Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-10
PrOber Urges
Rdckefs Law

II AaAAANAAAHAEN
urged Congress 10 enact spe-
cial antitrust legislation 10
cope with labor racketeers in
the transportation field.
The chairman Of the Senate
Rackets Investigating Commit
tee said hearings last week on
New York publishing companies
victimized by shakedown de-
mands showed a threat to the
freedom Of the press as well as
to the Nations free economic
system.
He announced he soon will
submit to the Senate judiciary
Committee a set Of legislative
recommendations he asked his
Committee to prepare as the
basis for an antitrust bill.
"In a country where freedom
Of the press is a cornerstone Of
our basic liberties" he de-
clared, I'VE find racketeers able
to do what no Government au-
thority would conceive of doing.
We find racketeers able to shut
of the supply Of news to the
public and we find nationally
known publications compelled
to make payments to assure
delivery Of their newspapers"
He referred to testimony
that several New York City
newspapers and the Neo Gra-
vure Printing Co. of nearby
Weehawken, N. j., had paid
tribute to racketeers in order
to get delivery of Sunday sup
PIGMENTS printed by Neo
Gravure.
He noted also that II of 10
officials of the New York News
paper and Mail Deliverers
Union took refuge behind the
Fifth Amendment" The union
struck the New York papers
for 19 days last December.
He recalled the unfortunate
spectacle" of representatives of
IL wholesaling companies of
the newspaper and magazine
industry invoking that amend
ment when asked if they had
paid eXtortion money to Of
ficials of the DELIVERIES Union.
Explaining that the Deliv-
erers Union is outside of the
AFL-CIO. Senator Mcclellan
said, 1T is obvious to the
whole country that the labor
unions themselves cannot ham
die TIE critical problem of
racketeering."
He identified Harold Gross
and Cornelius Noonan as "the
principals involved in the
shakedown of the New York
newspapers and Neo Gravure.
He described them as officials
respectively of the Transfers
Union and the International
Longshoremen's Association,
both of which also are not
affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Officials of Neo Gravure
testified it paid Gross and his
relatives nearly $260,00O over
IA years to prevent labor
trouble. The committee was
told other payments to Noonan
had brought the overall total
to $307.136.
Senator Mcclellan, in what
was described as a closing
statement on the hearing,
said that probably no hear
ing held by this committee
has been as significant in
pointing out the present rack
eteer threat to our free eco
nomic system"
He said that the committee
was particularly gratif1ed by
the attitude of the New York
Times and the Neo Gravure
Printing Company in their teS-
timony," adding:
"The representatives of these
two companies have indicated
that they understand the
gravity of the problem and, by
forthrightly telling the cir
cumStanceS under which they
were shaken down, have dis
played a sense of public duty
and responsibility which is,
unfortunately, not always as
evident in other segmentS of
the business community"
The Times, The New York
Daily Mirror and The Ameri-
can Weekly, a Sunday supple
ment appearing in many
newspapers, admitted paying
tribute in order to be sure
their publications printed by
Neo Gravure were delivered.