The Wilmington morning star., 1944-10-10


and often disagree with them much many Of
his readers His articles the good purpose Of
making people think
BY. WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1914, King Features Syndicate, Inc
NEW YORK; have said before that Presi-
dent Roosevelt is the worst enemy of Ameri-
can labor in all our history, more ruthless
than the Rockefellers of old and more danger
Gus to the personal freedom and human dignity
of our people than any combination of en-
ployers at any stage of the republic
Ruthless?
Read this excerpt from an emergency ap-
peal for electricians to work on a vital, secret
war construction job near Knoxville, Tenn.
This vast plant is terribly important to the
Life and death chances of American men
fighting in the war;
And yet, in this almost hysterical appeal
for electricians, issued on behalf of the army,
this paragraph appeared
Union requirements: Men must apply for
membership in local ALL electrical union mi
tiation fee of $50 is paid S. down and 81 day.
When payment is completed. men then take
union examination for electrician. If he fails
test, initiation fee will be returned, but he
will continue to work.
Here the ostensibly free American is i'm
plored to give up his home and leave his
family to live in barracks and work on a
job to shorten the war and possibly save the
life of his own son. YET first condition,
he must agree to pay tribute of $50 to a
racket licensed by one of Roosevelt's political
auxiliaries.
When payment is completed, men then
take union examination for electrician"
Why? These man have to be qualified cleo
tricians before they can be hired. The "emer-
gency appeal for men to complete an 'ur-
gent Army plant is addressed to "electri-
cians," not unskilled novices to learn h ell
trade. Yet, after payment is completed
the worker must take test at the hands of al
private organization consisting of few local
men holding extortion license issued by an
other private organization, the American Fed
Grafton of Labor. But, if he flunks he will
continue to work as electrician, anyway.
Then why make him take the test?
However, does anyone think the union ex-
aminers will funk any of these men and give
up the $50 per head?i That isn't the way
these unions have been working their racket
under Mr.. Roosevelts privilege in this war.
They never give up dollar once it has been
Wrung from the victim.
This is a temporary, emergency job, due to-
have paid the graft will drift away and that
money will remain in the local treasury. III
there are 1000 temporary workers and so per-
manent local members, that means that the
permanent, local membership may solemnly
declare a dividend of $1,000 each. No law
forbids them to do that Or the executive
board of the local, consisting of three or four
men, may award it to themselves in 'appre-
citation of their valuable services This is
file team 81
tiers and young girl clerks of old Dan Tobin'
union we're not polled when the executive body,
of which he is the chief, arbitrarily appro-
priated $780, 900 of the workers money to buy
and maintain, providing furniture and even
servants, a winter palace for Mr.. Roosevelt's
esteemed friend.
This extortion has prevailed in most Of the
great war construction jobs. In one place a
little local union bestrode the road to an enor-
NOUS Army camp and collected loot from
{, 900 carpenters drawn in from other regions,
who dispersed and vanished when the job
was done. Many went on to other construc-
ton jobs and, again and again, had to pay
$50 and up for the privilege of working on
national defense. On most of the big prof.
ects system prevailed whereby the union
racketeers had the men fired as soon as their
money had been paid, so that new victims
could be fleeced This happened right outside
Washington and the Navy, whose job it was,
and the Labor Relations and War Labor Board
and the F. B. l. knew all about it and sol
did Mr.. Roosevelt.
The Department of Justice has refused to|
interfere beyond few fake gestures and not
man has spent as much as an hour in Jail
for such extortion because Mr.. Roosevelt plan
ned it that way.
Do these victims bargain collectively"
through agents of their own free choice as
they are promised the right to do by the
Wagner Act? The appeal OF the U. S. En-
ployment Service in the present case plainly
says the bargain already has been made, ar
btrarily This is War department job and
the government set the wage scales And the
men are not invited to select bargaining
agent They are just ordered to pay tribute
to private organization which has no inter-
est in them beyond their money.
oh well. but if man doesn't want to yield
he can work elsewhere.
Do YOU really think so? Mr.. Roosevelt has
him trapped there, too. For, IN many cities
nowadays. by order of a government "direc-
tive, the newspapers are illegally required to
nr;nt notice in their help wanted, male
columns warning American labor that "all
males over is may be hired only upon re-
farr.1 NV or through arrangements with the
1IsES;, And the USES will refuse man
e.referraI, if he refuses to take job in
nlant where the ruling union has the ex-
tar+;on privilege And millions of men and
women. too. as a condition of keeping their
war Jobs have been compelled to give up a
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