The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-16
BY WESTBROOK ppc,~

TELLER
NEW YORK, Dec. live w..
something on the order of a c raa
tretemps in our city thu otbn.
night, when a group of orr 1on|
word intellectuals sat down to faH,
chicken at one of our best botoiss
under the auspices of two # o"'
butchers paper magazines, 10 w.t. VIII
The Nation, whose editor is Mis-,
Freda Kirchway, and The New D.
public, whose editor is Mr.. Br'oo
Bliven pronounced Blether. 7 Nv
lieve).
I was not there, and I reIv m
the New York Times for nv bia
general facts but avoid details 10
cause, for once, l am given ~
question the famous accuracy NJ
that fine paper. The Times lead
began, -Four hundred readers ~
The Nation and The New Repub,ia
attended a dinner" etc, and
would not accept that figure with.
out a certified circulation audit
For my own brother l wouldn't
settle for more than Is readers
Expresses Regret
However, I think we may take il
that such a dinner was given tbot
400 persons attended, including tba
readers of both publications, and
that DR.. Frank Kingdom announced
just before speaking, that thew
were gathered in a hotel which
was on the unfair list" of The
New York hotel trades council of
the A. F of L. This information
had not been received, however,
until too late to transfer the din.
ner elsewhere, and the announce.
ment expressed regret that I'VE
have helped to dstroy union stand.
ards by patronizing a hotel on the
unfair list"
Now, this constituted a terrible
problem of moral responsibility.
and, as n who heard many grave
discussions of a similar but, for.
t%unately, purely hypothetical case
in Loyo1a academy, Chicago, |
simply have to believe that the
sponsors are guilty of a grievous
multiple willful wrong.
It seems to have been agreed
that it was wrong to crunch food
in an unfair" place and, accord.
ing to my teaching, those who had
been informed of the verboten were
morally obliged to warn the other
unsuspecting persons ere the first
sip of sin-tainted tomato Juice
passed their innocent lips. Yet, by
the Times account, those who did
know the facts calmly sat there,
but with what inward agitation we
can only suspect, and let the others
err from, as it were, soup to nuts.
not knowing how many were in the
know, I can't guess with any con.
fidence how many offenses may be
charged against each. But assun.
ing-for a figure-that the two edi.
tors, Dr.. Kingdom and, just for ex.
ira, one other were aware Of the
facts, we could say that each one
sinned a nundred-fold plus one
apiece for their own premeditated
partaking.
Other Cases
I just don't want to think of what
William Green and gangSter
George Browne, of the executive
council of the A. F. of L., would
say of this, but I do know that
there have been other cases in
which ordinary workingmen were
cast out of the fold of the A. F. Of
L. and deprived of their living for
less. Why, there was a man in Mil
waukee whose wife bought milk
for her baby from a certain ''un-
fair dairy because that dairy sold
superior milk. Now the mans baby
gets no milk at all because his
union took up his card and got him
fired because his wife crossed d
picket line. I would guess that
Miss Kirchway n d Mr.. Bliven
pronounced (Blether, l believe
could be fined a years pay and
thrown back to the bottom OF the
extra list of available union editors
of intellectual butchers paper
magazines, at the very least. Aho
DR.. Kingdom could be sent to teacn
undergraduates a substitute. Ihls
is no fooling matter, l assure you
What do you suppose WeLI on III
the consciences of those who Sal
there watching all those others IN.
suspectingly chopping the heads OIL
the canned asparagus with INT
sides of their forks and tossing
them in? How do you suppose
their own food tasted as they chat
ted away with a pretense OF soclal
unconcern? What do you SuppoSt
Harold Ickes' feelings were as 'na'
lovable old hard-shell union tunad.
mentalist heard the awful news lid.
he had just scoffed a program u
unfair victuals? What if ne va,
a guest? Do you suppose ''unfal[
food would taste any better TO MI
Ickes because it was free?-l "
was. Well, there might be some,
thing in that, but who are we
say? .,a
I read that the hotel man sag "
was all a mistake-that the hoel
wasn't unfair. But that Woulons
abate the moral responsibility y
those in the know who though
was and admitted as much ale'
ward.
Do you know what I think!
think these fine, horny-handed wa.
riors in the class struggle are so.
ening up. Too much tomato lui:s
too much half-fried chicken wiz
the whiskers on, too much oen
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