Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Dec. 28, 1950, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Southern Factories Hire More Workers I Factory employment in the southeast increased again in Oc tober to reach a level of 000 according to Brunswick A. Bagdon, Regional Director of the U S. Department of Labor's Bu reau of Labor Statistics in the South. This marked the sixth consecutive month of gain for the region as increases in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Vir ginia more than offset losses in Alabama and Tennessee. Em ployment held steady in Missis sippi and North Carolina. Com pared to the same period last year, factory employment in the region is up 160,500. The ex istence of a work stoppage in the primary metals industry last year tends to exaggerate the over-the-year growth. The textile mill products in dustry added approximately 5.000 jobs in October as employment moved to 624,100. All states par ticipated in the growth which ap peared to be fairly well distrib uted throughout the industry. The current level is approximate ly 40,000 above that of last year and. exceeds all months since August, 1948. Reacting to seasonal factors In vegetable oil milling and in creased demand for industrial chemicals, employment in the chemical products industry to taled 115,300 in’ October. This was an increase of 4,800 over the previous month with each state reporting higher levels. Compared with last year, employ ment has risen 7,500 and is at, the highest point recorded since March, 1949. The food products industry em ployed fewer workers in October —a normal condition. The cur rent level of 153,400 is approxi mately 3,000 under that of the previous month but remains slightly above that of last year. All states except Florida and Vir ginia reported declines. The open ing citrus season contributed to an increase of 1,000 in Florida which was more than counter balanced by a decline of 2,300 in Tennessee alone. The largest October decline oc curred in the tobacco industry principally because of the lay off of 2,000 workers in North Carolina stemmery and redrying plants. South Carolina and Vir ginia reported smaller losses The only increase noted was in Flori da as cigar factories increased production. The present regional total of 67,500 is slightly above that of last year. Gross average hourly earnings of factory production workers increased in all states except Mississippi. Increases ranged from two to six cents. While scattered wage increases were re ported for several industries, the general increase in the textlie industry was the greatest force in raising the all-manufacturing average. There was little change in the factory workweek from September. The all-manufactur ing average for the region was approximately 41 hours. All states reported higher average weekly earnings. October earn ings in the southeastern states ranged from $41.26 to $50.60. Last year the range was from $36.20 to $44.84. Pr*ta for the eight southeastern stalls ware pi epared by i£Htr agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Car olina. South Carolina, Tennessee, and V1 'a in co-operation with th« Department of Labor’s Bu eau of Labor Statistics. Any person interested in re ceeiving this material may do so by writing to Mr. Brunswick A. Bagdon, Regional Director, Bu reau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, 1020 Grant Building, Atlanta 3, Georgia. Buy Union and fight the ag gressors who would destroy American labor standards. The New Year Community Chest Thanks The Journal December 20, 1950. Mr. H. A. Stalls, Editor, Charlotte Labor Journal, 118 E. Sixth Street, Charlotte, N. C. Deear Mr. tSalls: Please let me tell you how much all of us who are connected with the Charlotte Community Chest appreciate the' wonderful co-operation which you have fur-, nished our Community Chest dur ing the past year. The fine pub licity which you save us, partci ularly in connection with aur campaign and the “Bed Feather Quit” articles which you carried < (Continued On Page 4) State Employment Up RALEIGH, Dec. 27 —Non-agri cultural employment in North Carolina increased lJbOO last month, climbing to i' total of 907,200, the State Labor Depart ment reported today. Seasonal employment gains in trade and other non-manufactur ing activities canceled out sea sonal factory employment losses in tobacco, apparel and food products industries during No vember, said Labor Department statistician C. H. Pritchard. AH industries except trade re ported November hourly earnings as high, or higher, than wages paid in October. Pritchard said. Factory workers’ earnings, which averaged $1.16 an hour and $46 - 88 a week, were up slightly from the October level. Textile' mill employment j jumped 900 last month with in-! creases of 600 in yarn and thread mills, 200 in full-fashioned hosi ery and 100 in seamless hosiery. Hourly earnings increased from one to three cents in most tex tile lines, bringing the industry’s average to $1.22. The textile. workweek held firm at 40 hours and weekly earnings of textile workers averaged $48.97. Cigarette factories which hired 500 additional workers during November, reported an average wage increase of four cents an hour. This brought the hourly wages of the State’s 12.700 cig arette workers to $1.34. Their weekly earnings, averaging $50. 52. were $4.64 higher last month than in October, due partly to the hourly rate increase and partly to .the November work-' week which was nearly two and a half hours longer than the October workweek. Other manufacturing industries which reported hourly wag gains In November were: furniture and’ finished lumber products, food products, pulp and paper mills, printing and publishing, and chemical products — all up two cents an hour above October; and primary metals, apparel, sawmills, wooden coftydner plants, and millwork and plywood plants —up one cent an hour. A total of 5,400 tobacco stem mery and redrying plant seasonal workers were laid off during No Charlotte Area Shows Drop Oct.