The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-11-15
by DrssO Ps0rsON

awsnna oe Asmooralle freedom inside the union fawa wee nos immediately the ironatlsted ruler nc today faN first ruthless taetlos were tried out on John L, Lawson Of Colorado and enc incident nearly wrecked him.
 Lawson was the first labor leader to force John n Rockefeller Jr. Co recognize labor union-After Rockefeller had proclaimed that tAe House of Roeke- felleF never would bargain With swage.eArnets Ths was n the pioneer days when Wall Street settled lh labor troubles with armed killers, During ha dispute, Lawson was indicted on Q tr1mpedsup charge Of murder and was defended by Sen, Bd oostlgan of Colorado
 In the very middle of the trial. Lewis fired Lave son from the unlon-an act which many miners In. terpreted as Lewis deal with Wal Street fmnledi- afely Lawson became c hero He became even more of Q hero when Lewis would not let him % back to work with pick and shovel He was even barred as a common laborer,
 For his treatment of Lawson, Lewis won the un- dying hatred of Mother Jones" the grand old lady of laborn to whom Rockefeller eventually apologised for his ruthless treatment of Colorado labor.
 Even as late as ieso, Mother Jones, then 100 years old gave eiO00 of her meAgre lures to the antis Lewis campaign inside the United Mine workers' Her last public words weres VI only hope may I've long enough to see John L. Lewis licked"
 When a coal miner dared speak out against Lewis In union meetings in those days, his remarks were expunged from the minutes and locals were ordered Co expel anti-Iews members on the threat of having their charters revoked. And during lDS6.2e Lewis and Bin Green actually revoked the charters of 42 locals which refused to expel anti-Lewisites
 Adolf Hitler was then just beginning his budding Brown shirt movement; so Lewis could not have adopted his tactics from him, Whether Hitler, in turn learned from Lewis s Hiters story.
 
 One year after the last war-NOv. 1, l01D-John h Lewis pulled @ strike somewhat similar to his tac- tics after this Just the nstlon was trying to pull itself back to a peacetime basis, Lewis yanked 100000 miners out of the pits
 But woodrow wilson acted with fortnight deci- sion. Calling it an "unjustifable" and unlawful" strike, wilson secured an injunction against the miners, whereupon the busterng miners boss backed down.
 we cannot fight the Government" he declared and ordered his men back to work
 Today, however Lewis knows that when he goes into a showdown with the Government he is negoti- ating with loaded dice and a cold deck. One of his best friends, War Reconverter John Steelman, sits at the right hand of the President So at the end of every coal crisis according to Cabinet members beaming John Steelman stands with outstretched arms, ready to welcome Lewis with favorable con. tract.
 Other labor leaders claim that Steelman never has been known to let Lewis down. Once John L. gets his dispute to the White House he can always count on his friend. After Steelman is finished all Lewis has to do is pick up his marbles. spit in the pubic eye, and strut home.
 NOTE-Another Drew Pearson column on John L. Lewis, most powerful figure in public life, will fol- low shortly.l