VOL. XXI: NO. 12
CHARLOTTE, N. C, THURSDAY, JULY M. 1251
— '"I i .1 »
SubsrriDtion Price S2.00 Per Year
I
PHILIP F. HUGHES* President
Charlotte Building Trades Council
Charlotte Bunding
Trades Council Hanes
Officers Yen 1951-52
Philip F. Hughes was elected
president of Charlotte Building
Trados Council at its regular
meeting on July 19. A. B. Dixon
was named vice president, and
C. P. Murphy was elected secre
tary-treasurer.
Mr. Hughes is business mana
ger of the Charlotte Sheet Metal
Werfeers -union and re
cently had considerate additional
territory added to his local un
ion here. He now covers territory
from Asheville to Wilmington
over an almost direct line through
the southern part of North Car
olina. Mr. Hughes is one of the
most active union officials in
North Carolina and his union has
grown large under his leadership.
The other brother officers named
with Mr. Hughes are active in
their local union affairs and The
Journal predicts the building
trades will experience consider
able growth and new activity un
der their leadership during the
coming year.
PROFITS BOOM AS
THE GUNS BOA*
Despite the excess profits tax,
net profits of corporations in
creased 86 per cent in Janaary,
February and March of this year
over the figures for the same
months of 1950.
The rise in corporate profits,
after taxes, during the Korean
war was reported July 5 by the
Federal Trade and the Securities
and Exchange Commissions.
Uncle Sam Says
J. A. SCOGGINS, President
CLAUDE L ALBEA,
Vice-President
H. A. STALLS, Secretary
New officers for the year 1951
52 were elected nt the regular
bi-monthly meeting of Charlotte
Central Labor Union Thursday
night. J. A. Scoggins was named
president; Claude L. Albea was
.elected vice president; H. A.
Stalls secretary, and John Lovett,
treasurer. The board of trustees,
consisting of three members, was
named as follows: Paul A. Mar
tin. Odie Heath and Phil Hughes.
[-TT •
Delegates were named to the
North Carolina State Federation
of Labor meeting in Asheville in
August as follows: J. A. Scog
gins and E. A. Tarver. Phil
Hughes and H. A. Stalls were
named alternates
Thursday night’s meeting was
one of the best held in months.
A good attendance was on hand
to participate in the deliberations.
Many communications were read
and acted upon and reports of
delegates from local unions were
interesting to all present, all of
the unions reporting full employ
ment and conditions very good.
New delegates from both the
carpenters and electrical workers
union No. 379 produced their cre
dentials and they were received
and seated. For the carpenters
Bros. W. E. Seymour, John Lov
ett, P. A. Martin, L. E. Glenn and
F. G. Hahn were received, while
for - the electrical workers local
i3T9 Bros. Odie Heath and Ches
ter A. Martin were the new del
egates from their local.
Treasurer John Lovett made
a. comprehensive report of tee
CLU’s finances and the conditksa
of the treasury was shown to
be very good.
The retiring president, Bro.
Walter Hooker, made a talk be
fore he left the chair he has held
for the past two yean, saying
that while he was not a candi
date to soecoed himself he will
I delegate from his local. He is
business manager of electrical
workers local 379 and stated that
I his union’s affairs have grown to
j the extent that he will be com
pelled to devote more of his time
to his union during the next
few months than heretofore.
The convention call of the
North Carolina Federation of La
bor was read. The meeting this
year will be held in Asheville at
the Langren Hotel, beginning
Monday, August 13 and lasting
for three days or until all the
business of the convention has
been transacted. Hotel rates of
the many Asheville hotels were
also received and read. The
Journal will reprint the entire
convention call next week.
ROSSER CAUTIONS MOTOR
ISTS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN
GOING THRU TOBACCO BELT
RALEIGH, N. C. —Motor Ve
hicles Commissioner L. C. Rosser
today asked that vacation bound
motorists be especially cautious
when traveling the tobacco pro
ducing regions of Eastern North
Carolina.
