Wm * mmm
9K||^M
•-- “-iri
^pp(i^SpB Hfe^aibftaHfe till
VOL. XX: WO. » “ • CHARLOTTK, N. C. THURSDAY. JULY ». IN* S^rij,tk» Prtc, »L00 Pw V«r
wrnmmtmmmmmMMidM
a
. • ■>':' ‘ j (
Daughter’s Death
Broke His Heart
By FLORENCE GOMPEBg McKAY
(Granddaughter of Smmmel Gompers. founder and *nt president of
Um aFL, aota down aome of her recollectiona for the Washington,
D. C, Tradeo Unionist. Second of two artidoa.)
WASHINGTON. — When grandfather was away from
Washington on the innumerable trips he had to make all
over the United States and in other countries, he was never
too busy to send us messages on picture cards showing
points of interest. He was never too pressed to And time
to purchase a personal souvenir for each of us at home.
During World ft nr I» I w»s
with the American Red Cross in
France. It was at this time that
grandfather was in Paris serv
ing as chairman of the Interna
tional Labor Commission. I
wrote him from Savenay, where
I was stationed, and he invited
my roommate and me to come
to Paris to visit him. Those were
a memorable four days for me.
He took us to the Hotel Crillon
where the peace Congress had
its headquarters and we were
" permitted to sit in the back- j
ground and watch him preside
over this labor conference withj
its representatives from almost
every country in the world. It
was shortly after the Armistice
Mil he had arranged for our en
tertainment and automobile trip
to Chateau-Thiery, Soissons and
Belleau Woods. One of my most
vivid recollections te of grand
father and the reat of our pdfty
standing in the bleak ruina of
the old hunting lodge at Belleau
Woods, eating onr lunch and
surveying the devastation on all
yidey, ijrlt’k the remnants of bat-,
tie not yet cleared away, dimly
sang through a light eoveriag of
All was not grim duriag that
trip to Paris, however. One eve
aing when he free, grand
father wasted to take mm to the
theater. He directed his secre
tary, Mr. Oyster, to secure tick
ets to a good show. Onr party
of about six arrived at the the
ater with great anticipation, but
before wo were through the first
quarter ff the first act It was
evident to ell that we wore wit
nessing a French drama of the
heaviest type, and since none of
us are fluent in French, it was
a more or less agonising experi
as to w’ s.;_
with a natural and audible pro
test from the French audience
about us. Our course was re
solved for us when grandfather
abruptly stood up and started
out of the theater with all of
us trailing behind. He commen
deered a taxi and we were soon
comfortably seated at the Follies
Bergere. Some of this show may
have been in French, but
most of it was in universal lan
guage readily understood by the
heterogeneous audience of Amer
icans, British, Aussies. New Zeal
anders and, oh yes, French!
During our visit, grandfather
tried to have as many meals with
ua as the press of conferences
and other work would permit and
it was agreed that we should
meet him each morning for
breakfast. This usually turned
out to be a three-ring circus with
telephone calls being brought to
the table, requests for interviews
by reporters, messengers dashing
up, etc. A couple of times I
remember he finally had to give
up and move to another table and
let us eat alone.
Of his large family bf children
only six reached adulthood, and
although I was w very small
child at the time, I distinctly re
call how very much he was af
fected by the deaths of a son
and a daughter just a few years
apart. However, the great sor
row of his life was the sudden
dentil during the flu epidemic in
1918 of his youngest daughter.
She was the only one of his
children still living at home and
(Conti—ad On Page 8)
jmrndtiMtftth' . Ada.
U. S. f* ‘ Protest
Peron War On Argen
tine Maritime Workers
Washington. — AF.'. railroad
and independent unions have
asked the U. S. State Depart
ment and other government
agencies to help end President
Peron's war agaiast the legiti
mate maritime worker’s unions
m the Argentine.
The representations were made
to the U. S. State Department
through Edward G. MiUer, Jr.,
assistant secretary for Inter
American Affairs, with a request
that Peron’s conduct be kept in
mind the next time he deals with
the Peron government on Blat
ters concerning economic aid and
other subjects.
U. S. onion spokesmen were
A. E. Lyon, executive secretary
Bailway Labor Executives Aaao-{
efcVri; Eric Peterson, seeretaxy
treesurer International Assoda
tioa of Machinists, and Serafiao
Boamldi, AFL Latin American
representative. *
Peron. through his Ministry of
Transport and Ministry of Labor
and Social Security, has dis
criminated against the Confeder
ation of Maritime and Allied
Trades and its individual mem
bers.
The International Transport
workers Federation alleges that
“there is a Axed resolve to de
stroy the remains of trade un
ion freedom represented in Ar
gentina by the Confederation of
Maritime and Allied Trades.”
