The Washington times., 1938-06-29
n { " ORLEANS
PUSHES WAR ON
Clio ORGANIZERS
Union Appeals to u. S.
For Assistance
For Assistance

NEW ORLEANS, La, June 90
G.N.SO.-A CIO badge meant
serious trouble for its wearer in
New Orleans today.
Organizers anC even mere mem.
bers of Committee for Industrial
Organization unions felt the
weight of a city.wide drive insti,
gated by Acting superintendent
Of Police John Grosch, who de-
clared:
I'm going to run all those CIO
Communists out Of town-all of
them"
CIO officials estimated today
that more than $50 persons had
been arrested in the past few days
While 100 we're released, the re-
mainder, it was said, we're being
secretly held and spirited from
one station house to another to
evade attempts to set them free.
Two organizers, it was alleged,
had been brutally beaten and run
out of town. A third fled in fear
of injury, it was claimed, and those
remaining in the city were eau
toned to stay in hiding.
WOMEN FINED
Mrs. Jean Holling, wife OF one
Of these, and Lucille Pettyjohn,
an organizer for the CIO herself,
were fined $25 in city court late
last night on charges of using OBJ
scene language to police. They an
nounced they would appeal.
The extent of my obscene
language" testified Mrs. Hol-
ling, was to call Detective
Grosch a monkey, which seemed
to annoy him"
Grosch replied it didn't an.
noy him because II haven't a
tail and don't look like a
monkey"
Today STRIKE
Police squads roamed the streets
day and night seizing suspects UT
der the orders Of Superintendent
GroSch, issued at the height If
q factional dispute between the
AFL and the CIO over the unioni-
zation of the city's drayage work
ers. A strike at nine of the big.
gest firms has been in progress
for 10 days.
Refusing to reveal the exact
number of arrests made since the
last batch of prisoners were freed
In court, Grosch asserted the
roundup would continue until the
CIO is wiped out of New Orleans.
There is no room in town
for these people," he said.
'They've sent a lot of beef
men here from San Francisco
to agitate among the Negroes
We won't stand for it"
JERSEY CITY OF SOUTH"
Seeking relief from the purge,
the C1O appealed to the Fed.
eral Government for intervention
characterizing the city as the
"Jersey City of the South"
The union organization is cur.
rently battling Mayor Frank
Hague of that city over similar
situation.
The National Labor Relations
Board announced it would immedi-
ately open an investigation of the
alleged discrimination against the
unionists and Lee Pressman. CIO
attorney, said the Justice Depart
ment had promised to take action
under the civil liberties act if vio-
lations were found.
SUMMONED TO COURT
Both Superintendent Grosch
and Mayor Robert Maestri were
due to appear in the U. S. District
Court Friday on a citation to show
cause why they should not be
restrained from "intimidating and
interfering with CIO activities"
Richard Dowling, another CIO
lawyer, wired U. S. Attorney Gen
eral Homer Cummings that no
help can be obtained from Mayor
Maestri or Governor Richard W.
Leche.
The Federal court was also due
to take up the charge Of the CIO
that police had seized records in
tended for a scheduled NLRB
hearing between the unions and
the drayage firms.