The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-06-17
BY wEsTBROOK pEGLER

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK.-This is mid-June Two weeks
from now. the nominally free male civilians
OF the United States above the age Of II will
face the proposition of surrendering their free
dom for involuntary servitude to private en-
2loyers and slavery to the unions and the
new deal political party, or going on strike
against an absolutely lawless decree issued by
Paul McNutt.
Alter July 1, McNutt has said. any male
civilian over II who leaves nonessential job
must go into essential work, He can't take
another nonessential Job. If that job is to be
filled at ALL it must be taken by woman
McNutt also has attempted to direct all
such workers into the United States Employ
ment service for placement in essential indus
tries. This USES is an evil growth with which
the general public is little acquainted. From
its very beginning it has been as dragon
ing service to herd unwilling civilianss into
the unions. In many places, union agents
have occupied chairs in USES offices sup
ported by the taxpayers, or adjoining prem
ises. Applicants for war jobs, as routine
matter, have been required to pay cash on
the line to the unioneers for the privilege of
helping to win the war on the home front
The USES refers" applicants to the unions
for clearance with the understanding that
II they don't Clear by paying initiation fees
ana dues, or signing promises to pay out of
their immediate wages sometimes through the
check-off, they won't be hired In no case
is there guarantee that the applicant will
hold his job after he has earned the amount
OF the shakedown plus an equal amount for
himself. There are always more saps coming
in and the temptation is strong to lay off
those who have been clipped for the union
treasury and trim the new suckers.
The USES also has assumed the power to
order independent employers to hire whomso-
ever 1t sends them, regardless Of the appli-
cants competence or character or the en-
ployer's judgment of his or her personal fit
ness. The individual is not a person but
unit or number, a case on file dirty per-
son, even prostitute. may be referred to a
company engaged in packing food for pack
age lunches in war plant, and must be &C.
cepted The USES is especially stern if the
dirty person or prostitute is member Of
minority group" If business has a 2rac-
tice of employing Negroes to run its elevators
and asks for Negro to fill vacancy the
USES will charge the management with racial
discrimination against white men and make
him accept white man. Then, if the appl-
cant himself, being white man, refuses to
accept the job he, in turn, may be condemned
for racial prejudice against Negroes, marked
unavailable on his card and denied all fur
Their opportunities to earn his living. For non.
essential work is closed to him, and the USES
which controls essential hiring has put him
on it's blacklist
If worker, leaving a nonessential job, re-
fuses to take job deemed to be essential
however inferior the work may be to his in
telligence and SKILL and however irserior the
pay to his usual standards and his unavoid-
able commitments he doesn't 60 to jail, Of
course; he just goes idle man wasted and
broke and hungry until necessity breaks him
down or enough other men like him get sore
enough to tell McNutt and the unions and
the USES to go to hell in voice loud enough
to be heard by President Roosevelt and Con-
gress.
This is McNutt's third attempt in two years
to impose a civilian labor draft without en-
thority from Congress and in the face Of re-
peated refusals by Congress, for good reasons,
to adopt any such draft. It is dishonest, as
well as illegal; for the labor shortage is only
spotty. not general, and is due largely to ar
tificial causes including the political. The po-
litical purpose Of the decree is to swell tie
membership of the unions which, in turn, will
contribute gut Of their loot to Mr. Roosevelt
fourth term campaign fund and thus compel
millions Of citizens who would regard fourtn
term as a national calamity to facilitate that
disaster.
The civilian who remains in private, non
essential employ is placed at the mercy of
the employer, who now knows that he may
imnose UPON him ruthlessly by holding over
him the threat of dismissal and referrar'
| to the USES.
The only hope for the civilian thus placed
IT down strike against the government by mil
lions of those private citizens 50 often re-
ferred to. and SO conternptuously, as little
nsonle because they are unorganized against
3olitics and the power OF the Roosevelt gov
eminent and its union auxllarles' tnat hope
is wan and " hing.