Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Nov. 19, 1942, edition 1 / Page 1
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Endorsed by the N. C. State Federation of Labor DIXIE FARM NEWS Official Organ of Cental Labor Union; Standing _for the A, F. L> 12 YEARS OF CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE TO NORTH CAROLINA READERS VOL. XII. NO. 25 YOU* AOVERTISENENT IN TME JOURNAL IS A GOOD INVKSTMKNT CHARLOTTE, N. C. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1942 Journal Advertisers Deserve Consideration or __ tne Readers $2.00 Per Year <*• - “United We Stand lor Victory” - The ONLY REALLY INDEPENDENT WEEKLY in Mecklenburg County *niCTml1»mMrr?For a Weekly Its Readers Represent the LARGEST BUYING POWER in Charlotte BILL JONES IS DEAD “Bob” Sikes of Crestview, Florida is a member of Congress. Sikes before going to Washington owned and operated a small town newspaper. Sikes had the following story written by Roe Fulkerson for the Kiwanis Magazine reprinted in the Congression al Record. Sikes says it is one of the finest instances he has seen of putting squarely up to the civilian at home the attitude of the man who gave his life for his country on a distant battle field. Read and see whether you agree with “Bob” Sikes. WE DO. “Bill Jones is dead “Bill Jones had just graduated from agricultural college. He was ambi tious to put into action all he had learned about conservation of soil, better breeding of cattle, rotating crops, because his dad’s farm was in pretty bad shape. When war came. Bill enlisted in the Army. “Bill went to the Philippines and the little town where he was billeted was overrun by a horde of Japs. Bill fought as long as he could and then, under orders, surrendered. They tied his hands behind him and a Jap soldier started to rape a white woman. He had torn her blouse off when Bill kicked him in the belly, and three Japs waiting their turn rammed their bayonets into Bill’s guts. “This happened about the time you were telling the folks at your house that it was all darned nonsense to ration sugar because cake and candy were certainly no diet for soldiers. “Bill Jones is dead. “He was a soda jerker in a small town, and when the bands blared and the flags fluttered, he signed up for the Navy. They put him on a torpedo boat. He learned to wear his hat on the corner of his head, and to roll when he walked. Then his boat got into a scrap down in the South Seas. Bill stood by his gun and laughed as he fired it, but a shell hit the deck beside Bill. When he tried to pull himself to his fet, he saw that his right arm was in the scuppers 5 feet away. He reached for his gun with his left hand, and then things went black. The list of the ship rolled a dead sailor into the scuppers where his dismembered arm lay. Its extended thumb tuched the tip of his nose, so that in death as in life, Bill was thumbing his nose at the Jap ship that got him. “This was just the same day that you were raising hell because they were rationing gasoline, and for fear you couldn't drive up to the lake to go fishing every week-end this summer, you hid four cans of gasoline in your garage. “Bill Jones is dead. “Bill’s dad had a lot of money, and when Bill wanted his own plane dad bought it for him. Bill was a wild devil, driving a car out of all reason and flying a plane the same way, and getting drunk too often. But he was the first man in his town to respond to the Air Corps' call for fliers. “Bill got into a dogfight over the English Channel. There were six German planes, but with a “Tallyho!” Bill dived into the bunch of them. He got two before a third one sent a burst of bullets into his back that almost cut him in half, but he held onto the stick until he rammed the fourth plane and went down with it-locked in the flaming embrace of death. “This happened about the time you were bellyaching and feeling abused because of the outrageous treatment given you by the tire rationing board which would not allow you recaps for your pleasure car. "Hill Jones is dead. "Bill was a boy who had inclinations for the ministry, but when the call came Bill laid aside his Bible and joined the Marine Corps. Bill wasn’t much fun around the blanket where they were shooting craps, and he wasn’t so hot at the beer drinking contests in the jukes, but he earned his sergeant’s stripes before they sent his gang ashore in one of those new boats which land through the surf. “The fist full of fighting fools charged a machine gun nest, and Bill had just taken careful aim and let go with a hand grenade when another machine gun caught him. Four bullets hit his head, but a Marine has four speeds forward and no reverse, and Bill fell toward the enemy. “That was the afternoon when you were sitting at the golf club with a highball in your hand, telling the other three fellows in your foursome that if income taxes were not reduced, they were going to kill initiative in this country. “Bill Jones is dead. t “Bill was a football player who had good prospects as professional coach at a small college. Then came Pearl Harbor. Bill used some football language and headed for town to sign up with the parachute troops. He did all right. “Bill got action in an air raid in enemy country. He hit the ground with a dozen of his pals and raced to where their machine guns and grenades had landed near them. Fully equipped, they made for a nearby farm house from which bullets were spraying like water out of a garden