Detroit evening times., 1945-10-26
WESTBROOk
pECLER
Enough

y
Communist element in the at
tempt of Harry Bridges West
Coast longShoremen to tax cover
the Port OF New York.
Because 1t says here the mas
TOR of ceremonies was one
Milton Kaufman and II would
have been like old times 10 see
him in action again.
| used TO see him doing his
stuff in the meetings of the
World-TeleGram unit Of the
American Newspaper G4iid and
they had a wonderful team, too.
HOMER THORNE, for our
= side, wouid get up and try
10 bust up the play but the
Communists spotted around the
place would be on their feet
With points Of order, amend
ments and the like and pretty
soon our Homer would he
turned around running for our
own goal.
- So-r1uSt of the time we didn't
know the score or whether we
were discussing motion An
amendment or a strike TO rein
-state-sene drunken BolsheYlk
in Boston.
This Kaufman was what they
called the executive secretary
which in those days didn't mean
much to me although / pres
emily learned that in the Com
munist scheme this office in
union corresponds 10 that Of
minister of the interior in
European cabinet.
He holds the power.
I SOMEHOW thought he must
be newSpaperman like. YOU
know rewrite. headquarters,
city hall, general assignments
or COPY desk and the boloS Of
course said. oh. 10 be sure he
was, except that he worked on
some & gar m ent trade paper
which didn't seem real news
paper 10 me,
And, not that I am any way
snobbiSh, but Just clanniSh If
you will, I kept wondering how
a Clnak-and-S>HteF eFget to he so
important in our lives. when so
many of us had been in the
business 50 long and had met
Just about everyhedy-httt nevrr
before had heard of Milton
kaufman.
Just all Of A sudden there he
was. the head man. with old
BrOun for A front and Broun
always insisting that all this
talk about COMMUNISM in the
guild was nothing hut red
batting and probably the work
of The NaziS
| decided 10 take the fence
soon -alter-a-long- -meetiaG -mAieA-
the commieS dragged out until
-rTTnv- 6f INC Americans had
gone home 10 catch some sleep
and the rest Of us were groggy
from the smoke. in the hope
that they could out-votC us be-
cause their side never gave up.
Maybe they weren't allowed IN
co home have often heard
that about them.
4 7 ANY rate, they put up
"a fellow from some of the
mechanical trades. which had
firm contracts with the paper.
who said that if we struck and
put plcketS around then he
would consider that an unhy-
cienlc working condition as
perllous 10 life and limb and
call out his men too.
Not sympathetic strike, YOU
understand. No strike at all,
on their part.
But some hundreds Of AmPri-
can Workmen in these depart
mcntS would have 10 lay Off.
without pay or even strike
benefits because a union boss
had decided that 2 few dozen
Sedentary editorial workers.
girl reporters, some Of them no
longer girliSh by many years.
and clerks. were intcrpoSlng a
formidable human wall and
might beat their brains out
That was when / decided
Broun was A fake friend Of
labor.
That was when ! decided that
unions were As dirty in their
way As the corporations ever
were and finally that the rank
and file bad no chance under
the present taws and The New
Deal hypocrisy which perse-e
cuted and oppressed them
through union bosses while pre-
tending TO bcfricnd them. And
| wasn't wrong either.
GO THAT Is where our old
~ executive secretary Is now.
Master rof ceremonies Al a
press conference for left
wing lawyer who hold in the
Roosevelt labor relations board
the same Job that Kaufman had
in the guild until "A congress
SIonal committee exposed the
Communist organization in the
labor board and Witt thought
IT best 10 GEL out
Edwin s Smith. the chair
man Of the NLRB in Wits
time. during all Of which YOU
were "A Illileran labor-baiter
il YOU 50 much rs mentioned
communism. also bohS up. by