Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / Feb. 1, 1951, edition 1 / Page 1
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CAPITAL REPORTER RALEIGH. — The legislature got out its heavy artillery last week, and when the shooting had cleared just about everybody could claim at least a partial vio tory of some kind or other. To start things off Senator Junius Powell of Columbus and 37 other members of the upper house eo-signed a bill nanding cities another $6,000,000 for street building. The bill calls for the money to come from money on hand in the highway fund and is in addi tion to the $2,500,000 recommend ed for city streets by the Ad visory Budget Commission. This move was considered a slap at Governor Scott who has told the League of Municipalities that he is opposed to the grant ing of new funds without new in come. The League was expected to have a bill introduced calling for an extra one-half cent gaso line tax and upping of the li cense fee by $5. This would bring in an estimated eight to ten mil lion dollars, which is what the governor and highway estimators figure it would cost the state a year to assume full responsibility for city street paving and upkeep. It was rumored around Raleigh this weekend, however, that the victory was not as dearcut as it might appear—with 38 signers. Some senators reportedly were considering withdrawing their names from the bill. Others said that as far as they were concerned their signing the bill had nothing to do with the gov ernor's approval or disapproval —they just don’t want any more But unless somebody does some tall switching around, it n«Qf th* jivt taxes will sot be p»*sdd-—perhaps such a bill will not even be #- ■'» ' Ironically, the League of Mu nicipalities will be jgeWng ex actly what it wanted te aek for in the first place. League lead ers figured they could spk for $», 000,000 this time and come back for a “second helping" in IMS. Governor Scott, however, told them to take a shot at the works if they wanted his support, main taining that there would' not be enough money to give more to the cities if additional revenue was not forthcoming. He pointed out the needs for reworking the State's badly-deteriorating pri mary road system, particularly in the expensive and much-needed realm of bridge-widening. But the no-tax boys seem to have won the first round, at any rate. On the State Pair Coliseum front, the fighting went a little differently. Approval of continu ation of the 11,347,000 baflding VM generally termed an admin istration victory. But when yon consider the oat that the special legislative com mittee took, this might not ap pear to be so. The committee recommended that the building go on, since it already Was con tracted for and likely would cost the State up to a quarter of a million dollars to cancel the con tract. Had the committee recom mended that it would have been in the position of suggesting that the State pay some $250,000 for nothing but the one hole in the ground already dug as a part of the foundation. The Senate routed It right on through, but in the House several had their say against their meas ure. Hep. C. Wayland Spruill of Bertie called the ^mmittee re port “whitewash.” Rep. Edwin Pou of Wake, one of the intro ducers of the measure calling for the probe and a committee mem ber, let it be distinctly under stood he did not agree with the committee majority. He called for a roll call vote, and the count was a lopsided 96 to 18 approval of the committee’s recommenda tion. The various auto inspection bills died aa unnatural death, strangled in committee. That ap parently was • win for the home folks who, at a public hearing, let it be distmtcly understood that they wanted no part of a re* turn of auto inspection lanes. The House Roads Committee expressed himself priavtely as favoring inspection. “But,” he said, “if I voted for any kind of an inspection bill Fd just as well not go home. They’d run me out of the county.” Liquor, schools and roads have been termed three perennial head aches for legislators. And they j were assured that this session | would be no different. The city j streets bill kept the roads prob ; lem warm, the United Forces for Education got in their licks for ! the school, and 29 members of the House signed an all-wet or I ali-dry referendum bill. The bill—sent up by Rep. Wal | ter Crissman of Guilford — class ! for a state-wide vote November 6 on Ijquor, wine and beer. If the wets got a majority all three would be sold in every county in the State. A dry win would make sale of all illegal in every county. Some seven measures intro duced in both House and Senate were passed over the Joint Ap propriations Committee without action. That came after adoption