Ontario Community Newspapers

Porcupine Advance, 8 Jul 1948, 1, p. 4

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es Authorized U a a €A Dominion Day havinz past and gone, most people will no doubt Digs remember it as a day when they had a wonderful time. The L€â€" ogd gion is to be congratulated on the fine parade and sports day planâ€" the ned and carried out. â€" It is just an idea, but, since our Legion 1s soO this tied up in history of this country and since Dominion ‘Day is our and one historic celebration day, why not get the two together. T ong This is what we mean. Why not have the Legion sponsor the lin, Dominon Day sports day every year. They did such a fine job of cil, it this year that the whole town is talking. by y par It has keen suggested that the Legion start the day off earily coat with a monster parade, followed by the regular track and field ther meet.â€" With baseball and maybe a swim meet thrown in for good Guy With the coâ€"operation of all the service clubs and the town bands, this day could be an annual festival day which would be the talk of the North country. As the day wore on many people could take picni¢c lunches to the various parks and in the evening after the sun sank slowly in the Northâ€"West, the bursting fireworks would be the capping of a perfect day, which would end with a monster concert and sing song in the park. It has ce with a mon meet. Wit Sun sSsanmnk Ssowiy 1 be the capping 01 concert and sing : In the heat of summer there is nothing as relaxing and cooling as going to the edge of a small clear northern lake, having a swim and sitting on the beach. . With the summer season so short it is almost imperative that children get to the beach as often as possible to bathe in the exhilarating water and health giving sunshine. Gillies Lake provides a marvelous spot for a good beach and as the water is tested regularly it is safe to take the.children there for the afternoon. After an afternoon‘s basking in the sun at Grillies Lake these are few notes jotted down by the editor who has basked on many beaches and wishes to hand on some constructive critiâ€" cism. One of the main reasons found why the beach is only patronized by children and why the oldsters don‘t use it as often as they might, is the need for a good bath house and locker room. We were told that this matter had been looked into by several service clubs but nothing could be done as the concession could not be let. The reason given for that was the zoning byâ€"laws. According to one man no one could seil pop or set up a stand in the areaâ€"â€"what that has to do with setting up a respectable bathing house no one said. Just as we left the park there was a potato chip salesman‘s wagon fouling up the air with his greasy wares. How he could park there and sell indigestibles and no bathhouse could get a license to sell pop or no one could get permission to run a concession on the beach didn‘t make sense. Any beach which is run properly has lockers or locker baskets for clothes. Generally this is run by an elderly man who enjoys getâ€" ting the summer sun. A few bottles of pop, some gum, chocolate bars, sun tan oil, beach balls, and a few bathing suits to rent, often net a pensioner a bit extra to get him by when the snow flies. The lake is well guarded by three lifeguards, one husky young man, a young woman who swam in many swimming competitions and a younger woman who has experience in teaching swimming and lifesaving. TCAC head Bim Sturgeon is to be congratulated for his choice of beach supervisors. A pile of lumber stands in the middle of the beach. Every once in a while an energetic youngster takes a short plank off the pile and hurls it to one side. . Someone else comes along and piles the lumâ€" ber back. It is getting checked and splintered every time these husky youngsters throw it around. The lumber it seems is for a dock that is to be built. Numerous men promised to help with the construction of the dock but they haven‘t been seen yet, Someâ€" day when the snowglies. .. This dock was to have enclosed a good portion of the beach for the young fry and it would have made the job of watching 200 splashing younsters quite a simple one. sSince the dock was to have been built, no one wanted to pay for a small boat to be on the beach too. For practical lifesaving all ilfeâ€" guards should have a small row boat available at all times. The boat should be equipped with oars and a paddle plus a few lengths of heavy rope about 3 feet long. *ut m neasure Another feature which these experienced