Editorial
CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL ft DIXIE FARM NEWS
^_Published Weekly at Charlotte, N. C.
Address All Communications to Post Office Box 1061
Telephones 3-3094 and 4-5802
Office of Publication: 118 East Sixth Street, Charlotte, N. C.
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H. A. Stalls, Editor and Publisher W. M. Witter, Associate Editor
Entered as second-class mail matter September 11, 1931, at the Post
Office at Charlotte, N. C., under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879
Official Organ of the Charlotte Central Labor Union and Approved by
The American Federation of Labor and the
North Carolina Federation of Labor
The Labor Journal will not be responsible for opinions of corre
spondents, but any erroneous reflecting upon the character, standing or
reputation of any person. Arm or corporation which may appear tn
the columns of The Labor Journal will be gladly corrected when called
to the attention of the publisher. Correspondence and! Open Forum
•pinions solicited.
THE WORKIKNG MEN AND WOMEN MUST VOTE
All members of organized labor should turn out in full
force next Tuesday and cast their hallots for the candidates
friendly to the workers of our community and district. The
time is far spent when the working people of North Caro
lina can stay away from the polls and allow the other voters
to shoulder the entire burden of naming public servants to
office to serve all the peoples.
While Charlotte and Mecklenburg county are fortunate in
this election by having splendid men running for the various
offices the record shows that we have some men in public
office who are not friendly toward the organized worker^
This is true not only in the congressional families from our
state but it is true with regards to our State Legislature.
Labor must be ever on the alert, for the reactionary
groups. They will inflame a noble and wellmeaning Ameri
can press; they will lobby before the doors of the State and
National Assemblies; they would stab you in the back to
fulfill their own selfish desires. The woods are full of men
of such character.
Is Labor going to dream while the evil-designers march
into office and pass laws which dig deeply into its vitals, or
is it going to walk uprightly to the polls and have a voice
in the selection of those who are to serve the American peo
ple according to the Christian principles which are set forth
to guide man to a better world?
The Nation is passing through perilous days. The reac
tionary groups are like unto barnacles that accumu
late on a ship’s hull. They cling to thd Ship of Progress in
the same manner and will multiply and grow, adding to the
ship’s deadweight unless scraped off and cast into the deep.
In this modern day smart, broadminded men should be
placed in public office— men who are mentally qualified to
weigh both sides of any issue are vitally necessary. It is
sible positions on the Ship of State. Labor has its duty to
perform.
RETURN TO BASIC TRADE UNIONISM
“The time has come to return to the basic principles of
trade unionism: the right to organize; the right to form
unions of our own choosing; the right to bargain collec
tively; the right to refuse to work for unfair employers,
and the right of government employes to organize,” the
65th convention of the American Federation of Labor de
clared recently in its Chicago meeting by adopting a report
of its Committee on Resolutions on National Labor policy.
The report of the committee said in part:
“Nothing in the experience of the American Federation
of Labor with wartime regulation of collective bargaining
by the Federal Government justifies a departure from
these basic principles. Nothing has occurred since the ^nd
of the war to justify delaying our immediate return to the
freedom required by these principles. Immediate economic
freedom is of utmost importance to the American Federa
tion of Labor in rarticular and the American labor move
ment in general.
“Only after our freedom has been restored can there be
any progress made toward the formulation of a national
labor policy. Nor is there any reason to believe that such
a policy will be established by so-called national conferences
of labor and managemnet. A truly national labor policy
can best be obtained through the tried and tested pro
cedures of collective bargaining between individual employ
ers and industrial groups of organized workingmen.
“In summary, therefore, it is the unanimous recommen
dation of your committee that positive steps be taken by
the American Federation of Labor to free itself from the
remnants of Federal regulation which was necessary only in
time of war.”
IS THE “OLD YELLOW DOG” RETURNING?
Affidavits which government workers now have to sign
under the Ball-Russell appropriation bill anti-strike riders
are written in language which “strongly resembles the lan
guage of the hateful yellow dog contracts of former times."
This was charged by Joseph A. Padway. American Fed
eration of Labor general counsel, in an article headed: “Is
the Government Adopting the Yellow Dog Contract,” in the
September issue of the Catering Industry Employe. Under
these riders all government workers have to sign affidavits
that they do not belong to any union recognizing the right
to strike. Padway points out that "already some govern
ment employes have refused."
His article concludes: “Possibly, with the advent of the
new Congress and a more constructive and reasonable ap
proach to problems affecting labor, this type of backhanded
legislation through appropriation bills will cease, and the
present laws will not be revived at the end of the year.”
Meanwhile Padway is negotiating with government agen
cies to make the language of the affidavits less objection
able. In his effort* Mr. Padway will receive the support of
American labor as a whole. Lawmakers in Washington
who supported the anti-strike riders to the Ball-Russell ap
propriation bill are in for no end of peaceful carrying-on so
long as they are busying themselves with anti-labor legisla
tion which affects 15,000,000 workers.
S8*>W
. tmmomfumoo* . ■own
THE ARGUMENTS OF
THE MAJOR PARTIES
DEMOCRATS
(Robert E. Hannegan, chair
man of the Democratic National
Committee, as the truest of AFL
President William Green on a na
tion-wide radio hook-up devoted
to labor issues, explains in the
following address why he believes
the interests of the American
worker would best be served by
voting a straight Democratic tick
et in the November elections.)
Every two years at this time,
the Republican Party tells labor
what a great friend it has been■
of the working man. Yes, just
at this time. Its spokesmen reg
ularly inform the working man
of the many things for which he
can thank the Republicans.
Today I want to mention a few
of the things that labor can thank
the Republican Party for.
A wage-price stabilization pro
gram to protect the American
people from inflation was form
ulated and put into effeet by the
Democratic Administration.
