Evening star., 1947-02-11

| DEFENDS SALE OF NEWSPAPl
ing with Chairman Hartley of t
appeared to testify today. Nj
newspapers in Philadelphia al
loss" to warn the Nation against
liberalism could have no truck
with communism.
At one point MIR. Stern jokingly
said, II have been accused of being
a psychopathic case, therefore I
shall be as restrained as I can In
this testimony"
Charges Aim to Destroy Papers.
This was reference to testimony
yesterday by Michael Harris, presi-
dent of the CIO Industrial Union
Council in Philadelphia, who said
the whole case was overshadowed
by Mr.. Stern's conviction that "the
whole world was against him."
Mr.. Harris called this a "neu-
rosis," but did not use the word
psychopathic.
MIR. Stern declared that Mr.. Har-
ris, on entering the negotiations, was
shocked" at the guilds demands.
Originally, one of these was 500
weekly minimum pay for reporters.
Guild officials have testified this
later was dropped to $88.
They just wanted to hamstring
me-" Mr.. Stern said, land I'm as
sure of it as I'm sitting here. They
wanted to destroy my newspapers.
They did. And that's that
Mr.. Stern said he didn't know
where the Guild got the idea that
he had made a lot of money. He
said the guild had spoken of allow
ing him to make at least per cent
profit and he said he would have
been happy to have been guaranteed
that.
1--WE often said,' Mr.. Stern added,
IT never knew a man who could
write well and who could count over
ten."
In his prepared statement Mr..
Stern described as a Childish and
obvious lie" the contention of guild
witnesses that he provoked the strike
by refusing to bargain.
Calling a free press the bulwark
Of liberty, Mr. Stern added:
"I am making atonement for the
disservice I have rendered this
great institution as the first pub
Usher who recognized the Newspaper
Guild.
"I have retired from business at
heavy personal loss. saw no other
way to warn this Nation against the
cancerous growth that jeopardizes
the great institution to which have
devoted my life"
In advance of Mr.. Stern's testi-
ffnlony Chairman Hartley told rs-
porters his committee will not try to
judge the dispute. He added that
1.-The only motive in investigating the
fcase was .to find out why a man
pictured as the most liberal pub
Usher In the country should sud-
denly find himself out Of business
because Of breakdown in collective
bargaining" .-<
Mr.. Stern told the committee that
second only to his first error in
urging his writers to unionize was
ignoring the guilds insults and
disparagements."
For 10 years." Mr.. Stern as
serted, II have swallowed steady
barrage of venom based on obvious
and childish lies which I considered
unworthy of answer. For the past
| 10 years, although was paying the
| highest wages in our town and in
America, I was attacked by the
guild as an enemy of the very prin-
ciples for which I have always
fought"
Demands Called Fantastic
Discussing the wage demands that
led to the strike call last November
IL, Mr.. Stern said they were 'fan-
tastic" and would have cost more
than $l,500,00 q year, plus pro-
portionate amount for the AFL
unions which represented two
thirds Of the newspaper stats.
"This spelled bankruptcy for my
newspapers" Mr. Stern testified.
He added that "one piece of evi-
dence Of the absurdity Of this situa-
tion," was an original guild demand
of 500 a week for classified adver-
itising solicitors. These, Mr.. Stern
said, are women who require no
stenographic or business training.
High lights of the afternoon ses-
sion yesterday were:
A debate between committee men,
bers and Arthur Riordan, secretary
of the Philadelphia Camden Guild
local, over whether guild locals
should bar Communists from men,
bership.
The assertion by Mr.. Harris that
hovering over the guild negotiations
last fall was Mr.. Stern's fear that
the world was plotting against him;
that the Republicans were plotting
against him; that people opposed
to his religion were plotting against
him, and now the guild was against
him" Mr.. Harris described the
negotiations as shadow boxing with
q neurosis."
I Hartley's Claim Disputed.
A claim by Chairman Hartley
that the Philadelphia guild is '"try-
ing to eat its cake and have IT.
by asking other guilds to continue
to pay strike assessments, ano
claiming at the same time that the
former employees of the Stern papers
are now eligible for State unemploy-
ment benefits.
i 81 wouldn't call it that" Mr.. Har-