Evening star., 1939-11-22
Currun VS.. Furuseth

1lneS nave changed in the mari
time unions, and so have leaders.
The contrast becomes clearly appar-
ent upon comparing the pictures of
old and new seamen's unions and of
old and new seamen's leaders drawn
In current newspaper and magazine
articles. In Readers Digest for De-
cember Peter B. Kyne describes the
most unforgettable character" he
ever met-the late Andy Furuseth,
who, first as head of the Sailors
Union of the Pacific and later as
president of the International Sea-
mems Union, battled for "seamen's
rights" as he understood them. OF
Andy, who died here only last year,
MIR. Kyne says: "He was the most
honest and fearless man ever knew.
He kept his covenants and expected
his sailors to do the same. 80. He
never fought unfairly" And the
writer added: eve had to have a
Harry Bridges in order to appre-
ciate Andy"
Joseph Curran is president of that
modern version of Furuseth's old
sailors union, the National Maritime
Union, which is an affiliate of an
other modern version of unionism,
the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
tions. MIR. Curran is the man who
threatened recently to organize a
march on Washington by members
OF his union unless the Government
promised to take care of sailors
"beached" by the Neutrality Acts
restrictions on shipping. The Gov
ernment was just as concerned as
MIR. Curran about this maritime labor
problem, and President Roosevelt ar
ranged a program of aid which in
cluded enrolment of one thousand
unemployed seamen in training
schools conducted under supervision
OF the Maritime Commission. MIR.
Curran attended a conference at the
White House on November 10, at
which the plan was outlined, and, it
was announced, he approved the
program. The seamen were to re-
ceive food, clothing, quarters and
thirty-six dollars a month, in addi-
ton to the training.
A distressing picture of today's
champion of "seamen's rights" in ac-
tion is painted by Rear Admiral Henry
A. Wiley, United States Navy, retired,
who is member of the Maritime
Commission, in justifiably caustic
letter to MIR. Curran Monday. Ad-
miral Wiley charged Mr.. Curran with
a sudden about-face that apparent
ly is motivated by powers outside
yourself and the organization" The
admiral pointed out that three days
after agreeing to the White House
plan, Mr.. Curran telephoned Admiral
Wiley that the union had decided to
oppose the Governments training
offer. In the meantime, only twenty
seamen had applied for enrolment.
After notifying Admiral Wiley of its
reversal of policy, the union began
picketing New York Offices of the
commissions with signs reading:
Maritime Commission says 90 to
concentration camps or starve."
Other placards and handbills with
"other falsehoods" were displayed,
Admiral Wiley asserted in his letter.
Apparently Admiral Wiley, in re-
ferring to outside powers, had in
mind charges made before the Dies
Committee that the National Mari
time Union is controlled by Com
munists. It was communistic infil-
tration in the seamen's unions that
plagued Andy Furuseth in his last
days. He fought against this tide of
radicalism, but eventually it over
whelmed him and showed him aside.
The Communists wanted none of
Furuseth, who "kept his covenants
and expected his sailors to do the
same" To paraphrase Mr.. Kyne,
we had to have Joe Curran to ap-
preciate an Andy Furuseth.