hose. “Six of those machine gun bullets fairly cut Bill’s legs off, but he lay on his belly in the mud and got two Heinies. Bill’s last words were, “Of all the damn fool luck.” “That was the time you were telling the boys at the poker game that the union racketeers and the munition manufacturers were making fortunes out of this war, when we had no business getting into it in the first place. “Bill Jones is dead. “Bill was an uneducated clam digger on the New England coast, but he knew about boats. He had only one eye and the uniformed ranks would not take-him. so he shipped on a tanker. His ship was bringing oil up the coast when a German pig boat came up out of the slime and sent a torpedo into the hull amidships. The freighter burst into flames and Bill went over the side into the burning oil. “When he came to the surface a machine gun was practicing on the bobbing heads. When the bullets hit Bill’s head it burst open like a dropped egg. His charred bullet riddled body sank beneath the surface. “That was the night you were telling the folks at your party that this war is being run by a lot of old women in Washington, the most mismanaged mess you ever heard of. “Bill Jones is dead. When God in His infinite kindness meets Bill Jones at Heaven’s gate, He is going to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” “What He is going to say to you, God alone knows.” PRESIDENT CANCELS DRAFT DEFERMENTS OF EMPLOYES OF THE U. S. GOVERNMENT WASHINGTON, Nov. 17.—President Roosevelt asked all Fed eral government departments and agencies yesterday to cancel any military deferment that had been given governmental em ployees. Here is the text of his memorandum: ‘ “1 am most anxious to make sure that no man should be deferred from military service by reason of his employment in any Federal department or agency either in Washington or in any other place. “If any such deferment has been given to anyone within your respective jurisdiction, would you please arrange for cancellation thereof as soon as possible and notify the selective board having jurisdiction. “No further request for deferment by reason of such employment should be made either by the agency or by the employee. “I am sure that in the overwhelming number of cases this action will be welcomed by the young men themselves who are involved. “I know that in certain technical or highly scientific or specialized branches of tho service there are a few employes who, by reason of unique experience, are really irreplacable by women or older men. If there are any which in your opinion fall within this category, will you please write me the full details of them so that their cases may be passed on individually." Free Labor Will Out-Produce Nazi Slaves JOURNAL WRITER ASKS SOME “PERTINENT” QUESTIONS — LOCAL UNIONS ARE GROWING — HOFFMAN PROJECT WILL BE ALL UNION BY. J. A. MOORE Three guesses: “Who was the lady that sat in the first seat of the third row from the front, on the left side of the building, and where were the delegates from some of our most dependable local unions at the last meeting of the Central Labor Union? - Better watch out, or I may call some names in this weekly write up. However, I will say that everything seems to be going all i. ik. lokn, mjimnnil in Charlntt* now. Reports by various locals are most encouraging; every body working and some good jobs have gone without a sufficient number of applications to fill the demand; discussions are of a decided difference to the past, and I often wish that some of our citi zens that' would like to think of us as a "bunch” could sit in and see the parliamentary manner in which our business is handled. Local unions are increasing their membership, and none, to my knowl edge, have increased their initiation fee. In this point there have been many false rumors, how often do we hear criticism of the initiation fee? Why not a charge? The labor unions have carried on the necessary cost of building up the organization, and have paid the expense of creating these better conditions of employment, so isn’t this reason enough? Just suppose you have carried on a busi ness, successful in a small way for many years and then decide to ex pand would you think it fair to take in a new partner and put in dollar for dollar with him and then divide the profits equal with him? No, cer tainly not, your previous investment would be a consideration in the di vision of profits, so this sense of fair ness can justly be carried on in the labor movement, I know of some cases when times were not as promising to labor unions as they are today, when some of our local unions had but a few members able to pay dues, these members not only paid their own dues but passed the hat among themselves and paid on enough members to hold their charters, and today they are on ly receiving the same benefits that are enjoyed by the members that have only paid a few months dues, prac tically every dollar received for initi ations are immediately invested in war bonds, and why not? These bonds I will help to insure our rights to join our labor organisations and, worship our own God, not a God selected for us to serve by a Hitler, or a Mussolini. In the event that Labor is drafted to save the Nation, several State Federations’ of Labor, in a recent conference in Atlanta, agreed to “ful ly and completely accept the condi tions of conscription, trusting our Commander-in-Chief’s sense of fair ness and love of equal treatment to all