Peron has decreed that these
unionists havv. ” ..
.... .as masmucn as is is
outsjde the general organization
embracing all the workers of the
country within the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Labor and is
not identified with the social
policy pursued by the national
government.”
_ The government sponsors the
General Confederation of Labor
(CGT) which the ARL and other
free trade unions of the world
have condemned as a creature of
the Peron dictatorship.
The action against the free
independent unions affiliated with
the International Transport work
ers is the latest in the long
series of crimes and persecutions
perpetrated by the Peron gov
ernment against free working
men.
It is hoped that the matter will
be presented to the Permanent
Commission to investigate viola
tions of trade union rights set
up by the International Labor
Organisation in co-operation with
the United National Economic
and Social Council.
The U. S. reportedly would
support an investigation of this
latest Peron outrage.
PICKS DELEGATES
Washington. — AFL President
William Green announced ap
pointment as AFL fraternal del
egates to the convention of the
British Trades Union Congress,
at Brighton, England, Sept. 4,
President Alex Rose, United Hat
ters, Cap and Millinery Workers
International Union, and Presi
dent Joseph P. McCurdy, United
Garment Workers of America.
mRKTOFTKE
b
>f
'.'.Si_____ _ «
• Gimtl IvitstflixL —President
Leo George of AFL Nitieul Aa
oecUUeit ef PeeUl Clerks listens
stUatirctr to debate at Inter**
tioaal Labor Organisation meet
tog which he attended as adrlscr
to (JA Workers Delegate George
P. Delaney.
*" ■" — '■ • "
- ^ss TAXES
v. .. .mngton. — The House
passed the 1960 tax bill reducing
excise taxes $1,010,000,000 on ad
missions, communications, trans
portation, toilet articles, lug
gage, jewelry and many other
items.
The bill was sent to the Sen
ate.
Senate Hikes Social
• Security Payments
s'* w* r
WASHINGTON.—The following tables show the social security
changes approved by the Senate as compared with present levels
and the changes approved by the House last year:
Maximum
Present House Senate Fam. (1)
$10 $25 $20 $40
15 31 31 50
20 36 37 59
25 44 43 78
Maximum
Present House Senate Fam. (1)
30 61 61 113
36 65 62 145
40 60 68 150
45 64 72 150
< i r same ior coin nouse ana senate duis.
(Example: A retired worker now receiving $30 a month would <
receive $51 under the House bill or $56 under the Senate bill. Hi* 1
maximum family benefit would be $113.)
Benefit for Worker With Fire
Years* Fall Coverage
Average
Monthly
Wage Present House Senate
$ 50 $21 $26 $26
100 26 51 60
150 32 56 58
200 37 62 66
250 42 67 72
300 42 . 72 80
~ . . k' -
Benefit for Worker With 40 '
Years’ Full Coverage
Average
Monthly <
Wage Present House Senate i
$ 60 $28 $30 $26 <
100 35 60 60 i
150 42 66 68
200 49 72 65 i
250 56 . 78 72 <
300 66 84 80
ttiuow oi a covered worker receives mree-quariers oi me oen
efit her husband would have received.
A retired worker receives an additional 50 per cent of his bene- ,
_(Continued On Pace 9)
PREPARING FOR CAMPAIGN I
the Community Chest's annual financial drive, met yesterday with chest officials
and coounittee members to make plans for this group's part In the campaign. The
drive, which will he held in October, will raise money to support more than 20
Red Feather services of the Coounuaity Chest in the new year. Shown, left to
right, are W. S. Lupo and Harvey G. Booth, committee members, John F. Wat
lingten, Jr., general campaign chairman, and Mr. lurtmse
By ARNOLD BEICHMAN.
New York Corespondent for AFL New* Service
NEW YORK.—A 7-point program of action designed to
halt ho\ iet aggression in South Korea and thereby assure
“the peace and security of the entire world" has been pro
posed by the Free Trade Union Committee of the AFL
In an emergency declaration, the committee, headed by
Vice President Matthew Woll, urged the following steM
be taken: *
Meosy Says Reds Losing b
Europe Switched To Hot
War ht Korea
By ARNOLD BElfHMAN
New York Correspondent of
AFL News Service
New York. — George Meany
AFL secretary-treasurer, return
ing from a six weeks’ tour oi
western Europe, stated that th«
soviet Union is most certainly
losing the cold war which, h«
added “may be the^ reason for
switching to a hot war policy.”
The- statement was a refer
ence to the communist attack on
South Korea which was an
nounced by our government the
day Mr. Meany returned.
Amplifying his opinion that
the Soviet Union is being de
feated politically in Europe, he
said that the Tito defection was
giving encouragement to non
communists behind'the Iron Cur
tain.
