Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-15
Union Leader
Ma+ricuIa+es
At Prison
V. P. Of Ohio Federation
Loses Bombing Appeal
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

Here are some social and
personal notes about some of.
ficials of the International Union
of Operating Engineers. an ALL
group embracing the men who
operate digging and hosting
machinery on construction jobs.
Harry D. Jones of Akron, O.,
the boss of the locals in that
area and vice president of the
Ohio State Federation of Labor,
has lost his appeal and has ma
circulated at Ohio State Peni-
Tertiary in Columbus for some
postgraduate work in the
studies which prepared him for
his distinguished career as
unioneer.
Brother Jones hired two poor
saps from Oklahoma to blow up
some buildings under construc-
ton in which Go workers got
the jobs which, otherwise. might
have gone to his union. These
brothers mistimed one of their
firecrackers and il killed one Of
them. Although the charge Of
malicious destruction of prop
erty. on which Brother Jones
was convicted. sounds rather
trivial. il will be seen that the
Jones thing in Akron was really
quite dignified because a man
lost his life.
Brother Jones had run up 4
record of foHr convictions in
preparing himself for his posi-
ton in union leadership. One
was small larceny JOB, in an
other he stole horse and
buggy and thereafter he was
convicted of sexual offensess
against two young children.
LIE GOT three consecutive SEN
H fences of from one to seven
years each on the present
charge, surrendered on March
IL and is now No. 1882 in that
type of institution in which so
many other prominent unioneers
received their training.
Brother Jones fellow union
GERS in Akron fronted for him
promptly when he was arrested,
and denounced Alva j. Russell,
the county prosecutor. as an en-
envy of labor. Nevertheless, be-
cause of the heat. they had to
pay lip service TO the law and
so said they would cooperate
fully in running down the das-
tardly dastards who had done
this evil thing which. of course.
they heartily deplored. How
ever. they never did anything to
help Mr.. Russell and he got the
conviction in spite of their nom
cooperation in this important
process of orderly government.
Just about the time that
Brother Jones was learning his
way around the new school in
Columbus a bomb blew the front
porch off the home of Bernard
+. Hagesfeld, the business agent
of two locals of the engineers in
Lakewood, near Cleveland. He
is lieutenant OF Frank p Con-
verse, the boss of the engineers
in Cleveland, whose home also
was bombed in 1893 and who
was shot by persons unknown
in 1885. The Cleveland police
are baffled. of course. but one
of the Cleveland papers has
taken occasion to observe that
such disturbances are not mere
incidents in private feud within
the great and noble family of
unioneers and TO hope that any.
one who knows anything about
the event will inform the auI~
thorities.
THlS fun in Cleveland followed
L by a few weeks the dismiss
sal in Syracuse. N. Y. of an
indictment against Joe Fay, one
Of the vice presidents of the
international or parent union.
for smuggling minor official Of
one of the upstate locals named
Orville Warner.
Fay il was who slugged David
Dubinsky of the Garment Work.
ers that time when the ALL
was holding its annual conven-
ton in the appropriate surround
ings Of the New Orleans hotel
run by Seymour Weiss, the boss
thief of the old Long mob. who
has Just been bowed out of prison
on a communication by the ever
loving and forgiving United
States Department of Justice
after serving a brief fraction of
the term imposed. Fay took per-
sonal offense at Dawes proposal
that racketeers be eliminated.
He kicked the whey out OF
Warner and got himself indicted
on a felony charge good for five
years and this time our friend
was really scared. But he hired
a mess of very distinguished and
expensive counsel and on the
day of the trial. well, what do
you know? Brother Warner he
amt there to press the charge.
Nope, Brother Warner is absent.
so when one of the distinguished
lawyers told the court that the
defendants services as a union
eer are vital to the national de-
Tense, why, the judge turned
Fay loose.
But stick around. because one
of these days the whole story of
this mob of political unioneers 4
will curl your hair. .