North Carolina Newspapers

The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY in Mecklenburg County For a Weekly. Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte Published for the bene fit of Organized Labor and all its interests. Clip Charlotte labor Journal Patronize our Adver Users. They make TOUR paper possible by their co operation. I ruth ft l, honest, Impartia* AND DIXIE FARM NEWS Endeavoring to Serve the Masses VoJ. VI.—No. 27 YOUR AOVtRTIRBMINT IN TM« JOURNAL > INVIITMINT CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1936 JOURNAL AOVIRYiaiRI OUMVfe CONSIDERATION tUt UCAOtR ~ $2.00 Per Year i ROOSEVELT SAYS “LABOR MANDATE GIVEN” BY PEOPLE ______■ _1__:_LL____ _ ' NATIONAL LEGISLATORS WERE TOLD, ALONG WITH STATE EXECUTIVES, TO ADOPT NEEDED LABOR LEGISLATION WASHINGTON, Nov. 10—In a message to the third national conference on labor legislation, President Roosevelt said he be lieved “the country has this last week given a mandate in unmis takable terms to its legislators and executives” to adopt needed labor legislation. The President said he believed the mandate had directed the legislators “to proceed along these lines until working people throughout the nation and in every station are assured decent working conditions, including safe and healthful places of work, adequate care and support when incapacitated by reason of acci dent, industrial disease, unemployment, or old age; reasonably short working hours, adequate annual incomes, proper housing and elimination of child labor.” # The conference was urged by Mr. Roosevelt to “give serious consideration as to how these objectives may be achieved and that when you return to your states you will assume the leadership in your communities for putting the necessary legislation on the statute books. , . “I assure you that the federal government is willing to do its part in making these standards effective and in supplementing the efforts of the states when problems assume an interstate or a national character. ... ... . “This coming year should be an outstanding one in the annals of labor legislation.” GREEN SAYS C. 1.0. BLOCKED PEACE BY AVOIDING CONFERENCE IN ORDER THAT “ROW” MIG! 3NGED NEW YORK, Nov. 10*—The Committee for Industrial Or ganization was accused this week by William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, with deliberately “closing the door” to peace between the two contending labor groups because it had nlanned all along to set up a union rival to the A. F. of L. On two counts the veteran labor leader charged John L. -Leirf.V' jtung group with unwillingness to talk armistice. First, he asserted here in an' interview, the C. I. O. had re fused to select a committee to sit down for purposes of conciliation tih A. F. of L. body. This means i possible armistice, he said, was, Lggested by Max Zaritsky of the' Ini ted Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers Union, himself a C. I. O.j lember. | Second, Green cited Lewis’ refusal yesterday to confer with him per Inally. ' (“We had a committee standing and ready," said the federation president. ‘‘They (the C. I. O) refused to ap point one of their own. Then, I ex pressed willingness to talk to Mr. 1 tRvis personally. >He refused that, tod “It is one of the closing steps in a deliberate plan and policy originat ed1 (by the C. I. O. in the beginning to set up a rival organization to the American Federation of Labor. I pre dict that the next step will be the calling of a conference at which the independent rival organization headed by Mr. Lewis will be formally launch A conference with Green was de clined Monday by Lewis, who said it woiild be “futile” because of an ex-[ pression by Green that he lacked au-j thority to change the policy of the A. F. of L. executive council. It was' this council which suspended the C. I. O. unions from the federation. _ Green said he had referred not to the council policy concerning suspen sion, but to the policy it had deter mined for holding peace conferences through the medium of a committee. Concerning inconclusive discussions in Washington today of the executive board of the Ladies’ Gannent Work ers union as to whether it would seek reinstatement in the federation, Green said no union would be per mitted back, so far as he was con cerned, unless it renounced the C. I. O. I “That is the only condition of re instatement,” he added: “We don’t ask anybody to give up anything else. Any union that wants to pursue in dustrial organization (as opposed to the craft unionism most frequently found in the A. F. of L.) would be free to do so.” Asked if the Federation’s conven tion in Tampa, Fla., next week might not overrule the C. I. 0. suspension, Green said it had the power, but did not believe it would do so. Upon the action of the garment worker’s union in Washington in supporting a constitutional amend ment giving Congress power to “legis late for the protection and advance ment” of wage earners, Green would not comment directly. He said, how ever, discussions of means to aid workers by constitutional amend ment, legislation or other means un doubtedly would come up at Tampa. Higher Wages Will Be Sought By Textile Workers - McMahon WASHINGTON, Nov. 10—Thomas F. McMahon, international president of the United Textile Workers of America, in a statement Monday call ed upon all textile workers “to or ganize their forces in the demand for wage increase, reduction of hours and improved conditions of employment.” “If the employers refuse to grant some measure of economic security and employment,” he said, “we pro pose to take matters into our own hands.” The time has now arrived “for la bor to exercise the same degree of power and influence on the economic front as it demonstrated it had in the election. Labor from now on is not going to be satisfied with the crumbs that fall from