old eyes noted was the fact that either the terrace should be grassy or it should be sand, and not gravel. Gravel has too many big stones which bruise one when reclining. And the garbage can could be some other place raâ€" ther than parked in the centre of the beach. It daetracts from the surroundings and the soft cool air off the lake. Gillies beach is an asset to the town which cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Enough money is allotted each year to many projects but more than just money is needed. It is work on the part of the service clubs. Canada $2.00 Per Year TIMMIN®, ONTARIO Members Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association; Ontarioâ€"Quebec Newepaper Association Timmins, Ontario, Thursday, July 8th, 1948 EThe Borcupine Adbance a menr im v» w a v o L s hk Published every Thursday by Merton W. Lake Beauty And The Beach 1 class matter by the Post Office Depaxtment, Ottawa Dominion Day Subscription Rates United States: $3.00 Per Year and hope. This type2 of idea was voiced not (ong ago by pionsers like J. P. McLaughâ€" lin, member of the town‘s first counâ€" cil, and the second mayor of Timmins; by Ed. Leslie, who, with his happy Ernie Schletter, operated a Ecat service on Porcupine Lake before there was much town of Timmins; by Guy McChesney, who, as vyouth, was through what is now the Porcupine Camp in 1907, prospecting with his father, the late Sam. McChesney, and the lattar‘s brother; by Vincent Wosdâ€" bury, who has seen the Town of Timâ€" mins grow from a small clearing in the bush to a mighty city of 30,000. These men, and scores of others reâ€" visitin the Campn» agree that in the days when the Porcupin> was young, "those were the days, indeed!" And pracâ€" tically all the oldâ€"timers still heére will join in that chorus, ‘"Thoes were the days!" One sentimental oldâ€"timer on . one occasion some years ago explained the slamour of the early days by quoting Macaulay‘s "Lays of Ancient Rome": "Then none was for a party; "Then all were for the state; "Then the great man helped the poor; "And the noor man loved the great, ‘‘Then lands, were fairly portioned, "Then spoils were fairly sold; "The Romans were like brothers "In the brave old days of old." It is not too much to cay that the verse applies with as great force and ‘ruth to Porcupine in the early days, as it did to Ancient Rome. In any event it was the fact that men were like brothers in the brave days when the Porecupine was young. For they were brave days! Of course, there were difficulties and d@iscomforts, but happiness is the more outstanding in a background of handiâ€" caps and hardships. There are few joys more satisfyving than conquering circumstances. Life may have been a struggle, but struggle is the very essence of real life. Inconveniences and obstacles are but incentives to "Thoss were the days! The wonderâ€" ful days! The days when the Porcu«â€" pine was young!" Sentimerts of that kind were exâ€" pressed by pioneers cf this camp, reâ€" visiting here recently, after varying peâ€" ticds of absence. They had every adâ€" miration for the Porcupine as it is but till the thought was in their minds that if Timmins, for example, is much bigger and greater than it was thirtyâ€" odd years ago, the fact remains that the little old town of the teens of this centuwy was a place of happiness ) cale ols elealeat s ate ts 08 1l n The Davys TOben The Porcupine Tas Noung o)o:n:n:u:oo:n:“:“: essenc? Of T and obstacle ingenuity. Surely they were ‘"brave days, wnhnen comfortable homes could be rented from $40.00 per month down to â€"12.00 per month, instead of $40.00 un to $85. 002 Choice beef @15¢c. to 18e ped Ib. Breakfast bacon @ 29¢ per Ib. Canned goods @ 2 for for a quarter. Blue serge and fancy tweed suits, â€"$20 to $25. Electric refrigerators @ $85.00 1916 Model Fords @ $375.00 and 1917 Fords $530.00. Ladies‘ house dresses $1.25 to $2.25. Men‘s fine shirts, $1.25 ## ad on e ied‘ ad‘rd *ea‘ea e« aa u« 11 s ea u«e va va ea ta ve ya Dear Sir: As an avid reader of your paper I would like to bring something which has been bothering me for some time. Maybe it will seem like not much but it is little things which make living worthwhile. If you go to court on Tuesday afternoons and I see you there sometimes, vou will notice no doubt, that when the court is adjourned no one says, "God Save the* King!" The Chief cof Police just stands up and says that court is adjourned. Perâ€" haps if this was brought to the atâ€" tention of the Magistrate something would be done to correct this small