The Wilmington morning star., 1940-11-21

to know that views and opln-
ions expressed in this article
are those of the author and I
may not always harmonic
with its position.-The Editor.
NEW YORK, Nov. 20.-This isl
the week of the big wind, when
two great rival groups of profess
sional unioneers are doing their
best to howl down certain funda-|
metal facts and establish a great
power over the people Of the Unit
ed States and much of their prop!
erty. Many of these u%nioneers are
downright, incorrigiblc ~rascals
with no discount. Many r COM
munists who hate the American
system and the American nation
and strive constantly to ruin the
country. Most of them are die!
tators in their respective spheres
and many are foreigners who have
complied with the legal formal
tiles of naturalization but are not
Americans and never will be.
Two great conventions are now
in progress. The American Fed
Grafton of Labor is meeting in
New Orleans and the C.. I. O. in
Atlantic City. There is much talk
of a reconciliation between them
and the creation of a combined
organization. The national govern
ment is urging the rivals to unite,
and public opinion, which can err,
also favor a big, unified labor
movement.
The danger to the peoples lib
erty lies in the fact that both Of
these big unions take it for granted
that they have a vested right to
govern millions of citizens, to per-
secute, to destroy property by vlo-
lene and to SANDER and damage
or wipe out the lawful business OF
good American citizens, all in
fragrant, brutal disregard of the
rights of the victims.
I am not particularly concerned
at the moment with racketeering
in the A. F. of L. or communist
conspiracies in the c. I. o. | am
dealing with the fundamental fact
that these private organizations.
should be considered as they are
and not as tradition and sentl-
ment represent them,
If 1 should form a club of %
or so members in a given neigh
borhood and call it a labor union,
would you then grant me the right.
to bar other Americans from their
occupations, to cell licenses to
work, to tax the members and use
their money for private or politl-
cal purposes according to my own
judgment and, whether by my own
whim or by vote of the members,
to inflict economic damage or ruin
on the owner of a lawful business?
Reduced to simple form, that is
what some unions are, and these
are things which unions do.
The national government, With
the passive consent of the pubic,
has taken the position that the two
big unions are national institutions,
having some vague b u strong
rights of government. Their big
ness doesn't alter the absolute
wrongness of their conduct.
A union has a right to persuade
citizens by peaceful means to join
it's ranks and to bargain collective~
ly on their behalf. Failing to reach
a bargain with an employer, a
union has a right to call out its
members and to picket the prem
Uses peacefully. 1t has no right to
use violence or other coercion to
obtain new members or to exclude
from membership individuals who
meet the qualifications and apply
for admission.
Government authority and a
powerful but mistaken popular ira
dition assist unions in unjust con-
duct against the rights of individ-
ual citizens on the employing side.
The issue represented by a picket
line almost invariably is one which
calls for a careful examination of
the facts. The union may be and
very often is not merely wrong but
dishonest. Nevertheless, the pub
lie is expected to pass snap judg-
ment on complicated disputes of
which it has no knowledge and to
assist the union and harm the en-
ployer by joining a boycott against
the business.
The whole concept of unionism.
needs revision, and the talk which.
is filling the air and the papers
this week ignores Thu fact and
starts with an assumption that GER
tain powers are now established
by custom which should be chal-
lenged and disallowed. /
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