of a resolution offered by Sena tor Grady Rankin of Gaston call ing for the Assembly not to fix the teachers’ salary schedule but to leave it up to the State Board of Education. * "* *■*' . The seven bills would: Fix a $2,400 to $3,600 salary seale for A-certificate teachers; put teach ers on a 10-month pay basis and principals on an 11-month pay basis; appropriate some $424,000 a year to hire compulsory attend* 82 to 80; buy days’ sick leave a year; clerical help in the oft principals. All told the extra coat be about $18,000,000 a year. Add to this the "extras" asked in the first week of Joint appro* priations hearings (almost $15, 000,000) and you come up with some fancy figures for an As- j sembly that wants to hold down ; taxes and spending. One legislator has predicted that some $60,000,000 will be add ed to the General Fund budget when the lawmakers get through adding and patching it up. The Advisory Budget Commission rec ommended a total of, $303,000, 000 for the General Fund spend ing, but did not provide any pay raises for teachers nor did it recommend even continuing the present teaching load. That has drawn the ire of just about Everyone connected with education forces and very likely will be changed before the sion is over, s .. . • • ' One of the items the Agricul ture Department will seek to get back in the budget February 18 when its hearing is slated before the Joint Appropriations Commit tee is a Northeastern North Car olina Peanut Test Farm. The total appropriation would be for slightly more than fit*,* 000 for the two years — $77,048 for 1981-62 and $22,245 for 1952 53. , * Agriculture Commissioner l* Y. Ballentine said that there is a definite need for the test farm in the heart of the peanut sec tion. “We’re asking for increases where there is a real need and this item is one of them," he said. The Advisory Budget Commis sion cut the entire item out ha cause it was classed as a perma nent improvement. Fifty - five thousand dollars of the appropri ation for the first year would go for land purchase and better ments. The test station now need for peanuts is in an entirely dUforsnft soil section, Ballentine explained, so that it is im possible to tost This Man Has Lots Of Tax Trouble The High Point Beacon telle the story of a young High Pointer, yea tinning on the coast of North Carolina, who some time ago wrote his Dad a note in which hi told hie father be needed a littk mote cash. The father responded with the following letter: “In reply to your present re quest te send a check, I wish to inform you that the present con dition of my bank account makes it impossible. My shattered fi nancial condition is due to federa' laws, state laws, county laws, city laws, corporation laws, liquor laws, mother-in-laws, brother-in laws, sister-in-laws, and outlaws. “Through these laws, I am ex pected to pay a business 'tax, sewer tax, parking meter tax, tmusetnent tax, head tax, school tax, gaa tax, light tax, sales tax. liquor tax, carpet tax, income tax food tax, furniture tax, and ex cise tax. Even my brains are tax ed. I am required to get a busi ness license, car license, hunting and fishing license, truck license, and dog license. "I am also required to contri bute to every society and organiza tion. which the genius of man is capable of bringing to life; to women’s relief, the unemployment relief, and the gold-digger’s re lief. Also to every hospital and charitable organisation in the city j ncludiftg the Red Cross, the Black Cross, the Purple Cross, and the Double Cross. “Foe my own safety 1 am re quired to carry life insurance, property insurance, liability in 3uranee, burglar insurance, accident insurance, business insurance, tor nado insurance, unemployment In surance, old-age and fire insur ance. “My business is so goverr.ee that it is no easy matter for me t find out who owns it. I am pro terted, expected, disrespected, re jected, dejected, examined, re-cx amined, informed, required, sum moned, fined, commanded an compelled until I provide inex haustible supply of money fo every known need of the humai race. "Simply because I refuse to do nate to something or other 1 an boycotted, talked about, lied about held up, held down, and robbsd until I am almost ruined. “The only reason 1 am clinging to life at all is to see what the hell is coming next.” CONCORD BANK Officials Promoted Ceaeord (Special) — Concord National bank created a new ad" ministrative organization by pro. motinff a number of Hi officers and electing A, ©, Odell, who ha* been president, to the chairman ship of Us board of directors. S. Foster, who has been ex ecutive eke president since com ing to the bank October 1, 1948, was elected president and trust efflmr. Aim promoted sre