
some very good friends among the Off
GERS and agents OF unionized trades.
believe in their sincerity of purpose.
The officers of the legitimate trades
unions themselves are fully conscious OF
the great evil that exists in the pseudo
union rackets. and they are honestly
facing the problem of eradicating them
from the csmouflage of the trades
union movement. They know that vio-
lence and intimidation injure the cause
wherever they arc used. Mercera-y
armies cannot be used for any cause
without the almost. certain consequence
that they will ultimately prey upon the
cause itself
That has happened in all these
rackets. Thugs hired in the cleaners
and dyers' war for price control have
taken over the business and are running
1t on their own account in many places
all over the country. Even in the little
college towns schoolboys are forced to
pay tribute to have their pants pressed
Barber shops have their windows
broken, beauty parlors are organized
against their will into associations, fu-
nerals are stopped by armed thugs be-
cause the driver Of the hearse hasn't got
his sign Of bondage displayed on his
cap, laundries are bombed if they don t
pay the tribute. teamsterS are terrorized
all of the service industries are sub
jected to this forcibly collected tax of
the invisible government.
Mercenary Armies.
I speak of mercenary armies. and !
mean just that. That romantic en-
bodiment of gansterism who is now
lsnguishing in the Federal Penitentiary
at Atlanta because he failed to pay
Uncle Sam tax on his ill-gotten gains
once told me that he had 200 men on
| his personal pay roll to whom he paid
from $500 to s40O week each. He
said that they were all ex-convicts and
gunmen, mercenary killers. and that
they did not know how to do anything
else. He was employing them as the
police for his invisible government. and
he offered them to me es auxiliary
troops in society's legal defenses in re-
turn for the special privilege of running
his invisible government without let or
hindrance. He said:
II you will let me alone on beer
booze and gambling I'll police the town
for you and I'll guarantee that there
won't be any more bombings or killings
or hell-raising of any kind"
think he could have carried out his
end OF such a contract and. to give
Caesar his due. those who paid tribute
to him at least had his protection
Many Of these rackets have already
killed the goose that laid the golden
egg, and maybe If the rest of us poor
geese squawk loud enough We can scare
the thief out Of the barnyard.