Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Tl» Bara well Paoyla-8—tltU Bara wt It 8. G» - Thureday. Aafaat &, lt87 LABOR’S ‘BATTLE OF THE CENTURY’ Clash Between John L. Lewis’ C. L 0. and William Green’s A. F. of L. Broadens on All Fronts; Government May Intervene. openly against Jolm Lewis’ C. I. O. When it began to recognize the C. I. O. threat to its supremacy, the A. F. of L. lost little time in raising its dues from one cent per , month per member to two cents; the old rate has usually been enough to make both ends meet but it was not enough to finance the fight against John L. Lewis. Until recently the only funds in th^ C. I. O. war chest were those which affiliated unions contributed to it when money was needed to press its drives. But now C. I. O. 0 By WILLIAM C. UTLEY I N THIS comer—Bill Green, flashy stepper of the American Federation of Labor and the craft unions. And in this comer John L. Lewis, two-fisted mauler of the Committee for Indus trial Organization and the vertical unions. The stake—the “championship” of American labor organization. The fight— to a finish. v r It was predicted months ago that the battle would be a live and bitter one—and it is. As the weeks roll by it becomes more and more apparent that A. F. of L. and C. I. O. are in vading each other’s fields. C. I. O. has gained steadily in membership, and A. F. of L. has defended its positions by intensifying its own membership drives. Today the A. F. of L. claims a membership of 3,600,000, and the C. I. O. is pressing it closely with a claimed 3,000,000. Bulwarks of the Green organization’s strength are the printing industry, teamsters and truckers, the building trades and metal trades, hotel and restau rant employees, street car workers and entertainers. Lewis finds his power in the basic and mass pro duction industries — coal, steel, men’s and women’s clothing, rub ber, oil, textiles, automobiles, etc. But Lewis has clashed and is clashing with A. F. of L. in places which it has assumed were its own grounds. The latest of these is the maritime front. Meeting with 28 representatives of 23 maritime un ions on both the east and west coasts, he announced that C. I. O. would attempt to gather the scat tered unions into one big organiza tion which will include workers on both coasts, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and inland water ways. There are said to be 350,000 such workers. A. F. of L. already bas two strong unions in the field. A F. of L. Wins in Philly. The apathy of one organization for the other among maritime workers is demonstrated almost constantly on the east coast. Scarcely a week passes when there is not a strike of workers affiliated with one or the other of the two groups on some ship scheduled to leave port. The two organizations will not work with each other; if a ship owner makes a^ agreement with one union, the other walks out. The condition Is true even when the workers of one group involved are not engaged in the same in dustry as the other group. In Phila delphia not long ago. 25.000 team sters affiliated with the Green or ganization went on strike. They were protesting the fact that C. I. O. unions had made an agreement with bakery employers. A. F. of L. woo; it effected a truce providing for elections in the bakery plants, G. I. O. promising to withdraw if it lest the elections. C. L O. lost and pulled out. An interesting clash arose on a Seattle newspaper. The dispute was between the American Newspaper guild and the teamsters’ union about control over the paper's cir culation department employees. The struggle is no toy conflict and will probably take a hand in it sooner or later. It hardly seems possible that the administration could overlook a struggle with so many and so broad implications. One solution which is reported to have been suggested by one high in administration circles would attempt to bring the two or ganizations together. The plan is to offer Green a government post, and let him be succeeded by George M. Harrison, president of the Broth erhood of Railroad Clerks. Within the A. F. of L. there would then be formed a new division over the basic industries; this would be headed by John L. Lewis. But one of the main issues of the present battle within the ranks of labor is over who shall dominate A. F. of L. policy—the craft union groups or the basic industries’ un skilled workers. Lewis’ bloc threat ens r^ow to get so powerful that it la labor’s current fight: William Green (left), president af the American Federation of Labor, and John L. Lewis, chairman of the Committee for lad ns trial Organisation. has started collecting dues of five cents a month per member of af filiated unions. Of course there are national un ions belonging to one organization or the other which have large treas uries of their