The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-03
AS Pegler Sees 1t
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
-. . copyright, 1947, King Features ..
C.,-Ls~o%n TnnN
Syndicate, Inc.)

Copyright, 1947, King Features So.
; 49,. -.. Syndicate, 1nco
NEW YORK, Dec. 2.-Let us consider
as today's lesson in unionism, the contrast
between the royal and aristocratic class OF
the teamsters union and the rank and file
personified by Harry Mitchell, who drives
a truck in Cincinnati, II or IL hours 9
day. for $55 a week, minus deductions
Tn the November issue of The Teamster
the official circular of king Dan Tobins
) roval court, Mrs. Mitchell, the mother OF
four children, the oldest Is, said they had
not had butter in 18 months and that most
of their days were meatless days.
In the same ISSUE Otto H. Frobe, OF Gin
cinnati the secretary treasurer OF Local
100, admitted that this union, had bound
: the men to work for as little as 81 cents
an hour Recently they struck to escape
the starvation standard imposed on them
by their union
There we have the extreme Of poverty
Now for the riches, extravaganza, POM
posity and arrogance.
The union bosses have opposed the Taft
Hartley law which restores to the rank and
file some of the rights which the Wagner
act obliterated. The drivers have nothing
to do with the appropriation of union money
for politics or the content of the union pub
locations which they pay for.
They just pay the bills.
The same issue of The Teamster reports
that the American Federation of Labor
adopted two bites to- raise money to try
to destroy the Taft-Hartley law. The A. F..
of L. raised the per capita tax on more
than seven million members by so per cent
and levied $2,000,000 special tax for the
same purpose. The millions who under
stand and desire the Taft-Hartley law
nevertheless must pay.
The cold financial attitude of the union
boss toward thu cattle in the pens was
expressed when Tobin was opposing pro-
would have released the small and miscel-
laneous federal" unions from the fold
These little cats and dogs of unions, in the
aggregate, represent lot of money on the
roof More than $1786,000 a year. Tobin
was on his feet, roaring Release $1,7860O0
year? He'll no.
In the teamsters' own financial state
ment, the cost of publishing The 1nterna-
tional Teamster is stated as $243, ,313 year.
This garbage, is strictly personal publicity
for old ing Dan. For sever"' years, Lester
Hunt professional newspaper man, was edl-
tor and imposed on the sheet some semblance
of journalistic integrity. But Hunt was too re-
fined, too educated, too ethical. An lntelll-
gent man couldn't help shaking his head
Or smiling behind his hand at Tobin's CO.
lossal love of himself and his attempts TO
/ write.
Tobin named himself editor.
This is a sample of the bilge that Tobin
prints about himself the cost of which Har-
~ Mitchell and thousands of other team
sters may pay out of wages OF Soo ana Iess
September ISSUE leading story - "Con-
|vention gives Tobin ovation: in tumultu-
Gus tribute to great leader
am not kidding. That is exactly what
the old fat head printed about himself IN
his own sheet, ostensibly in the interests
of the rank and file.
Another sample:
Never before did Tobin receive such
| a spontaneous ovation.
He tells how reso1utely he turned down
a $4,000 raise and the Harry MltcheIs
and their wives are supposed to be too
dumb to know that, through his unlimited
expense account, he can reach into the
hamper and help himself to all ne wants,
any time There is no income tax on tnat
gives himself a tunultuous hand for his
magnificent unselfishness in refusing -, a
raise which, after taxes, would be hardly
worth having to man in his brackets.
Maybe the Harry Mitchells are as dumb
as he thinks, but | don't see now anyone
could be that stupid.
Then Dan tells how John English, the
secretary-treasurer, spoke in favor OF
resolution to reduce his own pay from $780,
900 to $4,000. That was strictly a gag.
The mob never would stand for any re-
duction of any officials pay. Because they
all aspire to those jobs themselves, more
over. any reduction would be bad prece-
ho fn
ployers evil ideas So they finally kept Eng
|Iish's salary at 100000 Not that he would
have been underpaid at $4,000 or even $5,-
loco, when you recall that Cincinnati judge
tossed him off the witness stand few
years back when he tried to qualify as an
auditor but admitted that he never studied
auditing.
"When President Tobin's term runs out
in 1852, he will have devoted As years of
service to this union as its PRESIDENT says
he in another of his generous tributes to
himself And most of the time on the gravy
train, with his sons riding the cushions on
fat salaries and with a winter palace in
Miami Beach, paid for. furnished and
maintained by the Mitchells of Cincinnati
And most of his time on an unlimited ex-
pense account for himself and his wife and
a royal retinue of courtiers and flunkeys.
The financial statement does not tell the
Mitchells a word about that expense ac-
count of the royal court on tour.
AS though this were not enough of that
for one issue, another story starts: en-
|terrupted by frequent applause, President
Tobin made his official report" and so
forth.
There are still some matters to be re-
ported and discussed by way Of showing
why the Tobins and others of his kind.
lseeing their luxurious rackets n royal
Iprerogatives doomed by the Taft Hartley
law, are holding a gun in the ribs of the
Mitchells and the other rank and file to
make them give up the money for propa-
lganda to repeal the law. They are desper-