Detroit evening times., 1945-03-08
BEHIND
News
BY Paul
MaIlon


WASHINGTON, March =
w What the crafty John L.
Lewis is up TO is plainly dis
cernible from the inside.
He has a bad situation on his
hands in a sick industry. Any
miner who is enough of a
mechanic to change a spare tire
has been able 10 go into the
shipyards and earn more money
than at the very hard task of
mining coal.
Miners, in my opinion, de-
serve higher wages. But as 1
say the industry is economically
anemic. and the government
cannot do anything about the
general wage level anyway be-
cause Of the Little Steel
formula
SO. with the industry prac-
tically showed 10 the sidelines,
Mr. Lewis has begun new
-rapier match with his onetime
political playmate. now personal
enemy, Mr.. Roosevelt, who will
tell the War Labor Board what
to do.
INCIDENTALLY / understand
government is already
fully prepared to take over the
mines April ] after the threat
ened strike goes on no more
than "a hours. Having done
this once before the operation
will be routine with no inter-
ference in coal supply and prob
ably no change in conditions or
wages of labor. A 30-dsy supply
for industry is probably avail
able if any hitch develops In this
performance.
At any rate in the face OF
this econ mi C predicament,
Lewis has come forward with a
series Of subterfuges and cir
cumlocutions TO Justify his job
of always getting the miners a
little more each year or so.
He proposes TO get his wage
increases by doubling vacation
allowances up To as high as
500. premium allowances, full
portal-to-portal pay and some
other similar nonwage extrac-
tionS.
pUT his biggest trick, is his
- plan TO make the American
people-mostly the poor who
use coal and cannot get it under
special rate contracts as rail-
roads and industries do-pay
his union 10 cents ton tribute.
This idea. he stole from Petrillo,
the musical union cZar.
But Petrillo is not the in
ventor. He is now exacting
about two cents on every phono-
graph record purchased by the
public, and thus was the first
union leader TO collect private
excise taxes on a national scale,
but the scheme of collecting such
tribute for no services whatSo-
ever, originated in some small
union contracts years ago.
Lewis, Of course, did not in
vent the sit-down strike either,
but he imported il from France
and perfected its use in this
country. as a sabotaging means
Of extracting contracts from
employers. If he and Petrlllo
get away with this collection of
tribute, it will in my opinion,
bring an early doom 10 existing
labor leadership.
THERE is no basis in common
Il public justice for a union
collecting tribute from the
people. for any purpose. For
merly labor always based its
plea for wage increases on an
appeal against injustice,
Now Petrillo is collecting his
two cents per record, not 10
lift the workers wage, but 10
furnish free musical concerts
Che says
The mine workers would not
get wage increase from the
Lewis tribute as he intends. he
says, 10 use the fund for their
medical assistance and insur-
ance. Actually Lewis, if not
Petrillo, has in the past used
such union money 10 buy cleo
tions (hls half million dollar
advance 10 Roosevelt in 1886
and he will again.
Their funds are secretly
manipulated by them beyond
the power of public or worker
inspection, although they have
no money except that which is
paid by the public in prices be-
cause the employers (who must
file public balance sheets and
pay income taxes have no
money except that which the
public pays for products.
THESE men are becoming lit
l. tie Caesars exacting tribute
from the people, including the
poor who are great consumers
of coal, if not phonograph
records. They are growing out
Of their bounds of union leader
ship and are trying TO make
their organizations Super-gov-
ernments TO fleece the people
with ever-expanding racketeer-
ing methods.
The recent Detroit and other
strikes exhibit excuses in vari-
Gus lines which would take five
columns to tell. Some say here
the biggest strikes were solely
designed TO get the goyssfuSnt
- e. Il s.H&A4..l.