Detroit evening times., 1945-11-29
FAIR N
ENOUGH
BY Westbrook
| Peg5r

THE trouble with the so-called
labor management confer
ence in Washington has been.
from the beginning, and indeed
from the time when this futile
hsh-fry was just hopeful
gleam in President Truman's
heart, that there is, in fact, as
John l.: Lewis observed last
summer, no labor movement in
the United States.
There is union movement
and a political movement. but it
is totalltarian by nature and
not a voluntary association Of
workers for the legitimate pur-
poses OF free Americans.
The conference was fore
doomed because American labor
has no national leaders with au-
thorltv to make commitments
for The body OF labor and II
mostly falsely represented by
Jealous imposters who are hope-
lesSly compromised by obliea-
tlonS TO criminals and or Com.
munlSts and politicians.
ff1cy DO not Trust one an
other even within the respec-
tive households of the AFI and
the ClO.
They are afraid 10 denounce
thieves and traitors lest the
thieves and traitors denounce
them IN turn, and they are pre-
occupied with their own seq
ments Of power. their ambitions
and their pay and expense ac-
counts which, in the conspicu.
Gus case Of old Dan Tobln Of
the teamsters, sum up 10 truly
royal state.
EWlS. himself, is indepSss-
~ ent IN the sense that -
a lone wolf and he is bN..ll
odds the Smartest negotiator
and Scuttle-but lawyer in the
trade, but he is a dictator and
the InValldlty Of ms leadership
is shown by his lnsiStence on
the closed shop and the check
off
A genuine labor leader doesn't
need CompulSlonS written into a
-ceHtFaet-~ ttr-tt1p- -prnpioVer 10
make labor Join his union or
compulSlon TO make them pay
their dues.
But not even those Compul-
Sions have been sufficient 10
make up for the lack Of gen.
u1ne leadership in those who
purport 10 be American labor
leaders -al4d wholly ht-trrr1rHrrr,-
carelesSneSs or sly design. are
constantly referred 10 in our
papers as such
They need and have laws 20
make American labor accept
them as leaders and 10 make
The employers take up the dues
collections and keep the books
for them, and. during the war
the national government aCtu-
ally did perform such services.
nOtorlouSly in the ShlpyardS of
that moist and. for time. con-
vinclng friend Of the working
man Henry Kaiser
old Henry was doing quite
well for Henry in the shipbmld-
ing trade and made n deal with
tho bollermakcrS a. p time
when he had only handful of
employees which was binding on
others who later applied for
Jobs 10 the number Of the popu-
laiion Of good-SiZed city
Because Henry had made 4
deal with a racket. both con-
venient and profitable for him.
these people had 90 JOIN and pay
and not only that but had to-
buy insurance from the sCn',
the union president or ~.
their Jobs
This case was typical in prin-
cipal. although unusual In size.
Of the patronage which these
professional head hunters call
ing themselves labor leaders
njoyed from the Roosevelt po-
ltical organization IN return
for political contributions anc
paid propaganda.
OF LATE, Notwithstanding my
~ spiritual and social uneasi-
ness in such company, | have
been pleased 10 observe the con-
version by my preaching OF a
number Of individuals OF some
pretenSion AS patrons of the
union racket.
on Labor Day IckeS, La
GHardia and SehHeiieHbaeh All
SnitChed a few bars OF music OFT
my rack. ICkcS and the Belly
becoming suddenly aware that
scoundrelS hold credentials from
unions and SchWellenbach
awakening 10 the fact that there
is in our country an element
known as the public whose
rights arc greater than those of
the Tobins and Petrlllos and
whose powers, once the public
is sufficiently annoyed, viii he
greater, TOO
Now discover that Mrs.
Eleanor iIcFrick Il regional di-
rector Of the National Labor
Relations Board In the dirty
days of the domination OF That
terroristic bureau by Commu-
mist appointees of the late Mr..
Roosevelt, has come around 10
my way of thinking that the
workers should have some