Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-02
CHAPTER vi
By VICTOR RIESEL

have been blinded by acid
but can still. see more clearly
than those who so glandularly
champion labor that they de-
nounce automatically all cru
sades against the mob inside
labor.
1t is these decent but over
jealous defenders of labor who
are blind. 1t is they who identify
all labor with the mob. 1t is the
public crusader who carefully
etcheS the sharp line between
the underworld invaders and the
honest union leaders.
What the disturbed champions
of labor don't see is the danger
of their outcries. Unwittingly
these men become, in effect, the
secret weapon Of the mob. BY
blasting all outside forces which
fight the labor underworld. they
frighten off public officials, Sena-
tors. congressman and even gov
errors in some States. For no
ambitious political figure is will
ing to ieopardiZe his career by
puThing for an investigation only
to find himself later smeared as
"anti-labor."
Congress Probes Dropped
just look at the record of State
and Federal probes. l charge
that at least four major Con-
greSSional Investigations have
been dropped like hot Goals be-
cause of political pressure. have
been told by investigators that
they had been directed not to
get too tough or bring in evil
dence which would force indict-
mentS.
Look at this Congress. How
many probes into any cob
webbed corner of the underworld
has it launched?
Why. after Senator Douglas,
Democrat of Illinois, found a
score of union officials using
welfare and pension funds as
their own money" was his in
vestigation permitted to die? 1t
had one of Americas top in
vestigators, Frank Plant, a for
mer FBI agent. It's chief coun-
sci. Paul Cotter, was raring to
dig deeper. They turned out a
soaring 365-page Indictment of
the crime cartel inside labor
The AFL-CIO executive council
went through it. AFL-CIO chief
George Meany sent it on to the
Ethical Practices Committee for
action.
Yet nowhere in the Govern
ment was there 100000 to keep
the Douglas committee alive.
Why?
There must be congressional
probes. Otherwise the ball falls
between two outfelders. The
Government finds it can't handle
clever criminals on any charge
except income tax evasion. So
some of the worst hoods get
away with sentences as short
as eight months on tax raps.
There Just are no laws to deal
with the subtleties of the crime
cartel.
HamStrung by Local Laws
And we find district attorneys
with no power to prosecute be-
cause they are hamstrung by
local laws. Only the spotlight
of properly conducted congress
sional investigation can light up
the murky corners.
But an even greater obstacle
than ineffective laws is local
political pressure Here is where
the honest leaders can move
boldly. They can make it known
that they would not regard an
honest investigation into labor
rackets as an attack on all labor.
They can say publicly that
they welcome such probe
Then, perhaps, the automatic
deplorers of probes might agree
that there are honest men out
side labor as we'll as inside.
The fault is not all on the
conditioned-ref1ex champions OF
labor. The fault lies, too, on the
shoulders of the public defend
ers, the law and order forces Of
State, county, and municipal
governments = and in Washing
ton, as well.
If they have been listening as
carefully as did the President OF