The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-26
HOMER MARTIN READY TO FIGHT
Back From New York With Two Lawyers to Battle
 CIO Edict
BY STEVE RICHARDS

factions of the United Automobile Workers of America, returns today from New York with two lawyers who will wage his court fight here Saturday for possession of the unions funds, records and property.
 Ousted from the executive board of the Congress of Industrial Or- ganisations of which he was one of the original organizers, and opposed by i889l the 24 original JAW ex- ecutive board members. The s7-year old former Baptist preacher and one-time national hop-skip and jump champion from William Jew oil College, announced that he was fighting to save the union from 'Stalinists" and that the majority Of the 100000 rank and Ale lnem- bers were behind him.
 Charges of CIo
 Tn reply, R. l.. Thomas, head of the JAWS anti-Martin faction, was named president of the union by Q majority of the executive board after Martin had suspended thekl, and who has been recognized by the C1O as the rightful president, charged that Martin had "conspired with Harry Bennett, personnel di- rector of the Ford Motor Company, to convert the JAW into Q Ford Company union."
 Martin went to New York to en- gage Frank P. Walsh, veteran labor lawyer, and Frank Munholland of Toledo, attorney for the Railway Union executives, as counsel for his side at Saturdays hearing on in- junction proceedings filed by the Thomas faction for legal recogni- ton.
 While in New York, he sent Q let- ter to John L. Lewis, Cro president, announcing that he was resigning as member of the CIO executive board, to which his office as JAW president entitled him He de- nounced Lewis flor your personal ambitions and dictator complex" Martin Is Not Member Sidney Hilman and Philip Murray vice-presidents of the CIo who had announced the CfO's recognition of the Thomas faction, said last night that Martin cannot resign from the executive board he Is no longer member" They said Mar. tin reveals the same dictator mania which was responsible for the contract violations which have occurred ct times, and for the al- most continuous pickering in the official family of the auto union.
 Underlying the split of one of the largest 10 original Cio units were two factors; Martins struggle of Q years duration to swing the JAW onto conservative path while pickering with other executives whom he called radicals; attempts few weeks ago to hold secret con- ferences with Bennett on the ques- ton of organizing Ford workers, tho only siseable group in the industry outside the JAW.
 Permission to Organize
 Bennett has announced that he gave Martin permission to organize Ford workers into the JAW If he were able, but Hillman and Mur- ray charged that Martin, after talk ing with Bennett, ignored the unions Ford committee and Ire. used the simple request of the JAW board for some details of his 'nego- tiations."
 Martin charged the entire trou- ble resulted from Lewis attempt to dominate all CIO unions and through them, the whole labor movement. He said Lewis had be trayed the principles of c Democra- tic labor movement"
 He said his suspension of IS members of the JAW executive board last week, which percipiated the climax. was because these men are stalists or follow the stalinist line"
 He said his negotiations with Ben- net had cleared the way for union- ization of workers "at practically oil major Ford plants" and that his re- suits were to have been submitted for ratification to the few Ford lo- calls already afiiliated with JAW, when the Lewis-Murray- -fillman faction intervened and stopped the negotiations"
 Feared Ford Workers
 "They were fears", he said, "that the Ford workers, if permitted to join the union in great masses at this time, would have come Into our convention and voted against them"
 Henry Ford's Bennett, comment- ing on his envolyement in the fac- tional fight, told the United Press that Ford plants were open to any labor group which wanted to try organizing the i6o,0o0 Ford work CTS.
 "There has been no change in our labor policy, and there will not be any as long as am here," he said. Any labor union that thinks 1t can offer our men more than we can is free to atetmpt organization of Ford employees. Of course they can't do 1t on company time or company property, and they are not going to storm our gates.
 Our point is that we don't be- lieve our workers need @ union, but we are willing to let them decide that. We will continue to give them the best deal possible"
 Inside Story
 He said that the "inside story" of his negotiations with Martin was simply that he had met him the same terms as he would any other union leader. He said he met him on four occasions and that at Mar tins request he effected dissolution of the Ford Liberty Legion, an in- dependent union which claimed a membership of 90.000 Ford workers. Under the agreement, Bennett said, the Liberty Legion will continue only as promoter of a group insur- ance plan.
 T offered to give Martin a list of our factory workers just to show him that we are not afraid of att