The Wilmington morning star., 1943-03-08
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER

BOSTON, Mass.-Among those present at
the banquet and installation exercises of the
Central Massachusetts Joint Board of the Tex
tile Workers of America, CIO, in Worcester,
on Jan. is, were three officials of the Ma
tional War Labor Board.
Among the union officials of the textile
workers then and there conSecrated to the
cause of labor with an upper-case L, was
Amos Cote, elevated to the post of president of
the Central Massachusetts Joint Board, who
has been identified by the vice squad of the
Worcester police department as a convicted
brothel-keeper, petty gambler and drunkard
with no record as a worker, but with a
record of three terms in Jail.
The government officials who made speech
es were Saul Wallen, director of the first or
New England region of the National War Labor
Board; Emil Rieve, of New York labor
member of the National War Labor Board, and
]. William Bellanger, a member of Mr.. Wal
lens regional War Labor Board. Mr.. Rieve
is also national president of the textile workers
and Mr.. Belanger is regional director of the
union. All three are presumed to have been
selected for the War Labor Board on the as
sumption that they were informed and con-
scientious experts in labor relations who
would know the personalities and background
OF influential union representatives and would
neither actively nor passively encourage the
elevation of disreputable person to posi-
ton of power in any union
On Mr.. Wallen's behalf it is suggested by
Hugh Kingsley, press representative of the
regional War Labor Board, that he could not
be expected to know the personal history of
every union official and other person present
at the many union gatherings which it is his
duty to attend.
As to Mr.. Rieye and Mr. Rellaper the
same excuse would be less convincing. The
textile workers union is not so large and
scattered that MIR. Rieve could not reason
ably pe expected to be personally acquainted
Win the new president of joint board of 80
OF his locals in the geographical heart of his
union jurisdiction Mr.. Bellanger, as regional
director OF the union, responsible to Mr.. Rieve
and living in the area, had duty to the
rank and file workers and the cause of un-
1onlsm to know his fellow officials and keep
the roster clean.
Mr.. Kingsley, himself granted that he is
only an employee and not an official of the
War Labor Board, achieved fine feat of
detachment in his ignorance of the character
OF brother Cote. For Mr.. Kingsley was a
worcester newspaper reporter who might have
got wind of one of the more notorious local
police characters and he was, and remains,
president of the Worcester chapter of the
American Newspaper Guild, also, like brother
Cote's textile workers, a union of the CIO.
Mr.. Kingsley states nevertheless that he never
heard of brother Cote during his time as
reporter and CIO union president in Worces-
ter, explaining that the Worcester guild was
apart from Other unions ana not a member
of any CIO council.
Still, speaking personally, as he was care
full to make plain, and not as an employee of
the National War Labor Board Mr.. Kingsley
said he would not be disposed to cooperate
in any expose Of brother Cote's past and pres
ent and of his rise in unionism. This he
thought would be a story harmful to union
and he would want no part in that
Asked whether he thought the disclosure
would be more harmful than the continued
tenure by silent consent of convicted pander
and bootlegger identified by the Worcester
police as a common local racketeer, in high
union office, Mr.. Kingsley gave sidelong
answer He then irrelevantly reproached your
correspondent for resigning from the news
paper guild when it became trojan horse
of the New York and California Communists,
instead of remaining in the organization to
fight them.
In this we overlooked the fact that the dis
patches were the first to identity the guild
Communists and to oppose them as such
while the rest of the opposition was intimi-
dated by the term ''red-baiter" and preferred
to call them liberals or radicals and to
nretend that Communism later recognized as
such was not an issue.
This phase of the discussion led nowhere
but Mr.. Kingsley personally nevertheless
remained adamant on the proposition that to
| expose and thus depose an underworld char
| acter risen to power in union would hurt
| the workers more than the racketeer could
| if suffered to operate unchalenged.
Here you have three officials OF the Ma