own. The bricklay ers' union is said to enjoy a balance of tome 17.000.000. while the Indiee' garment workers are $2,000,000 in the black. Lewis is said to have spent $1,000,000 in the steel workers' strikes against independent steel corporations. What Employers Face. Employers are often faced with truly mortal problems as a result of the Green-Lewis friction. For in stance there is the case of an auto mobile body corporation which was planning some major construction. The company’s employees art dom inated by the United Automobile Workers of America, a C I. O. un ion. A C. L O. union demands the work of digging the foundations. The . . contractor is afraid to begin work guild was a member of C I. O., on the job for fear the A. F. of L. taking in workers in the circulation, advertising and business offices, as well as editorial departments of newspapers. The paper was forced to suspend publication pending settlement of the dispute. Teamsters refused to deliver the papers until members of the circulation department were placed elsewhere and their jobe given to A. F. of L. members. The guild members then went on strike claiming that the newspaper had unions will not work on the super structure. If he gives the founda tion work to A. F. of L. men, he courts reprisals by C. I. O. auto mobile workers In the town. So the construction Is not being done sod nobody Is benefiting from the employment it would provide. Certain aspects of the rise of C I. O. have reacted definitely to the advantage of the American Federa tion of Labor. Industries which in the past have been none too anxious Way Back When ty JEANNE THAMES TELLS ITS TALE JOSEF STALIN STD DIED FOB THE PRIESTHOOD W ITH what blindness do wa at tempt to guide our children’s footsteps in iife, so often forcing on them an ambition of our own I It might be laughable were it not so seriously in opposition to the man's own desires, but Josef Stalin was forced to attend the Tiflia Greek Orthodox seminary, because his mother wanted him to be a priest. Young Stalin, legally named Josef Vissarionovitch Djygashvili, did not want to be a priest Born in 1879. Josef was educated in the village school of Gori. Rus sia. In his young days he was a fighter who bore many a black eye. and he was somewhat of a bully, although he always displayed intel ligence and character. At the sem inary, he led the other students in plotting against the authorities, and local railway workers met in his will be able to vote itself into trol of that policy. If the above plan would be successful, agreement would have to be reached — and guaranteed — that would allow the two groupe to share the power. But it does not appear that either wants to share it, and such a truce would be difficult deed to effect. Whether or not the C. L O. la the way downhill because of its fail ure to obtain written contracts in the strike againat the independent steel compamee is still widely de bated. The campaign began a year ago. and by February som tracts had be e a obtained United States Steel corporation ca pitulated and signed C I. O. tracts for its Cemegie-IUinois sidiary's employees. This lent pet us to the Steel Workers’ Organ izing Committee drive until today it claims 280 contracts involving than 230,000 steel workers. Scenes like this are hardly uncommon in labor’s current crisis. taken 19 circulation men out of their Jobs because they had refused to leave the union of their choice and Join the teamsters’ union. Police eventually removed the strike pick ets and publication was resumed. It is said that the order of the C. I. O. is not to encroach upon in dustrial fields which the A. F. of L. already has ”successfully” organ ized, but this order has been vio lated, chiefly by minor organizers who, in their enthusiasm, have sim ply ignored it. Federation Doubles Does. The Federation is not so passive in policy. It regards the C. I. O. as an out-and-out rival and makes no pretense of foregoing the C. I. O. field. It campaigns mill lastly and to deal with the A. F. of L. are now welcoming it as an alternative to C. I. O., of which they are appar ently afraid. Here’s One Solution. Where local unions join the C. I. O., the A. F. of L. sets out to make up a rival union. This has happened in a number of cases. The A. F. of L. has been known to borrow em ployees from factories where its units are recognized to recruit new members in other factories where C. I. O. appears to hold a majority. As one faction or the other has sought to break picket lines, vio lence has sometimes occurred, with attendant injuries, both serious and minor. Washington realizes that the labor f SHfraLT I m2 mM • v ..