The Wilmington morning star., 1946-08-12
Fair Enough
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1916, by King Features
C~nS3cato vNr

NEW YORK, Aug. 11.-A franciscan piles'
has sent me the July number OF the american
Ecclesiastical Review, published by the Catn-
olic University of America Press, in Wash
ington.
He called my attention to an article by
Rev. Joseph F. Donnelly, Of the Hartford Do
cesar Labor Institute, New Haven, Conn.
called Junior Clergy and Organized Labor
in which Re reports that he had a special
eagerness to learn wna.'' a group Of young
priests thought of Westhrook Pegler."
IT hoped, of course" Father Donne1ly
wrote, chat l would find them sharing my
attitude toward his writing. I know that there
are many millions who do not share my dis
taste for the gentleman, the same millions,
perhaps, whose only knowledge Of the labor
movement comes from the unsavory corner
of the movement paraded and reparaded be-
fore the American people by Pegler as the
whole picture of the great organization of
the workers of America. So I was not at all
unhappy to find that Mr.. Pegler has but
few admirers among this group OF the clergy.
A few thought he was honest and had done a
good joo. Some though. his expose of rack
eteers was a strong and necessary medicine
for the labor movement. The majority rang
ed from mild to fierce and eloquent criti-
cism."
He then quoted excerpts from examination
papers in which several of these young priests
wrote that "Pegler is continually emphasiz-
ing the weaknesses AMI corruptions of union
ism without praising it for its good points,
His a-ping on the aplss within unions gives
the impression that they are substantially
corrupt. He does have a nuisance value. how
ever" HE only sees the evils OF unionism
and that amongst the worst Of the unions;
ION the whole unions seem to be run honest
w."
My Franciscan friend, who does not agree
with Father Donnelly, points out as evidence
OF a personal bias, that he begins his article
by referring to a visit with Philip Murray, the
president Of the CLIO, and reporting that Muir
ray had ssid to him, What the CIo is try.
ing to do is b~asically i'll the social encyclicals
Of the church."
That ingratiating and self-serving statement
by Mr.. Murray, creates, at the start, an at
mosphere of virtue around him and the CLIO.
which as the william Of the piece. I will under.
take to dispel.
Mr. Murray's organization was created by
iawless violence, amounting to terrorism, IN
surrection and anarchy no less subversive
than that Of the Ku Klux Khan. Although he
tor many years an officer Of the United
Mine Workers and during much Of that time
a man OF influence in the American Fedora
OF Labor, the record reveals nothing but
complacence on his part under the dictatorship
u JOIli II. LEWIS, WEIGH ne Q1Q not take Oc.
casion to deplore until Lewis elected him in
a quarrel over politics, POWER and money. The
record reveals no opposition to fragrant rack
eteerlng, oppression and other r~ascality in
the AT OF L. then or since. His present CIO
is infested to a dangerous degree by Com
munlsts in the group OF Maritime and Long
shore Unions; the furniture makers. %electri-
clans, clothing workers, furriers', mine, mill
and snelter workers. clericals and social
workers transport workers and auto work
ers' unions and the newspaper guilt.
The membership figures have changed
greatly since the war program stopped: but
the unions in which Communists are domi
nant or strongly influential embrace a major
ity OF the total strength Of the CLIO. The dis
clpl1ne and methods of the organization as
a whole are such as 70 degrade the individual
to the status of subject under the controlling
politicians and to impair his political free
Generally and almost universally they
have shown that they Will not abide bv writ
ten contracts and the high organization has
fought every proposal that it should assume
this fundamental obligation in contract rela-
tons. And. repeatedly during the Hitler
Stain alliance, when the United States was
desperately trying to arm against war, unions
OF the CLIO struck factories performing vital
work because at that time Stalin's policy was
to keep the United States in a weak military
One of these strikes. at Allis- Chal
mers, in Milwaukee, was called by a vote
which was proved in court to be fraudulent
and another, In an ~airplane factory at Ingle-
wood, Cal, was described by Franklin D
as an ''insurrection'' promoted bv
an alien influence, nearing the Communists
nevertheless, the most conspicuous OF the nro
motors were retained by the unions concern.
ed.
The young priests who believe that the
good In unionism outweighs the bad are mis-
In the American Federation of Ia
Dor, the bad unions contain a large majority
OF the total member, ship. Among the cor
rupt unions thus far exposed, and exposed
only by individual initiative, to wit, mine, are
the operating engineers. the hod- carriers,
and common laborers' the movie and the tri-
cal union. the building service EMPLOYEES,
union and the boilermakers', whose president
arranged an incredibly bold and rapacio1s
insurance racket COR his son, whose profits
were Skinned off the top Of the wages ~
thousands OF war workers.
The Transfers union is bad in manv other
ways aside from its maintenance of a svsteno
OF orlgandage on the highways. The must
clans union is an absolute dictatorship. who's.
evils nave been described here before in de-
tall. The current troubles and weakness ~
the Iongsnoremen arise from brutal cynicism
and greed The barten6ers' union, which in
cludes walters and others. has been a elagrant
racket In Chicago and Miami and the electri-
cal workers union, the carpenters and others
restrict membership, impose high charges