-Nov., Period RALEIGH, Dec. 27—Factory employment in the Char* lotte area dropped 200 from mid-October to mid-November, but the work-week and average weekly earnings of factory workers registered slight increases, the North Carolina De partment of Labor reported today. Total factory employment in the area fell from 22,200 la October to 22,000 in November, reported Labor Department statistician C. H. Pritchard. STATE THEFT BUREAU COLLECTS OVER $20,000 IN PENALTIES DURIN6 1950 RALEIGH, N. C. — Theft Bu reau inspectors collected a total of $28,918.48 in penalties and ad ditional license fees during No vember, the North Carolina De partment of Motor Vehicles re ported today. Of the amount, $3,546,62 came from additional license fees and $6,536.50 from penalties on pri vately owned; trucks. For hire vehicles brought In $11,168.06 in additional license fees, with pen alties amounting to $7,667.31. Members of the Theft Bureau; assisted in the recovery of 68 ( vember as processing operations on the 1$60 tobacco crop tap ered ofT. , Employment dropped about 200 in North Carolina’s non-metallic mines last month. However the miners .put lit a workweek of 47 hours and their earnings in creased $4jV8 a <!wee'k to kn aver age of $49.05. Booming pre-Christmas mer chandising caused a seasonal em ployment rise of 4,000 in retail |; trade and an increase of 300 in wholesale trade. Weekly earnings of workers in retail trade ranged from a high of $38.87 in food ; stores to a low of $13.21 in “lim ited price” variety stores. A continuing substantial level of building construction activity in the State caused employment in the contract construction in dustry to increase about 500 dur- , ing November rising to a total of 49,100. mm employment dropped about 100, aa did em* ployinent in food producta. Char* lotto area textile miila employed 9.500 workers in November. All »ther industries reported contin* nation of the high October etn* ployment level. Compared with November a »ear ago, factory employment la the area waa very high. Texttt* A ilia were up 10.5 per cent, ma chinery firms were up 23.5 par rent, printing and publishing 84 per cent, metal products 224 pat rent. All other manufacturing ndustries combined were up 114 >er cent over last year. The Charlotte area’s factory workweek increased fractionary ast month, rising to an average >f 41.6 hours. Hourly earnings trapped a penny to $1.20. Aver* age factory weekly earnings rota right cents to $50.07 due to over time pay in yarn 'and thread, broadwoven fabrics, food prod* jets, machinery and metals. Average weekly earnings in the various industries in Novem ber were: All taxtfiaa $6048, down $141 from October; yarn and thread, +&IM, down 49 cents; broadwoven fabrics $54.10, down 91 cents; knitting mills 153.39, down $1.36; food products M3.10, up $2.71; machinery $57.44, tip $1.41; printing and publish* ng $60.81, down 47 cents; netal products $54.89, down 11.44. itolen cars during the month and began investigation into ths thefts of 41. Of the 3423 trucks stopped, 2,* 157 were North Carolina trucks ind 776 out-of-state trucks. On# hundred and ninety-three trucks (Contillaed Os Page <) New Anti-Communist Law Is Analyzed In a last-minute spurt before its pre-election adjournment the 81at Congress on September 20 passed an omnibus Communist control bill, by a majority of 312 „ to 20 in the House and 51 to 7 in the Senate. On September 22 President Truman returned the bill to Congress with a lengthy message giving his reasons for vetoing it. The House immed iately over-rode the veto, 286-48, and the next day, September 23, the Senate followed suit, 67-10. The McCarran bill, as It came to be called, had a curious an cestry, Its beginnings go back to the bill introduced in the 80th Congress by Senator Karl E. Mundt (R., S.D.) and Represen tative Richard M. Nixon (R, Calif.) requiring the registration of Communist and Communist front organisations.. This bill died in committee. It was re vived in July, 1949, by Senator Mundt and Senators Homer Fer guson (R., Mich.) and Olin D. Johnston (D., S. C.) Senator . Pat McCarran (D., Nev.) Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, which had charge of the above bills, took the registration provisions from the Mundt-Ferguson bill and add ed a section making numerous changes in the immigration and naturalisation laws aimed • at keeping Communists out of the country or preventing their be coming citisens. Meantime Senator Harley M. , Kilgore (D., W.Va.) drew up a bill to give the Government pow er, in a national emergency, to intern persons suspected of in tent to commit sabotage. The McCarran bill, as it finally passed both Houses, was an amal gam of all the above proposals. i Registration of Communists Mr. Truman listed his chief ob jections to the McCarran bill un der seven heads. 1. “It would aid potential ene ! mies by requiring the publication of a complete list of vital de fense plants, laboratories and other installations." The President here referred to | sections 5(a) and 5(b) of the bill. Section 5(a) forbids the em ployment of Communists in “de fense facilities”; 5(b) requires the Secretary of Defense to draw up a list of plants and other in j stallations which are regarded as defense facilities within the meaning of section 5(a). Of these sections Mr. Trumas said, with justice: Spies and saboteurs would willingly spend years of effort seeking to find out the infor ' mation that this bill requires the Government to hand them in a silver platter. 