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Show MONEY & MARKETS By James McMullIn Ths Telere't Eschntv Observer Alose W.tt Street NEW YORK John Lewis' financial problems are becoming acuta. Organizing and strike expenses ex-penses are running high and C I. O. income la not Increasing pro- portionately - to the-growth -in membership. Dues payments are sluggish where the check off system sys-tem of collecting them has not been established. Bo far three unions have carried the financial load for the C. L O. Lewis' own United Mine Workers. Work-ers. Sidney Hlllman's Amalgamated Amalga-mated Clothing Workers and David Dtibinsky's International Ladies' Garment Workers. These are prosperous organizations, but the burden is getting too heavy for them to carry alone much longer. So a campaign has been launched to raise a $2,000,000 war chest by demanding a monthly contribution of 5 cents per capita from unions affiliated with the C. I. O. and of 50 cents per capita from unions holding direct C L O. charters. Individual unions are supposed " 9 ff0tas,i'l4llJsTftbTsssstCJsM ingly. New Yorkers familiar with the inner C. I. O. picture doubt that the plan will bring satisfactory satisfac-tory results. Strong passive resistance re-sistance to the assessments is expected ex-pected in many unions. The experience of a small Ohio plant is symptomatic of what is likely to happen as long as the C. I. O. is dependent on voluntary financing. This factory employs about 600 people, of whom 3S0 are members of the C. I. O. Since the members mem-bers constitute a majority, the company signed a contract with the C, 1 O, in compliance with the Wagner act. Recently a C. L O. organizer visited the plant and pleaded eloquently with the workers work-ers to support their brethren involved in-volved In the steel strike. Ha de- long. He sincerely wants to retire. re-tire. Point Is, according to well posted sources, that Mr. Thorna has not yet been persuaded that he should take on the chairmanship chairman-ship although he did allow himself him-self to be elected a director of the bank. But it is still rated possible that he can be sold the idea within a few months or perhaps a year. If this happens, the dope Is that Mr. Reynolds will be only too glad to step aside. The high up New York Democrats Demo-crats who are planning to spring Al Smith for mayor are perfectly satisfied to have public attention focused on Senator Bob Wagner for the present. They don't want to launch a Smith boom until they make sure that Smith will play. Wagner's remark that he will make a statement on the subject "in a couple of weeks" is significant. signifi-cant. By that time the Tammany big shots will know where Smith stands. If he stands where they want him to, Wagner will quietly disappear from the arena. (Copyright, 193T, for Ths Telegram.) scribed the urgent need for financial finan-cial aid and asked the men point-blank point-blank to contribute one day's pay to the C. I. O. fund. Exactly 11 out of the 600-odd responded. Astute observers predict pre-dict that the C. I. O. may go broke before long unless it finds a way soon to persuade reluctant industries indus-tries to accept check off agreements. agree-ments. The latest French fiscal crisis causes grave concern behind the scenes in high financial quarters. The international monetary implications im-plications are not, in themselves, very serious. The three-power gentlemen's agreement to keep the pound, franc and dollar table in terms of each other goes overboard, of course, but France has played a minor role In that pact anyway. There is no reason why the dollar and the pound cannot can-not readjust themselves to the doubly devalued French currency in a comparatively short time. Informed New Yorkers figure the real danger lies in the vigorous vigor-ous domestic discontent that may be roused by Finance Minister Georges Bonnet's drastic measures. meas-ures. The French peasant is highly sensitive in his pocketbook. He is certain to resent strongly a fresh devaluation of his savings. If, on top of that, his government tries to impose additional taxes on him in the name of a balanced budget, there's no telling what he will do. A violent explosion is possible at almost any time if the forces opposed to the left wing government develop able and inspiring in-spiring leadership. Designation of Jackson Reynolds Reyn-olds as chairman of the First National Na-tional bank of New York doesn't mean that Landon K. Thorne is eliminated from that picture. Financial insiders report that Mr. Reynolds accepted the office against his personal inclinations and with the understanding that he would not have to keep it very |