The Commissioner said that he
had personally noticed a great
number of farm boys and girls
at work on tobacco sleds which
are usually pulled from field to
field along the shoulders of the
highway. These children, he add
ed, are prime targets for the
speeding or careless driver.
Rosser was particularly anxious
for out-of-state motorists to heed
the prsciaortna “Many of onr
tourists driving througl) North
Carolina ha said are ponied at
the bulky, mole drawn sleds. Ho
urged all motorist a noroach iu
Mm tobacco-laden sleds to alow
down and pane with caution.
Children along the highway, the
Commissioner said, should be
watched by the driver just as
Mtomv hi ss si alma a* eieswol
CtOociy ®i bH/ * Hbrp® 9* ilJBai*
i
WASHINGTON
WEEKLY COLUMN
The Facto of Ufa
Brent Spence (D., Ky.) is chair
man of the House Banking Com
mittee. That’s the group which
had charge of the House measure
to control prices. Tt held many
hearings on controls. This is
what Spence told the House June
29 about what went on in the
hearings:
“Every witness that came there
came to speak for his own inter
ests. Every one who spoke for
an interest that he was engaged
in intimated that it would be sat
isfactory if they took the con
trols off him and put them on
others.
“We send the boys to the front
and they give all they have. But
I tell you, you do not see that
spirit of sacrifice very much in
industry. Every fellow that came
in wanted to grab something and
give nothing.
“Now they come here and they
pool their interests. ‘You scratch
my back and I will scratch yours,
and we will get out from under
all controls.”* .
Senator Feels People Are
Betrayed . * -
/
The reactionaries in the Senate
who played potitics with your
pocket-book and voted for the
profiteers and against the con
sumers when they rammed
through a watered-down price
controls bill led Sen. Herbert Leh
man (D., N. Y.) to tell them June
28 something they should have
heard long ago.
It is this: They are ruining
the Senate. But let Lehman tell
it:
“I have had a lone public life.
I was president of the Senate of
njy State for four years. ! was
governor for 10 years. I have
been in the U. S. Senate going
on two ys
“I came to the Senate in the
belief which 1 had always held
that it eras the greatest delibera
tive body in the world. I still
want to believe that. But cer
tainly what has occurred here in
the last few moments and in the
last few days makes me doubt it
altogether.
"Here we are engaged in a life
and-death struggle, a struggle for
survival against the most ruth
y in history, fighting on
two fronts, on the military and on
the economic. We ought to be
engaged exclusively in consider
ing legislation to benefit all the
people of the country, legislation
to keep our country on a sound
economic
“Yet, here I see and hear Sen
ator after Senator rise, not to
concern himself with the issues
before us, but to play politics, to
blast the Administration, to at
tack those who have given up the
comfort of their home towns and
circles of friends and the profits
of their business, to come to
Washington and to serve their
fellow Americans.
“I tell you, Mr. President, it
las made it heart-sick to hear
all this. It makes me feel that
wo are betraying the people who
seat us down boro, that we are
not eoneentiag ourselves with es
oontial legislation, that we are
net devoting ourselves to protect
ple, but ore moving to pass leg
illation which far from reducing
the eost of living, will inevitably
increase and advance the coot of
Uvin.*
ta 1962 will
Congressman And Newspaper Urge
Strong Wage Stabilization Board
Rep. Jack Shelley
Rep. Jack Shelley (D.) of , San
Francisco says the Wag* Stabili
zation Board (WSB) should be
strengthened.
The U. S. Chamber of Com
merce and the National Associa
tion of Manufacturers (NAM)
want to make WSB so weak it
won’t be able to settle labor-man
agement disputes.
“From my long experience I
know that the matter of wages
and other issues are inextricably
intertwined in the give and take
over the collective bargaining
table/’ Shelley, long active in
the California labor movement,
told the House on June 2b.