the employers’ table." McMahon added that the U. T. W. executive council would meet this week and immediately afterwards “we will carry out our plan of action.” • Union demands of 20 per cent wage increase, a maximum 40-hour working week and regulation of the machine load were set forth by Mc Mahon in a recent statement. He said the Stillwater Worsted mills, with plants in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Virginia, already had granted wage increases running as high i as 25 per cent. “This demand is reasonable in view of increased living costs and in creased prices of textiles, with in crea4ed profits,” he said. Thle U. T. W. president said the union would submit its national tex-1 •' i. Mrs. Harry Boate Operated On At Mercy-General Mrs. Harry Boate, who has been aj patient at Mercy General hospital1 for more than a week, was operated on Tuesday morning. The operation was of a major nature, and is report ed as having been successful. If no complications set in it is hoped that in ten days she will be able to re turn home. Mrs. Boate is beloved by all who know her. She is a member of the Ladies Typographical Auxil iary and Women’s Union Label League, being the wife of Barry L. Boate, of the Charlotte Typographi cal Union, a member of the Park and Recreation Commission and a special contributor to The Journal the past four years. Only half the battle is won, when you bargain collectively. Don’t for get to BUY collectively. The Union Label is the O. IL -amo of quality! tile act to Congress, and would “con centrate its efforts on working stand ards.” McMahon said union reports show ed “100 breakdowns in code stand ards in the South, increased hours and lower wages.” The U. T. W., a memher of the committee of Industrial Organization, claims thousands of members in the woolen, worsted, rayon and cotton textile industries in the North and South. • I CHATTING •! • •' . BT HARRY BOATS In a recent issue of a daily paper was noted many items of news which would incline the average person to believe the entire world had gone to the bad, and that there was no longer ajny hope of cheerfulness to be found. Will here note a few of these notes of! sadness: From Warsaw, Poland, comes word that 200 students had been arrested. They had locked themselves in the university in protest against the govern ment easing up on anti-semitic activities. Apparently life was getting too quiet to suit them. At Lille, France, 3,000 miners had gone on strike, forcing the shut down of 20 factories which gave employment to 7,000 workers. At Buda pest, Hungary, two men were hung for! espionage. Forced to witness these executions were 300 soldiers. This was intended as a warning to others who may or not wish to betray their government. At Caen, France, a man was guillotined for the murder of a jeweleif and his wife. This execution was marked as the 260th person the official executioner had sent to his death. Many soldiers w)io served long in actual war could not count so many scalps. , At Washington, D. C., three leaderslof a demonstration before the White House conducted by the Workers Alliance, were arrested and put in prison. At their hearing, one was released and! the other two held for future deci sion. - J v — * From Niles, a suburb of Chicago, Hornes a story that two masked gun men entered a tavern and shot to death the 32-year-old manager. This is supposed to be a war among gang members, as the dead man had the repu tation of being a “real tough boy" in prie-liquor days. At Oakland, California, an 18-year-old girl went to court in an effort to secure privileges enjoyed by other girls. She testified her father beat her and threatened to throw acid in her face if she used powder or lip rouge. At Atlanta, Ga., a man was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraudu lent use of the United States;mails. He asked for a suspended sentence but request was denied. In Richmond, Va., a South Carolina negro was arrested on the charge of shooting a Federal alcohol inspector while attempting to make an arrest during a raid on a still, while near Albemarle, N. C., the body of a man, partly dressed, with the top 0f his head blown off, was found in a vacant house. A shotgun was found lying across his body. He had been missing from home several days. In nearby Gastonia, a man pleads guilty to the charge of shooting a policeman. Sentence was deferred until; later. The policeman, who was in court, asked and received permission to shake hands with the man who shot him. “I hope everything works out all right,” was the parting remark of the officer. While this was taking place a man was being held in Darling ton, S. C., on the charge of killing a farmer^ at whose home he was a -boarder, and at a session of court at Statesville eight persons received prison sentences for the shooting of a Federal agent during a raid on a still. One of these persons will serve 16 years, if the orders of the court are carried out to the letter. At Greensboro, N. C., a man who appeared in court as a witness in a robbery case failed to think soon enough. The judge accused him of being intoxicated and fined him flO. At a session of court in Darlington, S. C., six murder cases are on the calendar. One defendant is a girl 17 years of age, accused of killing a World War veteran, who claimed she took his money. This same issue contained accounts of automobile wrecks, including one or mose cases of hit-and-run accidents, and if we thought only of the news of crime and accidents as they are daily recorded one would come to the conclusion the world had gone completely to the bad, and there was no more On the other side of life are many deeds of mercy and kindness which happiness in existence. are performed many times every day and in all places, mention of which does not appear in the papers, and those who perform