The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-02-20
Fair Enough

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responsibility for the personal views of Mr.. Pegler
and often disagree with them as much as many Of
his readers HIS articles serve the GOOD purpose OF
making people think
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
WASHINGTON Anyone who has any inter-
est in the overbearing and outrageous con-
duct of unions will do well to read this es-
saw because it discovers president of an
international union of the AFL who believes
that unions should be regulated by law and
admits that there is no longer any hope of a
reform from within the labor movement. He
thinks it must be wrought by Congress. Our
subject is George @. Lynch, president of the
Pattern Makers League, an organization of
craft aristocrats with about $4,000 members,
founded in 1887. Having only 100 votes in
the annual ALL conventions out of total
of 10000 as compared with blocks of 5000
each voted by the teamsters and 5000 by
the carpenters, the pattern makers are only
a small voice in the hoarse turnult of these
annual deliberations, and their principles are
ignored Mr.. Lynch is a professional union
leader of long experience, energetic in mind
and body, who for years has been warning
his pompous colleagues that the old cry of
labor batter is no defense against proven
rascalities and other offenses of unionism
if they didn't compose their own political
rivalries and reform the movement, Congress
would do it. He believes they have stalled too
long now and moreover that they still are
incapable of reform because they cannot pull
together He gets $1,000 a year and his .le-
Ultimate, certified expenses.
1 shall skip those portions of a speech he
made to the Harvard School of Business Ad-
ministration which deals with the old sins
of industry against labor because they are
familiar matter, whereas his ideas of union
responsibility and conduct are unique among
union leaders.
"Unless the responsible unions actively sup
port reasonable legal union regulations in the
public interest" ne said, then all unions will
feel the wrath of public reaction and also
without reference to merits. My sole in
terest is to urge a basis of accommodation
between free industry and free employees that
will rid organized labor of usurped irresponsi-
BILE leadership and render innocuous the class
hatred appeals of communists"
He then proposed liberal improvement of
the old-age retirement facilities and unem-
ployment benefits, and adjustment of corpo-
rate taxes 'to allow for proper reserves and
investment in experimental research and ex-
pansion Then, coming to labors own respons-
Utility, he proposed new agency in the De-
partment of Labor to deal with unfair prac-
tees in unions.
'The agency" he said, may require per-
sonal appearances of the officers involved,
and demand copies of union constitutions and
bylaws, together with statement of all fl
nances germane to the complaint. Any officer
convicted of unfair practices should be de-
barred from acting in matters involving Ia
Dor relations with government agencies or
from negotiating union agreements which in
clude closed shop or a check-off of dues
in private industry. Legislate out OF labor
organizations the racketeering elements which
have attached to it because OF the safety
as compared with former rackets."
In an article for his journal, addressing his
own membership, Mr.. Lynch wrote that rack
eteers and communists invaded the union
movement as carpet-baggers after the pass
age of the Wagner act and that the COM
munists want INDUSTRIAL invading the CLIO.
introducing the sit-down, while the gangsters
want craft muscling into the AFL, to prac
tice the shake-down.
"Organized labor has become big business"
he wrote. ut is a mutual organization with
10 million policyholders. Hundreds of thou.
sands must pay tax to unions as cond'
ton of employment, by direction Of govern
ment. The fees, dues, fines and assessments
run into substantial millions each year. It
should not make the mistakes OF the new
capitalism by ignoring public interest and pub
lie opinion Successful unions can be operated
under procedures consistent with good public
interest The pattern makers publish com
plete financial reports, have no check-otf OF
dues, no racketeers and did not wait until
June 1914, (when Hitler attacked Russia and
the American communist unioneers changed
from war resistance to war-approvaD, to be
right with America for the wrong reason"
MIR. Lynch submits that the constitution and
conduct of his league voluntarily and for many
years have complied with all the reasonable
criticism of familiar union practice which have
been denounced by the high councils of the
CLIO. and ALL and the new deal and left
wing politics and journalists as labor-battng
-V-
Junior says it's patriotic to skip homework.
thus saving lot of midnight oil.
Reversing the process-the Unet Estates with
holds the oil and then Spain finds itself in
troubled waters.
The Nazis back in Germany can get an idea
how the war is going by the fact that the Rus
sian front is now the Russian-P dish Estonlan
'front.'.