The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-05-01
BY wEsTBRooK PEGLER

BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK; wonder how many Of us
understand the extent of the power which
President Roosevelt claimed TO- himself in
ordering the Army to seize the private prop.
erty of Montgomery Ward and throw out Of
the place Sewen Avery, the company execu-
tive who represented the owners.
BY the same process, Mr.. Roosevelt could
seize and operate through one new deal agency
or another, any newspaper or radio station
in the United States after the simple pre-
liminary of instigating labor dispute through
some cooperative union official He could seize
and operate them all.
He claimed his authority for this seizure
under the War Labor Disputes Act which was
super-imposed on the lop-sided Labor Re-
lations Act. The Labor Disputes Act was in
tended to prevent ssoppages in war plants
but is SO phEased as to authorize the seizure
of any plant or facility equipped for the manu-
facture Of production of any articles or ma.
terials which may be used in connection
with the war effort, where labor disturbance
occurs. documents, printed on presses from
type set by Hnotypes, may be and constantly
are used in the war effort. Radio communica
ton is used in the war effort Therefore a
newspaper plant and radio station both are
plants and facilities subject to seizure by
presidential order and to operation by bureau
Gratis from Washington in the presence of a
labor disturbance which interrupts operation
What is labor disturbance? 1t is not neces-
sarlly a strike of the legitimate employees
OF the plant or facility. 1t could consist of
gang of goons patrolling the gates and intim.
dating the workers, thus interrupting produc-
ton. 1t is not necessary that the goons pro,
duce any legitimate authority to represent the
workers. All they need do is create a labor
disturbance and Mr. Roosevelts power comes
into operation. A memorable case, sufficient
to justify seizure of theater, occurred in
New York few years ago. A play which re-
quired no instrumental music but did require
a few bars of the Stars and Stripes and the
Marseillaise from a photograph record, was
picketed by the local racketeers of Jimmy
Petrillos Musicians union. The union wanted
the producer to pay number of theoretical
musicians for playing no music. This was a
racket, pure and simple No employees were
involved. Actually the money was to have
been paid into the racket not to any ndi-
vidual musicians. The local set pickets in
front of the theater and Mrs. Roosevelt who
had tickets for the play, recognized this stua-
ton as a labor disturbance refused to cross
Morale is an article or material used in the
war effort and amusement is recognized Off
cially as one of the materials from which
morale is built In such situation today Mr..
Roosevelt could send the Army to seize the
theater.
These are not fantastic quibbling suppo-
sitions. They thoroughly consistent with
the seizure Of Montgomery Ward which is not
operating under government contracts for the
ST io1 hI1f ie toll
business selling homely domestic articles for
civilian use. Naturally some such articles
may be used in the war effort. It would be
almost impossible to think of any article
which could not be SO used.
Avery was ordered to extend a union con-
tract which had expired He refused, insisting
that he had no right to assume, without proof,
that the union still represented the employees.
The union then called a strike, or labor dis
turbance, and that was Mr.. Roosevelt's ex-
cuse to call on the Army to seize the property
and turn it over to his Department of Com
merce for operation.
The effect of this coercive use of the au-
thority of the War Labor Board and the
Presidents war powers has been to compel
workers to join unions in vast numbers of
, cases and in others, to make them keep up
| their membership whether they wanted to or
not. 1t has been a great help to the unioneer,
the racketeer and the communist who have
thus increased their membership and their
loot and established themselves more firmly
in power over not only the workers but the
property of abiding citizens, many of them
away at war and many of them with sons
! at war. And, finally, it has placed private
property, in no way involved in the actual
war effort, in peril Of seizure and the owners
in peril of eviction and dispossesson at the
whim of any group calling itself union even
though there be not the slightest evidence that
the authors of the disturbance legitima tely
represent a single worker in the plant.