OCR Text |
Show iMr-txiij'zro- ir Review ok Cuairer,einitt Ercreimta m vsj;i TT EDUCATE ORGANIZE COOPERATE VOL X; NO. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. MARCH 3, 1939 35 Price: 5 Cents Per Copy r3 ODD President John L Lewis of the Congress of Industrial Or ganizations and President William Green of, the American Fed eration of Labor have accepted President Roosevelts reques looking to labor unity. Committees have been named to confer in an effort to reach unity and understanding of labors problems between the two great organizations. The C I. O. unity committee is as follows: John L Lewis, Philip Murray, vice president of the C. I. O., and Sidney Hill man, C. I. O. vice president, and president of the Amalgamatec Clothing Workers of America. The A. F. L committee is as follows: Vice President Daniel J. Tobin, president of Teamsters' union; Vice President Harry C. Bates, president of the Bricklayers and Masons union, and Vice President Matthew Woll, a member of Photo Engrav ers union. President Roosevelt Saturday asked the leaders of the Committee of Industrial Organizations and the American Federation of Labor to meet together in a conference for the purpose of restoring peace in the ranks of labor. The request came in the form of letters addressed to welfare of men and wofnen who Labor faces a challenge in finding itself divided into oppos ing camps, but I am sure that labor can and will meet this challenge with understanding and good work. will. The American people sincerely hope that a constructive negotiated peace with honor may come about between the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Indus trial Organizations within the ear-- ( Continued on page 2) If I Were In the Utah State Legislature WASHINGTON RISKED HIS LIFE AND PROPERTY FOR LIBERTYS SAKE (An Editorial By Max Zaritsky, President, United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers.) . George Washington's birthday When I cast my ballot in the presidential elections two was celebrated last week. The I So, more than event brought out several debates years ago, voted for Roosevelt for President. all who did this and read did the so likely, con to and overwhelming as page, what pro Washington of would do if he were here today. the the of States. United majority people Regardless of the various opin We did vote for Garner for President; we did not vote not ions, all of us must agree that the for Congressman Cox of Georgia or Senator Burke of Nebraska problems of today are much different from those of Washingtons for President. We did not even vote for Vandenberg or John D. Hamilton, much less Herbert Hoover who seems to day. g For example, in the days of a recount. George Washington there was no I remember the 1936 elections distinctly for I cast two ballabor problem in the sense in which one as a private citizen and the other as an offiwe know it to exist. There was no lots that year industrial population of any size. cial presidential elector from New York state. I had the honor There were, it is true, some me- to be a member of the Electoral College which carries through chanics, many of them located in the actual rite of electing the President in accordance with Conor near what were then considered I distinctly recall therefore that the man cities, such as Philadelphia, Boston, stitutional regulations. and New York, but which would elected as President of the United States was Franklin Delano now be considered villages. The Roosevelt. Not Gamer, nor Burke or Vandenberg or Snell or largest of these cities at that time Hoover. As a matter of fact, none of these estimable gentlePhiladelphia had a population of about 30,000. The mechanics men had been a candidate for President at the time. were weavers, shoemakers, carpenRoosevelt was elected and Roosevelt is our President. I am ters, blacksmiths, brickmasons, therefore bored, annoyed and resentful when all these most escoopers, laborers, and other such timable gentlemen set themselves up as private and public as would be required in a simple or I imagine that backward society. Much of the many of our members must work was done not in factories but share the feeling. in the homes, or hovels, of the other Thursday, the press serves up a news item that workers. There were hardly any Vice Every President Garner disapproves of this or that action of the factories, no railroads, no telePresident. On even Wednesdays there are dope stones that hardly graphic communications, any mining, very Tew'Ttewspapers Garner, looks with 'disfavor 6rTone policy of another of the read by very few people, because President. On odd Mondays we are sure to see a photo of our the overwhelming majority of the vice picturesque president, feet propped up against his desk, people could neither read nor write his brows Under such conditions, there knitting severely at a Presidential appointment. Mr. could be none of the major probl- Garner disapproves, Mr. Garner disfavors, Mr. Gamer disems which confront the labor continued on page 8) such as movement , pseudo-president- s. strikes, today, collective ticketing, injunctions, mrgaining, and the like. But while there was no organ-ze- d working class having problems ;oward3 which the statesmen of the ;ime, including George Washing-;ocould have a position, there were then, as there are now, and as there have always been, the rich and the poor; the producer and hose who lived off his labor; the gentleman for whom nothing was ;oo good, for whose benefit and irotection government was solici-;ou- s, and the pauper who in spite of his incessant and generally degrading toil, received a pittance which according to the records of hat day was insufficient to keep ody and soul together. Two Major Classes There were then, as there are now, two major classes, in each of which there were subdivisions, such as we have today. The major classes were, as we have said, the rich and the poor. The rich consisted- of land owners and land (Continued on page 7) n, ByM. I. T. If I were in the Utah State Legislature I would introduce a resolution providing for the calling of a State Constitutional convention at the earliest possible date. I would work with all my might for the adoption of that , resolution. It is almost useless for the legislature to meet for the purlegislation until we have a new pose of enacting any worth-whil- e Constitution. Legislative