The Wilmington morning star., 1946-03-07
Fair Enough
By wEsTBRooK PEGLEk
1916. BY King Features Syndicate)


philin Murray, the president OF the CLIO.
turned out self-serving publicity release re-
Gently. Boosting that most members OF his
,,n;on. nav low dues and initiation ices ana
tb,t % Of the SO unions publish financial re-
ports.
.1h;s he says, is very different pic
+rra frono that which >the enemies Of labor
have loved to convey
And this say, is fine example OF tnat
deceptive and only somewhat trutn1u propa-
aanda for the eullible which the likes OF Muir
raw are forever charging to the likes OF me.
T., the first place, crookedness, although not
unknown in the CLIO, being Speclalty OF
AT. of L. racketeers, is not major count
in the indictment of his organization. IN !ne
second place. the revelation OF sucn corruption
and the denunciation and prosecution OF notoli-
GUS scoundrels are services 10 LABOR anu Als
union movement for waich anyone proaess.as'
as MURRAY does, to be an honest labor leaoer'
should be grateful.
It will be noted that, although he is an old
AT. of l.. man himself, and over all these
years has been in position to raise a right
eous clamor and drive such vermin out OF tne
House of Labor, he has confined hlmseH 70
negative and side-long criticisms OF MS 1ormer
brethren and has even joined them IN ATTACKS
on those who did take the initiative and carry
through shocking expose. This task and pub
lie service has been made no easier by mis-
own complacency.
Moreover, Mr.. Murray is a former sub
ordinate OF John L. Lewis in the Uaited Mine
Workers, which is about as "democratic'' as
the communist party and broke with Lewis
only over a matter of money when Lewis
presented a bill to the CLIO. for money which
Lewis had advanced to the CLIO. out of the
mine workers treasury. That transaction, of
ITSELF by which the builders of an e n M
GUS political m C h ne calmly tapped
the wages Of the miners for the ex-
pense of "organizing' several million other
workers, most of them against their will, and
by means of riotous brawls that terrorized
whole communities, is a measure of this mans
character when he invites applause on the
ground that his people keep books and don't
steal. incidentally, Murray refused to pay the
miners back.
But it is when Murray boasts Of "demo-
cratic'' procedure that he puts himself into
direct controversy with the truth unless he
does this with a mental reservation which &C
knowledges that democracy means majority
rules and the denial of minority rights, which
is its correct meaning. Commonly, however,
the unioneers Of the left wing represent
democracy" as the equivalent of freedom and
the recognition Of the dignity Of man and OF
his civic rights. And, if Murray uses the word
in that sense we can find, on examination Of
the facts, that his boast is empty.
Sidney Hillman's Clothing Workers Union is
one of the pillars of the Clio. and David
Dubinskys garment workers was another for
time. Locals of both of these organizations
send notices to their members during political
campaigns requiring them to attend political
rallies disguised as membership meetings and
give attention to left-wing candidates for Of
flee under penalty Of fine for failure. Unions
under Murray's general jurisdiction have
adopted political resolutions binding on the
dissenting members, which were no proper
business Of any group recognized and favored
by federal and state laws solely as agents to
represent workers in collective bargaining
with employers. And, touching on the subject
Of assessments, cases are on record in which
workers who undertook to resign from one of
his unions and thought they had resigned ac-
cording to their right as American citizens
were required to pay as much as $500 year
later for the right to work in closed shops,
this being the bill for accumulated dues and
other obligations of membership from which
they derived no benefit during that time.
1t is common practice In some of his unions
to "selP' stamps for the legal defense" of
communists and other individuals dangerous
to the American government, forcing them on
the rank and file by coercive means, although
IHI. murray OOuDlleSS WOulQ classify m6SG
shakedowns as voluntary donations. And if Mr..
Murray isn't aware OF the case, will produce
a copy Of the minutes of his National Mari
time Union in which, notwithstanding his state
ment that all individuals may have fair trials,
Joe Curran, president, declared that racke-
teer didn't need a trial. A racketeer in the
communist theology which pervades this union
is anyone who condemns communism and in
one conspicuous case sailor was set on the
beach permanently for offering a resolution to
that effect in the unions national convention.
These are few imperfectons Of the many
that Murray never mentions except to con-
denim their mention by others as labor batting.
The whole list sums up to a ruthless IMPOSE
ton on millions Of nominally free Americans
political and spiritual RECOMMENDATION and de-
NAL of fundamental American rights through
terroristic methods
Both Murray's CLIO. and the A. F. Of L.
have adopted vigilante justice enforced by
men who were loud in denunciation of the
Ku Klux Khan and Hitlerism while they bur.
rowed principles and practices from botA.
They have tried to suppress criticism where
they couldn't answer it and in Judging Muir
rays true attitude toward thievery in its crud-
er forms you will search the record in vain
Tor any courageous move against the crimi-
mails who were his colleagues in the A.F. Of l..
QUOTATIONS