2. “It would require the De partment of Justice and it* Fed ieral Bureau of Investigation to [waste immense amounts of time and energy attempting to carry PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN Couldn't convince Congress da antl-Red bill This article, by Father Charles Keenan, is reprinted from America, a national Catholic weekly review. This analysis is timely and of interest to labor because the smear tactics of Senator McCarthy, Wisconsin Repub lican, apparently had a big effect in swinging the vote trend in some states. Father Keenan; the author, has made a close study of proposed anti-Red legislation since the original Mundt Bill was introduced two years ago. In this article, he analyses the bill and President Truman’s objections to it, although the President’s arguments didn’t impress Congress. out .its unworkable registration provisions.” The registration provisions that the President objected to are those of the Mundt-Ferguson bill (cf. Am. 8-12, pp. 488-490), which was embodied, holus bolus, in Senator McCarran’s omnibus measure. Before an organisation can be compelled to register as a Communist, party or front, it can claim ft hearing before a Subversive Activities Control Board, • Federal District Court, sod perhaps the U. S. Supreme Court iself. “To estimate the duration of such a proceeding," wrote Mr. Truman, "... we need only recall that on much narrower issues the trial of the, elevea Communist leaders under the Smith Act consumed nine months.” One must concede that, if past experience is any criterion, the pinning of the proper label on a Communist or Communist » front organization ia no quick or eaay matter. One may concede Mr. Truman’s further point that when the pinning-on of the label can no longer be legally delayed, the organization will simply dis solve itself aid start up under another name, so that the whole process must begin again “da capo.” However, the purpose of the registration provisions is not precisely the outlawing of such organizations but the exposing of them. They are meant largely to deny to the Communists the great advantages they have en joyed of working through seem ingly respectable organizations, and thus beguiling the innocent for subversive purposes. The very first stops taken by the Government to place an organi zation on the register would turn upon the organization the spot light of suspicion that the Com munists wish to avoid. A further question suggests it self here; what about a legiti mate organization falsely sus pected as a Communist front? To drag such an organization through the courts, with all the attendant suspicion and unfavor ably publicity, would bo a real hardship. One must concede that a law of this kind should be so framed as to reduce to minimum the chances of this happening. (It would be almost impossible to frame a law under which an innocent party could never And himself unjustly accused.) But the President contended that the McCarran bill was so drawn a» to jeopardize innocent organiza tions. Here we must take a couple of his heads of objection odt at the order he presented them in. 5. “It would put the Govern ment of the United States in the thought control business. 7. “It would give Government officials vast powers to harass all of our citizens in the exercise of their right of free speech.” Elaborating these points the President said: ... the application of the registration requirements to so called Communist-front organi zations can be tjfee greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly Since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798. This danger arises be cause the finding that an or ganization is a Commufiist front may be based solely upon “the extent to which the posi tions taken or advanced by it from time to time on matter! of policy do not deviate" from those of the Communist move ment. Mr. Truman is by no means alone in seeing a danger to free dom of thought and speech in this section of the bill. The AFL and the CIO the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Democratic Action all ex pressed the same fear. These organizations have certainly no use for Communists or Commun ist fronts; and they are wise in the ways of legislation. One does not gainsay them lightly. However, for the record, I should like to make a couple of observa tions. The basis of their objection is this. The Communists do, at times, espouse good causes for their own evil purposes. Thus it happens that a genuinely lib eral group can find itself uphold ing a position that is also upheld by the Communists— e.g. against lynching, or racial discrimination in employment, or in favor of low-cost housing. This, say the objectors, might lead to the group’s being labeled a Commun ist front. I would note first that the cri terion laid down by the McCar ran bill is not whether a group happens to advocate the same thing as the Communists,-but the extent to which its policies do not deviate from the Communist party line. It is practically im possible for any liberal program — including, or especially, Mr. Truman’s own civil rights pro- • gram—not - to coincide at points i with the party line. The Com munist will see to that. It is equally impossible for a redlly democratic program not to de viate from the party line. It is the absence of deviation, not the number of coincidences, that is declared suspicious by the bill. Second, 1 would note that this non-deviation from the Commun ist party line is only one,of four criteria which the Subversive Ac tivities Control Board is required to take into account when judg ing whether an organisation is a Communist front. The other three are 1) the extent to which its directors are active in the Communist party or movement; 2) the extent to which its funds are derived from Communists sources; 3) the extent tb which funds or personnel are used to promote the objectives of the Communist party or of world communism. Now the bill re quires the Board to take all four criteria under consideration, not merely the one to which Mr. Tru-’ man objects. Another objection raised by the President to the registration clauses of the bill is that to en force them would engage a great ' deal of time and energy of the Department of Justice and the FBI. Moreover, he added, in try ing to establish before a court (Continued On Page S)
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 28, 1950, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75