these merciful deeds do not wish them to be so recorded, and were these items to appear in the daily columns, likely they would not be appreciated as news. Like a boiling pot, the scum slowly gathers on the top and is taken off, then we find the pure ingredients underneath. It appears that is why courts are necessary. Were some method not developed to purify the human society this world would not stand for any length of time. Some years ago a murder or sui cide was a rare occurrence and a real bit of news. Today such events attract little attention save in its own locality, and in a short time it is forgotten. Also, a newspaper seems dull nof if such bits of reading are missing. Per haps as time goes on men and women will get a more kindly feeling toward others and hold social events of a more cheerful nature. Disturbance is not necessary to the extent of killing to effect a settlement. MUCH BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND TRUE UNIONISM, SAYS MINISTERS UNION OF AMERICA —-- 1 ■ ■ ! There is much in common between real Christianity and true unionism, so it is not clear why ministers of the gospel, preaching the doctrine of the Man of Nazareth, need be urged to support union labor. It would be interesting to know just what would be the reaction of many members of the clergy did “open-shoppers” adopt and promote a label to identify their creed. Hie action of the Ministers’ Union of America in putting forth the resolutions shown below is all the more refreshing because of the evident sincerity with which they state their viewpoint: 1. The Federal Council of Churches and the majority of religious organizations have come out in favor of organised labor. Similar stands have been taken by the Catholic and Jewish bodies. These resolutions and social programs are meaningless unless the churches make a serious endeavor to practice what they preach. To organ ised labor they are nothing but pious resolutions if we continue to patronise nonunion shops for the sake of saving a few dollars. Put yourself in the place of organised labor and you can not blame them if they are suspicious of the churches! 2. We should do this to uphold a decent American standard of wages and to help increase the purchasing power of the nation which President Roosevelt and others are urging ua to da The way to do that is to patronize those printers that are paying wages above the standards of the NRA. 3. We should patronize organised labor because organised labor is in many respects practicing what we are preaching and ia far more in harmony with the ideals of organised religion than those employers who in practice are lowering the standards of wages. For example, Printing Trades Unions of Greater New York—open to all without regard to race or creed—during the last three years have taken care of their unemployed. During that time Typographi cal Union Nu 6 spent over eight million dollars for unemployment relief. Old-age pensions mortuary and hospital benefits, and many other humanitarian activities, costing over $1,090,000, have been one magnificent manifestation of the brotherhood of man as practiced by this same union, one of eighteen unions comprising the Allied Printing Trades Council of New York City. How many churches can show such a record as that? 4. If some trustee or other practical “business man” in your church should say, “We would like to have the union label on our printing but we can not afford it,” you can honestly say to him, and these facts can be verified, that men working in union shops receive 10 per cent more in wages than men working in those shops that are supposed to live up to the NRA standards., Therefore, if you are getting your printing done under 10 per cent less than what union printers will charge, you may be sure that you are not only violating the standards of organized labor but are supporting those employers that are violating the NRA standards. In other words, the church ia supporting chiselers. ACCORD MOVES IN RECONCILIATION OF SPLIT LABOR FORCES SEEM FUTILE; NO SOCIAL AFFAIR WANTED PITTSBURGH, Nov. 10.—Week-end peace maneuvers in the American Federation of Labor big family quarrel collapsed Sun lay when John L. Lewis declined to meet William Green, On Saturday night, Lewis, president of the United Mine work ers and chairman of the committee for industrial organization, asked Green for a conference to talk peace terms. Oreen, Federation president, replied he would gladly meet Lewis but lacked authority to “change the pol icy outlined by the executive council.” Lewis then shot back this answer: “Under such circumstances a con ference between you and the under signed would be futile .... “When the American Federation of Labor desires to reverse and rec tify its outrageous act of suspension and is ready to concede the right of ; industrial organization to live and grow in ■ the unorganized industries it wil lbe time to discuss and. arrange the details of a re-established rela tionship.” Talking to reporters, Lewis said: “A meeting under the circum stances Green suggests would be merely a social affair. Under the circumstances now I have no desire to meet him socially.” (Lewis’ miners and nine other un ions in the committee for industrial organization' were suspended from the federation September 5 for try ing to bring all the workers in each big mass production industry into one union, without A. F. of L. sanc tion. Craft unionists who think that workers generallv should be organ ized along craft lines control the A. F. of L.) Pressure from the International Ladies’ Garment Workers and the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers was said in usually well-in formed quarters to have been respon sible for yesterday’s peace gesture. At the millinery workers request, the federation’s executiev council several weeks ago named a