L. D. Ceitreae, Strd, from cashier to yfca president ~ and secretary? Directors of the bank were re Stockholders of the bank, at their annual meeting approved barrens* of capital stock of the bank from $100,000 to $200,000, by transfer of $100,000 from undivided profits to the capital aeeeoat and issuance of a $100, 000 stock dividend to sharehold The financial statement of the bank, as of last December SO, shows capital stock, $100,000; surplus, $400,000; reservo $100, 000; reserve for dividends pay able $6,000; and deposits, $5, 826,546.84. Total liabilities are $6,644,102.66 HOME FURNISHINGS Over 12 Billion For ’50 Total ratal! dollar volume of the home furnishings industry, \ including television, radio and electrical appliances, exceeded | $12,000,000,000 last year, accord ing to unofficial but authoritative estimates. This topped 1949 by $1,000,000,000 and equaled the previous record year, IMS. No informed industry lender expects this year’s volume to come clean to 1960 for several reasons. First, production of so called "big ticket” (heavy prof it) items like major appliances and television receivers will drop appreciably because of the in creased tempo of industrial mob ilisation Steel, copper, alumi num, nickel and other'vital ma terials will be siphoned away from output pf refrigerators, washers, tkehhiiotf and radio receivers to Secondly, drastic restrictions on consumer credit are hound to cut purchases considerably. In aeid Octobar the Federal Beaarre Board amended its Regulation W chases. A, If per cent down pay ment with fifteen months to pay was required for furniture and Beer coverings -and M par seat down end fifteen ninths to pep on major appliances and telsvi imployees Start Anti-Wait* Drive ' A photograph showing $4,600 ill oin going down a drain was usod if a manufacturer to dramatis# ,'or employees the annual cost of one form of waste—safety glasses lost or damaged through careless* Other photographs in the picture story published in the plant maga tine, focussed attention on some of the more common ways in which the safety glasses cited on the tads that, with price competition developing, waste imuiiMyp^ company in sell* ing its product. AFL WELCOMES PETRILLO TO A SEAT, AS VICE PRESIDENT Miami —The AFL Executive Council welcomed James C. Pe- j trillo, president American Federa tion of Musicians, when he csou j here Januay 23 to take his seat as the 13th vice president. Mr. Petrillo* $8, was elected at the mid-winter council meeting to the vacancy caused by the death of his predecessor as presi dent of the musicians and A. F. L. Vice President Joseph N. Weber. The new vise president was born in 1892 'in Chicago, He learned to play a cornet given him by Jane Addams, founder ejf , Hull House. As a boy he sold newspapers, operated an elevator and peddled' popcorn and peanuts on Northwestern trains. Through his playing in a Chi cago band, he became active in the local musicians* union. Ha was elected vice president in 1990 and president ip 1922 of the Chi*, eago Musicians' Union, a position he still holds. ^ Mr. Petrillo became president of the American Federation of Musicians in 1940 upon the re tirement of Mr. Weber. . His aa*, ion paid per capita tax on 268,* 600 members last year. „ .,uJ He has serve! as a member of the Chicago Park board and ia 1986 inaugurated the free Grant Park concerts in that city which brought Chicago to the musical attention of the world. He has been the innovator of many other steps to spread the enjoyment of music among in creasing millions of people and at the same time provided employ ment and raising the working and living standards’ of union mem* those children who wish to ge to Heaven.” All the scholar* rose—with the exception of Tommy Brown. “But, surely. Tommy,” Teacher said surprised, "you want |e go to ; j . “Oh, yea. Miss” Tammy said “but Mother alf I «M to be from 0 TOBIN EXPANDS LIST OF CRITICAL OCCUPATIONS, Secretary of Labor Maurice J. Tobia announced that the list of critical occupations has, been ex panded by adding three occupa tions and by extending the field of coverage of six occupational definitions contained in the origi nal list released August 3, 1960. The three occupations added are: 1— Metai miner, underground, all around. 2— Orthopedic appliance and Limb technician. 3— Sawsmith. The following occupational def inition* have been expanded: 1— Engineer, chief, marine. This definition has been expanded to cover first, second, and third assistant marine engineers. 2— Master, ship. Expanded to cover ship pilots and mates. 3— Engineer, electrical. Ex panded to include experts who design and develop complex x-ray equipment. 4— Electronic technician. Al so expanded to cover ex perts engaged in servicing complex x-ray equipment. 