The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-03-04
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER


NEW YORK.-Thanks to series of reveal
tons in these dispatches during the last year,
the National Maritime union, of the commu-
mist 'front.' has been forced to adopt some in
teresting changes
1t no longer prints in detail, either in its
publication, The Pilot, or in its official min
utes of the meetings held in New York, the
details of its kangaroo courts in which, not
Wlthstanding the shortage of competent sailors
to man the transports and cargo vessels, men
have been put ashore for terms ranging up
to SO years for conduct unbecorning union
sailors.
Opposition to communism comes under the
general heading of unbecoming conduct and
expressions of racial or religious prejudices
are crimes of equal gravity.
The reason for this reticence is found in
the fact that The Pilot and the official min
uteS were regular source of information for
outside reporters opposed to communism in
the Merchant marine which is the property of
the American people and is manned largely
in growing proportion to young American sail
ors who detest communism and oppose the
non-seagoing salts who haunt the seaports and
claim for themselves credit for the sacrifices
OF real sailors who do accept the risks of the
sea IN wartime. Prominent among these vi
carlouS heroes OF the deep are one who calls
himself Joseph Curran, president of the NMU
and another who calls himself NJ Hedley Stone
the treasurer. The one who calls himself Cur
ran is an uncomnonly fragile and high-strung
hero, for the only time he has gone to sea
in this war was during his summer vacation
last year when he actually announced that he
was taking fair-weather cruise as a vacation
outing, and who suffered a nervous break
down when his wife had child a few months
ago.
In particular testimony concerning sailors
charged with selling sandwiches from the GAL
ley to enlisted American soldiers bound for the
war. with trimming soldiers in crap games
through the use OF loaded dice, and with rent
ing tables to soldiers TOR their card games at
exorbitant rates was deleted from the min
uteS
The one who calls himself Curran also was
at pains in a recent meeting to soften a pre-
vlous scurrllous and general denunciation of
young American Army officers sailing for the
war. This was consistent with a new policy
of attempting to appease the Army and NAVY
men sailing on merchant vessels in the hope
that after the war they will forget the manv
extortions and mdignities of which they were
victims, at the hands of communist sailors
The president told the membership his abusive
remarks referred only to few lieutenants,
who were in league with the ship owners to
cause trouble between the gun crews and
soldiers and the civilian merchant sailors.
Meanwhile, in recent months, the commu-
nlsts have been alarmed by the arrival on
board the transport and cargo vessels of a
new and unfamiliar breed of young American
merchant sailors, officers and men, trained by
the government, who apparently intend to fol-
low the sea as a calling after the war These
new men have high resistance to commu-
mist ndoctrination and discipline and did not
yield easily their right to their opinions. Where,
a year ago, the communist sailors sneered
at the Naval uniform as monkey suit and
Haunted their pay including overtime and bo-
nus money, at the enlisted men, both Army
and Navy, nowadays the union is running
propa ganda to the effect that the union sailor
| is badly underpaid. This new line conflicts
sharply with the unions previous propaganda
boasting of the high pay, bonuses, insurance
benefits and other gains for which it was
claiming credit until the contrast with the
enlisted soldiers and sailors pay became an
irritation to the enlisted men and an en-
barrassment to the union. AS an item of the
new propaganda, recent issue of The Pilot
contained picture OF group of licensed
Merchant marine officers, not members of the
i NMU, and some enlisted sailors for WHOM
the merchant men had given dinner in New
York.
| However, the basic conduct of the 1,n;on,s
inner affairs has not changed and Curran ~