Montana labor news., 1936-09-03
SENATE PROBE OF STRIKE
AGENCIES
OPENS
By Federated Press

the Shiny muck of obscurity in
which they work.
The hearing began dramatically
as representatives of the Railway
Audit and Inspection Co., one of
Americas prime strikebreaking
agencies, flouted the authority of
the United States Senate and re-
fused to appear. Instead they sent
supple voiced Leonard Weinberg,
Baltimore attorney.
Weinberg at first declared that
W. w. Groves, president of the R.
A. & l. had been desperately i'll for
the past three days, which could be
proven by a doctors certificate, but
would present himself within a few
minutes. The committee waited
for 80 minutes when Weinberg re-
appeared declaring that a tempo
rary restraining order had been Sc
cured from Judge James M. Proc
ter of the United States District
Court in the District of Columbia,
that the investigation was proceed
ing under an unconstitutional reso-
luton, and that R. A. & I. would
refuse to present its records.
Sen. Robert M. LaFollette pro
gressive, wisconsin,, chairman Of
the committee and author of the in
vestigating resolution, brushed
aside the restraining order declar-
ing that it constituted ar insuffici-
ent defense and warned the attor-
ney that his clients refused to ap-
pear "at their own peril" Later
LaFollette declared, "The Senate of
the United States has been sub
jected to the grossest and most flag
rant kind of contempt. Every legal
remedy which can be taken to pun
ish the Haunting of this committee
will be prosecuted with the greatest
possible vigor."
Refusal of the summoned wit
nesses to appear stumped the com
mittee not a whit. 1t put its own
investigators on the stand and they
told the exciting story of how in
eliminating documents ere picked
from refuse heaps and pieced to-
gether,
Each of five Investigators told
how he served the summons on R.
A. & /. offices in Atlanta, Ga; Pitts
burgh, Philadelphia, New York and
st. Louis. In each instance they
were refused access to the files, and
told that the requested material die
not exist. In each instance the in
v~estigator then related how, in &C.
cordance with instructions, he Sc
cured access to the waste paper
baskets of the offices and in the
baskets in the following days founc
torn and crumpled copies of letters
reports and other items that hac
been subpoenaed.
Only a small part Of the evidence
thus secured has been pieced to.
gether. Those completed items
presented included the following
material:
Letters from G.. E. Ivey, Atlant;
agent of R. A. & l., to w. H. Gray
"hookman' and field solicitor FOL
the company. Gray, operative 423
wrote his boss, operative 700 (Ivey.
on n occasion that this Soutl
Carolina textile crowd is the bull
headedest, tightest crowd of indus
trial people l have ever seen" ant
requesting an expense account IT
hob mob with the union crowd"
It was explained that "a hook
man" is the trade name for a stoo
pigeon and a letter from L Doug
las Rice, vice president and genera
manager of R. A. & l., to Ivey say
ing "We do not let a hookman know
who he is working for until som
time after he is hooked and some
times he never finds out" wa
read.
A section of a report from opera
tive $40 in Martins Ferry, West Va
written on August 9, 1886, saying i
part: "Was talking with some me
from Youngstown sheet and tub
plant today and they tell me bot
men and company are preparing TO
a shut down as management claim
they will shut down indefinitely un
less men stay away from c. I. {
However, their bluff has failed t
click as these men tell us that me
are signing up fast in that district.
Reports from a stool pigeon
the Jewish Hospital, Brooklyn
N. Y, reporting On the union az
tivities of the orderlies, cleanin
women and household help.
Documents believed to be orde
blanks for munitions, tear ga
Thompson submachine guns, an
bullet proof vests, taken from tn
waste basket of the r. A. & l. 0.
! flee in New York.
Photographs Of armed men, froi
\ the r. A.. & l. files in st. Loui
showing them p~racticing hold-ur
and i~ndulging in other playfl
\ games.
|. The Burns and Pinkerton dete,
\ tive agencies announced the
\ would cooperate with the Senat
. committee and they have bee
\ scheduled for a hearing on Septen