The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-09-19
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

NEW YORK.-Col Arthur " McDermott.
director of the draft in New York City, has
started proceedings to cancel deferment of
second front Joe Curran, president of that
sector of the communist political front known
as the National Maritime Union. Curran is
81, he has had successive deferments and
his present exemption will carry him over
into his seth year. He is now absent from the
United States in the nominal status of boat
swain aboard a merchant vessel bound for
Europe
The Pilot, his official publication, states
that he is ION vacation" and a press release
issue by the union Aug. 20, said this hardy
mariner had shipped out at that time ito
avoid adverse weather." The same release
quite frankly declares that Curran took the
law into his own hands and left the country
without authorization from either the State
department his draft board, because the
State department had resorted to "dilatory
tactics in handling his application for
passport By the unions admission, his sta
tus of sailor is purely technical, his voyage is
a vacation cruise in waters made safe for
him by naval officers and bluejackets whom
his communist comrades have harassed heck
led, ridculed and reviled on merchant ships
at sea and his real business in Britain, Rus
STA and in Africa ports is the political bust
ness of the communist fifth column in the
United States.
The chairman of Curran's draft board, local
board Is, is the Rev. DR.. Francis X. Shepherd,
a Baptist clergyman. He has said Curran
was absolutely essential to the operation
OF the union, that the union was essential
to the war effort and that Curran therefore
indispensable. The truth is that this
union, far from assisting the government
in recruiting sailors and manning merchant
vessels, has been engaged in a scramble for
absolute control of the American merchant
marine and has so effectively INSTRUCTED the
work Of conscientious officers and civilian Of
fclals in the government service, that they
have given in all the way down the line in
order to keep the ships sailing. Curran and
the communist penetration have had the help,
however, of some highly placed officials of
the National Maritime Commission an Off
cial government agency. A number of fellow
travellers have planted themselves in influ-
entail positions and Curran's transmission belt
has received valuable recognition and even
praise.
Dr. Shepherd may not know all this, but
a man in his position should know it and he
should be removed. This party-line organiza-
ton of Curran's from the nature OF its name
and by the exercise of the prestige and power
conferred on it by communist sympathizers
in the government, is abb to carry on before
the public plausible pretense that it speaks
for the merchant sailors. The truth is that
it is held in low repute by real unionists and
even by the real rough and tumble revolution
aries of the old Trotsky school. The character
which permitted Curran to pose for pictures
in New York as a south sea salt, while real
sailors were risking and losing their lives on
the Murmansk run at the height OF the sub
marine terror, commanded little respect hith-
erto 1t will command less now that he ad
mlts that he chose the traditional vacation
session to go to sea, to escape adverse wealth
err real sailors are not afraid of seasickness.
An estimate of Curran was published in
recent issue of the Industrial Worker of Chi
cago, official organ of the old IWW, discuss
ing Curran'S attempt to suppress revelations
concerning him and the NMU. In these dis
patches, the Industrial Worker said an odtin1e
seaman in New York made a check along the
line OF Currans patrols around the premises
OF the New York World-Telegram, challeng-
ed IL OF them, and found that five were de-
partment store workers, two paid Off
clals OF unions controlled by the Communists
anu one was an employe of the Communist
organ, and Daily Worker. Of the other four
one was tugboat man, two were sailors who
ilao Scapoed' seaman's strike, and only
oile was genuine active merchant sailor
IL ms observations of II hold valid for the
remainder l OF the picket line the IWW paper
s 90 ~ II means that the seafaring experience
OF 10 per cent Of these Nazis amounts to trips
W ~ New Jersey as PASSENGERS
c+a 1ne rrolsky revolutionists always identify
otelh communists as Nazis
~. heI, tne editorial continues These peo
p.e aie giving all decent marine TRANSPORT
WORKERS WORKERS black eye with all union me,,
throughout the world. i'leii
hov me at purpose of the picket line is direct
! "Hs pevgrythlng the union man holds dear.
&c Neeler) could not expose Union corn,s