- flj| ■ •’•spp. <■ <*s Weighing a Shipment of Elephant Tasks on n From Every Comer of the Earth Come Ships That Ply This River room. Eventually, he was dis missed in disgrace. At the age of seventeen, he joined the under ground dock workers of Batum in a riot and. when the terrorist Bol sheviks were formed became active in their movement While attend ing a Bolshevik party conference in Stockholm, in 1905, he met Lenin tor the first time. Josef Stalin was arrested a half a dozen times, and exiled from Rus sia the last time. He changed his same regularly and returned again and again. With Lenin and Trotsky, be took over the government of Rue- La In October, 1917. After Lanin died tn 1«K Stalin supporters ex iled Trotsky and through ruthless xecutione mad# Stalin dictator. Jooof Stalin's Ufa Is hardly the kind of biography pact from a boy the priesthood. see JOAN CRAWFORD WAS A Prepared by National Geof rapbie Society, Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. T HAMES traffic makes Lon don the world’s foremost river port. Since Roman gal ley days—when Britons traded grain, slaves, and dogskin for European salt and horse collars —commerce has flowed be tween London and the continen tal countries along the Schelde, the Rhine and the Elbe. After Drake nerved England to smash the Spanish Armada, London ships gained in time the lion’s share of ocean-borne trade. Names immortal in discovery and conquest are linked with this water front. From here Frobisher went seeking the Northwest passage, and Hawkins to Puerto Rico and Vera Cruz; from here Lancaster made his voyages to the East, before the downfall of Portugal and the rise of the British East India company. Raleigh sailed from here to explore the Orinoco, to popularize tobacco end. tradition says, to start the Iriah planting potatoes. It was London’s daring money which sent Sebastian Cabot to found the Russia company, opening trade with that land. London merchanta and skippers promoted the Turkey, African. Virginia and Hudson's Bay in the Americas, in Australia. New Zealand, China, India, Af the rich islands* of the see Fret this English language la Drake’s day anty a few millions spoke N. Now from which to distill fuel alcohoL It weighs goods, reports on their quality and condition; it opens bales and boxes for customs inspection,’ furnishes samples for buyers, and looks after repacking and loading for those who ship from London to other ports. fOAN J •■AF CRAWFORD’S Ufa la an esample of a girl who had int ent. ambition and enthusiasm, but rho might never have risen beyond an ordinary occupation without the to keep try- But the refused to sign contracts sod are apparently getting away with it. fore the federal mediation board they opened up ea attack (rated upon Lewis, charging that any C. I. O. affiliate was irresponsi ble, threatened to break contracts and did break them. Examples cited included the United Automobile Workers of America, a C. I. O. af filiate, with which General Motors and Chrysler signed agreements, only to be plagued with hundreds of sit-down strikes after the agreement had been made. Companies lost no chances to im press the public with the violence on the picket lines that were estab lished by C. I. O. unions. When there was resentment of the employ ment of vigilantes by local police and by the companies, the vig ilantes were upheld on the grounds that C. I. O. had regular armies of its own which it continually threat ened to move in upon strike areas. The contention is made that with the failure of C. I. O. in the inde pendent steel strikes, “Big Steel” and the automobile companies will refuse to sign again when their con tracts come up for renewal. Pre dictions are also made that C. I. O. is due for another serious drop in prestige in its attempt to organize the employees of the Ford Motor company. Despite its failure to date in “Lit tle Steel,” the C. I. O.’s leaders are determined that they are here to stay, and are going right ahead in their organization of other indus tries. The U. A. W. A. is airing its com plaints against Ford in a hearing before the national labor relations boafd. In Washington the United Federal Workers of America are trying to organize 800,000 federal employees. The drive is on in the maritime field. C. I. O. is seeking national organization of agricultur al, cannery and fruit and vegetable workers. It is broadening out into transportation, textiles, lumber, to bacco and education. It does not regard the “Little Steel” failure (if indeed it can be regarded ea such) as an important • Wa 1907 in of a theater pUy Texaa. deugh- Moot of t playing through many struggling years bo- tors a real opportunity came bar way. At fourteen, Joan went lo work as a telephone operator to Lawton, Okla. Then, sha lo e convent in Kansas City, aha had to earn her way by acting as a kitchen maid and waiting on tables. After leaving college. Joan Crawford found a job In a City department store as a stock girl at $10 per