The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-04-27

Washington, April 27 - After modestly hiding it's head under a bushcl for many years, one of the great American industries is being dragged out into the light so that credit may be had where credit is due.
 This Is the business of industrial National Labor Relations Board say has an army of somewhere be- tween 10000 and 135,000 men and women whose method of earning a living is to spy on and Squcal on those who ostensibly are their fellow workers.
 Anyone who likes to read detsc-
 tive stories ought to get an earful of the hearings being conducted by Senator LaFollettc. Day after day they are producing fascinating real life stories.
 Amazingly enough, some of the stool pigeons" themselves, now more or less reformed, have come on the witness stand to tell how they infiltrated into the ranks of employees and made reports to agencies which subsequently, re- ported to the boss.
 Explains A. r. of l.. Failure
 Their stories make 1t easier to understand why the American Federation of Labor has made ~,rh |. unvr,, fn I1,,rn rF ifs attatro,Afg fl to organize workers. The labor spy enters factory or mine and ingratiateS himself with employees. He reports the names of any he hears talking union organization and they're likely to lose their jobs forthwith.
 Sometimes he gets to be union official and helps double -cross his Comrades" from the very inside, The detective agency assigns him a number and gives him elaborate instructions for making daily re- ports, so he won't be caught. Usu- ally there are other spies to check up on him.
 Occasionally the spy s caught and sometimes promises to work for the union and double-cross his employer if the union men refrain from beating him up.
 Many go into the business be- cause it's the only work they can get.
 Judging from the evidence, most employers who engage spies are satisfied if they can learn who the keymcn are in any movement to unlonize their employees and to fire these keymcn forthwith. But others, evidence indicates, have the union men beaten by agency thugs as method of Encouragement.
 Many Have Crime Records
 City officials have joined labor leaders in charging that agencies supplying spies and Strikebreakers often deliberately create inflamed pictures in the minds of employers. Asgistant Solicitor M. Herbert. Some testified that in a recent roundup of gtrikebreakcrs in Philadelphia, 49 OI DU hTTcBLcu WCiC AVhHN V" 'N criminal records.
 He charged that detective agen- cles often schemed to keep em- ployerx and employees from getting together, lest their profits be lost.
 Numerous attempts to frame union organizers by female oper- ativea have been described to La Toilette, who hopes to obtain a tuii senate investigation of labor spying and civil liberties violations.
 
 Consumers Win Revolt
 Alexandria, Va, where many Washington workers live, is cele- brating victory in fl consumers revolt against plans of the Virginia Public Service Company, subsidiary of Associated Gas and Electric - whose head, II. c. Hopson, was chased, caught, and made to testify as to his lobbying activities before congressional committees last sum mcr.
 New Dealers and newspaper correspondents living in the Vir- Rinla town led the fight against enlargement of A power plant which they asserted would scri- o,IsIy increase an already bad smoke nuisance.
 Chief U. s. Forester F. A. Bil- cox, arbitrator in the recent New York elevator strike. was chicf spokesman. President John l.. Lewis of the United Mine Work CTS; Edwin s. Smith. member or the National Labor Relations Board; Indian Commissioner John Collier, Admiral Perccval $. RoS- sitter, R. c. Boiling. brother Of MrS. Woodrow Wilson; and more than 30 others signed q telegram of pro test to HopSon.
 They invaded a city council meeting and promised to go back