Evening star., 1936-04-04
ROOSEVELT ISSUE
MAY SPLIT LABOR
Lewis Effort to Re.eIect
President Seen as Move
Against Green.
BY CARLISLE BARGERON.

BY CARLISLE BARGERON.
The possibility that American organ
lied labor will be split wide open in
the forthcoming political campaign is
seen in the plan Of some labor leaders
to openly support Mr.. Roosevelt. 1t
begins to look as though his fortunes
may be definitely tied up with the
movement of John L. Lewis, mine
union head, to supplant the craft Sys-
tenn with the so-called industrial set
up.
As the matter stands, Lewis has
definitely announced that he hopes to
throw the support of his organization,
some 100000 strong, to Mr.. Roosevelt.
George L. Berry, head Of the Printing
pressmens Union, and a co-ordinator
in the Roosevelt Government with
100000 of w. P. A. funds to spend,
has just announced that he Is seeking
to organize a Non-Partisan Labor
League to support the President. and
that he is acting not alone with the
support of Lewis but of Sidney Hill
man, head of the garment workers.
Berry's announcement was generally
accepted as another effort to bring
William Green, president Of the Amer
ican Federation Of Labor. into the
Observation-Disclosures movement.
But, discussion with labor leaders
reveals, it is having just exactly the
opposite effect. Whereas Green and
his associates against Lewis In the
indstrial set-up movement, would pre-
fer to keep out of partisan politics,
they are being forced, 1t is said, into a
movement, not for Mr.. Roosevelt, but
against him.
Explanation Of Move.
The explanation of this is given by
one labor leader as follows:
1T Is a purely selfish proposition.
Lewis and the President seemed to
have joined up. If Roosevelt Is re-
elected John will become the dictator
of American organized labor. We fel-
lows who have fought his industrial
set-up movement won't have chance
in the world. To put 1t brutally, we
have, to hold our jobs, got to go out
and do everything we can to defeat the
President. At least, it looks that way.
Green, 1t is pointed out. has nothing
like the affection for Mr.. Roosevelt
which Lewis has. He got nothing IN
the way Of increased membership out
of the N. r. A. The N. r. A. with its
famous section Z, reiterating the con-
stitutional right Of workers to organ
ize, was capitalized by Lewis. He sold
the badly disrupted miners ranks on
the idea that the Government was
demanding that they join the union.
Green, however, got nowhere with any
thing like this. The result is that
after the big N. r. A. episode when
the Government was giving. so to
speak, an impetus to the unionization
movement. Lewis was the only one
who proflted from it.
Explains Green's Attitude.
This explains the difference in
the lukewarm attitude of Green and
the enthusiastic attitude Of Lewis for
the New Deal. It Is fact that just
before the N. r. A. went down
and when Mr.. Roosevelt was seeking
to bolster it up, he had difficulty in
getting Green to say publicly that
it was a very good thing. Lewis. on
the other hand, is whole-heartedly
for a N. r. A.. and he has one, unless
the Supreme Court knocks it out, for
the coal industry.
Most of Green's associates in the
fight against Lewis effort to change
the organization of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor are Republicans po-
litically. Green Is one himself. But
he has studiously avoided dragging
the federation into partisan politics.
He Is most reluctant to attempt any
such movement as that now. For one
thing, he doesn't believe he could.
But he does feel, in so far as personal
ambitions are concerned. that Mr..
Roosevelt has given Lewis the standing
he has come to have, that Mr.. Roose-
velt has given at least his moral sup
port to Lewis in the bitter fight that
is waging in the ranks Of organized
labor on the question of industrial or
craft unions. 1t is recalled that Hugh
johnson, as head of the N. r. A., open
ly advocated industrial unions.
Will Change Complexion.
If Lewis wins in his big fight the
complexion of the organized labor
movement in this country will. Of
course, be entirely different from what
it is at present. Green and his asso-
ciates in the fight for the maintenance
of the craft union system, are coming
to feel that the New Deal and Lewis
movement for industrial unions are in
extricably tied up. If the New Deal
wins in November, as they are coming
to see it, it means the victory Of Lewis
and the end of them.
Naturally, they are thinking of ways
to combat it. The welfare of the
workingman doesn't seem to be mat
ter Of foremost consideration. 1t is a
question of personal ambitions.
As the matter stands, however, the
craft unionists would like to keep their
members out of partisan politics. But
the more Lewis, and secondarily,
Berry, presses them to the support OF
Mr.. Roosevelt, the more they are being
pressed into open revolt against him.
It is q matter, as they put it. Of self
preservation.