North Carolina Newspapers

The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY hi Mecklenburg County. For a Weekly. Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte Official Organ Centra) Labor Union; standing for the A. P. of L. Che Charlotte labor Journal Patronise oar Adver tiser*. They make YOUk paper possible by their co operation. _ , . . __ . Endorsed by the N. C. State Federa Truthful, Honest, Impartial, tion of !■«»»«• AND DIXIE FARM NEWS Endeavoring to Serve the Masses Vol. VII.—No. 27 V. * •— CHARLOTTE, N. C.* THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1987 Jammu. Aavaanama $2.00 Per Year CAROLINA CONFERENCE OF A. F L AT COLUMBIA ONE OF INTEREST TO DELEGATES FROM TWO STATES ^ _ COLUMBIA, S. C„ November 8.—Proudly proclaiming the great success which has already been attained, and enthused with adoption of plans for continuing the work, delegates at tending the Carolina Conference of the American Federation of Labor held here Saturday and Sunday returned to their respect ive fields and home cities with the praises of George L. Googe, Southern Representative of the A. F. of L., and Paul J. Aymon, associate director in charge of the Carolinas, ringing in their ears. The conference of the A. F. of L. organizers, state and city federation of labor officials, and representatives of Inter national Unions, was called by Director Aymon, and was held in the Jefferson Hotel. Reports oi the organizers ana la bor officials of state and city bodies showed that many new local unions have been formed in the two Caro linas, while thousands of new mem bers have been added to already es tablished unions throughout the two states. Agreements have been nego tiated and closed for large numbers of workers, reports showed, and a huge sum of money obtained for the work ers through increases in pay obtained through such agreements. Reports from city central bodies were most gratifying to the conference attend ants disclosing that local unions in the principal cities of the Carolinas have affiliated with the central bod ies, and the same report was made by officials of the state federations of labor, both state organizations having made tremendous gains through af filiation of local unions during the past few months. One feature of the conference that was pronounced most instructive was an explanation of the organization set up of the American Federation of Labor by Mr Googe. He ilsed charts to show the machinery of the organ izations activities, tracing the power of the labor movement as represented by the A. F. of L. right back to the rank and file of the membership to whom all officers of the A. F. of L., and all officers of the national and international unions are elected by members and are responsible to the members. "This democratic organi zation of ours,” Mr. oGoge said, “is in the hands and under the absolute con trol of the workers themselves, and is, therefore, quite differnt from the C. I. O.. where the self-apopinted dicta tors are the absolute power, and the membership nothing but pawns in the hands of such self-appointed and self seeking dictators.” me speakers at tne comerence | flayed the leaders of the C. I. O. in no uncertain terms, and when Mr. Googe declared that “we want no peace with the C. I. O. if we have to embrace and take into our movement those crack pot communists who are leaders in the C. I. O.” the applause of the fed eration leaders made it plain that there is no room in the Carolinas for such doctrines and tactics as have been propounded and used by the C. I. O. “In cleaning up the Central Labor Unions in eleven Southern states,” Mr. Googe said, “it is noteworthy, and a source of great pride, that we did not lose a single central body, but we did put out of such central labor unions every last mother’s son who was connected with the C. I. O.” Associate Director Aymon called upon all organizers and international representatives for reports of their activities. Presentation of the A. F. of L. organizers was a revelation to the assembled crowd, remark being made by one speaker that the A. F. of L. has more organizers in the two Carolinas now than the federation used to have in all of the United States. Representatives of Interna tional unions affiliated with the A. F. of L. expressed great satisfaction wit hthe work done foreach such in ternational union bytheo rganizers in the field for the American Federation of Labor. Officers of the two state federations of labor, and of the two score Central Labor Unions of the two states, told of increased interest and greatly in creased membership of organized la boy ip all cities and centers in the Car olinas. These officials also paid tribute to the work being done by the A. F. of L. in the Carolinas. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS IS NOT ENOUGH After surveys and discussions lasting many months, the District of Columbia Minimum Wage Board has fixed $17 per week as the minimum wages which employers in retail stores in the Nation s capital will be pe - mitted to pay their women clerks. . , This amount is clearly much below that required to permit the clerks to live according to those standards of decency and comfort which every sales woman should be able to enjoy as the result of her employment. One outstanding development featured the events antedating the wage decision. Spokesmen for those who own and operate industry frequently contend that employers are in the front ranks of those favoring high wages. The District of Columbia minimum wage decision fills this fallacy as full of holes as the proverbial sieve. The Minimum Wage Board consists of representatives of the women employes involved, the employers, and the public. After a complete survey of living conditions, the labor representative of the board detremined that $21.51 was the lowest weekly wage which would support a clerk in decency and comfort according to living standards in the City of Washington. The employer member of the board insisted that a weekly wage of $14.51 was sufficient to buy a living good enough for the average clerk. This indecently low wage was not merely supported by the owners and managers of the retail stores. They enlisted the services of the District of Columbia Board of Trade, composed of the business interests generally, in their behalf. The Board of Trade delegated its representatives to co oprate with the retail merchants before the Wage Board in support of the $14.51 rate. The F. W. Woolworth Company, chain store magnates, even went to the extent of importing Dr. Paul Nystrom, a Columbia University professor, as a “marketing expert” to prepare and defend a brief upholding the $14.51 living standard as the highest minimum amount the merchants could afford and all their clerks could reasonably expect. For a number of weeks the employer member of the board, John H. Hanna, president of the Capital Transit Company, which operates the street car and bus system in the District of Columbia, held oat for the $14.51 figure. Arthur L. Schoenthal, labor member of the board, held out just as firmly for $21.51. Finally, Mrs. William Kittle, chairman of the board, claiming she was the spokesman for the public, offered a clerk’s budget calling for a minimum wage of not less than $17.77 per week. This figure is reported to have been accepted under protest by the labor represntative on the board. Eventually, the labor representative and the public representative agreed to a still fur ther cut to $17.50 to placate the employer interests, who doggedly stuck to their original $14.51 as adequate wages. Finally, the employer member realizing he was confronted with strong opposition from the labor and public members of the board, but nevertheless eager to reduce the living standards of the women clerks below the $17.50 figure, insisted on a fur ther cut of 50 cents a week, making the minimum wage $17, which, it was reported, was agreed to by the two other members of the board in the in terest of unanimity. The insistence of the mercantile employers and employers generally in the District of Columbia that minimum wages for women clerks be fixed at the indecently low figure of $14.51 per week is a conclusive answer to the irrationalism of certain groups who undertake to deceive the public with the false idealogy that employers usually favor high wages. Pop corn has a separate husk for each individual kernel. The average motor car now in use is nearly five years old. A photometer, recently installed in the Steward Observatory at Tucson, Arizona, is capable of detecting light from a 100-watt electric light bulb placed as far away as New York City. mmmwvim INDPENDENT FOOD DEALERS ASSOCIATION INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED THERE’S ONE NEAR YOU. JUST PHONE. WE DELIVER CHATTING PERTINENT COMMENT ON TIMELY TOPICS By HARRY BOATE Following are a few recent remarks made by up-to-date people more or less active in the doings of today: There are more communists in Canada today than there were in the whole of Russia when the communists seised power in 1917.—Col. George Drek. No state ever was or is worthy of a free man’s worship.—Stanley Baldwin. My record does not include pig-headed obstinancy; I can get more money in a better way.—Neville Chamberlain. Whatever happens, wives have not. The Maxim gun, and blacks have not. —Ralph Linton. A mixture of misery and education is highly explosive.—Sir Herbert Sammuel. i Dictators look upon people as so much fuel to feed the war furnace. —Bill Borah. We have become suspicious.—Adolph Hitler. If President Roosevelt’s fight for his judiciary reform bill was a comedy of errors, its defeat was a tragedy of betrayals.—Jay Franklin. We owe it to the world to preserve our sense of humor.—Mrs. Roosevelt. Courage, discipline and efficiency are as necessary to democracy as they are to dictatorship.—Stanley Baldwin. There will always be a multitude who are congenially unable to think straight.—Chief Justice Hughes. The nation knows that I hate war, and I know that the nation hates war. —President Roosevelt. ‘Propaganda’ is such an unpleasant, cold-blooded word!—J. B. Priestley. Quaint belief: that monarchs and not millionaires are the symbols of twentieth-century tyranny.—George Dangerfield. It is easier to let loose the dogs of war than to catch and kennel them again.—Dr. Alfred Rosenberg.. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, criticize.