but significant matter. Dear Sir: A matter which I would like to bring to the attention of yvour readers at this time is the awful rooking of the public by these carnival people. Why should the local service clubs who tell the people that they are out to help the community, bring in side shows and rides which take all the money out of the town? I suggest that the soâ€"called service clubs get together and build themselves a merryâ€"goâ€"round and some other rides in one of the town‘s parks. They could make it pay all summer easily jJust charging 5 cents a ride for kiddies. The rides could be built on a permanent basis and boarded un during the winâ€" ter. Yours truly, F. B. Eye . . Timmins ED. NOTE: Yes we noticed that. Hot dogs and pop were at terrific prices and the rides were so short that you ro sooner got on when you had to get off. It was plump and plain robbery. Think that over service clubs, Why let all that money get out of town and have a lot of stripped down dancers parading before our children. The hussies. _ We have erough badness in this town without imvnorting any from Mother of five. Ed. Note: â€" The service club refered to made a bit on the deal with the carâ€" nival people and all the money didn‘t zo out of town. _ As far as we are able to find out, the carnival people behaved themselves in a respectable manner. parad‘ng hussies. this town the South Letters to the Editor brave days," when Auatuatuastes ooo{yo}(%"?xo{ No. 59. The BRrave Uuu.m of Old THZ PORCUPINE ADVANCE, TTMMINS, ONTARIO to $1.175. And most of the going conâ€" cerrs had "go‘ngâ€"cutâ€"ofâ€"business" sales every time they moved or altered tehir premises, and prices then were always several cents lower than usual. Surely those were the brave days! But these are not the things that make them the brave days of old to the pioneer! Some old timers might be tempted to tell the fact or one thing there were absolutely no ordinary, or extraâ€"ordinary rats in the Porcupine: in the early days, and no potato bugs! Even the human "rats" were few in number, and soon died out. On one ccecasion in the early days, there was of a sensation when a live tarentula was found on a bunch of banâ€" anas in a Timmins wholesale house, but the sensation would have been as great, or greater had a rat besn disâ€" covered there. As for potato bugs, it was vears and yvears before the acclimâ€" atized themselves to this country. Talk about brave days! Why shaves were onmnly fifteen cents, and haircuts, 85¢c. Shoe shines were no more than a nickel, though the average man did not wait for change from his quarter those days and the shoe shine lad was not expected to have change. No oldâ€"timer ever really knew when shoe shines went up to ten cents, or even to the present 15¢. Another seriousâ€"minded oldâ€"time citiâ€" zen might refer to Dr. H. H. Moore‘s reports as Medical Health Officer. Usâ€" wally he reported the general public health as good, with a record small numb¢r of typhoid cases, and no serâ€" ous cases of contagious diseases. Then, he would urge extension of the waterâ€" works system, installation of a sewâ€" age system, closing of all wells to preâ€" vent danger of typhoid and similar dis. eases, testing of all cows for T.B., and the establishment of an isolation hospital. _ Unlike most mining camps, Timmins never had a regular epidemic of any of the common diseases except the one influenza epidemic that swept all over in 1918 and 1919 was vears and yvears before the acclimâ€" atized themselves to this country. Another seriousâ€"minded oldâ€"time citiâ€" zen might refer to Dr. H. H. Moore‘s reports as Medical Health Officer. Usâ€" wally he reported the general public health as good, with a record small mnumb«r of typhoid cases, and no serâ€" ous cases of contagious diseases. Then, he would urge extension of the waterâ€" works system, installation of a sewâ€" age system, closing of all wells to preâ€" vent danger of typhoid and similar dis. eases, testing of all cows for T.B., and the establishment of an isolation hospital. _ Unlike most mining camps, Timmins never had a regular epidemic of any of the common diseases except the one influenza epidemic that swept all over theâ€"epntinent in 1918 and 1919. Yet, itâ€"/Ais not likely that any of these matéers would be uppermost in the minds of oldâ€"timers recalling the brave days of old. Rather, it would be the times of friendships and fun in this new land. Here are a few of the items that will come from the rich veins of the oldâ€" timer‘s memory‘s mine: $ The Dog Races and