The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-11

Known in his homo State of South Carolina more for his op- eration of fishing boats than big time transportation, "R0Wboaw is very versatile, He now suits the railroads perfectly,
 Here is the latest inside story of his operations,
 Before Attorney General Riddle filed his antitrust suit against western railroads, "Rowb0at" Johnson pulled every possible wire to block the suit, Backstage, he howled voeiferously even at the White House, But the suit got FDR's blessing, and was filed,
 This, however, did not stop Johnson, Hearing that Attorney General Riddle was holding con- ferences on the West Coast, Row. boat" demanded that the Office of War Information force Riddle to clear with OWI in advance every statement he made to the press, With the attorney general moving quickly from city to city and speaking eXtemporaneously in answer to newspaper questions, this obviously was impossible, So OWT turned Johnson down,
 Later, when Wendell Berge, as. Sistant attorney general in charge of trust-huSting, left for a series of West Coast speeches, he took the precaution to submit his speeches in advance to OWI, and OWI sent them on to ODT and Johnson's desk,
 When "Rowboat" saw them, he hit the ceiling, He even went to the extreme length of demanding that Berge make no reference whatsoever to the railroad anti trust suit. Johnson took this stand despite the fact that the suit already had been filed was a matter of court record, and was the official policy of the Roose- welt Administration.
 Naturally, the Justice Depart lnent refused to clamp this ban on Berge. Whereupon "ROwbOat" tried to play his trump card with Elmer Davis. He demanded that Davis, however, informed John son that 1t was not OWI's busi- ness to censor free and fair dis euSsion of vital U. S. economic problems.
 "ROwbOat" failed. But the rail- roads are appreciative of his ef- forts just the same.
 REVOLT AGAINST LEWIS
 Bushy-browed John L. Lewis faces the beginning of real fight as the United Mine Workers meet in Cincinnati. Lewis probably will not be busted as president this time, but revolt is growing against the heavy-handed gentle man who has ruled the miners for more than two decades.
 The issue is democracy in. side the union. Leader of the revolt is smart-thinking, hard
 hitting, former Illinois Mine Workers district president, Ray EdmondsOn, now running
 against Lewis for the UATW
 presidency. EdmOndsOn has few illusions about his fight,
 knows that he probably won't win this time, is counting on dumping Lewis in the next two
 years by becoming the focal point of all opposition to Lewis.
 Edmondson resigned as s8.000- a-year mine workers district president last April, went back to digging coal in the Illinois mines rather than stand for Lewis dic- tation. In past years, Lewis has been able to break. at least, tenn porarily, every man who opposed him. These included John Bro- phy. now a top CIO official, who ran against Lewis in 1926 and claimed he was counted out in a crooked vote. also CIO president Phillip Murray, ruthlessly purged by Lewis several years ago in a dramatic clash which wrecked a thirty-year friendship.
 DhCTATORLAL TACTICS
 Lewis brother Denny likes to sit back and tell how Lewis once won an election unanimously in a backward West Virginia district where strong opposition had de- veloped.
 ''It was simple" Denny Lewis
 says. "yohn knew there vas and receive you unto myself. thai where I am, there ye may be also. We all face death at some time a...a ...a..a i. ..~... A.s.f.sa aa.aa... st (.