Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-01

The new grant of power which John
L. Lewis has received from his United
Mine Workers OF America again poses
the question: What is Mr.. Lewis up to?
The answer Is still in the realm of spec
ulation, but there can hardly be any
doubt that Mr.. Lewis Is continuing his
play for political power.
Mr.. Lewis, who created the CLIO, sees
himself eclipsed today both by the
calls him, and by Philip Murray, whom
he expected to be his yes-man in run
ming the CLIO after Mr.. Lewis retire.
ment as president. Though he tossed
$500, 900 from the Mine Workers treas
ury into the Democratic campaign fund
in 1896, he is excluded from national
political councils. With respect both to
the higd command of the labor move
ment and to national politics, Mr.. Lewis
is on the outside looking in, and he
finds the position CALLING.
It is in terms of Mr.. Lewis burning
ambition to come back that the pro-
ceedings of the recent biennial conven-
ton of the UNIV at Cincinnati must
be read.
There were $500 delegates and only
a handful voted at any point against
the Lewis program. His domination was
as complete and as easy as that OF a
national political administration over a
convention packed with Federal office
holders. The parallel is close-corre-
spending to the politicians with bread
and-butter interest in retaining given
administration in power were the paid
henchmen of Mr.. Lewis, organizers
named by him and holding their jobs
at his suf1erance.
Insured Against Slipup.
This is not to say that Mr.. Lewis, with
his great personal magnetism and his
record of getting tangible benefits for
the miners, would not have controlled
the convention in any case. But the
presence of his paid workers insured
against any slipup. The Lewis ma
chine was on the job to see that obels-
ance was done the boss without any
embarrassing incidents and the machine
did its Job to perfection. There was
never a chance for any of the dissident
elements in the rank and file OF the
Mine Workers to register an effective
protest. Mr.. Lewis emerged with the
new buildup he had sought
. AS expected, the convention voice
overwhelmingly to take the miners un'
ion out of the CLIO. This action against
what Mr., Lewis called the miserable
mediocrites of the CLIO" made official
separation which occurred in fact las
June. when the Executive Committee O.
the CLIO declared the miners in arrear
of their per capita dues to the CLIO, ant
tho Executive Committee of the miner
blasted the CLIO for non payment OF ST.,
66S 900 which the miners said was DEB
to them and the CLIO said was gift.
The separation had been in the max
ing. indeed, ever since Mr.. Lewis ant
Mr.. Murray, before Pearl Harbor. clashee
over the foreign policies of the President
Brewing bitterness, accentuated by Mr.
Lewis organizing drives through nj!
catch-all district So marked the relation!
of the two leaders and the two organlza'
lions from that time. It is one OF the
milder characterizations of Mr.. Lewis by
CLIO officers today that he is "a worse
dictator than Tom Girdler ever was"
The miners convention again gave
Mr.. Lewis what he wanted when 1t votee
to extend the jurisdiction of the unlor
tn all groups of unorganized workers