“I . . . recommend that the
Wage Stabilisation Board be giv
en specific authority ... to con
sider such side issues and to' giake
decisions thereon during the pe
riod of emergency.
The Washington Peat
The Washington Post, which
follows a conservative economic
line on economic questions, warns
against wrecking the Wage Sta
bilisation Board (WSB).
“Industrial peace would be jeo
> pardised and strikes would multi
ply if the WSB machinery for
peaceful settlement of disputes
over non-wage issues were put
out of commission,” says an edi
torial in the July 1 Post. The
U. S. Chamber of Commerce and
the National Association of Man
ufacturers (NAM) want to do
just that.
“The sponsors of the proposed
changes (in WSB) or . . . play
ing with Are in trying to abandon
a wage control program that, by
insuring labor’s support, will en
courage peaceful settlement of
wage disputes . .
Here’s Why Beef
Prices Must Be Cut
■ w ».
Price Stabiliser Mike DiS*lk
tells why beef prices must be
rolled beck:
“Cattle ’ prices rose way out
of line with wages and other
prices. Between January, 1950,
the date of the wage stabilisation
base, and March, 1951, cattle
prices rose:
“Over five times as mucn as
wages.
“Over four times as much as
prices paid by farmers.
“Over five times as much as
. . . consumer prices.
“Over three times as much as
the price of (all) food items.
“Beef accounts for about 13 per
cent of the consumer’s food bill
and for almost half of the meat
consumed in this country.”
DiSalle made these statements
in a letter to The Washington
Post published July 9.
SAD MEWS
Economic Stabilizer Eris John
ston said June 19 Congressional
action forbidding price rollbacks
is “sad news to every American
housewife who is struggling with
her own family budget”
vdiiMaiipppM
VIRGINIA LEGISLATION
THREATENS UNIONS
Richmond, V*.—Virginia work
ers, preparing for the 1962 poli
tical campaign, are looking over
the records of members of the
'House of Delegates to see cow
they stood on the so-called Boat
wright amendment.
This legislation would prohibit
the collection of working assess
ments. Thus it would have the
effect of destroying anions—par
ticularly in the building trades—
because it would kill their financ
ing. <
It would also permit “free
riders” to enjoy the benefits won
by unions — such as hours and
conditions of work—without sup
porting them.
The amendment lost last year
by just two votes.
TAFTI8M
“The emergency is more threat
ening than real," Sen. Robert
Taft (R., Ohio) told Washington
reporters, June 7. “It is on our
backs.”
Joe Stalin is just a mirage, eh,
Senator?
<F
Employment Security News
Chariott* -Bmm Warming
Open House was observed aR
day July 11 in the new Charlotte
office, located at 112-118 West
First Street, between South Try
on and South Church Streets, into
which Manager George H. Ever
ett*, Jr., and his staff moved as
of July 1. The whit* and divi
sional offices are both located in
the entire first floor of the two
story brick building, with separ
ate entrances. The office waa lo
cated at 806 1-2 West Trade St.
tor several years.
The new office has been proper
ly decorated for the occasion and
friends have.been invited to drop
in any time during the day fer a
leek-see and for refreshments.
Chairman Henry E. Kendall, Ern
est C. McCracken, ES Division di
rector, his assisatnt, Robert M.
du Bruyne. and 8. C. (Buster)
Manning, ESC business manager,
are attending the opening from
the Central office.
The boiling has been earn
pttcijr rtoovtM tor toe aftaejrs
with all modern conveniences.
All of the first floor space is oc
cupied by the refular office staff,
Area Supervisor Guy E. Bissette,
Field Representative N. J. Ore
and J. B. Harris, Claims Deputy
C. E. Brewer and their clerical
and secretarial staffs.
All of the staff members are
highly pleased with the new
building and location and are
sparing no efforts to get many of
their friends in the local office
area to visit and celebrate with
them.
