The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-11-01

|
views of Mr.. Pegler, and often disagree
with them as much as many OF his read
| ers His articles serve the good purpose
of making people Think
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright 1914, by King Features Syndicate.)
| NEW YORK, have presented my own ex-
PLANTATION of the vicious effect of the law i'm
posed on the whole American people by the
opinion of Justice Jimmy Brynes, writing Tor
the majority of the Roosevelt Supreme Court,
| in the notorious teamsters' case.
| Having fatty awarded to the gangsters of
unionism a legal right to extort money from
the owners of freight trucks carrying cargo
into New York by beating up law-abiding citi-
zens without even pretense of willingness
to work for the money, Justice Byrnes retired
into the shadowy role of assistant president.
To do this he gave up the security and pres
tige, such as it is nowadays, of place on the
highest court in the land to become a mere
political .trouble-shooter Then. in Chicago,
after he had been given reason to believe that
Roosevelt would support him for the vice
presidential nomination, he rejected by
Sidney Hillnan and the communists of the
CLOS political action. He had come through
for Roosevelts underworld political subsidiary
in appallingly cynical and leering dictum
whose primary beneficiaries were members of
the following of the Presidents friend, Dan
But when the time came for Roosevelt to
stand by him and assure him the chance of
such political future as the nomination would
have offered he was deserted by the man he
had served so faithfully and at such great
sacrifice.
Did overstate the perfidy of the 8yrnes
opinion?
Chief Justice Stone went even further in
his dissent.
Justice Stone wrote that the convicted men,
many of them have criminal records, "lay in
wait for trucks passing from New Jersey to
New York and, by beating the drivers, pro-
cured payments of AZ for large truck and
So. Al for a small one.
Be it observed that, under the Byrnes de-
cision the amount of the tribute was regulated
only by the greed and audacity of the goons.
They could have obtained 81 900 per truck as
sheer tribute "by beating the drivers and
that, according to the packed new deal Su-
preme courts Judgement would have been
legitimate activity of labor union and the
payment would have represented wages"
That COST like the $9.42 and the $8.41, would
have been added to the consumers price of
the goods imported to New York from other
American states and would have been paid, as
the $9.42 and the $8.41 continue tc be paid to
this very hour, by the law-abiding citizens Of
New York, in the form of increased costs of
groceries, clothing, building materials and gar
| den produce.
Byrnes and the majority defiantly held that
Congress had intended to confer on the Presi-
dents friend, Dan Tobin, the legal right to col
lect these tariffs by beating up law-abiding
trucknnen who, themselves, were union men
but members of local unions outside New
York.
1t may be noted that the term labor union
has no binding legal definition Any group of
gsngsters may qualify for legal status as
Union by representing themselves to be bar
gaining agents. for labor
So Justice Byrnes, while pretending to dis
criminate between gangs OF the Dillinger and
MacnineGun Kelly types, actually conferred
this privilege on gangs of this type provided
only that they take the trouble to obtain char
tiers as unions. Many such charters have been
obtained and operated on a national scale
rackets as subsidiaries of William Green's
American Federation of Labor.
I'm some instances" Chief Justice Stone
continued, Dan Tobin's goons disappeared as
soon the money paid without offering
to render any service.
Later in his dissent, the Chief Justice wrote
that there was abundant evidence that the
payments were made to purchase immunity
from violence and for no other reason
when the anti-racketeering act was under
consideration by Congress" he wrote further,
mo member of Congress and no labor leader
had the temerity to suggest that such pay
mentS made only to secure immunity from
violence and intentionally compelled by as
sault and battery could be regarded as the
payment of wages or that the compulslon is
a legitimate object of labor union
So it will be seen that the Chief Justice was
even more contemptuous of Byrnes' reasoning
on behalf of tie new deal Supreme Court and
for the special benefit of the union politicians
and their COON squads than have been.
| 1t should be realized further that Byrnes
here required the owners to pay this extortlon
to men who could not legally enter the cab
of a truck, being disqualified for drivers IL
censes by their criminal records. Ii man had
no drivers license then obviously he could not
| by any twist of argument or sacrifice OF truth
and honesty be held in the status of EN-
piovee', although Byrnes did confer that stat
us on the Tobn goons in the present case The
owners would have been liable under criminal
| laws and responsible for damages II the gang
STEERS with criminal records had been willing
| to work and they had permitted them to work.
In a recent case, arising out of the Byrnes
decision. COON driver, placed aboard truck
entering New York, relieving the reliable, trust
wcrthy employee of the trucking company,
delivered load of liquor to gang of GRIM
| mails who sold it into the black market. The
truck operator was responsible to the client
for whom he was shipping the liquor but the
union had no responsibility.
| Roosevelt's Supreme Court as will thus be
seen. did grant the right to commit highway
| robbery to the goons under the command of
Dan Tobin who was Roosevelt's host at the
onc.sion of the Presidents memorable ESSAY