The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1946-09-19

men with a real mission, as they
were in the old days.
Your average union top dog is
feeling no pain. Mr.. PetrillO lives in
luxury in Chicago and New York
and when his heart "bleeds," as it
does at least once a week for his
boys" it bleeds all over one of the
most sumptious suites that the Wal
dorf or Chicago's Blackstone has to
offer.
Mr.. John Lewis suffers" for his
miners on at least $4,000 a year and
considers the horrors of a miners
life in a charming Alexandria, Va,
period house, filled with priceless
antiques.
/ have known Mr.. Daniel Tobin,
head of the powerful Transfers
Union, over a period of years, and
several of his top henchmen, I'll be
happy to describe it for you. It's
something to strive for!
All of these men-and hundreds
more-are drawing huge salaries out
of the pockets of the workers whom
they pretend to protect. But come a
strike and who suffers? Not John L.
or Dan Tobin or Little Caesar. They
continue the even tenor of their way,
untouched financially by the situa-
ton that they have ordered.
When General Motors workers
were busy losing hundreds of dol
lars that can never be replaced, dur
ing their strike last winter, Walter
Reuther wasn't losing a dime.
What l want to know now, is, who
is exploiting whom?
1t looks to me as if Mr.. Average
American Working Man had only
succeeded in exchanging one type of
exploitation for another. l personally
regard underpaying anyone for any
thing at all, as being among the most
immoral performances possible-and
certainly l would not approve of
abollShing unions. Management still
has a lot to learn, but not as much
as the bleeding hearts" in the union
drivers seat would have you be-
lieve. The average employer is a
pretty decent guy.
What l am wondering about is
whether a man is happier being
forced to belong to a union, as in
the closed, or union shop, shop rec
ket, or whether he would be a better
and freer man if he had a choice.
The closed, or union shop, is nothing
more than form of coercion. In
short, it not only costs you for the
privilege of being allowed to work,
but come a strike and it costs you
even more heavily for not being al
lowed to earn your living.
The union people say: why should
you be able to reap all the bene-
fits and gains that we have achieved
and not belong to our union?" But
suppose you don't want to belong
to union. Suppose you happen to
think that certain demands are I'M
reasonable and left to your own de-
vices you wouldn't have made them?
Suppose you're just a simple man
who wants job and wants to take
care of his family and you're willing
to take your own chances and walk
into the front office and make your
own demands?
In the present set-up you don't
have a prayer.
You'll have thirty days to join the
union and pay dues to make the top
boys comfortable and if you don't
sign up you won't be around very
long. So you'll sign up and let some
body else write your ticket for you
and if they decide to strike, you'll
strike.
If this is freedom in a free nation
I'll take vanilla.
That's why Pm wondering about
all the things I've taken for granted
for so long. That's why I'll be a
little slower to defend the right to
strike, and that's why I'm not very
grateful for the fact that this nation,
during the past few years, has been
sold out to the labor interests.
When any organization becomes
more interested in self-aggrandize-
ment than the welfare of the nation
at large, or the greatest good for the
greatest number, there's something
awfully wrong basically.
This is just one woman's opinion
and of no importance-but I hope
that the fall guy, the American work
ing man, that is, will get next tc
himself before long. The buggy ride
won't last forever.
Not at these pricesl
! This is your town, boost it.