Regional Office la Richmond
Transfer of 'the Regional office
for Region XV, embracing the
states of North Carolina, Vir
ginia, West Virginia, Maryland
and District of Columbia, to Rich
mond,Va., from Washington, in
which city it has been located
from the beginning, is announced
by Secretary of Imbor Maurice
J. Tobin, effective as of last Sat
urday, July T.
The Regional office, with John
Francis Foy as regional direc
(Continued On Page t) »
Southeastern manufacturing es
tablishments employed 107,300
more workers in May, 1951, than
during the corresponding month
Of 1950, according to Brunswick
A. Bagdon, Regional Director of
the U. S. Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the
South. ’All states reported over
the-year gains, ranging from 4.3
per cent in Alabama to 10.9 per
cent in Mississippi. Factory em
ployment reached 1,817,800 in
May—an increase of 2,000 over
last month.
Textile employment rose 10,200
to a level of 009,900 in May. Sea
sonal reductions and less business
partially offset the return to work
of a number of workers involved
in labor disputes. Compared to
May, 1950, employment in tha
industry had increased 20,800
with gains ranging from 0,100 in
{forth Carolina to 200 in Virginia.
Employment was up 3,000 over
April in food processing estab
lishments as 148,000 workers
were employed, in May. Georgia,
with a gain of 2,000 primarily duo
to seasonal hiring at canning and
preserving plants, and Tennessee,’
with in increase of 2,000. led in
the over-t he-month gains. Flori
da, with a drop of 1,400, princi
pally in canning a Ad preserving,
had the largest decline.
Apparel employment, totaling
128,100 in May, declined season
ally 3,400 from April. Compared
to May, 1960, however, this in
dustry had increased 10,800. Ten
nessee had the largest over-the
year gain—an increase of 5,400.
Georgia reported the only loss—a
decline of 1,000. Virginia and
North Carolina reported no
nutate Tor the twelve months jppr*""
riod. r w*»
Chemicals employment dropped
1,900 from the April level of
124,000 as seasonal reductions oc
curred in fertiliser plants and
vegetable oil mills. Current em
ployment in the industry is 18,
900 above the May, 1980 levels.
The greatest over-the-year in
crease in hard goods industries
.occurred in the lumber and wood
products industry. A total of
265,300 worked wen employed
in May, 1981—an increase of 15,
300 over May, 1950.
Employment in the Metals in
dustries dropped 2,200 frost April
due principally to labor disputes
in the metal alloys industry in
Alabama. Current employment,
totaling 108,900, is 4,900 hightr
than May, 1950. Other hard goods
industries had over • the - year >
changes as follows: furniture, ~
down 1,000; Transportation, up
14,500; Stone, Clay and Glass, up
4,400; Machinery, up 9,900, and
Instruments, up 700.
Grots average weekly earnings
of factory production workers
ranged from $42.48 in Mississippi
to 851.05 in Alabama. Orer-the
yesr increases ranged from $6.35
in South Carolina to $2.64 in Mis
sissippi. All states, with the ex
ception of Tennessee, had a longer
-vorkweek than in 1950.- Average
weekly hourj in May, 1951, va
ried from a low of 38.3 in North
Carolina to a high of 42.9 in Flor
ida as compared to the national
average of 40.6. Average hourly
earnings in all states were sub
stantially over 1950 levels. In
creases ranged from twelve cents
an hour in South Carolina to four
cents in Mississippi.
Data for the eight southeastern
states were prepared by state
agencies in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Mississippi, North Car*
Una, South Carolina, Tennessee
and Virginia in co-op i ratten with
the' U. S. Department ef Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Any person Interested in re*
eeiving this materiel may do so
by writing to Mr. Brunswick A.
Begdon, Regional Director, Bu
reau of Labor Statistics, V. 8.
Departmen of Labor, Room 664,
80 Seventh Street, N. KL, Atlan
ta 5, Georgia.
Election day thU year in sev>
•ml state* and eitiea srfll be
November i. $14