5«—Model maker. Expanded to include ship model makers. 6—Patternmaker, Now in cludes patternmakers em ployed in shipyards. Tobin said that metal miners now covered by the list perform • significant combination of du ties involved In underground mining, including the drilling of rock, the handling of explosives, and the sinking of shaft. The occupation is considered one of the most exacting and hasardous hi mining operations. Orthopedic appliance and limb technicians, usually employed in small shops, were placed on the list because their number is very and iasuffleiMt to kaen na with the current demand for orthopedic appliances and serv ices. The definition of sawsmith Is meant to cover only those saw smiths employed in the manufac ture of industrial saws. There is a very small number of work ers engaged in the occupation. Since the list of critical oc cupations was released last Aug ust 3, only six new occupations have been added and the field of coverage has been expanded only in the case of eight occupational definitions. Secretary Tobin said, however, that the object is not to keep occupations off the list but; to include ony those which can be truly considered as critical to defense production and minimum requirements of civilian economy. The list of critical occupations is used by the Department of De fense in considering requests fori deferment of reservist and mem bers of the National Guard. Changes are made in the list by Secretary Tobin upon recommen dations of the Commerce-Labor Joint Committee on Esseiitial Ac-! tivities and Critical Occupations j Representatives of the Depart ments of Agriculutsre, Interior, j and Defense, and the Selective | Service System serve as advisors on the committee. GET ram BOOK ON BOWLING <ON THE CUFF j New York. — Class Bottle | Blowers Association (AFL) is giving swsy n 20-page record book for bowlers. In addition to space for recording 120 games, it contains information for begin ners, and a page of accurately de fined bowling torns. A free copy of the book can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the association, 12 South 12th Street, Philadelphia 7. Pa. -Labor Helps the Nary v Washington.—High praise for construction "know-how” contrib uted by organised labor to train m o* Nary Seabeee, was Voiced by Rear Admiral Joseph F. Jelley, chief of Navy Civil Engineers, in » talk before the executive coun fU ef |he AfL Bulging and Con ArogUen Tsadea, Jan. 19. AFL ia aasiating the Navy in meruit mim> m£uo, mb o.er dnft if, k, til, SmSm : .. ' ... .— ' ' • ■. ■ ‘Bad Press’ For Unions Fault Of Its Leadership • ' By PHIL VARK'KR Secretary-Treasurer, New Bran*wick Typographical Union I was greatly interested in the news story in A recent issue of The Labor Herald in which the shortcomings of union leaders as public relations men were emphasized. That issue of T„■? Labor Herald camee out at the time I was ready to pop-off over my own troubles in conducting a labor column in the local newspaper. I would like to quote, in part, something Iwrote at that time: “This column was sold to the newspaper management on • the basis that labor had no oppor tunity to be heard, that the news papers gave but one side of labor disputes—that of management. “There are upwards of a hun dred unions in the circulation area of this newspaper, yet there has been many weeks in the past two years of this column when so lit tle labor news was received that it has been necessary to use re print material. “Newspapers had much to say about the recent strike of the telephone communication workers. There was a great ‘viewing with alarm* by the Bell Telephone' people. But no where in the newspapers was there anything about how the workers felt. They made no efTort to get their stOry before the public. It was only through the good services of a member of another union that this col umn vh nhle to print the workers' story. "The bus drivers came out for a wage increase and other im provements on the old contract. Public Service Transport at once appeared in newspapers with its tale of woe. What the drivers think, no one knows. They have made no effort to use this column. "And so it goes, with these in stances but two of many which couht be cited to shew that labor refuses’** usd~* meant dTWmnff its story in this column, a' spaco which labor has been told re peatedly It should csD Its own. And because of this lack of ap preciation of the column by labor it may be taken back by the pub lisher for better use.” Since the above was written, the column has been killed, and the writer looks back to his two years as a labor columnist with considerable bitterness. Those 24 months have shown me this: Labor has relied so much on the