committee to start peace negotiations if the Lewis committee was willing. The Lewis committee took no action, how ever, until Saturday, when it pro posed that peace negotiations be con ducted by Lewis and Green instead of by committees. Green, in his telegram to the Lewis committee, reminded the members of the council’s action, then added: “While I lack authority to change the policy outlined by the executive council, I will gladly meet and con fer with President Lewis at his con venience.” Lewis said only one member of his committee did not sanction his reply, and that this member wanted more time to consider it. iHe refused to name the member. After a long meeting devoted to discussion of the steel situation, the committee issued a statement it had authorized increased organizing ac tivity and had appropriated “neces sary funds” for this purpose. “The committee holds that the workers of the country have a right to participate in the increased pros perity of the nation,’ ’the statement said. _ “It calls upon the workers to organize and demand wage increases, reduction of hours and improved con ditions of employment. “The presidential election demon strated that he workers have power if they choose to exercise it. Let an enlarged and more powerful labor movement be now the immediate con cern of every worker. With the close of the Lewis com mittee’s meeting, the next important development in the family fight was expected from Washington where the Ladies’ Garment Workers’ executive board is to meet Monday. David Dukinsky, president of that powerful union, said the board would determine whether it would send dele gates to the federation’s annual con vention starting next week in Tampa, FREY SAYS LEWIS GROUP BOLTED TO “REDS”; WANTS POWER GIVEN GOV’T TO REGULATE HOURS AND WAGES j TAMPA, FLA., Nov. 11.—John L. Lewis, committee for in dustrial organization was accused today of helping communists bore into the American trade movement. The accusation came from John P. Frey, president of the American Federation of Labor’s metal trades department, whose charges of “insurrection” led to the federation’s suspension of ten unions in the Lewis committee. In his report to his department’s annual convention, here today, Frey also recommended that congress en act a licensing bill to give the federal government power to regulate indus trial wages and hours. Frey said that red leaders in both Moscow and America, realized “no real progress could be made for com munism until it had acquired a dom inant position in the trades union movement.” “Unfortunately, within the last year, the door has been opened by the committee for industrial organiza tion,” he added. “It is immaterial whether this open door was the result of deliberate pur pose, indifference or inability to stem the tide, but what the trade union movement is now forced to realize is that a union door has been opened... “Knowing of the intenition of John L. Lewis to control the organizing campaign in the steel industry, the communists last January opened or ganizing headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago and have been actively at work among steel workers through out the year.” Frey told reporters he thought “there is little left to do except ex pel” Lewis’ miners and the nine other unions in the rebel committee. The committee’s admission to membership of the industrial union of marine and shipyard workers and the united ra dio and electrical workers of Amer ica, he said, made peace all but im possible. Most of Frey’s unions claim they are entitled to enroll shipyard workers along craft lines. The indus trial union, denied A. F. of L. mem bership, is trying to bring all ship yard workers into one big union. Frey proposed to his convention that the A. F. of L. be asked to pro mote an organization campaign ! among shipyard workers in an effort to thwart the efforts of the Lewis organization. Meantime, the building trades and union label departments also started their conventions with peace and harmony prevailing in each. The federation’s general convention is to open Monday, with the Lewis rebel lion the principal issue. Regarding a federal industrial licensing law, Frey said in part: | „ “The decision of the United States supreme court on the NIRA, the Guf fey (coal control) bill, and several other measures enacted by congress which were protective of labor, makes ti apparent that a new legis lative approach is essential.” FOOD SHOW OPENED IN BLAZE OF GLORY WED. NIGHT j Representative Robert L. Doughton opened the Eleventh Annual Home Stores Exposition and Food Show at the Armory-Auditorium last night (Wednesday) with an address that told of good times and good business ahead of us. Some 5,000 spectators were present and it was a gala oc casion. The show continues for 10 days. Onion and Union come from the same word—and in both there is ’ strength! * Will yon join ns in this campaign by putting your church on the fair list if it ia not already there and thus help the churches of America to more nearly practice what they preach? The appeal is signed by the Rev. Leon Rosser Land, as chairman; Rabbi Sidney E. Goldstein and the Rev. Bradford Young, constituting com miteee on union label. Accompanying the printed circular containing the above was a form which, when filled out by the recipient, pledges support to the union label campaign and promises to have the printing of each church or organisation printed only in a shop able to furnish the allied label. The Ministers’ Union was established in April, 1931, and membership is open to all clergymen of whatever faith who may be in sympathy with the purposes of the organi zation. While activities of the union are now confined to New York City and vicinity, it is hoped that a nation-wide label campaign may some time meet approval of all clergymen of the United States.