Evening star., 1932-07-17

o
VI Then came man with his
genius. And there arose the
gateway of nation.
This gateway adDnired by all the
world. is threatened by the racketeer.
Men who think primarily Of the port
as a roadway for the carriers Of COM
merce and of its clol~i-topped towers as
the homes Of industry today are or
ganizing to repel the racketeer. For
the grafterS, as they were known IN
simpler days, are slowly but steadily
driving the commerce from the port
and industry from the metropolis.
If Philadelphia, once our chief COM
mercial port. and the seaport cities OF
New England formed a monstrous con-
spiracy to try to destroy the CONNER
cial supremacy of New York they could
not have conceived more effective
method than the racketeers have
adopted.
shipping men have been holding in
formal conferences to present united
front to the racketeer, and the owners
of lines plying between New York and
coast ports here and on both coasts Of
South America and in the Caribbean
are planning an intercoaStal confer
ence to join with representatives Of the
transatlantic steamship companies to
drive the racketeers from the city's
water front. the 587 miles of which are
trimmed with gold for the CRATER.
Owners of industrial property are
taking the lead in the fight on the
racketeer, whose extortions, threats
sluggingS and murders have been driv-
ing factory after factory from the
metropolis
The racketeers who are preying on
the business of the city and who have
l,o% 64I
to other communities are rooted in cor
rupt politics and crooked labor organi-
yations.
Trade Migration Studied.
The removal Of factories from the
metropolis In the last dozen years has
been so great that alarmed property
owners have appointed a committee to
study the situation and to report on
"the reasons which cause industry to
migrate from the City Of New York"
Factories have moved from New
York City because of high taxes or
their concomitant. high rents: high
labor costs in which arbitrary rules Of
organized labor and the racketeering
OF some Of its leaders have played a
major part, and racketeering in its
simplest form.
The preliminary inquiries have led to
the declaration that while the basic
causes Of the migration vary in the sew
eral industries, racketeering is an i'm
portant and devastating factor in all.
Many factories have migrated across
the Hudson to Jersey City and other
communities in New Jersey. Some have
removed to sites on the Delaware River
and other Southern waterways. Some
have gone West. Some have moved
forthor tho
Sometimes the owners thought of
moving when it was too late. They
went bankrupt.
An insidious form of racketeering Of
which little is said has driven many
industries from the city. This is the
violation racket. 1t is a safe racket,
for the victims are generally particeps
criminis
An individual or a corporation owns
or leases factory. The lessee is usual
ly responsible for sanitary conditions
and general repairs. To insure COM
pliance with the various city regula-
tionS, all excellent in themselves, his
place OF business Is subject to visitation
from inspectors of the health, fire, build
ing and other departments of the local
government. These inspectors are highly
profitable to inspectors who are venal.
They work without fear, for in many
municipal governments the motto is
live and let live The fellows at the
top take their share in big ways, and
their subordinates do likewise, in their
own small way.
BY literal Interpretation Of the
municipal rules It is possible to slap
a plaster" on the owner or lessee of any
factory. The waste beside the machines
is technical fire hazard; the remains
of the luncheons of workers are viola
tions Of the sanitary code. And so on.
In the older type Of factories and loft
buildings 1t is simple to find structural
conditions violative of newer laws.
which it would cost many thousands of
dollars to correct.
Where a violation. real or fancied,
has been found. it means loss of time
and legal fees to the owner or lessee
to see the thing through. But it is
the cheapest way in the long run. How
ever, this is not always done
Then there are the corrupt labor
leaders, some of them gangsters who
have wormed themselves into high
places In the unions. Only in the un-
ions embraced within the United He
brew Trades Is any systematic effort