The highlight of the Euro
pean situation," said Mr. Meany,
“is Italy, where all the free
trade unions have now been
welded into one movement—So
cialist and Christian, with t,0Q0,
000 members ahd it really
functioning. In Italy * the fight
is between the communist unions
ind the Pastore-led free unions."
Secondly, Albania, a Soviet
latellite, is virtually useless to
•he Soviet Union, politically and
militarily, because it is overrun
with opposition and surrounded
jy Tito’s Yugoslavia and anti
communist Greece.
Reporters during the shipboard
conference with the AFL official
isked if Tito would be received
n the International Confedera
ion of Free Trade Unions if
Jugoslav trade unions applied
’or admission. Without a sec
md's hesitation. Mr. Meany, who
•eeently attended an ICFTU ex
ecutive council session in Bras
lels, replied, “No." He said:
“Yugoslav unions are still un
ons in name only, government
ontrolled. The situation with Tito
s like when Hitler attacked the
Russians in 1941. We ail rooted
'or the Russians but we didn’t
fet into bed with them. It is
vise for our government to offer
encouragement to the Tito move
ment but, at the same time, our
rovernment should try to get re
itrictions imposed by Tito on la
>or and religious groups loos
ened.”
Mr. Meany predicted that bo
or the year’s end he expected
hat the ICFTU would have af
nuated with it every free trade
anion movement in the world.
He also criticized th« Marshall
Plan for not helping the woikers
in European countries to the ex
tent that it should.
“Workers in Italy and in
Prance ate working for starva
tion wages,” he asserted. “In
Prance, the lots of the workers
have not improved very much
ind are far too low even by
French standards.”
PLAN INSTITUTES
New Brunswick, N. J. —The
%FL International Chemical
Workers Unidn has chosen Rut
rers University for the East and
University of Wisconsin for the
West as centers for its first
rammer institutes for training
officers and stewards in locals
»st a4 the Mississippi.
The selection wan announced
>y Dr. Otto Pragsn, union edu
cation director
' j l. UN, in accerdaac* with its
| charter, should render'all aid to
Korea.
2. UN to appeal to the Soviet
Union “to order its puppet North
Korean regime to halt Its inva
sion and withdraw forthwith”
north of the 38th parallel.
3. If this UN appeal is flout
ed, full diplomatic and economic
sanctions against the Soviet Un
ion and North Korea should be
■ taken.
4. Conclusion of a treaty of
mutual aid between the U. S.
and Korea and “undertake to
mobilize and equip its citizenry
to chase the Russian-led invaders
across the frontier from which
I the communist attack was
launched.”
8. Provide military supplies
and personnel essential to defeat
any communist assault on For
mosa.
in view of the experience
i n Czechoslovakia, Germany,
China and Korea with the com
munist fifth column aa an auxil
iary of the Soviet government in
its policy of subversion and im
perialist expansion against all
free countries,, the Depart menu
of National Defense, State and
Justice—together with a commis
sion of private citisens represen
tative of labor, msisgcmsat. the
farmers sad the puhlis slieald
be charged with _P«isilni_ aa
effective deo^mtfcVorf^ to
uproot, pmptys# and elimiaate
ail such trajtorous agents, agen
cies and activities from our coun
try”
7. Aa address by President
Truman before n Joint session of
the House and Senate in support
of the above program “in order
to impress upon the American
! people the gravity of the crisis."
The committee's statement de
clared:
“Korea is not- merely n small
1 and distant land. The tragic
plight of the Korean people la
a grave peril to all of us. The
cynical rulers of expansionist
Russia are striking through the
I Koreans at all free nations. We
are confident that the American
people, and especially organised
labor in the United States, real
ize that it iz easier to stop the
communist aggressors in Korea
than in California.”
The statement pointed out that
Korea, created by the UN, had
recently held democratic elections
and launched constructive social
reforms, all this despite a pow
erful fifth column supported by
! the Soviet Union. Tho United
States, under UN supervision,
voluntarily withdrew from Korea
our army of liberation in con
trast to Soviet policy which re
fused the UN the right to super
I vise “withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Northern Korea.
AFL VS. CIO
I _
New York City. — The AFL
Textile Worker* Union conven
tion voted support of “our gov
ernment’!. Reciprocal T r a d a
Agreements Program” and urged
vigorous action “unimpeded by
partisan political obstacles and
the sorbid pressure of special
interests.”
The action of the AFL tex
tile workers is particularly sig
nificant in the light of the boa
tile attitude taken by the CIO
textile workers toward tho Re
ciprocal Trade Agreements Pro
gram of the Truman administra
tion. UTW Secretary-Treasurer
Lloyd Klenert said that the
UTW, unlike the CIO textile un
ion, does not merely give lip
service to the fight against com
munism but practices what it
preaches.