carnivals. Particularly, the Boy‘s Dog Race, where forty or more bovs started their one, two or three dogs, in relays, from the Impeiral Bank corner, for a run around town. â€" The first prize was $1.00 the second prize 50 cents and every i. veq es mm uaww uaaAairrasl CÂ¥ chinmnirn Att? The rousing recruiting meetings held. here during the war of 1914â€"1918, with many of the speakers being orators «of wide reputation. The stirring Navy League gatherings here. At one of these, the famous Peter Wright once a gallant fighter for the Seamen‘s Union in Britain, and wt>r in His Majesty‘s secret service, delivered a scathing and scorching atâ€" tack on the "Bolshevicks," as they were then called. . There were some of these fellows in the audience, and they atâ€" tempted to interrupt Peter, but he used such blistering words to them, and seemed ready,â€"and eager, to follow up his words with his fists, that they were glad to sneak out of the meeting. The political rallies, with genuine srators, (nmnot all of them imported, ither) to make the welkin ring. Hugshie Mulhsron, "mine host of the Goldfields," and his annual sleighride »sarty of all school children of the camp. Oone year he treated over 300 younsgsters. The next year, it was iearly 700. The Oddfellows‘ Picnic was so imporâ€" tant an event that Mayor McLaughlin declared a civic holiday for the occasâ€" ion, and Dr. McInnis the succeeding mayor followed the same plan. Hockey! Baseball!l Lacrosse! Footâ€" ball!l Don‘t start any oldâ€"timer remâ€" iniscing on any of these, or it will take several nights. Ask any oldâ€" timer of he remembers that 13â€"inrning Here are a few of the items that will come from the rich veins of the o]d- timer‘s memory‘s mine: The Dog Races and carnivals. Particularly, the Boy‘s Dog Race, where forty or more bovs started their one, two or three dogs, in relays, from the Impeiral Bank corner, for a run around town. â€" The first prize was $1.00 the second prize 50 cents and every other entry received a shining new quarter, or an older coin of the same denomination, the bovs not seeming to care about the age of the coin. Sometimes, there were more than dog races, the boys no always being able to keep the dogs apart. Also, there were ncecasionally, more than dog fights, the committee being unable always to keep the boys from taking the part of their dogs. But, always a good time The O tant an declared jon, anc mayor f Hocke: ball! D iniscing take se timer of gcams th Menti( brings a sons, th the We Knights Charity, the Del L. =O.:=13. Brith a I sure do hope Joe Louis continues to stand firm about permanent retireâ€" ment from the fight business, after 11 years of championship. because this sports dodge is no place now for us old fogies with bald spots. It‘s why I auit sports writing some years back. I could see that the day would dawn when a sports writer would have to know something to keep his job. A new, vast, intricate era of sports is beginning. It is all mixed up with psychiatry, television, literature, jurisâ€" prudence and highâ€"bracket accounting. It is no place for a fighter whose simple creed was that a short right was betâ€" ter than a college educationâ€"Or aA writer whose only technical accompâ€" lishment was the knac® of keeping an acurate baseball boxâ€"score. It gave me quite a nasty turn to see that the Agsociated Press had hired A psychiatrist to expert the late Louisâ€" Walcott conflict. Obviously the Freuâ€" dian frustration has replaced the rabâ€" bit purch, and I am prepared to deal with it. t1C was figh not not old tim: for trou kee B Lol eno not spil cliu afte Ho tim be voo ivy. «1 vefl wIi side Zil} The AP‘s tame boneâ€"pointer, JDr. J. L. Moreno delivered a lengthy harâ€" angue the day before the fight about the impact of rain on Louis‘ sensitive psyche. Said that Joe, who was vain, would be most likely to suffer from the frustrating effect of postponement, while Walcott‘s greater sense of huâ€" mor was to help him survive the deâ€" lay. Said both of them might wind up in a mire of selfâ€"pity and selfâ€"exâ€" cuse, disastrous to their effectiveness. Now, I ask you, how in the name of John L. Sullivan is an ignorant fight writer going to know all them things? I can talk about a left hand like Charâ€" ley white‘s and I know enough t,o alâ€" ways call Blood "claret" and "gore" and "crimson cascade," but I am short on syndromes and fresh out of emotional blocks. Robert Ruark Discusses Joe Louis‘ Retirement But the idea of a permanent merryâ€"£g0â€" raund and rid:s is one which may inâ€" terest