acts at the present time are nothing but patch-worIt is a continuous patching of laws. Putting patches k. over patches and providing more contained in our legislative acts. work and fees for lawyers and Too Much Legislation s. Our is 40 years old. Constitution e, Regardless of how well quanH-b- It is full of legislation. if he is fied the lawyer may conshould A to tain Constitution should not would not undertake he honest, be only legislation. It interpret some of the patchwork a basis upon which to legislate. Our tax laws are altogether out of joint. MINERS SIGN Whenever new revenues are deCOLUMBIA COAL sired, a bill is passed to raise this revenue by pyramiding the already MINE CONTRACT dear tax system. If I were in the legislature I do my best to reach the taxwould A renewal of the present collecsystem by a scientific and just tive bargaining agreement between ing To do so that this way. the United Mine Workers of Amer- it will benefit theproperly number greatest ica and the Columbia Steel comand equalize tax load according pany was signed at a meeting of to the ability to pay, we must have union and company officials in a new Constitution. Salt Lake City Wednesday, reportUnder the present ed John M. Ross, president of Dis- Constitution adequate tax legislatrict 22, U. M. W. of A. tion is entirely out of the question. The contract is similar to those Taxing the Poor, entered into by other coal operatI would not, even under the presors in outlying districts. ent Constitution, try to place the The agreement was signed by tax burden upon those least able T. to pay. Mr. Ross; Albert Roberts, It was a surprise to many of us Virgil Wright, secretary-treasurer; James Morgan, in- when the House passed a bill lowternational representative of the ering the exemptions on income U; M. W. of A.; C. T. Keigley, taxes. In the event the Senators the general superintendent of Utah are heartless enough to pass low the mean that will bill House it operations, and E. S. O'Connor, superintendent of mines, of the income groups will be paying a Columbia Steel company. (Continued on page 3) near-lawyer- top-hea- vice-preside- By M. L T. vy . Voted for Roosevelt For President I be'de-mandin- President Roosevelt Asks Amicable Understanding Within Ranks of Labor President John L. Lewis of the C. I. 0., and President William Green of the A. F. L. The letters to the two labor chiefs follow: My dear Mr. Lewis: In the development of thi3 great nation the continued results of good will, cooperation and mutual helpfulness among the people have been demonstrated continuously. The need of the exercise of these qualities is as urgent now as at any time in American, history, particularly as they apply to the News and Comment NOTES FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE By UARDA McCARTY One more week and the twenty-thir- d Utah state legislature becomes history. The curtain spelling finis to lawmaking activities for another two years is due to fall next Thursday. deIt will unless the often-use- d vice of turning back the clock is again resorted to in order to gain additional hours for legislative acstatute-record- ed . j tion. That Father Time will be haltis almost certain if the lawmakers hope to find opportunities to consider even a small ed in his tracks fraction of the new laws proposed in the multitude of measures introduced. Such action will bring the sessions close to a week from Sat-- ( Continued on page 4) Chains Greatest Hindrance To Recovery Inter-Stat- e By CONGRESSMAN WRIGHT PATMAN Practically all of the arguments against chain store tax bill to curb inter-stat- e chain stores relate to price. That is the economic side only. I admit that the price is something to be considered, but there are social reasons for the passage of this bill that overcome any economical reason that is urged against its passage. Suppose a law should be passed now that would prevent the inter-stat- e chains from going into new territory or new loca- tions to destroy more independent merchants ? The result would be that bankers would extend loans to individuals who desire to enter the retail business in such lines as groceries, drugs, shoes, varieties, and others. Now, however, banks cannot safely make these loans, because they know that if the ambitious person who obtains the loan builds up a good business at his location, a national corporate chain will come in after the business is established and, through the use of profits made elsewhere, destroy the business of this individual. There would be an immediate demand for safe loans, aggregating billions of dollars, by efficient, clever businessmen if they were protected against this Wall Street octopus, which is the greatest hindrance to recovery at this time. American Farmer It is my belief that the prosperity of this Nation depends upon the prosperity of the American farmer. Any system that reduces the buying power of the farmer works a hardship on all the other people, whether they are engaged in the professions or business or wage earners. When the farmer is prosperous wage earners are prosperous. So, the wage earner who insists on perpetuating a system that is reducing the purchasing power , of the class that represents the best customer for, what he the wage earner is manufacturing, is certainly not acting in his own interest or in the countrys interest. The farmers of this Nation today and especially those engaged in dairying, producing livestock, poultry, eggs, and all fruits and vegetables would be enjoying a fair measure of prosperity were it not for the conspiracy of a few in- terstate chain-stor- e owners who are dominating the market for these products and forcing the prices real low in order to accommodate their city consumers. City consumers, who have vision, realize this and know that it is against their interest and the interest of the country, and would not object to paying a fair price one that would be fair to the producers. Distributive Expense Many people have been led to believe that the large chains have eliminated the wholesalers. This is not true. They have established their own wholesale houses instead. In fact, they have not eliminated a single distributive expense. It is true that they have caused hundreds of thousands of traveling men to lose their jobs, but the money that was formerly paid to these traveling men and which was (Continued on page 5) |