The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-18
BY WESTBROOK pEc,p

~" ionh, Dec. 17.-Wsu
what do you know about %ea
Mrs. R., the lady who KNOW as'
much about the practical ecoa %
ic problems of the dirt-poor Amaa
lean working stiff, has disco ua'ss'
tina: a man with a wife and a
children dependent on him w
unable to 60 to work as an els, sa
clan on a defense job at WI
Meade, Md, because he co,1 tas
dig up $500 for his initiation IN
the electricians union. Mrs s
learned about this one dav L.. ~
week in a congressional bs.. .sI
on interstate migration of desti,n!
families. us
Asked what is your tbo,,..
about that?" Mrs. Roosevelt sa,
she did not believe a man WA. saa
be kept out of work, where tbssa
was work, just because of , ~.
uieSs u,eie was a racket goin,
on. She also wanted to know wbef5s'
er this was an A.. f. Of L. M
C. I. o. union.
Well, now gather closely, and
will give you a fill-in which nisb,
enlighten also the members Of IL.
committee who seemed verv htn
ry on the subject for men vS,
ought to know the simple fart,
Of life under union rule.
Characteristic
Just off-hand and without calm,
up anybody, I will take a cbanc:
on saying that this was an A, y
OF L. union and not a C. Id
because this practice is charac'
teristic of the job-thrust union,
of the A. F. of L. which bsv,
been known to boost the ante IA
50, 900 in one Of the locals of gsps.
ster George Browne, the hoodluns
-
fifth column in the executive conn
Gil. And the electricians union n
the A. F. of L. is n Of ts
worst offenders, even in regions
where its officials are not racke.
teers. In Chicago the administra.
ton of this union is notoriously
crooked, but we will hang tia,
particular item on the G. A.. ri
hook, meaning good any time, and
get back to our subject.
I don't quite know how to u.
tangle Mrs. Roosevelt's remark
that she didn't believe a man
could be kept out of work, where
there was work, just because d
a fee, unless there was a racket
going on. Because men are kept
out Of work where there is work,
Just because of fees, by unions
of the A. F. of L., and this has
been going on for years, and the
suggestion that it is a racket is
lfuriously resented by the unioneers
Thereof. Although this obviously is
a racket, Mrs. R. had better be
careful what she says.
Why, in Jersey, last week, a
fellow applied for legal adoption
by his wife's parents so that he
could become technically eligible
for membership in the local cleo
tricians' union, because preference
was given to the SONS of members,
and his father-in-laW was a mem
Der. I checked this with the judge,
and he said, yes, that was righ!
all right. The judge turned the
fellow down., so the best he can
hope for is that he may become
a member-in-law.
One of Mob
; And, oh, yes; did it ever occur
to you that the Hon. Mary Norton
the chairman of the house com
, mittee on labor, who has been
getting a big play as a friend o.
the working stiff for years and
years, is one of Frank Hagues
political mob, and that in the STATE
which she had the honor to repre-
] sent the A. F. of L. is an lmpor'au'
l part of Hague's machine. Inc A.
b.. of L. in Jersey is more properly
a gang than a labor %organlzatlon'
| and the Hon. Mrs. Norton receive
her labor support from some Oh us
worst unioneers in the movemen,
I don't see how Mrs. RooseVeN
can have failed to observe IN liz,
travels that in practically all "
the cantonment jobs the A. f. "
L. keeps sentries astride the roau.
leading up to the works 10 s'an
l down thousands of American eu
zens, and has extorted. IN all ~.
its many locals, a fabulous aniO Nr
lof graft the total of when We w. NJ.
never know, however, because u.
,graft has come to be re9aroeu ~
a vested right, and the Ameri'e.
citizen as the proper, lesl'l No..
victim of the racket. Maybe w. -,
Roosevelt listens too mucn u III u.
pleasant conversation OF pevgt
who agree with her, for, say Sns,
you will, there is d sort Oh n s,.
comes-the-queen atmosphere aD''
her visits. :.,.I
I observe that this congreSs' !,
committee, or some other ONT, ,
likely to be authorized 70 nlv. d,
gate union practices, and lu" an.
a helpful suggestion, l would sl pt
pose that they call on ohiu ~.
Mike Boyle, the ex-convict rs'G !,
teer boss of the electricians IN.
Chicago; Joe Fay. the jersey NY,
, or hoodlum who belted gu co,,.
!. Dubinsky at New Orleans; '' n,
: ster Browne; Joe PadWay' T.,