The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-11-23

ana clCleS, VINO KNOW Lne warn anu
precinct game and are under no illu-
sion as to how the great rancid Amer
lean electorate is influenced, that
money plays a more important part in
politics today than ever before in
American history.
$50
Any candid political manager vii!
agree about that. They know that
there are more Corrupt Practices Acts
upon the statute books in state and
nation than ever before; and that
there are State and Federal laws COM
pelling detailed statements with
names) under oath of all moneys re-
ceived and paid out. But they also
know that there are loopholes in these
laws and that they are violated with
almost the same impunity and fire.
quency as the late unlamented Vol.
stead Act.
This being the case, added inter
est is given recent publication that
the United Mine Workers (Which
means Mr.. John L. Lewis has Just
levied So special assessment on its
members to raise a fund for "polit-
ical use" 1t is estimated that this will
amount to about 100000. It's collec-
ton through the "check off" will be
automatic. Under the closed-shop ar
rangement it will be taken out of the
wages of the miners by the corpora
lions and turned over to the union,
which means Mr.. Lewis. Wholly aside
from other considerations, this is a
demonstration of power which no other
man in the country is in position to
match.
1t seems too much power for one
man to have. 1t is a power so COM
pletely dictatorial that it is impossible
to reconcile it with any degree of lib
eralism. Yet, no one in the country
more frequently refers to himself as
a liberal than Mr.. Lewis. His auto
cratic control of the United Mine
Workers Union gives him the power
to collect million dollars-or more if
he wants it-from the miners, and the
closed shop which he won under the
Government promoted law and with
Administration support gives him
power to make the employers do the
Job of collection. And then the money
thus acquired gives him a power in
politics pretty hard to exaggerate.
In 1886 Mr.. Lewis was by far the
largest contributor in either party.
AS is we'll known, he gave upward of
S5O0,000 of CLIO funds to the Demo-
cratic campaign. In addition, he fl
nanced his so-called Labor's Nonpar
tisan League and extended financial
help to the Good Neighbor League
and other political gadgets and acces-
series used for propaganda purposes.
The estimated total was about $780,
600, but it may have been more than
that because the CLIO, not being cor
poration, does not come under the Cor
rupt Practices Acts and thus does not
have to make a sworn statement of its
receipts and expenditures in politics,
such as is required of others.
Now, year before the next cleo
ton, Mr.. Lewis has moved to collect
from the United Mine Workers, with
out vote by the membership, million
dollars for political use" He has the
power to double this sum in the same
way if he decides he wants to. He
will be able, of course, to augment 1t
from other CLIO unions and to spend
it politically as he sees fit. 1t requires
no great stretch of the imagination
to appreciate that control for "po-
litical use" of money such as this puts
Mr.. Lewis in position where party
leaders and party candidates are will
ing to go long way to get his sup
port.
Here is labor leader who, under
the closed shop and with the protec-
ton of law, can compel workers to
contribute out of their wages to a
political movement in which they may
or may not believe and can force .
corporation to act as his collecting
agency for a fund which may be used
against its own interests. If this SELL
collecting device for raising large po-
litical funds is to continue unchecked
it is not difficule to visualize a time
when, as an editorial writer recently
pointed out "a few labor and political
leaders can control the greatest bank
roll ever dreamed of for the promo
ton of their own policies and ambi-
tons"
The money they are able to use
politically, the freedom of their or
PLANTATIONS from investigation, the