The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-14

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, 1915, by King Features Syndicate.)
| Contrary to the tenor of many shrin cries
of alarm there is nothing new or unconven-
tional in the demand Of John L. Lewis for
ROYALTY of 10 cents a ton or sec, OOO, 600 a
wear. payable, not to the individual coal min
ers but to the treasury Of their totaAtarlan
union Neither was the idea original with Jim
rly Petrillo, when, recently, in roWdy contempt
for the War Labor Board and President Roose-
welt, he insisted sales tax on recorded
music which he expects to yield about 81, ooo,-
900 a year, not to the musicians, but to his
treasury the precedent ex SITS far back in I'M
ion practice, notably in the needle trades
whose rulers are staunch new Dealers and in
certain local butchers unions which sell tags
to be affixed to chickens killed under union
conditions.
The basic principle of the case. the right
OF unions to collect sales taxes on commodities
payable in the long run, by the consumer,
has long been established, probably without
the knowledge of the people. Whether this tax
accrues to the individual who does the work,
|
into a fund inaccessible to them, is second
airy matter, loaded however, with its own fas-
cinating portents.
| These rights or assumptions, existed In
small way and in desultory and imperceptlble
practice before the deal. Since the new
deal began, however, they have been confirm
ed by recognition.
Lewis demand is in the public interest be-
cause it presents in shocking enornlity the
power of private organizations, subject to no
income taxes and exempt even from the OBJ
| legation to file reports of their income, to
tax all the people, each in its own interest.
Now the people have no excuse to remain
unaware and if they continue to submit, they
have only themselves to blame. Possibly they
want it that way.
Petrllo expects to reap $4,OO0,0OO year
to start but hopes, by extending his safes
tax to movie admissions to run it up to 3d.
OOO 600 a wear. at least He says it is his in
tenton to hold the money until the tuna
reaches 500, 900 900 and then begin unemploy-
ment payments to musicians thrown out OF
work by the mechanization and repetition OF
music Assuming that this would take Is years,
many Of the distressed musicians will be deao
before their unemployment benefits are re-
leased and granting Petrillo's argument that
most of them will be thrown out OF jobs very
soon, it follows that most of them will take
up other work and drop out Of Jin1mys union.
Thus, by the time the 100000 900 is ready
for distribution, the membership might be
down t. no more than, say, 5000, possibility
that surely has not eluded men so shreWd and
far-sighted as Petrillo and his counsel Joe Pad
way, honored friends, both, and devoted fol-
lower of Mr.. Roosevelt. Or, under his con-
stitution not with the advice and counsel of
Padway he could expel all the surviving men,
bers and cut up the money with Padway and
any others toward whom he might feel gen
erous His constitution permits him to do
this and no law forbids him.
At any rate, Petrillo's mere Intention to
use the money for unemployment benefits or
cultural works in the sweet bye and bye is
not legal and binding. 1t is just a momentary
idea, subject to change at his own discretion,
under the close and curious structure of his
union So is the intention of John L. Lewis
to use his sales tax of sec, 900, 900 a year for
modern medical and surgical service, nos
pitalization insurance, rehabilitation and eco
nomic protection" Lewis is strong and wllltul
and consummate politician as Franklin D..
Roosevelt has learend in the touchy lingering
of many bruises suffered in contests with one
man who delights to draw him into fights and
has licked him every time save 1910 when
Lewis supported Wendell Willke. He can do
as he wills with the money OF the United Mine
Workers. In 1896 he gave enormously 10 Roose-
velts campaign and in the Informative years
of the CLIO the miners paid the expenses OF
organizing others For time, until the lact
was exposed by newspaper initiative, Lewis
had among his governing body, in which he
is supreme a convicted burglar with an 9TH
erwise interesting and extensive police record
He is recognized, hated and feared in the
|CIO as the most resourceful and ingenious
opponent of all, the more dangerous to them
because he knows them Of old, from the days
of their happy association, and knows their
measures Industrial employers have yearned
for John L. Lewis of their own to fight as
well for their side.
It is weakness of ours that we always try
to label some startling act or attitude as an
ism" whether fascism, communism or feu-
dalism Although Lewis is the total boss OF
the Mine Workers Union, his conduct and his
alliances are so variable that no cllche re-
mains applicable for long, unless it be OPP
portunism" which is a rather loose tit, too
Even working miners who have tried to fight
him have felt his blows and bowed to superior
power and whether Or not you believe it was
true case of cause and effect, telegram
from Lewis to Herrin, Ills, followed by
a massacre of members of rival union as
| frightful as some of the liquidations of Hitler
and Stain.
We all know that unions are private organlza-
tons but even lawyers do not agree what does
constitute a union. We do know, however,
that they have the power now, if not the right.
20 collect sales taxes on every article of COM