some of the service clubs. This sort of prefight ballyhoo to By G. A., Macdonald _ ## # # # # .0 t# #* w# ## #e* # #% #* Pnstsataatas®setaetastsetas*eatactaats s*a was had by all. The concerts by the Byrnes Presbyâ€" terian Choir, under the leadership of Jas. Geils, and with Mrs. J. W. Paithful at the organ. The Burns banguets at Timmins and South Porcupine. The gallant battles of the Board of Trade for better frcilities in town, for thy causes. And don‘t forget the Board of Trade Banquets. Stan Rawlinson at the piano, Pete Bardessono on the accoridon and ‘Gene Colombo on the violin. The Appel Orchestra. The Timmins Turkey Stags, with their remarkable entertainments, inâ€" cluding the famous "Gimmee" and the other happy novelties of the redoubtâ€" able "Lap‘"‘ Laprairie. The Sunday evening band concerts by the Timmins Citizens‘ Band, with »rogramines worth many times the colâ€" lections at the door. In addition to the Band. there wore outstanding voâ€" cal and instrumental art‘sts at these fire for Mention clubs or societies and it brings a flood of memories of the Maâ€" sons, the Roval Arch, the Oddfellows, the Welsh, the Lancashire Club the Knights of Columbus, the Ladies of Charity, the Caledonians, the Cornish, the Delish, the Lancashire ‘Club, the L O. D. E.. the G. W. V. A., the B‘Nai Brith and many others. vVen tickle the appetites of the customers, was regarded as ethical since you had fighters commenting on fighters and not muscling into other racket.s It did not even outrage the customers when old Dempsey got a little confused one time and picked two separate winners for two separate publications. In these troubled times, a writer cannot always keep a firm hand on his ghost. But it was comforting to observe that Louis was sufficiently oldâ€"fashioned to ignore the dire predictions of Dr. Morâ€" eno. His abject frustration extended not to his right fist, nor did Wialceott‘s spiritual advantage inject sufficient calâ€" cium into his jaw to keep him erect after the l1th. Brith and time before some blabbermouth would be coaching the fighters on this grisly voodoo, and they would enter the ring a tremulous mass of shortâ€"circuited veflexes. It is then that your fight writer would necessarily go to his ringâ€" side seat with a scoreâ€"card, a copy of Zilboorg, and the latest excerpts from Mary Hayworth. He could be fired for saying that the champion lost because of some deepâ€" buried mother fixation, if in actuality he lost because the challenger remindâ€" ed him of his first sweetheart. His prose might be deepest purple his smiles magnificent, but unless he could trace the winner‘s atavistic ferocity back to a bovhood hatred of grandâ€" mother, he‘s out on the pavement, looking for a job. chs butr he ed Apart from boxing, the newer, vasâ€" ter responsibility of the sports writer becomes evident in baseball, as its fiâ€" gures cavort in literature, appear in courtroom litigation, and dabble with wages and hours. The pro football writer must also have a wide underâ€" world acquaintance if he is to learn, in time, the names of the men on the bookie pay roll. It is too tough for an old metaphor man to tackle. I am glad to be out of the business, and so, I imagine, is Joe. He was ever a basic boy, with two fine fists. and I should hate to see him drop a duke to | mund Freud Automatic thermostatic controls can be installed on any type of furnace boiler to regulate it, thereby saving fuel. However, it would only be a matter of ner of hs me that ended Mention clubs allant battles of the Board of r better frcilities in town, for tection, for express delivery, r post office service, more and ads, and a score of other worâ€" + tough for an old metaphor ckle. â€"I am glad to be out of ss, and so, I imagine, is Joe. er a basic boy, with two fine [ should hate to see him drop ) the restless shade of Sigâ€" by Victor Riesel By JOHN EDGAR HOOVER, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation United States Department o Justice Washington â€" During the war an American tanker broke down in the North Atlantic while in convoy toward a combat area. The feduction gear assembly had been put out of commission by a piece of metaf wedged between bearing surfaces. _As the rest of the convoy dropped over the horrizon and’the tanker hauled up to wallow in high seas and await assistance for the uncertain return to an American port, there were tantalizing questions in the m{nds of all aboard. What was that little piece of metal in the gear assembly and who put it there? Members of the engine room