Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-08-30
OTHERS VIEWS
ANSWERS MIR. WRIGHT.
To the Editor:

l. " C1lC d1O1LO1
In your issue of August II you
carry letter by Mr.. James H. Wright
in which he took occasion TO misre-
present the position and motives of
Congressman Clare E. Hoffman in
speaking throughout the South under
the auspices of the Constitutional
Educational League. Mr.. Wright re-
ferred specifically to a birmingham
meeting which he says was "spon-
sOred by the Constitutional Educa-
tional League and the rich"
| believe your readers will Re in
terested to know that, far from being
rich, the Birmingham committee
which co-operated with the League
was comprised of workers who were
members of the American Federation
of Labor, war veterans of the Amer
lean Legion, American disabled vet
Grams, Protestant Ministers and a
Catholic Priest. In an attempt to dis
credit Congressman Hoffman, he
calls him "the servant of organized
wealth. and declares that he was
elected to Congress because the rich
slave owners in Michigan like Ford,
want him there" For Mr.. Wright
information Congressman Hoffman
does not come from Mr.. FOrds dis
trict, nor do any so-called economic
royalists live in the congressional dis
trict from which he comes. He was
elected to Congress by workers and
farmers whose champion he has been
for many years, being farmer him.
self and having started out in life as
a worker earning six dollars a week.
In view of the fact that some of
Mr.. Hoffman's speeches in the South
were delivered under the AUSPICES of
the American Federation of Labor, ii
IS hardly probable that his speeches
were made to crush organized labor
in the South" as Mr.. Wright charges
Mr.. Wright seems to have taken Of
Tense because the Michigan Congress-
man was very bitter against the
CIO and it's great leader, John L.
Lewis" He warns the reader not "to
dislike John L. Lewis and the other
grand and good men who are giving
their lives to lift up the working class
of the country
Mr.. Wright seems to have his facts
slightly mixed. It was the poor de-
luded workers who gave their lives at
Chicago and Youngstown and Mas
salon to further the consuming am
ltition of Mr.. Lewis. The "other grand
and good men" who share respon-
sibility for these deaths are the red
leaders of Mr.. Lewis CLIO. Men like
Leo Krzyski, John Brophy, Adolph
Germer, Powers Hapgood, David Du-
binsky, Sidney Hillman and many
others too numerous to mention. Ii
Mr.. Wright considers these to be
grand and good men" he cannot be
very much interested in the govern
ment of the United States which these
men are trying TO destroy.
Mr.. Wright has the opinion that
John l.. Lewis and his organization
is working primarily for increased
wages and better working conditions
for underpaid laborers. The fact is
that in the labor disputes in the au-
tomobile factories, as an example, the
question of wage was not the primary
cause of the trouble. The demand on
the manufacturer was simply that the
CLIO be recognized as the exclusive bar
gaining agency and, to enforce this
demand, the CLIO took possession OF
the company's plant and refused tc
allow independent American working
men to work under conditions which
were wholly satisfactory to them.
Mr.. Wright addresses his letter to
farmers. Any farmer, north or south
knows that this violates several prin-
cipals that Americans cherish. There
were claims of real violence on both
sides. 1t was charged that in one of
the disputes hatchets we've actually
used on thse trespassers. True or not,
this is being published widely by the
CIO to arouse pu' die sentiment in
favor of their organization.
Let us suppose that Mr.. Wright
should wake up some morning and
find that couple of his farm hands
and a crowd of sympathizers from
down the road had taken possession
of his barn. They refused to do the
mornings work and would not allow
him in the barn. The police and
sheriff refused to throw these people
out, the governor of the state refused
to uphold the law-then Mr.. Wright
decided to protect his own property.
RE OlUn LSLhc HIS SIlOI-Su I'll VI "a COe
did pick up the Ratchet. Under these
conditions Mr.. Wright would think OF
himself as very mild tempered
GARNER.
The whole question in a nutshell
S this-are we to maintain the form
f government under which our fore
athers founded this country and IN
der which we prospered far more than
any other country in the world-or
urn to Communism which has ruined
very country it has touched through
ut the ages.
The Constitutional Educational
league stands for American prln-
ipals-it is not for the rich-lt Is
IT against labor.