The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1951-02-08
Free Unions Ready
To Fight Reds
With Their Fists

Marseille S, France (LPA)-
Whether EXPIRE S i d ent Herbert
Hoover or Senator Robert A. "Mr.
Republican" Taft know it or not,
free union of seamen and lockers
in the Mediterranean are mobiliz-
ing to fight Communist saboteurs.
In effect, they're giving the lie to
stories that Europe lacks the will
to resist the Reds.
Ships and cargoes for the de-
fense Of Western Europe will be
protected by any and all means
against Communist sabotage, the
free unionists say. If it takes fists
and cargo hooks to do the job, fists
and cargo hooks will be used. At
least, that's the kind of talk you
hear from the Mediterranean Com
mittee of the International Trans
portworkers Federation. THE ITF
is an arm of the International Con-
federation of Free Trade Unions.)
The unions are mobilizing in
ports from Marseilles to Piraeus in
Greece and Haifa in Israel, back
around to Algiers and Oran in AL
geria. They have some problems to
face, they admit, for Communist
infiltration is subtle. The Reds
know how to twist real grievances
into justification for their views
and methods, as many American
trade unionists have learned.
Watchword of the Mediterranean
Committee is Vigilance" And the
free unionists say their vigilance
will be everlasting. They point out
that five saboteurs can seize con-
troll of a ship carrying defense
cargoes. So their counter-tactic is
to have five alert defenders avail
able to board each ship as it comes
in from the US. On a five-for-five
basis, they figure they can take the
Reds any time.
The Mediterranean Committee
was formed at a conference last
summer in Naples. It's stern temper
was revealed recently through reso-
lutions adopted at a conference in
Marseilles. At that meeting, the
committee noted the refusal of
Red China to suspend hostilities in
Korea and endorsed the necessity
Of the fulfillment Of "hard duty"
by United Nations forces. All sea
and port workers throughout the
Mediterranean area were urged to
give wholehearted support to UN
efforts in the Far East. The COM
mittee also specifically condemned
the Soviet Union for refusing to
rely on peaceful institutions for the
settlement of international dis
putes.
Irving Brown, AFL representa-
tive in Europe, told the committee
that a revolver pointed at Europe
is also pointed at America" He
said Americans and Europeans
must fight together to resist Com
llulllSL lll14IAI dlAOIl. we dlC DdLL-
ling for the same cause" he de-
clared. I'VE firmly believe that
longshoremen and sailors play an
essential role in the defense of the
democratic world" Pierre Ferri-
Pisano, secretary of the French
Force Ouvriere Seamen & Dockers'
Union, said anti-Communists must
balk at nothing to insure speedy
transport of defense supplies to
places where they're needed.
The city Of Marseilles provides
good example Of the shift in Com
munist strength, observers here
point out. For many years this
great port, Frances gateway to
Africa and the Near and Far East,
has been regarded as a Communist
stronghold. But no longer can the
Red leaders close the port almost
at a moments notice for some
grievance real or imagined, events
of the past year have shown. Of
the 81 seats on port stevedore COM
mittees once held by the Commun-
lists, only 10 remain in Red hands.