Montana labor news., 1950-07-27

WASHINGTON ROUNDUP

WASHING ION NOO>NOi IL al
- x.zs 60, LOYALTY oath seems to have reached ITS
,;nn.cle Of frenzy on the west coast The movie industry o'ark
lists fellows who won swear that they afen | NV IS learn
in;vsr.,v If California. Americas largest institution o earn
no has lust fired Isl of its employees tor refusing to take Al
oath to the same effect And now a radio station !" Los :"
yeles has Joined the fevered tribal dance.
1t won't be long before someone suggests NAV "'fp
ought to be next IN line. g., yEI AM
CM and TV-has required all its workers to sign a,i'oaV" 40
ss,,;na Il am not 10Y and never have been a member OF sup
porter Of the communist party o TO my kno~'eueI u "Nacivss
eanizaion OF group advocating IN '''p'' "
for which that party stands.
The boss Of XII. Earle c. Anthony, explained this require
ment my saying. We are in a business licensed py w ~.
msn with the privilege Of entering thousands 0 p"sae
Nv. must be in a position to know thai 'heie
i"na, - o, entire organization a single adherent to the com
munist party or any subvers,ve group NewspApeaS nav ~
,r;v,leee of entering thousands OF private homes TOO.
The of the radio trade. Broadcaslng Magazine eiaps
its hands over this bit of hyperthyroid patriotism and comments
We think every station in the nation. every network ISNy
srnnl;ry of programs. should follow the Earle Anthony LEAD ana
demand loyalty oaths of every employe.
And everybody at the station signed up WIN oe ,ho
ron Of Mrs. Charlene Aumach, network traffic MANAGE wno
~ ,h.t her sole political afhliation has been Republican put
that she is not convinced that dictatoriai methods are IN
sane way to combat undesirable ideoiog'es' WIS 0"''N" 49,
"e H. offenders Of LOYALTY oahs are fond of asking he simple
question "Why notp Why should any patriotic American
object to signing a non-communist affidavit
o., 40 and opposite question is Why? the argu-
ment applicable in the case of gov ernment employees tha' nd
.ional security would be endangered by communns' ~ G,', mi
where they could leak official secrets, has no re'eVanee I" ~
versties moving picture studios or broadcastlns stations
Those are Improbable places for espionage. And o. outse
# an employe tries o spout the party m IN n"ee"o "'
hs woYk he car reasonably be fired tor dong so-a very -,
lerent thing from firing hin because OF his private po'''
ronv;ct;ons Of his afGliaton with a lawful political party.
How much protection does a loyalty oath afiofo anyway
~. NJ, Anthony really believe thai communists invariaply
tell the truth and that he can trust anyone VINO Signs ms a. a.
rd.,,, In point Of fact, the only people caught by this shy
,st are people genuinely loyal to American prncipes-people
like Mrs. Aumach who have too much sel'respect e uoh'
to it. rl,u, u .lfersve
:. .ffera;ve = = a request that one swear he IS not a PICK
pocket or a horse thier. The atmosphere OF suspicion ensehoe'
I'd bv these oaths in poisonous and oe-rau'ng.
In the second place. the oath involves an INQUIRY by a n en-
pDoyer into a n area Of private behel-an area IN whch ~ "N
M business. To require the confession OF OPINION :
make it punishable il to violate the most fundamental OF ~
freedoms. ~,
In the third place, the assumption that an emPioyei NO
,an smnlove Q n account Of non criminal political assora
~. - ac,vn;es nun directly counter to the principle Of tenure
dnYino GOOD behavior which it is one OF the essential hc'o
Of labor unions to uphold
An employer may be as caprcious a 8 he pleases about nrihs
EMPLOYEES; and there are good reasons tor not hiring commu
nists. But an employer may not be capnc'ous apou' ming ~ -
gloves who do their Jobs satisfactorily. Performance on IN
'oh % political purity, is the only valid standard.
Mrs Aumach was quite right IN calling the oathf require
a .dictatorial method 1t reflects a growth OF pre-
cisely the kind Of intolerance that characterizes the to'ah'aria
state. III.
M ahont $40 600 fellow traveller, in the United States. Whai
r The number, they hold opinions that most oil u consioe
vrrv odious But they have a right to hold them-and to es
,,rss them. so long as they do nothing that violates the law.
4 private employers can ask an employees political beliefs
he, an ask his religious belief. If they can fire him becaus
they don like his political affiliations, they can tire HIM becaus
they don like his religious affiliations We may have a feWV
=, ,hs Know Nothing movement that fourshed here in tn
b5Os The irony is that now. as then. it will masquerade und'
the name Of Amercanism.
The CULD REPORIE