The Wilmington morning star., 1945-10-17
Fair Enough
Bv WESTBROOK PEGLER


! Bv WESTBROOK PEGLER
/ fconvrieht. 1915. by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK, Oct leone Of the news
Photographs published last week showed van
dalism at a place of worship IN New York
with the CLERGYMAN contemplating a smashed
window.
Many other photographs showed bloodshed
and fist-fights on the so-called picket line at
Warner Brothers studio in Hollywood.
It is very wrong to throw missiles through
church windows but equally wrong and I'm
lawful for pickets to throw bricks and rocks
through factory windows and the Wlndshields
of automobiles. And if rioters politely known
as pickets, have a right to blockade industrial
premises to prevent Americans from going to
their lawful work they have an equal right
to blockade any church in the United States
| and beat up or threaten members OF the con-
gregation on their way to worship.
The legal fact is that they have no such
right in either case but the practical fact is
that the Roosevelt government tacitly con-
ferred on unions a special privilege to ter
rorize groups of workers and whole connmun-
ties.
The constitutional guarantee of religious
freedom does not go so far as to provide
punishment for those who should take it on
themselves to plant a human wall OF thugs
armed with iron bars and bats, around a
church. That is a problem for the local police
The terrorism of union pickets at factories,
however, also is police problem but bad
mayors, from moral cowardice and recreant
to their oaths, and state governors, as well,
for 10 years have been in the habit of placat-
ing riot leaders and bargaining with them to
desist. Not yet have they been faced with any
problem of quelling mob attacks on religious
persons on their way to worship but church
very easily could be Struck by some Or
ganization calling itself union which then,
according to this dangerous precedent, would
be justified in picketing the church, stoning
the windows, desecrating the affairs and other
properties of religion and smuggling the faith
full.
At recent communist demonstration in
New York, attended by number of typically
vain pretentious and politically ignorant &C.
tors, of the speeches denounced the Catho-
lie church in Spain as "a rich Inonopolist at
the expense of mass poverty
According to the familiar logic of revolu.
tionary unionism and mob terror, that means
that all Catholic churches are unfair and
subject to the same conduct that has been
directed against factories. Our mayors and
governors rarely concern themselves with the
truth or merits of charges Of "unfairness."
Indeed, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt once refused
to go to play because Jimmy Petrillo's union
had pickets patrollng the 'front.' with the re.
mark that she would not cross picket line.
In this case, the union was trying to shake
down the producer for wages for musicians
for whom there was no place in the show.
I say that logically, Mrs. Roosevelt must like
wise honor picket line blocking church
which some communist group in control Of
union has conceived to be unfair. -,
For that matter, the church blockade need
not claim to represent union. After all, no
law recognizes unions right to use force
and threats That is just an informal conces-
sion. Thus, any anti-Christian, anti-Catholic or
anti-Jewish group deserves equal tolerance in
picketing church.
Picket lines have patrolled many places
other than struck premises and Of entirely
different character. Unions Of the communist
wing of the CLIO have picketed the White House
and various embassies. And other groups,
frankly political and not even pretending to
represent unions, have picketed embassies,
consulates, state capitols and schools Irreso-
lutte, lacking courage to handle hot situations,
mayors and governors have let them have
their way, thus establishing precedents by
which those who threw an ash-can through
the window in New York last week could
justify their conduct
Theoretically a picket line is group OF
aggrleved workers, presenting by speech or
placard their side of a controversy to the
public. Justice Frankfurter of the Supreme
Court went so far, however, as to write that
IdlSe ana ScurfuouS publicity against an IN
nocent restaurant keeper who refused to take
on paid employee to do the work which
he was doing as cook and waiter, were only
the fair give and take of labor controversy
II that dictum is valid then any group of
blgots may patrol any religious edifice. re-
peating every ancient SANDER and mediation
with the blessing of the Supreme Court.
What is a picket line?
For six years, in Chicago, pickets patrolled
the Edgewater Beach hotel, winter and sum-
mer, because William Dewey, the manager,
refused to rent an apartment to union
racketeer named Umbrella Mike Boyle of the
electricians union, long ago denounced by the
Court OF Appeals and sent to prison as a
betrayer of labor. The pickets were not strik-
ers but were, most Of them. destitute persons
hired at miserable wages to walk post. In
winter, sometimes, Mr.. Dewey gave them hot
coffee but he refused to parley with Boyle
and finally Boyle gave up and withdrew them.
Once again the Daughters of the American
revolution are in controversy because they
refused to make available their hall in Wash
lngton for performance by Negro woman,
represented as musician. Their hall may be
plcketed and their national headquarters, too,
on the ground that Constitution Hall is tax
exempt and therefore sis public institution
Every church in the United States is tax
exempt and on the same basis should be made
freely available to any 1--WE piano player from
any drinking resort, and in the event of re-
fusal may be picketed, and the pastors home
as well.