The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-02-29
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

| KANSAS CITY.-You have heard about the
profitable insurance activities of Harold Frank
lin, of Kansas City, Kans, the son of good
old Joe Franklin, who recently was retired
from the presidency of the brotherhood OF
boilermakers of the A. F. of L. on life pen.
sion of $12, 500 year, an increase of $4,000 a
year over the salary which he received as
active president. Young Franklin, that lucky
fellow, just happened to be the successful
agent for a series of insurance companies
which wrote the coverage of the union mem
bero at high premium rates over a period
of years and years. He is now drawing about
500, 00C a year in commissions on this &C
count about four-fifths of which represents
compulsory insurance on the members. most
of whom are shipyard workers who had to
| join the union to get jobs and have to keep
up their insurance payments, including young
Franklin's rake-off to keep their jobs.
But probably you haven't heard about the
Brotherhood State Bank of Kansas City, Kans.,
which has its offices in the brotherhood's home
building. The Brotherhood State Bank was
organized about 20 years ago and from its
name and its location you might be pardoned
for believing it to be the property of the
brotherhood Such is the power of suggestion
or association of ideas. But it isn't the broth
erhood's bank except that the brotherhood
does happen to be minority stockholder,
stock, and large and important depostor.
1t is private enterprise and quite sound,
respectable and profitable and the Franklin
family, father and son and their wives, own
between them 216 shares; William E. Walter,
secretary treasurer of the union, and his fam
| lily % shares Charles ]. MCGOWAN, of Chicago,
| the new president of the brotherhood, at $12,-
500 year. five shares; and Jerome S. Koch
Ter, young Franklin's associate in the insurance
II of E1 cIo
held by the hierarchy and their loved ones and
Mr. Koehler. Good old Joe Franklin and Har-
old and Mr.. Walter are directors of
the bank and, by some freak of luck or per-
haps through busting business initiative and
all that kind of thing, the brotherhood was
persuaded that this would be a very good
bank in which to keep its funds which, in
these days, are enormous what with its month
ly rake-off from the hundreds of thousands OF
new and temporary members in the ship
yards. A banker in another Kansas City bank
explains that ordinarily he would not care to
handle the account of Il single client having
control over such large share of the de-
posts but that, of course, if the banks di-
rectors and stockholders happened to control
the treasury of that client, as good old Joe
Franklin and Walter and MCGOWAN control
the unions treasury that would be very re-
assuring.
| Ht ul1S pOlllL ~ SSeIIlS appropriate W -
port that in resolution eulogizing good old
Joe but avoiding the subject of his sons pros
perity through the insurance business, h G
brothers, in an unguarded moment, boosted
/ that the assets of the brotherhood now exceed
ten million dollars, most of it amassed since
the war program began and channeled into
the treasury by the labor agencies OF the new
IDEAL government through the force OF the
4 closed shop and that there are many more
millions in the treasures of the local unions
around the country. In Portland, Ore, alone,
the local treasury has more than one million
| in war bonds and more than $1500,0OO in
banks. The parent brotherhood also has five
million in war bonds
It must not be thought that the real boiler
makers unanimously admire good old Joe and
his son and approve the remarkable coinc1-
dence of the insurance business and the award
of the $4,000 life pension. Nevertheless, being
loyal to their union, they are embarrassed
and resentful that such conditions were ex-
posed publicly. Brother Winstel delegate
from a shipyard in Texas, speaking about
the operations of the Franklin political ma