The union times., 1946-04-13

WIllLS1l Dy EuSSIlC OCSdl, whose damning exposure ot the subversive Nationalist Party some months ago forced ex-Sen- ator Robert Rice Reynolds to abandon his ambitious political plans, this new series indicates that the labor -baiters, temporarily scattered when the Nationalist Party'' disbanded, are trying to build up the American Action Committed into similar anti-la- bOr. isOlatiOnist front.
 Chief big-wigs in this new outfit are Upton Close, radio commenta- tor twice dropped from network broadcasts because of irresponsible statements, and Merwin K. Hart, con fessed admirer of Mussolini and Franco, who campaigns against the 40-hour week, unemployment insur- ance, and Fair Employment Prac- tices. Described by Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson as we'll known for his .pro-fascist leanings, Hart has defended Franco Spain and opposed the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
 Here's That Gang Again
 When they organized the "Amerl- can Action Committee" last July, Close and Hart received immediate acclaim from such notorious figures as Gerald L. K. Smith, discredited Detroit rabble-rouser; Carl Mote, busted from the Presidency of the National Farmers Guild because Of his un-American utterances; cMrs. Lyrl Clark Van Hyning, head ot We, the Mothers Mobilize" a phoney mothers club long devoted to the cause of fighting unions, oppos- ing the New Deal and stirring up racial and religious hatreds; Colonel Robert R. Mccormick, publisher ot the anti-labor Chicago Tribune; Gen era1 Robert s. Wood, former presi- dent of the isolationist America First Committee; and Sam Pettenglll, tor mer chairman of the Republican Ma tional Finance Committee and active speaker for America First.
 Among the other charter mem bers of this new front for the Ma tionalists'' are John T. Flynn, lead. ing America Firster and islOlatiOn' ist writer, and De Witt Emery, or. ganizer of the so-called Small Busi. ness Mems Association, whose ac. tivities. according to the Segal se- ries, consist largely of attacks on the federal administration, social security, Fair Employment Prac tice. labor unions and OPA.
 George Washington Robnett, Chi cago publisher of anti-labor Ne10S aud ViezgS and Maurice Franks, business agent for the Railroad Yardmasters of North America" splinter group of some 200 members, were chosen to spearhead the American Action Committees attack on labor
 Close Back on (Hot) Air
 At one of the initial meetings oi the American Action Committee, it was decided to put Upton Close back on the air as propagandist. This was accomplished last month, when Close started series of weekly broadcasts over 54 stations under the sponsor ship of Merwin K. Harts National Economic Council. It was also pro- posed that $1,0O0,000 be raised to carry on the work of the American Action Committee. At last reports, contributions from industrialists ap- preached by Emery and Close have tota1ed $3O0.O0O.
 In return, Close urges his news letter readers to 'sstOp wOrshiping that false scripture, the Wagner Act,'' and insists that industrial management s'wOrked harder and longer hours than unionized labor CTS during the war years"
 Arguing that strikes are called without the consent of union members by Tabor bosses" who "are seeking political dominance over the nation rather than economic improvements for union members" Close continually tries to destroy the confidence oi unionists in their own leadership, ls- suing yelled threats that returned soldiers are 909o anti-strike and out of sympathy with the unions as at present manipulated With many such subtle implications, Close hopes to weaken labor unity and stir up public disapproval of organized labor activities.
 Although the Saturday Evening Post, in an editorial last August, called Upon Close one of "those ire sponsible radio pundits, he Is now billed as "The Statesman of the Air
 NEG Dropped Close
 NEG thought so little of Closes "Statesmanship," reports Segal, that he was dropped from the network after his broadcast of December z 1o41. Close indicated that the Pear Harbor attack was a surprise to the Japanese government, carried out by German ships, or fanatical portion of the Jap fleet without official orders
 Returning under commercial sponsorship, Close was again drop ped from NEG in 1914, when he broadcast vehement defense oi Tyler Kent, convicted American embassy clerk in London, who handed over to the Axis important confidential information whicE made it possible for the Germans to crack our ''unbreakable" dipIo matic code. Tyler Kent became tho darling of the nationalists, who