week, working dur ing the day and practicing dancing at night. Finally a theatrical agent found a job for Joan in a show which failed a month later, leaving her stranded 300 miles from home. Courageous ly, she found job after job in cab arets and night clubs in Chicago, Detroit, and New York. She was working in a Shubert show, “In nocent Eyes,” when a Metro-Gold- wyn-Mayer executive saw her and signed her for pictures. Think of the troubles this girl had, the disappointments and struggles. Bom in the atmosphere of show business, she was inspired from the time sh# could first toddle to find a place for herself in that glamorous life. Then, circumstances took n hand and forced her into occupa tions that were far more on the side of drudgery than glamour. She plugged lines into a switch-board, washed dishes, swept floors, ear ned heavy trays, wrapped pack ages. But through it ail, she kept her confidence in herself. in variety end magnitude, ere these fruits of assn's On the north bank of the Thames, scattered for miles downstream! from the Tower, stand these greet' PLA docks: London, St. Katharine, East and West India, Milhrall, Vic toria and Albert, King George V. 1 and the Tilbury. On the south bank, near London’s heart, are ancient Surrey Commer cial docks, with a lumberyard that covers 150 acres! Besides the railways end truck lines that tie these docks to the out lying kingdom, some 9,000 Thames bargee handle goods to and from ships’ sides. Each dock has its own character. St. Katharine docks are built on the site of the old Church of St. Kath arine by the Tower, founded by 9eeon Matilda hi lift What heUn>- they store: weal. batata, tallow, ivory, barks. from ret catching and pling to dredging the Thames and handling annual cargo enough to fill a road with loaded trucks from the Yukon to Patagonia. To aay that every day some 800 craft, big and little, pan through the Thames mouth tells only half the story. More significant Is what happens on the docks. Commission Ends Ceefnsiou. Even London people themselves don’t dream whet incredible activity is here. Few ever see it. Confusion on this crowded river, in days gone, grew so intense that waiting boats often lay unloaded for weeks; goods were piled in disorder on river banks, and pilfering was enormous. One river bandit stole almost a whole shipload of sugar! To com bat this chaos the West India mer chants built their own fortlike docks. With more trade came more docks, and more toll-rate wars and other confusion. This ended in 1909 when the Port of London authority, a Royal commission, took full con trol under act of parliament. It paid 23,000,000 pounds for pri vately owned London docks, spent millions more to make the lower Thames the world’s longest deep water channel and to enlarge and re-equip cargo - handling facilities. It has dredged mud enough out of the Thames to build a Chinese Wall, and has constructed the world’s most extensive dock system. One of its cranes, the “London Mam moth,” lifts 150 tons! Finally, with characteristic Brit ish financial genius, it sold its deb entures on the stock exchange, and now its operations usually pay all costs and interest and leave a profit which is used fbr more improve ments. Giant Docks and Yard. The PLA la not in trade. It la merely custodian of merchandias that may range from wild animals for (be too to a Nifrlnod of of Havana cigara a enough to Inal om 000 years! Here la a furtive horde of black cats, to help out the human rat catchers. vaults use 28 miles of track on which to roll barrels tk hold the 12,000,000 gallons of wine brought to London each year. This is the world's ivory and tooth market It takes 18,000,000 artificial teeth from the United States every year—and some 2,000 elephant ♦"■fry from Africa and Asia. Not many tusks are from newly slain elephants. Most of them come from mudholes, left by long from mudholes, left by snimaif Tea for Londoners. Wool was England’s chief export in the Middle ages. Today it is one of London’s main imports. It the fleeces from about fifty million sheep to meet London’s annual de mands! Tea trade has centered here for 300 years. In Mincing Lane you can see brokers bidding on lots which have been expertly sampled by PLA’s own teatasters. When they “bulk” tea, or mix it, on some warehouse floors you may see it heaped up in mounds higher then men's heads. Think of all the “liquid history” that has been packed into this an cient water front since Roman gal leys traded here; since Danes and Vikings came to plunder; sines the great companies of merchant ad venturers launched their tiny ships for daring trade and colonizing far over’then little-known aeon. Think of the 00,000 ahipe a that now form smoke lanes London to every nook of the where goods can be and you begin Is see ti j th» mile stretch of