The Wilmington morning star., 1946-04-30
Fair Enough
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER


Dor. Too few of us able to believe that
the severity of the court-martial system and
of military law is found also in the courts and
the laws of both the A. F. of L. and the
CLIO.
Yet although there has been resounding
clamor FOR reform of these sy ystems in these
armed services, much of it coming from men
who are angrily devoted 10 such unionism,
these dispatches have been almost alone in
pointing cut the seventies and the RESPONSE
bility of union administration and the imposi-
tions on free men which it irflicts every day.
This is called labor-baiting.
In the A. F. of L. unions there is special
caste Of international men,
These are the presidents, secretaries and
other ''international' officers and the special
representatives viceroys, if you will, of
the presidents. The word 'tinternational' is
used in the titles of certain unions and Of
their chief officers because they extend to
Canada or would like to. The persons of these
international men, are precious and special.
The constitution of the teamSters union speci-
flcaly provides unusually severe punishment
for members of the lower orders of humanity,
the rank and file truckmen and helpers, who
may be reckless enough to assault any "in-
ternationaP' man. If Army and Navy officers
nave better quarters and more appetiZing food
than enlisted men, many unions likewise pro-
vide luxury for their ''internationaI' officers
and, whereas in the services, the officers pay
for their material advantages out of their high
er earnings, in the union caste system it is
the worker who pays.
These privileged bosses, in the teamsters
union, once voted to provide luxurious win
ter palace for Dan Tobin, their president IN
Miami Beach, appropriating 100000 of the
workers money and undertaking to furnish,
maintain and staff the house. He turned it
down for reasons which sounded false to me,
a more persuasive reason, in my opinion be-
ing the fact that Jimmy Petriilo, who had re-
ceived similar gift by similar method
from his boys in Chicago had been forced
to pay an income tax of $4,000 on the value
of the house. Internal Revenue held that jim
my had helped himself to this property and
that, therefore, the value represented income.
However, the teamsters' winter palace be-
came a rest home for the weary 'interna-
tional' men for the Florida gambling season.
nevertheless It belongs TO the union but its
use is restricted to members of the top
caste
Reference to the gambling season is no side
long smear in the manner of the same press
that has been deriding military caste A
short time ago a report was published wide
ly that Tobin visited gambling house in
Miami and lost $4,000. I asked Mr.. Iobin il
this were true and he politely answered that a
party of them did visit such place and did
gamble but only for small amounts Against
this explanation however, I submit the fac.
that the gambling house in question dealt in
large chips. l cannot undefstand how it could
have been possible to gamble there in the pet
b. amounts that Mr.. Tobin mentioned.
If our people generally could ever see an
''internationar' president holding court during
convention they would learn something that
might disturb them. These men are kings
They are treated with the most elaborate def
erence by their subordinates and the system
of privilege n d koW tow extends down
through the grades to the locals.
If the courts-martial are severe and their
rules of evidence seem outrageous by COM
parison with the system to which civilians are
accustomed, then unions need not grant de-
PENDANTS even a pretense OF trial. Joe Cur
ran, the pres dent of the niaritInln unicn "
the c. /. O., once decreed that any person
whom he deemed to- be a racketeer should
have no trial. An artist was fined 81 $50 by a
union of the A. F. of L. Of which she was not
even a member, having been employed under
a working permit from the union, and learned |
of this fine only by accident. She had not
been notified Of any charges. She not al |
lowed 10 enter a defense. There no trial
al all. She was just fined because she had not
appeared on picket-line, even though She had
received no orders to do so.
There is simply no limit on the amount of a
fine that union may impose. Petr1llo, under
his cOnsutititon, may drive musicians off the
air. out of the movie studios and completely
out of the music business by his own fiat.
Men and women have been driven out of their
occupations entirely for holding certain politi-
cal views The unions of Hillnan and Dublin
sky. in New York regularly threaten workers
with fines for failure to attend political rallies
FOR candidates whom these bosses support.
Our courts martial are legal courts under
our government Their proceedings and SEN
tences are reviewed and often severe penal
ties are reduced when they should not be- A
soldier who fatty announced to his major in
France that he would not attack was warned
that the penalty might be life or death and
still refused. He got life out many of those
who went forward met death. The sentence
later was reduced to three years.
But, although our government does compel
millions of Americans to join unions, failing
which they and their families must starve, |
the same government absolutely refuses to |
concern itself with the trial systems of the
union or the laws by which they condemn as
grievous crimes the exercise OF the funda-
mental American right to freedom OF opinion |
and speech
No honest person would contend that the |
ethics and honor OF the union bosses are even
comparable to the beautiful austerity and mo-
ralitv of the code of honor which is drilled |
into cadets at West Point and Annapolis.
Editorial Comment