The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-10-23

tRditors Eote.-Ths Star and the Nswa accept no
.n.n.ihilitv for the personal views Of MI. PYgier
.~n eften disaxrse with them mueh many Of
~ reaSers His articles serve the good purpose Of
making people think
Nv wEsTBROoK PEGLER
, fCopywright 1914 by King Features Syndicate).
NEW YORK.-Laws and court decisions are
dull reading material and SO is this beginning
hut If Won will hang around minute will
trv to explain something important ir way
that will make you good and sore and thus
hold your interest
Do YOU realize that the bosses of the labor
unions have right, under the decisions Of the
new deal supreme court, to collect sales
tax on your food your clothing, your fuel for
your home, your laundry bill and every other
article you buy or service you employ such as
bus and taxicab fares and your daily rides up
and down in the elevator to and from your
office?
Do YOU realize that as far as the federal law
IL concerned, the bosses don't have to account
for it to their members or to any public au-
thority?
wish those who are members OF unions
would pay particular attention because some
Of them think anything written against any
union practice is anti-labor and I mean to
show that their loyalty to the cause OF union
ism is being exploited by union political boss
es who are their worst enemies
The simplest illustration is the case OF jim
NV Petrillo's American Federation OF Ausi-
clans This union is a racket and, under its
constitution. Jimmy has all the powers short
Of the firing squad, that Mussolini had because
the constitution leads off with provision that
he may suspend all or any part OF 1t at his
own sweet pleasure and substitute any whim
OF his own Under our federal laws and the
decisions of the new deal Supreme Court, this
union constitution is legal and no government
authority may change it. And, OF course the
members, or subjects, within the union, can't
change it because the minute any such move
is made, Jimmy can just suspend the constl'
tuition and rule by decree.
Jimmy has set out to collect sales tax
from the manufacturers, on every single
monograph record produced for use in your
home or in the juke box down at the tavern.
The idea is that if man fiddles tune once
and is paid for that little job OF work. then
he is deprived of a certain amount OF further
employment every time the recording is
played. That is like arguing that whenever
you want to play record in your home you
really ought to call up the union and get them
to send over a band and pay them the full
scale, plus expenses. Jimmy comedies. how
ever, that this would be unavoidable and un-
profitable so he hits on a sales tax which the
manufacturer pays to him and then passes
along to you, the consumer.
You might as well say that it is wrong to
use milk bottle twice or that you shouldn't
be allowed to use an automobile beyond GER
tain mileage without paying a tax to the
United Auto Workers of the CO. Or that you
shouldn't be allowed to wear last years suit
without paying a tax on the estimated life OF
the suit beyond one year.
Anyway, this right to tax a commodity has
here been recognized and the most that Pres
ident Roosevelt has been willing to do is to
plead with Jimmy to be reasonable. But Jim
my is reasonable. He is taking advantage of
his legal rights, conferred on him by the
Roosevelt government and the new deal Su-
preme Court and no reasonable person can
criticize man for asserting his rights under
the law.
Jimmy says he is going to use the money to
support unemployed musicians. But the law
doesn't compel him to do so and the fact is
that he is not doing SO and won't. Until he de-
cides that he has enough money in hand, he
intends to build up the treasury which has
four million dollars even now.
All this means that every other union has
the same right to tax the public and it. is
fact that many of them are doing it. Why
not? They have a right to, haven't they?
Their taxing power here is higher than that
of the government, ITSELF and moreover, it
takes priority over the governments taxing
power. And, still moreover, none of these
treasures is taxable by the government OF
on your pay also comes before the govern.
ment's income taxing power because if you
won't pay the union you can't work and thus
can't earn anything on which to pay the fed
eral income tax But that is another phase
of the question.
How much revenue does this offer the I'M
ions? It runs up into billions. Why even the
income taxing power right now, on the basis
of forty million employed workers, at the
modest rate of $50 year per member, as
Stunning that they all are compelled to join as
the Roosevelt government desires, amounts
to two billion a year, all immune from any
accounting, subject to no tax and, as far as
the law is concerned, all at the free, personal
disposal Of the union bosses. That was how
old Dan Tobin's executive gang in the Team
sters' union were able to tip the till for $780,
600 to buy that conceited and grasping old
fourflusher winter palace in Florida for the
conservation of his precious health.
Do you, who are union members, think it
wise to set up a rival taxing power, greater
and stronger than the taxing power OF the
very government OF the nation?
Mr.. Roosevelt has demonstrated that he
does think so but remember that he is the SUI
preme head of the movement with all but a
few stubborn eccentrics included in his follow.
ing and that he gets the political benefit Of
| this financial power.
That was exactly the way Mussolini did it