crew were particularly uneasy. If there was a Jonah aboard, he must be among them because they were the only men who had access to the ship‘s machinery. What would the FBI find when Agents came aboard to check on the possibilities of sabotage* What the Agents found were a number of mashed and broken gear teeth and a small segment of crushed steel wedged in one of the gear groves, This obviously was the piece of metal which had done the damage The mysâ€" tery was its origin. Spectrographic examinations in the FBI Laboratory revegaled that there were no foreign substances in the gear assembly. The scientific examâ€" inations and the Agents‘ investigation aboard ship led to the same conclusion; nothing but a mechanical breakdown was involved. A gear tooth had broken off and jammed. 8 The outcome of this case is typical of hundreds of wartime sabotage cases handled by the FBI. Whenever there was an unusual accident, explosâ€" ion, or breakdown directly affecting the production or transportation of war material or endangering American lives, there was always the to‘rmenting doubt: was it caused by an enemy agent or was it accidental? Always the accusing finger of cireumstance pointed directly at one man or a group of men, and nearly always there was an undercurrent of wartime hysteria ready to fan the reasonable sparks of doubt into a holocaust of mob violence. In one case an entire shipyard was closed down for one shift and five strongly suspected men (secondâ€"generation Germans) were advised to leave quietly and take refuge in their homes where they could sumrmon police protection, if necessary, while FBI Agents were investigating hn, qyeged sabâ€" otage plot to blow up the whole shipyard. + When FBI Agents arrived, little knots of angry men were assembling throughout the plant: vigilante groups were already forming to dispense summary ‘justice" upon the suspected Germans. Foremen sucees}fully disâ€" persed the men by telling them that FBI Agents were on the caée and would not stop until it was solved. % The investigation disclosed that there had been no sab there were no guilty persons. There had been a simple (althon breakdown in a piece of welding equipment which was connec pipeline to the shipyard‘s principal reservoir tank of oxygen e plot and unusual) by a direct The breakdown was discovered by an inexperienced. W excitable workman who reported to his foreman and then, among his fell Dws, started a scare story that reached fantastic proportions within a matter ‘Mtwo hours. The outraged men who were forming vigilante committees w,' convinced that a cutting torch had been loaded with a highly mflamma substance which would have caused a mighty explosion when the torch w‘lighted. This explosion, they thought, would have been great en#@Wh to blow out the safety valves in the feed line to the main storage tank amng set off an explosion in the huge reservoir that would have demolished the efi shipyard. The only persons who had had access to the torch between the#ime when it was last used and the time when it was discovered "loaded". We the five Germans. y ] 7F-‘BI Agents proved that the substance in the torch was not efxplosive or highly inflammable. It was slush that had accumulated naturall’x during the time when the torch was improperly connected with a defectiveitank of TRA T UKe*! ) acetylene gas. Such cases are not as unusual as one might think. MQ#gover, they are as commonplace in the peacetime work of the FBI as they were during the war. Typical and illustrative was a recent forgery case in which police arâ€" rested a man whom several eye witnesses identified as the man who had cashed some worthless checks. The police sent the checks to the FBI Labâ€" oratory. Laboratory technicians determined that he had not written the checks. A search through the fingerprint files, however, brought up the record of another man who had not previously been under sus{nmon FBI Laboratory technicians established that this man had writtert )worthlesq checks. Regardless of the kind of case â€" whether it involves espionage, saboâ€" tage, criminal matter, or a Federal employee‘s loyalty to his ~govrnment â€" we take no part n the final interpretation of the information,.which we colâ€" lect. Our duty is discharged when we have collected a conclusive body of facts. We strive never to fall below that goal. Beyond it we have no auâ€" thority to go. It is for others outside the FBI to weigh the facts and decide, on innocence or guilt. «4 . Convictions result in more than 96 per cent of all FBI cases which go