The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-04-06
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

| u1dh1As PSople u1i1ih
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK. - Democracy is a concept
which had the benefit Of great patriotic
and emotional propaganda in the First World
war when the majority of the best young men
went out to fight a tyrant ruler Of brutal
breed in the thoughtless belief that democracy
meant freedom. They fought under the politi-
cal management Of the democratic party and
the slogan make the world safe for den1oc-
racy." They thought democracy was beauti-
full
Indeed, it could be beautiful, too if men
were perfect but it's fatal defect is that it
provides no protection for the minority against
the will, the envy, the prejudice Of the ma
! jority.
| It is absurd to say that democracy and
slavery or democracy and race prejudice are
incompatible. In democracy, if 81 per cent
Of the people decide to make slaves of 40 per
cent that is the will of the majority and the
prevailing rule. If the 81 per cent vote to
outlaw religion and religious teaching that
is the will of the people and the law Of the
community.
Actions Show Thoughts
It is not by examining theory. however,
that we discover the practical meaning of
democracy in the minds and plans of those
who are the loudest advocates Of democracy
in the United States at present. We learn what
is in their minds, what they have in store
for the people, by studying their actions in
the limited fields in which they have estab-
lshed their power and tried out their meth
DDS in comparative miniature.
No single group in the Roosevelt political
household makes a great show of it's devo-
ton to democracy than the Electricians I'M
ion of the American Federation of Labor.
Nevertheless, this organization has a subhu-
man or robot type of membership, established
by the democratic process, whose members
possess only a tiny fraction of the voting
power of the class-A members. The class-A
members decided that the unskilled factory
workers turning out electrical devices must
join their union. But they foresaw that these
unsklled workers would outnunaber and there
fore outvote them so they protected their
power by restricting the unskilled to fractional
votcS. This was the will of the majority
expressed by the democratic process. A robot
member is not whole man. He is 1-100th
of man. He can never be more In some
localities, the local electricians decided in the
most democratic way to restrict full men,
bership to the sons Of full members. Thus,
case occurred in which young electrician
who had married the daughter of full mem
Der, formally petitioned the public court to
be declared the legally adopted son of his
father-in-law that he could qualify for a
card. The court perceived that this would
complicate the young mans relationship to
his wife and for this and other reasons re-
! jected the request.
The National Maritime union communist
front organization, is another vociferous ad-
vocate of democracy and, for the time being
of the Roosevelt administration. This organi-
cation is a savage opponent of lynching and
the poll tax, yet commonly employs both of
these institutions in its own internal affairs
and would put them into general operation
throughout the country if it could. Lynching
is punishment without trial on presumption
of guilt.
Don't Need Committee"
AS recently as last December 30, the presi-
dent of this new deal organization one who
calls himself Joseph Curran said: 1--WE don't
need trial committee for racketeers.
racketeer is not member of this union even
though he may carry book He is not going
to get any trial in this union if he is known
to be a racketeer. If he is proven to be a
racketeer he will be kicked out without a
trial.
In other words, any ant-communist is au-
tomatically guilty of racketeering and may
be lynched. I have already shown by his own
words that the one who calls himself Curran
is devoted to the poll tax in the internal
mana cement of the union. I would point out,
further however, that President Roosevelt,
Mrs. Roosevelt, and the entire administration
are ardent poll takers because they stoutly
protect unionisrn as it is and without change,
and all unions employ the poll tax. In their
view, it is a fine, democratic institution.
But under democracy it is not necessary
to poll a majority to impose the will of a
! cunning and determined group on all the rest.
| By majority the democrats mean a ma
jority of those participating in the vote. Thus,
in several provable cases, a majority of a
minority of the whole group was able to call
a strike in accordance with the democratic
1 process. That is to say, the union in question
was small unit, about one-tenth of all the
workers. It called a meeting and passed a
strike vote by narrow margin with the re-
suit that the majority had to strike, too, out
of traditional respect for the picket line.
These are just minute samples of the prac-
teal operation of democracy under the rule
of the Roosevelt following. There are thou
| sands more as bad worse.
But be it remembered that democracy does
not forbid race hatred, religious persecution
or slavery. On the contrary it invites these