The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1945-02-22
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
BY HAZEL BRANNON

In the future the United States will
probably be called the and of oppor.
tunity "if you belong to the right labor
union" This may well be the case If
the present trend holds up.
When men of the CANISTER type, like
James Caesar Petrillo, are allowed to
defy authority including that of the
President of the United States in war
time, it does not speak well for the flu
ture labor situation in this country.
II the Petrillo-type is allowed to con-
tinue its hold on organized labor we can
expect opportunity and growth to be
stifled in this country and the whole
labor movement will suffer in the long
run.
Petrillo's czar-like hold on the Amer
lean Federation of Musicians is seen in
his action in putting the National Mu-
sic Camp at Interlochen, Mich, on his
unfair" list. This means no teacher
who is a member Of the A.. f. of M. can
teach the boys and girls who attend
this camp each summer to study orches-
ira and composition. If they do they
will be suspended from the union un-
able to get jobs.
Previously Petrillo had ordered can
collation. of broadcasts by Interlochen's
National High School orchestra over
the NBC chain saying the boys and girls
were displacing professional musicians.
When we think of music we think Of
it as something free and unfettered
recognizing no bound Of persons or geo
graphy. We think Of it as something
precious belonging to the peoples Of all
countries everywhere, a thing with
which to feed the spirit and the soul.
When Petrillo and his kind get things
so organized the American people can
not even hear a record played without
paying tribute in the form Of fees to
him and his union we have come to a
bad situation. We are there now.
The Congress should find a way to
deal with him and all those who would
emulate him.
Clayton Rand of The Dixie Guide
seems to think there is more than what
meets the eye in War Mobilization Di-
rector Jimmy Byrnes' order banning
conventions.
$50 many drastic measures have been
undertaken for reasons other than those
stated by public officials that the peo-
pie are suspicious. Our government
moves by indirection and subterfuge,"
ne says.
The Gulfport editor continues:
"Surely there is a lot of travel being
done much less essential to the war eff
fort han hat done by business and pro-
fessional men meeting to discuss mu-
tual problems made more acute by the
exigencies of war. OF course assembled
business men nave let off some steam
and sounded alarms. So conventions
have become sources Of political in
lection. The suppression of free speech
and public assembly is probably behind
the Byrnes anti-convention directive.
of there ever was a time when bust
ness men should huddle it is now. We
should not forget that Hitler and Mus
solini, early In their dictatorial careers,
disbanded Rotary Clubs in Germany and
Italy. These club meetings and confer
snces were mostly for fellowship and
service, but apparently a few Rotarians
popped off on freedom and sang with
too much gusto, so Rotary was silenced.
at has been printed a million times
but we should remember that the first
amendment to the federal Constitution
states, Congress shall make no Law
respecting an establishment Of religion
or prohibiting the free exercise there
Of; of abridging the freedom of speech,
or the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the government for a redress of griev-
ances'.
again the Constitution is kicked in
the seat of it's threadbare pants. AL
ready limited in our freedom to pray,
preach, print and petition, we wonder
when these will he frozen"