The Wilmington morning star., 1946-10-15
As Pegler Sees 1t
BY B PEGLER
Copyright, by, King Features Syndicate, Inc.)

FnOLO-euSTdVeTS union, d V-Ce-pACSAuSh' "
the AFT of L., comes up with a proposal IN
his official publication, the Photoengraver, in
which that mythical snake that we all have
heard so much about actually does bite hlm-
self by the tail and try to eat. himself up.
Mr.. Vol, a Catholic and an enemy o. all
communists and all who knowingly have truck
with them, thinks it is about time to
start picketing the movie houses across the
country, through the agency of a league for
political decency, to drive out OF the MOVIES
all ommUnis actors, writer's and producers
and all others who, maybe, aren't bolshevlks
themselves, but contribute to their leagues,
committees, guilds, councils, foundations, fed
e~rations, groups, congresses and so forth, Tor
or against this or that.
This is an old and, as respectability goes
in unionisna, highly respected craft union pro-
posing that.
But Mr.. Vol is proposing in a loud editorl-
al. under one Of the most dignified names in
the union movement, that picket lines be
thrown around commercial premises whose
employees generally are union members from
front to back and whose proouct, drammer
glammer, music, hoofbeats and scenery is
produced entirely by union people, from the
grips, carpenters, hair-dressers and hostess
ses to the posturing sawdust Beauties, hes and
she's, to be sure, unions often do picket one
dllOllCI wv. usually III ~ SNA AOAAoA SFN
as where the electricians think their man
ought to hold the step-ladder at $3.50 per
hour, while another electrician screws a light
bulb into a socket, and the rlggers claim
that ladder holding for NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
operations was allotted to them by the con
vention of 1904. Dave Dubinsky, of the ladies'
garment workers, got himself denounced once
by a branch of the newspaper guild, as an
employer who had fostered a company union
- J.x..- { IT, U,o~- Al 1,Lor;e ~ 1po
carta, you know, because his press depart
ment of 10 members. were employed by an
AT. of l.. union. In this into]erable situation,
the CLIO. men and women were obliged to
sing the glories of the CLOS rival, which
was a plain case of first degree dual union
ism, a capital otfense if you know your un-
ion law.
But, by Mr.. VOLTS proposition, a numerical
ly small union of the A. F. of L. would throw
out Of work I don't know how many hundred
thousand other AT. of L. people as a means
OF policing the politics Of a Few political hoy
dens of all sexes and cenSoring the great art
of the aesthetic leg-man, Sunday feature peo-
pie, rewrite hands and city-side coffee-chasers
who thumbed their way to Hollywood and
struck it rich writing moving human epics
made up right out of their heads.
Mr.. Vol thinks the reason why so many
of them came down with acute social con-
sciousness, meaning both the hacks and the
is that they are. oppressed by a sense
OF guilt because of their swollen incomes and
are stung by the taunts Of superior but nom
Hollywood intellectuals." But what . say is
that, while most of them do realize secretly
that they are trash, they are not wired FOR
any such feelings as shame or inferiority and
are trying to establish an aristocracy of trash,
as the Astors, Vanderbilts and Goulds did in
their our, fipoa Thu, ra,11,y IoJ;o-a - = g..
to be trash and, to give them credit, they
have at least made it stylish to be such, as
you will ncte In the slavish imitation in their
own personal characters, lives and social Gus
toms OF those depicted in Tobacco Road, but
IN a (milieu; French word, very intellectually
of swimming pools, gray caviar and Russian
sables. Now millions of Americans, especially
the adolescentS, are trying to be trash, too,
and the general divorce rate has risen from
one in SIX to one in three, which is on toward
the Hollywood rating Of SO out Of 100, accord
ing to the August averages Of the department
of Agriculture, bureau Of swine. The goal is
100 or prorniscuity, for which the Hollywood
term is schneider, from gin-rummy, the pre-
vailing Intellectual exercise.
My theory is that from the year 1893 until
recently they were f~lattered to observe that
their own morality, if you could use such a
word in that connection. had become the I'm
official but influential standard of the coun-
try or. anyway, the administration, and that
they like communism only for its recognition
of RIGHTEOUSNESS On the tax side. it is signifi-
cant that their names often appear in the
lists of refunds and of contributors Of deduct
IDLE, hign-bracket checks to ismatic bolshevik
organizations. For security, they know that
the decent people of the country will carry on
the Eight for a balanced budget and against
national bankruptcy and, by their votes and
courage will make it impossible for the COM
munists to take over the country, including
their California estates and other luxuries. \
Personally, I think the best way would be
to refrain from calling anyone a communist
or a Stalinist and just announce that, for rea-
sons sufficient to myself, I wouldn't patronize
any theatre which showed a picture with
which Ruth Mckinney or her husband, who
calls himself Bruce Minton, had anything to
do.
These two recently were thrown out of the
communist party. And I would draw a bead
on Paramount, too, inasmuch as they an
nounced that they were employed as writers
by Paramount, until Paramount publicly an
nounced that the Mintons, or whatever they
call themselves, were no longer employed.
and to hell with any fine-spun explanations
from Paramount. 1t is my right to make such
decisions and announce them publicly, even
by picketing (see opinion by old Professor
Wenie OF the Supreme Court, in the cafeteria
case) ana, naturally. I would be pleased if a
few million others shared my aversion and
determination I don't want to censor anyone's