That program has been torpe
doed. The destruction was accom
plished under the leadership of the
Republican Party in the Seventy
ninth Congress.
As a result, today labor can
thank the Republican leaders for
skyrocketing prices, and for high
er costs all down the line of life’s
necessities.
Eucouaged by this Republican
victory over price control, the
large owners of property in many |
parts of the country are renewing
their demands to end rent control.
To Republican prices they would
now add Republican rent.
Actually, higher prices and
higher rents are the equivalent
of a major wage cut. For this
wage cut, the working man can
thank the Republican Party, which
is always labor’s friend at elec
tion time.
This was the first step: Break
price control. Then, when the
new limit for prices is the sky
itself, take away from labor its
right of collective bargaining, so
that wages cannot keep up with
prices. That is the second step.
And* already we are hearing de
mands for legislation that would
make it impossible for the work
ing man to seek an adjustment in
wages to meet higher prices.
Where are these demands com
ing from? Who wants to end
collective bargaining? Again, for
the threat to take away from the
working man his only protection
against a wage cut—the right of
collective bargaining — labor can
thank the Republican Party.
Yes, labor's great friends—at
election time — are on record
against the Wagner Act. Oh,
they don’t want to kill the whole
act! Do not misunderstand them.
These Republicans only want to
amend it a little—just enough to
take o^t the right of collective
bargaining.
If that could be accomplished,
you would have the ideal Repub
lican combination — Republican
prices without a ceiling over them
and Republican wages without a
floor under them. Then labor’s
great friend, the Republican
Party, would be happy.
What is the answer? Is it to
surrender the standard of living
of the American working man?
Is it to put millions of dollars
before millions of people? Or is
it to elect a Congress that will
tight to maintain and improve
that standard?
Is it to re-elect the Republican
members of the Seventy-ninth
Congress who sabotaged stabili
zation and who now are ready to
open up their attack on rent con
trols ?
Or is labor’s answer the re
placement of those Republicans
with men and women of the Dem
ocratic Party, the party that
established the right of collective
bargaining and that fought—and
will continue U> fight—to keep
prices and rents at fair levels?
Yea. With a keen appreciation
of what has been done ^ by the
Republicans, the working man will
go to the polls on November 5
and vote Democratic.
REPUBUGAHS
f As the guest of AFL President
William Green on a nation-wide
radio book-up devoted to labor is
sues, Carroll Reece, chairman of
the Republican National Commit
tee, in the following address, ex
pounds his views of why the
American worker should support
the Republican ticket in the ap-1
proaching election.)
The Republican Party stands un
alterably for the American enter
prise system of free labor and
free management — the system
which has made the American
standard of living the highest in
the world. The Republican Party
is unalterably opposed to the ef
forts of the Communistic and radi
cal elements in this country to
weaken and destroy our represen
tative form of government and to
make America over into some
sort of totalitarian or socialized
state.
The officials of the American
Federation of Labor are fully ap
preciative of the fact that with
out a free and representative I
form of government we cannot
for long have free labor; and that
both the liberty and dignity of the
individual will be destroyed. In
the last few days we have had
conclusive proof that the Moscow
dictatorship which enslaves So
viet Russia is seeking to control
the results of the coming Novem
ber election and bring about the
defeat of Republican candidates
for Congress.
In an impudent English lan
guage broadcast by Radio Moscow
last Sunday night, Americans
were urged to elect only candi
dates who were endorsed by the
CIO—Political Action Committee.
A Soviet spokesman insisted that
the election of a Republican Coh
gress would mean the end of
democracy in America. Of course
he used the word “democracy” in
its Communist sense. Under the
Soviet system of so-called democ
racy there is no freedom of
speech, no freedom of religion, no
freedom of collective bargaining,
no freedom to strike or even free
dom of thought. That is the kind
of democracy that the Soviet gov
ernment wants to see established
in the United States. As the best
means to obtain it they, are sup
porting the Administration-spon
sored candidates endorsed by the
CIO—Political Action Committee.
However, we do not have to go
to Moscow for evidence that the
Democrat Administration now in
power is the enemy of free labor.
On three occasions—in 1944, 194®
and again in 1946 —-. a Democrat
President has asked the Congress
for power to draft workers for
forced labor. It is inconceivable
to me that American labor will
support an administration which
has sponsored such proposals vio
lating every principle of constitu
tional government and every de
cent instinct of the American peo
ple.
The Republican Party came into
being to abolish human slavery.
It has never departed from thai
principle and it never will. Eco^
nomic slavery means human
slavery and political slavery.
Through a resolution recently
adopted by the federation's annual
convention and statements made
by President Green and the Exec
utive Council his great organiza
tion has expressed its determina
tion to continue the fight to pro
tect labor against the subversive
elements wishing to destroy it. The
Republican Party has the same
great objective. The Republican
candidates are pledged to that
cause.
I am convinced that the Ameri
can Federation of Labor and the
millions of workers it represents
can best assure continuation of
the governmental principles in
which they believe by supporting
and aiding the Republican Party
and its candidates for the Con
gress on Election Day—November
5th.
I can assure you that when the
Republicans take control of Con
gress the legislative program will
not be dictated or controlled from
abroad and that American labor
will receive a square deal. Re
member there are no Communists
in the Republican Party.
CONCORD WORKERS
SET RECORD
Washington, D. C. — Tbs Bu
reau of Labor Statistics of tbs
Labor Department has announced
that cotton mill workers in tbs
Concord area of North Carolina,
at 88 cants an hour, were tbs
highest in April of this jresr than
average hourly earnings have aver
been in the textile industry.
According to the leport, the
Spartanburg workers in South
Carolina averaged 81.3, which was
the highest hourly average for
any South Carol ioa center.
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