The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-10-09

RIGSIlkG HI HIS CU11l1IlUIllGy.
 But by far the most powerful was Q beefy, bald-headed gentle man who bears only the innocuous title of Organizer for the Inter- national Brotherhood of Team Sters in the II Rock Mountain and Pacific Coast states" but who is the Czar of Seattle and the dominant factor in the Northwest.
 The gentleman in question is Dave Beck, sometimes called the John L. Lewis of the West, though he uses tactics that make Lewis seem meek and mild in compari- son.
 By these tactics, Beck has fought the CIO to 8 standstiII and made the Northwest the one stronghold where the A. F. of l.. still reigns supreme.
 In accomplishing this he has thumbed his nose at the courts, denounced the New Deals Na- tional Labor Relations Board, put the Mayor of Seattle in his pocket, and got the governors of both Oregon and Washington eating out of his hand.
 Just a few weeks ago, Gov ernOr Charles Martin of Oregon accommodated Beck by smash ing 8 CIO strike with state pO- lice.
 It is no stretch of the imagina- ton to say that 1t is impossible to carry on any important busi- ness in the city of Seattle-Beck's home and stronghold-without the cooperation of its labor czar. ROOSevelt'S SOn-In-LaW
 Beck has made Seattle the most completely unionized city in the United States. Everyone, from clerks in department stores to bell-hops in hotels, carries a union card.
 When the Newspaper Guild went on strike against The Seattle POst-Intelligencer about a year ago, that paper was forced to close down chiefly be- cause Dave Beck willed 1t. He merely refused to let his team sters haul its paper.
 A year later, when the News paper Guild pulled another strike, this time against The Seattle Star, it was 8 flat failure-all because Dave Beck was on the other side. For by this time, the Guild had joined the CIO, and Beck was its vehement enemy.
 One Ofthe first things which John Boettiger, son-in-law of the President, did when he be- came publisher of The POst-In- telligencer, was to form friendship with Dave Beck. Some say it was the other way around, and that Dave Beck de- cided to take the Presidents s0n-in-law into camp. In either case, the two are now boon conn panions and apparently it pays.
 Boettiger has had no more strikes and Beck has been able to give the appearance of basking In the favor of his friends presi- dential father-in-law.
 Anti-New Deal
 Actually Beck is anything but a New Dealer. He uasquerades as ore whenever 1t is convenient such as during presidential pil- grimages to Seattle. But his real political creed can be simply stated as "m0re power for IabOr"-that is, his labor.
 Politically Beck backs the man who will take orders, and this is one reason he has not backed Senators Bone and Schwellen- bach, both staunch New Dealers, both close to the President, but both too independent for Dave Beck.
 To defeat Bone next year he is planning to run Mayor John Dore of Seattle; and to defeat Schwel- lenbach in 1940 he plans to run Gov. Clarence Martin. Whether he can succeed is doubtful. Bone and Schwellenbach both are strong in the State of Washing ton.
 Labor Ladder
 Dave Beck climbed the ladder to labor fame as the driver of a laundry wagon. He started as a boy, being forced to quit high school in order to augment the family income.
 Later he became an organizer of the Laundry Drivers Union, in which. he was so active that he attracted the attention of the na- tional organization.
 Only 43 years old, Beck now has the bearing and aecoutre- ments of Q big business execu- tive, with more power than 0EF THR RFCORD -