The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-04-17
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER

BY WESTBROOk PEGLER
NEW YORK-Unfortunatel am not quite
up to the moment on the status of Harold
Christoffel president of local 248 of the United
Automobile Workers, CLIO, and of the CLOS
county council in Milwaukee. However, the
fact that until two months ago. we'll over two
years after Pearl Harbor, this lusty young
member or fellow traveller of the communist
front, was still deferred as an indispensable
civilian prompts me to review of the
most revolving acts of sabotage against the
lives of patriotic young Americans in the
whole evil record of the communists colabo-
ration with Adolf Hitler prior to the assault
on Russia.
On January 10, 1941, within the period when
the communists of the CLIO were picketing
the White House and exerting themselves ev-
erywhere to cripple this nations rearmament
program, Chrstoffels union, embracing some
of the employees of Allis- Chalmers of Mil
waukee, called for vote on a strike. 1t failed
when fewer than half of the workers express
ed themselves.
Two days later, Christoffel and other Off
GERS of the union held fraudulent election
at their union headquarters, under their own
control. A company official said he counted
only 4547 persons entering the place. The union
certified 6759 ballots and majority of 1858
in favor Of the strike. The Wisconsin EN-
ployment Relations Board then authorized an
examination of the ballots and John F. Tyrell,
of Milwaukee, and Clark Sellers, of Los An
geles, handwriting experts, proved that more
than 1900 of them had been forged. This con-
clusion was accepted by the board and the
case against the union was so strong that it
was not even disputed.
The board ordered a new election to be
held under its own supervision, but this never
came Off Instead, Frank Knox and General
Knudsen, of the OPM, appealed to Allis-Chal-
mers to resume production of equipment for
the Navy and other defense arms and the
case eventually came before the National De-
tense Mediation Board. Meanwhile, as loyal
Americans tried to resume production in
spouse to Knox's appeal to their patriotism,
they had bean beaten up at the gates.
This was the period when the United States
was "tooling up for war production. Allis-
Chalmers. one of the most effective plants in
the country, was building machinery required
by other factories to turn out mechanical
parts for war equipment, much of which sub
lsequently has gone to Russia and helped to
turn the Nazi tide. 1t was making machinery
for destroyers and submarines and for
days not wheel turned moreover produc.
ton was choked off in other plants which
were waiting for equipment from Allis-Chal-
mers 1t was the most important plant in
the entire United States and of the most
important in the world.
Subsequently, crew of communist prop
uganda Ministries sang song reproduced on
phonograph records for use at organizing raj
| lies, which ran land out at Chalmers
here's what they done" concluding take it
easy, boys, but take it." The Ministries were
hired by the Office of War Information after
the United States was drawn into the war
and were fired only after they had been de-
nounced communist propagandists. How
they qualified in the first place for the Owl,
considering the pretenSe that communists are
unwelcome in government agencies and that
the personal history of each employee is ex-
amined. was never explained.
Christoffel, 81 years old now, was only about
81 at the time of Pearl Harbor. He is mar
ried and has one child but his wife works and
for the government, at that
Nevertheless he was deferred in the draft
on the ground of essentially as a union Of
fetal until last January when he was re-
classified Ia For five years he has not been
employed as workman but exerted himself
solely as union representative
The day after he was reclassified subject
to immediate call. he got back on the com
panys pay roll as an electrical tester, his
old trade In this new status, the company
was compelled to certify him for occu-
pational deferment. However. on Feb l, an
official of the company disclosed that this
had been only a ruse to escape military serv-
ice as Christoffel was working only 30 hours
week as tester and spending the re-
mainder of his time in union activity. So his
occupatonal deferment was revoked.
| Of course he can still appeal to Washing
ton Two other unioneers, of the communist
front, who engaged in similar sabotage before
June 81, 1871, when the war suddenly ceased
to be an irnperialistic of aggression
against peace-loving Adolf Hitler and became
a peoples war against the aggressors, have
had success in evading the draft in this man.
ner
Nobody ever was punished for the fraud or
for the loss of production, except those Amer
icans Britons and Russians whose death in
battle was due to the lack of fighting equip
ment caused by rs days shutdown at Allis
Chalmers.
~rY~~ |rY@ATC