to conscript Industry, Business and Management at the same moment and in the same way that Labor may be conscripted.” Councilman and Mayor Pro-tem Claude L. Albea was a recent visitor at the Labor Temple, The Councilman has been stirring in the interest of the labor movement right much re cently. I have had the pleasure to have attended several meetings re cently that he addressed, one of these speeches of his was the best labor talk that I have ever heard. Carry on Claude, we are betting on you. Pick up your favorite daily paper, ldok for the column by your favorite Columnist, bet it isn’t on the front page; check your labor paper—this space has been given first page in the past. How am I Doing? Its your paper, read it and if you dis aprove of this writing, tell the Editor, but read the paper. I am authorized to report that juris diction of the Hoffman project has been given to Carpenters Local Union 1469 and their representative has reached an agreement with the con tractors and army officials to furnish the necessary carpenters. This agree ment will, as I understand it, be fol lowed with all of the skilled crafts involved. Congratulations to the car penters, and Brother Conder. This project will be handled in a very highly efficient manner, as have the local projects. “LABOR FOR VICTORY” WASHINGTON, D. C.—The next “Labor For Victory” program under AFL auspices, on Nov. 22, will offer a special treat to all AFL members. It will be a Christmas broadcast, with emphasis on the Union Label. Secretary-Treasurer I. M. Ornburn, of the Union Label Trades Department, will be the featured speaker. THEY DESERVE OUR BEST WELL GIVE IT! THANKSGIVING PERTINENT COMMENT EDITORIAL CHEERING WAR NEWS THESE DAYS Roosevelt and Churchill seem to have been wiser than their critics, for when the news was not so hot for the Allies they were catching hell from them, but they- held their peace, took it on the chin, and let the fices bark. It seems that the personal critics and those who sit comfortably at home or in the sanctum, at the typewriter, grinding out the various columns and editorials of a critical nature (at “so much” per) could be serving better in some front line job, where all of the casualties they speak of are taking place. The Journal has never questioned our Government. It has gone, and will go, 100 per cent all the way for whatever line of endeavor is mapped out, at home or “Over There.” Some things we may not understand, or may not personally agree with, yet “My Country, Right or Wrong, My Country.” Woodrow Wil son got his “cussing out” in World War No. 1; yet today he stands in memory as the first president to liberate the worker, and a man who gave his all for his country and the average citi zen. This is no time for the Columnists and the Radio Commen tators, and Parties or Politicians, whether Republican, Demo cratic, or what have you, to be injecting personalities into legis lation. Capital and Labor are getting closer together, as those who read The Journal can see, and any faction, religious or other wise, standing in the way, either by word of mouth, or written line, is no better than an arch traitor, who would cause discord at home to the detriment of the cause for which we boys are fighting. While we do not believe in Communism, have ever fought it, as not being compatiable with our form of government, yet when this war is over, and we are victorious, a change is going to come in our governmental set-up and our way of living. Russia has given Mr. Hitler a belly full, and has kept him busy while we were building, and when this war is won Russia also will undergo a change that will weaken its Communistic foundation and a changed form of government will prevail, but along broad lines. -V THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE 40-HOUR WEEK Most newspapers waging the eswagedgu against the 4“-b«w week do not give all the facts. THERE IS NO LAW AGAINST WORKING 48 HOURS—OR 54 HOURS. In making compari sons with the British average of 53 hours as against our average of 43 hours, it is not pointed out clearly enough that ENGLAND has maintained its work standard week and that labor is getting paid for overtime as provided for under existing union contracts for additional hours. Then, too, most papers in the organized campaign against the 40 hour week, fail to point out that in a great many of our war industries, workers are now working a forty-eight hour week, or longer, and that the only result from wiping out the provision requiring the payment of overtime (time and a half) would be to reduce wages for workers and increase profits for companies. Most workers are willing to put in additional hours if neces sary to increase war production, but there is no reason why they should consent to a wage reduction. Would the Government bene fit from reduced costs resulting from the abolition of pay for overtime? No one has thought of looking into that at all. ss Secretary of Nary Frank Knox applauds daring the address of John P. Frey, President of the AFL’S Metal Trades Department, daring the Shore Establishment’* Dinner at the Willard Hotel, Oct. 22. The dinner was a major feature of the Navy’s two-day Labor Relations Conference. Official U. S. Navy Photograph USE THE PAYROLL PLAN 10% EACH WEEK FOR WAR BONDS Journal Readers Patronize Journal Advertisers
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 19, 1942, edition 1
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