The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-25
AS Pegler Sees It
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1947, King Features
Syndicate, Inc.)

l.
cratic kingdoms of the union movement.
There are almost million subjects. There
| is a treasury of seventeen million dollars,
cash.
Strange as it may seem, Dave Beck the
most pushful aspirant for the throne of
Taft Hartley Law to promote his revolu-
tionary ambitions, although he has damned
this act as slavery law, it Becks political
plan should succeed smoothly then num-
ber of less prominent rival household
princes and barons of outlying provinces
certainly will take advantage of the Taft
Hartley Act. They will invoke its protec
ton to secede from the big international
union without reprisals.
My use of the royal metaphor is not an
exaggeratioana. This union is, in the most
practical effect, a monarchy and Tobin is
the king. He has been president for Al
years, Emperor Franz Josef and Queen
Victoria ruled longer but not many, mon
archs in history have matched Tobin,s ten
ure. He is so precious, and IN the klngly
manner he acknowledges his preclos1ty,
that during his reign the constitution was
amended with a special section, couched
in the language Of royal courts, providing
unlimited expense allowances for himself
and his queen and an unlimited retinue of
secretaries and servants. He may travel
wherever he will, "for the purpose of max
ing diplomatic contacts and "preserving
his health" accompanied by Mrs. Tobin
and attended by the royal flunkeys entire
ly at the expense of his subjects.
Tobin's self-appreciation is SO great and
SO naive that he readily acknowledges that
luxurious keep. Therefore, the constitution
provides that these royal conditions shall
cease when his successor takes office.
That would not bother Beck. Once in
power, he could make his own conditions.
Beck is healthy aggressive and hand
fIo of th0
old king. He is tough nevertheless. In the
term of the Roosevelt era he has risen
from a position of local, uncertain power
in Seattle to the mighty role of commercial
and industrial dictator of the Northwest.
There he rules as Tobins satrap, biding
his time. He sent Mon Wallgren to the Unit
ed States Senate and made him governor of
Washington.
Wallgren will be presented to the 1948 dem
ocratic convention as a nominee tor the
vice presidency as labor man. Beck
will be his sponsor. By that time, Beck
probably will have moved in as the eXecu-
tive ce-president of the international un-
ion under constitutional amendment
which Beck himself, put through the ma
tional convention in San Francisco last Au-
gust. Beck saw it through the committee
and heard the old king, from his throne
on the platform, steamroll the opposition.
The constitution requires that amend
ments thereto shall be approved by two
thirds vote of the delegates present. Tobin
ran through several amendments by TT e
AYE" and may" process. The opposition
was helpless.
In voting on one amendment, Joseph
Casey and Anthony Cancilla, of San Fran
cisco, and Martin Lacey, of New York,
fought hard to defeat a proposal to in
crease the arbitrary powers of the old man
and his executive junto. vocal vote was
challenged by Cancilla. Tobin, with a show
of r19tIn 2
When the hands were raised Tobin asked:
"does anybody wish me to count"
81 do" Casey yelled from the floor.
Hearing none,'' Tobin said, in fairly
representative expression of his mentality
and ethics, Il rule the amendment
passed"
Beck's ambition to take Tobin's place has
been recognized by both his following and
his opponents for several years. But last
winter l smoked him out with a dispatch
predicting that he would try by flattery to
persuade Tobin to retire on an extravagant
pension and arrange for his, Beck's, cleo
ton or appointment through some trick, to
succeed him. The ambition to become
president is legitimate but you would have
Thought I had accused Beck of a felony.
He said this innocent statement that he
aspired to the presidency of his union was
an evil SANDER, uncontaminated by truth.
This retort was published in the Wash
ington Teamster, which carries Beck's
name on the masthead, as president But
after all, it merely said Beck would not
should nominate him.
Speaking of himself, in his own paper,
Beck said, there is not a trace of the
migrate in Beck; he would not know how
to double-cross; his word is never broken"
AS condition of their membership in
the union, thousands of intelligent, self-re-
|specting Americans are required to pay
for such revolving garbage.
The premature revelation of his scheme
forced Beck to change his plan slightly. A
vain old bumbler Tobin wanted the final
compliment of single term as president
Of the A. F. of L. He was expected, in
that case, to turn over all his duties and
lpowers, except his final veto power, to
Beck and devote his year as president of
the A. F. of L.. to speeches about his own
troubles interviewed in the A. F. of L. and
lTobln was thwarted. Therefore, Beck
brought in the constitutional amendment
creating the position of executive vice
president with plenary powers, subject
1t is expected that Tobin will name Beck
TO TO the ]ob on Dec. 1. The salary is up to
Iopln; 1T probably will be $4,000 and lib
eral, but limited expenses. Beck's ame~d-
ment does not even require that the new
, ion.
Iopln pulls surprise and names
somebody else, Beck can pull out of the
: union about 250,000 subjects under his
reign re Il IN II Western states In that case,
the hn' elt Ilaftt5;H3artley Law would protect him
by,,aea4 bs ioarolodlng. the old king to declare
ooycott and secondary picket line
That, however, is not even a speculative
a @ @posslolll1y " IN the plans of the anti-Beck
j. lorces. hoaa Ihey are desperate men. If Beck
e of oecGmes thn boss, they are doomed and many
OIL @ mem deserve well for their long labors.
Accordingly, they are making their plans
70 pulf out many locals in San Francisco
Los Angeles New York Philadelnhia and