to court, a fact wheih indicates that our men are generally success{ful in separating the innocent from the guilty before their cases are, pregsented for prosecution. y BY EMIL REEVE j General President, Textile Workers Union * and Vice President of the CIO The most overworked word in newâ€"day debates over the labor probâ€" lem is union "responsibility". It‘s used by labor‘s enemies and friends alike, including Victor Riesel. Mostly it has made very little sense. Everyone agrees unions should be "responsible" â€" just as they agree statesmen should be "liberal", laws should be "just" and our country should be run in an "American way". As applied to unions, “x'esponsibil'{‘t)"” is just another highâ€"sounding expression which can mean anything or nothing. I have never liked this kind of doubleâ€"talk. I would like to take this opportunity to define union "responsibility" as it appears to me, and to express its real enemies. For one thing, a union must be responsbile to its members; after all, the members are the union. This means an open, démocratic union. Second, a union should be responsible for fulfilling its contracts â€"â€" for keeping its word. This means a reasonably wellâ€"disciplined union. And third, a union should take a responsible attitude toward the inâ€" dustry in which it operates: it should tailor its demands to the ability of efficâ€" ient employers to pay. This means a wellâ€"informed union, free from the inâ€" fluence of those who would use the strike as a political or ideological weapon, I submit that these points add up to union "responsibility‘‘ in the best sense â€" including responsibility to the public. It seems to me a union meets its public responsibilities by behaving honestly and reasonably. Of course, these specifications wouldn‘t prevent a strike; too many Congressmen and columnists forget, it ‘jikes two sides to make peace. Bu that‘s another story, My union and many others are in favor of these rules. But the men who framed the Taftâ€"Hartley act are not. They ‘ ~ve already made one of them impossible, weakened another and brought he third under attack. You who are not in the labor movement â€" you, the "public‘ â€" are the real losers, Here‘s how: The Taftâ€"Hartley act prevents any union from guaranteeing to live up to its contracts. It does so because it has destroyed the union shop, and with it, union discipline. Under the soâ€"called union shop permitted by the law, there is only one grounds on which a union can demand the dismissal or layoft of a worker â€" nonâ€"payment of dues. At the same time, the law encourages employers to sue unions for contract violations. How ‘does this affect the public? Very acutely; it has forced my union and others to abandon longâ€" standing pledges not to strike while under contract,. We can promise only that there will be no strikes authorized by the union president. Otherwise we would be liable for damages for every wildeat walkout promoted by comâ€" pany spies, communists or hotâ€"heads. We can no longer protect ourselves from any of these, 6 . The same provision of the Taftâ€"Hartley act â€" passed, if you recall, with loud bleats about "liberty‘"‘ for workers â€" has also been a blow at union democracy. I do not think such a concentration of authority is a good thing. Yet the law made it necessary. I Finally, the antiâ€"labor forces in . Congress have revivgd the idea of breaking up national unions into an assortment of splinters This would guarantee that no union could offer a really informed or intelligent programy of collective bargaining. It would wreck labor research and stimulate interâ€" union rivalry. t The recent convention of my union amended our constitution to vest in the president the sole power to authorize strikes, I supported this action with great reluctance, after our union lawyers insisted that it was the only way we could avoid being prosecuted for strikes we no longer have the means to prevent. Obviously this was away from democracy. Strikes would be a dime a dozen until the last union fragment went down fighting, and American labor was 1educed to a seething, voiceless proâ€" letariat. R its limits Maybe the Taftâ€"Hartley boys think, to paraphrase the old Indian fighters, that the only "responsible " union is a dead union. If they get their way, they may find they have slain America as well. This would be a "responsibHlity" indeed, Moral suasion is our only weapon}y and the power of sweet reason has Inside Labour THURSDAY, JULY 8th, 1948

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