—Hitler. Miraculous Soviet industrial records are Stalin’s. Breakdowns are Trotsky’s.—-New York Times. — - The motion picture industry is no different from the undwear industry. —Rouben Mamoulian. The inimitable virtue of the British Constitution is that it does not exist.—Andre Maurois. All my thoughts are bent on preventing war.—Mussolini. I make war; Mussolini invents it.—Italian Marshal Badoglio. Chinese soldiers travel their journey to death as if returning home. —Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang. The washing of diapers and warming of baby bottles is not conducive to the maintenance of a proper self-esteem by a husband.—N. Y. Justice Wenzel. There isn’t an actress alive who has taken better care of her morals than I have.—Sally Rand. Should Roosevelt have more power. Well the powers given to a well meaning governor later made Huey Long a dictator.—Robert Quillen. Fascists and Communists cry: “This idea will save you!” and they are right. Look how safe and secure the slaves were.—Robert Quillen. Less than one-half of one per cent of labor’s contracts have been violated.—Robert F. Wagner. If you do not believe the truthfulness of the paragraphs just pre ceding, read your daily papers and then reflect that there are in addition some three or four other conflicts raging throughout the world, of which the average reader knows little or nothing. MUSICIANS HOLD “OVERFLOW” NOMINATIONS MEETING, WITH EVERYTHING GOING “SMOOTHLY” The Charlotte Musicians Protective Union, of the American Federation of Musicians, local 342, held their regular meeting for November at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce on November 8th. The musicians were so numerous in attendance that they overflowed the hall, all seats were taken, and more seats were brought in. The reason for such an attendance was the fact that new officers for the year 1938 were to be nominated. Bo Norris, president of the local, called the meeting to order at 7:45, and after the approval of the minutes, the nominations for officers and the exec utive committee were in order. The following officers were nominated unanimously to serve for the year 1938: As no further nominations were made from the floor, after repeated requests for same, said nominations are equivalent to election. , Bo Norris, president, leader of a dance band; Bill Davis, vice-president, radio artist and band leader, Jack Paschal, sergeant of arms and a bass player; Wm. S. Greene, leader of radio musicians WBT, also secretary of local 342 and Secretary of the Charlotte Central Labor Union. One the ex ecutive committee, the following men were nominated with no opposition: Verlie Campbell, leader of a dance band; Gib Todd, leader of a band; Pete Martin, leader of radio musicians WBT; Thorpe Westerfield, delegate to the Charlotte Central Labor Union, and Gene Morse, music teacher and trom bonist. . President Norris spoke briefly on the excellent co-operation of the of ficials and the executive committee in the supervising of the local union during the year. Vice-President Davis spoke on the general conditions of work of the members of the union. Secretary Greene spoke on the general conditions of work of the members of the union. Secretary Greene spoke on the improvement of the economic conditions in Charlotte and North Carolina pertaining to professional musicians who are members of the Ameri can Federation of Musicians. Verlie Campbell and Jimmy Livingston also gave brief talks. The meeting was well attended. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in December. The local is said to be the largest Musicians local union in the south. PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS For Quality Drugs and Sundries Visit the SELWYN CUT RATE DRUG STORE 129 W. Trade St TeL 3-5131 AND THE NANCE DRUG STORE 305 N. Caswell Road TeL 8519 “Charlotte’s Friendly Drag Stores” JOHN S. NANCE, Proprietor Convenient-to-Pay Loan Service Citizens Savings and Loan Company 114 E. 4th St. Dial 3-1181 Peace Conference of Labor Again Takes “Recess” Until November 18 WASHINGTON, NOV. 10.—THE PEACE CONFER ENCE BETWEEN THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND THE C. I. O. RECESSED LAST NIGHT UN TIL NOVEMBER 18 WITHOUT REACHING AN AGREE MENT. PEACE COMMITTEEMEN SAID THEY HAD “OTHER BUSINESS” TO WHICH THEY MUST ATTEND. 936,185 NEW MEMBERS GAINED BY A. F. OF L IN 14 MONTHS TOTAL MEMBERSHIP OF AFFILIATED UNIONS IS 3,376,771, SECRETARY-TREASURER MORRISON REPORTS WASHINGTON, D. C—Frank Morrison, secretary treasurer of the American Federation of Labor, made public the following; report relative to the increased membership of unions affiliated with the Federation: “The membership of the 101 National and International Unions and Local Unions directly affiliated with the Ameri can Federation of Labor as of October 30, 1937, is 3,376,771. “This is a gain of 936,185 members over the average membership of the fiscal year ending August 31, 1936. “This does not include the membership of the ten Nat ional and International Unions suspended September 5, 1936’.’ A. F. of L. Victory In Chattanooga For the Workers CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Nov. 8. —American Federation of Labor 73; C. I. O. 41; certified list of eligible voters in plant 125; voting 114; num ber of A. F. of L. members arbitrari ly disqualified by the Labor Board 14; questionable votes for C. I. O. 1. Such is the result of Chattanooga’s firts election to determine the bar gaining agency in industry, and the smashing defeat of the C. 1. O. by thi A. F. of L. caused general rejoicing in this section among all citizens ex cept the C. I. Oers. The Local Labo Movement, to which most of the grea victory belongs, is jubilant; newspa pers here expressed the city’s gratifi cation of the A. F. of L. victory i both news columns and in editorials. The election was held Nov. .1, in tht plant of the Southern Chemical Cot ton Company, petitioned for by the C I. 0. and called by the Labor Board over emphatic protests of the Ameri can Federation of Labor, and "is, in every respect, identical with the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Pittsburgh case wherein the labor board arbitrarily called an election jpon request of the C. I. 0. in a plant already operating under an agree ment with the American Federation Labor, which resulted in creating an impression that the Labor Board is a willing tool for the C._ I. O. in the nefarious business of raiding A. F- of L. u: .o:is and nullifying their exist ing agreements with employers. There are no icebergs in the north ern Pacific ocean. There is no power being exerted to keep the Tarth rotating on its axis. (Tr’y 13 muscles are required to make a smile, but it takes 50 to make a frown. Central Labor Union held its reg ular weekly meeting Wednesday night with a large number of delegates pres ent. Reports of locals were good and three new delegates were obligated. Reports on the Columbus Tri-State A. F. of L. meeting was made by /Charlotte delegates. The Women’s (Union Label League reported progress tand a meeting for Thursday night, NoV. 18 at 7:30 P. M. at Labor Jour nal office, 302 College street. J, C. McGIon, grand lodge represen tative of the International Association of Machinists, was present and made an interesting talk, complimenting Central body on the onward march being made along organizing lines in this city, and offering his assistance while in the city. Attention was called to the fact that matters of special in terest to the movement would be on the slate for next Wednesday night, Nov. 17, and a full attendance is re requested. BAKERY AND CONFECTION ERY WORKERS of Charlotte are requested to get in touch with organizer Albert Beck at Room 702 Mayfair Hotel. A drive to organize is on foot to assist all bakers to organize and get Union signed contracts with your employers. SHEET METAL WORKERS NOTICE—LOCAL NO. 366 Holds its regular meeting every Friday night at Building Trades hall 113^2 So. College St. Your presence is requested to attend this meeting of All, Sheet Metal Workers. M. B. EUDY, Secretary, Local No. 366. BUILDING LABORERS AND HOD CARRIERS We are asking you to assist yourself in organizing as we want to get all building laborers and hod carriers into the International Hod Carriers and Building Laborers and Common Laborers Union of America.. For further informa tion get in touch with ALBERT BECK, A. F. L. Organizer, Hotel Mayfair. TO ALL BARBERS AND BEAUTICIANS IN CHARLOTTE Being as there is not a Union Shop in Charoltte we are asking all barbers to start a drive for an organization so that the 25,000 Union Workers in this territory can know where to get shaved by a union barber and for women folks to get a Union Beautician to marcel their hair. Mr. Lloyd, Organizer for Bar bers will be in Charlotte in the near future. Organizer Al. Beck will assist with your problems. Let’s go. Barbers, for a Union town of barbers and stop this scabbing on hair cuts and shaves, BRICKLAYERS AH bricklayers who are unem ployed get in touch with organizer Albert Beck at once. I need union men to fill the jobs. Have jobs for union bricklayers out of town. The Bricklayers Union No. 9 Charlotte meets 1st and 3rd Thurs days of the month at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 409 West 7th St. _The charter will close on Nov. 25. All Bricklayers should get a union card. The Bricklayers In ternational is putting on a drive in this State to organize the brick layers and Plasterers and Tile Setters and all Trowel Trades. Get your card and let us build up a strong Bricklayers Union. PETE TOFFOLI, Secretary. ALBERT BECK, President. NEED UNION BRICKLAYERS FOR OUT-OF-TOWN WORK AT I1.25 AN TOUR. CALL ALBERT BECK AT MAYFAIR HOTEL, CHARLOTTE. —A DVT. Since 1492 man has mined about 41,000 tons of gold—enough to make a cube 41 feet along each side. ----- - - THE LITTLE BOY’S BABY PRAYER | Dear (Sod, I need yon awful bad; I don’t know what to do. My papa’s cross, my mamma’s sick, I hain’t no fren’ but you. Them keerless angels went and brnng ’Sted of the boy I ast, A weensey, teensey, baby girl; I don’t see how they dast . . . And, God, I wish’t you’d take her back, She’s just as good as new. Won’t no one know she’s second hand But ’ceptin’ me and you. And pick a boy—Dear God, your self The nicest in your fold. But please don’t choose him quite so young, I’d like him five years old. —Selected.