The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-21
Made OUer 4 Million Bucks Bredking
Strikes, Boasts Scab- Herder BergOf
Admits Thugs Jailed in
Philadelphia Were
in His Employ

81 was up all night on that
telegraph job" said Bergoff.
That the Bergoff strikebreaking
agency works hand in glove with
leaders of the American Federation
of Labor was also revealed by the
old scab herder.
Sam Gompers His Friend
Sam Gompers was a good friend
of NINE" said Bergof, when ]
questioned him about his connection
with A F. of L. leaders. II knew
John L. Lewis of the United Mine
Workers and his predecessor, Nit
chell. I met them in Scranton So
cially."
Describing his connections with
the leadership of the International
Longshoremen's Association, Bergoff
told how he met Tom O'Conner in
1913:
81 was introduced to O'Conner
by w. J. Corners, a Buffalo editor.
Corners said, "Tom, you're the
man who makes the strikes-meet
the man who breaks the strikes
So we went out to a gin mill and
had nice little time together"
About the activities of Sherwood
Williams and the gang from the
Sherwood Detective Bureau, whom
we exposed in the last three issues
of the Daily Worker, Bergoff was
very reluctant to speak. All the old
racketeer would say is, "I have
nothing to do with that cheap bunch
of racketeers. I am a big strike
breaker"
But Bergof knows more than he
pretends to know about the Sher-
wood Williams gang. They all hire
the same gangsters and they play
their dirty trade in the same way.
Reading Bergoff's little booklet
which he uses to lure the factory
owners, one can notice little diff
ference in it from Sherwood's book
let.
The following is quoted from a
four-page folder sent out by Bergoff
to manufacturers:
Strike Prevention Department
This department is composed of
men possessing natural leadership
qualifications. Men Of intelligence,
courage and great persuasive
powers, to counteract the evil in
fuence of strike agitators and the
radical element" (The men of
persuasive powers are undoubtedly
Eddy Gatti and his gang.-HR)
The following is typical letter
sent to employers by the old rat:
1--WE propose to furnish as your
agents, employees to take the
strikers places on the open shop
basis in numbers as you may de-
sire at the prevailing rate Of wages
paid by the company. For this
service we charge you the sum of
ONE DOLLAR per working day
per working man, subsistence and
the necessary cost of procuring
and delivering them.
1--WE further propose to furnish
experienced men for guard and
escort duty who have nerve and
are especially qualified for this
line of work. >. For this service
we charge you the sum of ONE
DOLLAR per hour per man and
expenses"
In this manner Bergoff, the gang
leader, solicits his jobs of sending
sluggerS and pluguglies into the
factories. He is given license from
the city to do this work. He is even
considered a respectable business
man by the city officials. He has
been going about doing his miser-
able work since 1908, when he open
ed up the igilant Detective Agency.
Its a matter of dollars and
cents to me-" said Peter Bergoff.
How long will the New York City
government allow this man to col
lect these dollars and cents out OF
the life-blood Of the workers?
Workers everywhere should raise
this question in their unions. De-
mand that Bergoff, Sherwood and
Williams be put out of business
Demand this from the Mayor of
New York. The Daily Worker will
back you in this fight.