good will of the paternal istic federal government in the last 2d yearn, that It seems to feel its gains are secured by divine right. The economic royniists which the late revered Franklin D. Roosevelt held up to public criti cism, have their counterparts in those of the labor movement, who view labor disputes as only be tween management and labor. The public is considered to be n vague, Impersonal thing which, if affected adversely by wage in creases, must accept the change in the price of things produced by labor without protest. The "public be damned” philos ophpy ascribed to an economic royalist of yean ago, finds labor receiving the same abuse as did the tory condemned for the above statement. And, why? The answer is clear. It is why my weekly column died. It is why the public is willing' to be lieve the worst about labor un ions. It is the unconcern of the| average unionist about what the public thinks; the unconcern of the labor leader whose responsi bility it is to see that the public knows the truth, yet falls down on the Job. During the 25 years I have served my local as an officer and, in particular, during the short life of my labor column, I have visited many anions. I have lis tened to minutes read and reports ef committee chairmen which show many things done for the public interest. I have sat in these meetings and been thrilled with pride la that I, as a member ef a an ion, had a port Indirectly in thane good things. Yet this good that wan dene, and wldch the pabHe shoe Id know sheet, seldom reached the pnbHc’a eye. In far toe many cases the fault has been with union officers. That they, aa officers, represent the greatest welfare movement on earth seems not to be within their understanding; that they owe it to their union to do all they can—use all honest means— to make it a militant part of that movement, at least in disclosing its worthy acts through the pubtie print, seems not to be in their power to understand or accept. Day after day, week after week, they plod along, following the same lines as their predecessors. They are unable, or refuse to un derstand, that times have changed with the Taft-Hartley millstone around labors’ neck. They refuse to do anything about showing the public that there is an organisa tion of honest. Upright citizens wfco have the utmost concern about the large part they play in the economy of the nation and the world, Repeatedly the writer lias been told by union leaders that they 4MVt Want publicity even though it was necessary to oh their names in publicizing their un ions. Why? They hedged -and gave no straightforward answer. Their reply would be, if they re-election." That ja the meaaare of such measured only hy dollars and • i(^>TQa«f mm" who just be. Unionism is a religion to many in the movement. There are those who have died ae martyrs to the cause. Small indeed are those who put personal ambitions, a desire to remain in officer rank, above their duty to perpetuate the memory of those who have gone before without hope of gain for self. Who are they; who are we, to give less than our best at all times to the movement for which such ss Samuel Gompers and nameless others, less known, gave their all? If organised labor is to fulfill its destiny—achieve real individ ual demcoracy in this nation—its leadership on the local and na tional levels will have to measure up to the militant ideals of its founding fathers, less the upsurge of reaction eventually destroy what has been builded through sacrifice during the past century for the toilers of this Republic.— New Jersey Labor Herald, Janu ary, 1851. 1951 UNION SHOW WILL BE HELD Washington.—Ray F. Leheney, director AFL Union Industries Show sponsored by the Union La bel Trades Department, stated that any rumors to the effect that there win not be a 1951 labor management exhibition are un founded and untrue. Until the President of the Unit ed States issues an order declar ing that there will be no tqsde shows during the emergency the •how win go ea, Mr. Lehwney •aid. It will be held at Soldier Field, Chicago, HI., May If through May 26. POOD PRICES HIT ALL-TIME PEAK Washington.—-Retail food prices rose 1.2 per cent to a record high level between December 15 end The Labor Department estimat ed prices reached 218.9 per cent of the 1935-39 level. 1 per cent above the previous record high established July 15, 1958. Since the Korean outbreak, prices have risen 6.9 per cent. The biggest increase was 4.7 per cent for fats and oils. The next biggest Increase was for dairy products, up 3.5 per cent. Prices of meats, poultry and fish rose 1.7 per cent
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 1, 1951, edition 1
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