MINE - MILL TARGET Union raiding brings . CHICAGO Union raiding makes strange bedfellows. Since CIO brass- hats received the green light fom president Philip Murray © raid Mine-Mill locals in the United States and Canada (where the CCL does the dirty Work) the raiders have team- &d up with Klansmen, company Unionists, hoodlums, white- su- | Premists, Dixiecrats, | union funa jugglers, terrorists and Ted-baiters. What is happening to CIO? Ow did this yeversal from one-time honest militancy come pbout? When did the policy of ®coming bedfellows of “goons and ginks and company finks” begin? t “It started with a decision of tor, ClO leaders to tie the CIO an the Democratic party, aban- , Ning the traditional policy of ndependent politica’ action,” vharges the International nion of Mine, Mill and Smelt- goons, finks to CIO. wage speed-up, Mine-Mill and other progres- sive unions which refused to become a tail to the Truman kite, and continued to fight for increases and against became targets for vicious union-raiding attacks. After 12 months on. the pic- ket. lines in Hast St. Luis, where Mine-Mill was forced on strike by the American Zina Company,’ ‘CIO. Shipbuilding workers, backed by Steelwork- ers, attempted to ratd Mine- Mill by obtaining a Taft-Hart- ley labor board election, : On June 14, strikers voted in the NLRB poll to maintain Mine-Mill as their sole collect- ive bargaining agency. On June 17—three days later — . strikebreaking goon squads led i t St ‘by officers of the Eas' Toute Industrial Union Coun- ‘cil attacked strikers and shot two. striking workmen. Near death is Epmenio Ne Rodriquez - (abeive) — after being. shot by CIO strike- breaking goon squad in St. &r Worke “pp j ‘oin i along wits AN Noaveaae in ger uae TS cup in sbite of the fact that it brought Sportal bed to sign war- tin Taft-Hartley, witch-hunts piel oa ie enageivauntarthe “site Suppression of civil liber- ey rene shot him. les for the American people.” pee Vatican politics create Czech Church dispute Reports in Canadian daily papers, by magnifying isolated incidents, PRAGUE. ignoring the guarantees of religious freedom given by the government and smearing the newly formed Catholic Action, are giving a completely distorted picture of what is happening in Czechoslovakia today. The jority of Catholics in a country whose population is three ment’s encroachments on their freedom of religion. power and influence within the country as the most important weapon of the “cold war” in the arsenal of the Atlantic pact sig- natories. Consider the facts: The rejuvenated National Front. soon after February 1948, declared that freedom of religion would be secured in this country. This was later embodied in the new consti- tution of May, 1948. At that time negotiations be- tween the National Front and re- presentatives of all Churches, in- cluding the Catholic Church. were already taking place. ° -The National Front offered to agree to a special law which would provide for maintenance of, Church schools, as an excep- tion to the general school law, prpvide for salaries of priests to be substantially increased and paid by the state and make the state responsible for all Church expenses. Further, it was agreed that the Catholic press would be extend. ed, presuming that it would nec be misused against the state. And yet the negotiations, whi had started so promisingly, wer suddenly interrupted as a resul of the Church’ hierarchy. Although priests held govern ment office under the old Austrc ‘Hungarian monarchy and occ pied government “posts under * First Republic following the First World War, the Council of Bish- Bps, in May 1948, invoked its power to forbid priests to serve in the new National Front gov- ernment. Joseph Plojhar, of health, was ithreatened. ;with tion within six months. Other priests were also suspended for continuing in government posts. The Councl of Bishops’ action against priests who held office in the new government was given sharper point by its failure tc discipline. those priests who col laborated wth the Nazis durin; the occupation. Despite the council’s provoca- tive action, the government di* not introduce a single measure directed against the Church. On the contrary. Not one church was closed down, millions of crowns were - granted to the Church as financial- support. Although Catholics throughout the country, priests and laymen alike, repeatedly asked their Bish- ops and archbishops to continue negotiations with the National Front, the deadlock continued. * now minister suspended and On June 10, a number of Cath- olic priests and laymen from ai- ceses throughout the country me? in Prague. to discuss the situa tion created by the continuin deadlock. The outcome was f mation of a Catholic Action eco- mittee of 60 leading Catholics, in- structed by the conference to re- quest the Council of Bishops to resume negotiations with the government. : The proclamation of Catholic priests and laymen approved by the Catholic Action Committee and signed by hundreds of Cath- olic priests and thousands of lay- men condemned the reactionary policy of those dignitaries who have nothing in common with the real interests of the Church. “We recognize the Holy Father as the visible head of the Church, we submit to him in all matters concerning. faiith, “morals and Church discipline,” the statement declared. In matters of faith. and morals we recognize the author- ity .of the Bishops and other Church representatives. We want for ever to remain faithful mem- bers of the ..Reman Catholic Church as the convinced aidvo- cates of Christ’s teaching. We excc(nmunica- | impression is created that the ma- -quarters Catholic are resistng their govern- The actual situation is that the Vatican is using its cannot be indifferent to the most burning social problems of the day. “We condemn capitalism as an economic system which is the em- bodiment of selfishness in econo- mic and private life. Capitalsm as an economic - social system is outspokenly anti-Christian and sinful.” Concluding, the statement de- clares that the ruthless accumu- lation of capital, disregarding the most elementary demands of so- cial justice and love, has been for years the terrible cause of all so- cal unhappness. economc crises and the sufferings of mankind, throwing the world into two world wars. Communists to defend constitutional rights NEW YORK. So long as constitutional liberties and democratic elections exist in the United States, Communists will advocate and work for the election of a government based on a coalition of anti-fascist, anti-monopoly - forces, Gilbert Green, Illinois Communist leader, declared from the witness stand in the continuing trial of the 12 Communist Judge Harold Medina here. Hurling back the charge that Communists advocated the use of force and violence, on which the government's case against the 12 U.S. leaders is based, Green blunt- ly told the jury that U.S. Com- munists would only advocate the use of- violence to meet the force and violence of big business-in- spired fascism if constitutional liberties should be destroyed, and the present government replaced by fascist tyranny. : Green told the jury that Com- munists recognize the danger that reactionary forces would not per- mit a progressive anti-fascist coalition to take government pow- leaders before as either open or veiled dictator- ship of a particular class. Under capitalism, the capitalist dictatoriship takes either the veil- ed form, as ina democracy, or the open form of fascism. The trial began January 17. Court proceedings in the historic trial passed their 100th day last week. : Interested spectators during one day’s session last week were five West Virginia coal miners who came to protest, personally against Judge Harold Medina’s jailing of John Gates, Gus Hall and Henry Winston. ‘ er peacefully, even if such a coal- ition should win electoral victory. Green bluntly declared Com- munists would not permit destruc- tion of ‘democratic liberties and institutions, won by the people through bitter struggle from the days: of the Bill of Rights, with- out a fight. Green pointed out that, scienti- .The delegation, headed by Un- ited Mine Workers pit committee- man Joe Car, brought an open letter for Judge Medina. The let- ter stated that the judge’s insis- tence that Gates answer a stool- Pigeon question ‘constituted “a dangerous threat to every work- ing man and every trade union.” Green has also been jailed’ by fically, Marxists regard all states Judge Medina. plan use of Charge Greek fascists poison gas NEW YORK. U.S.-equipped, trained and officered Greek royalist troops are planning to use poison gas against American Tribune warns. the Democratic Army, the Creeh- The weekly Greek language newspaper publicized an official state- ment made by the Provisional Democratic Government of Greece on June 15. The statement charges that Bri- tish and Americans, unable to de- feat .the Democratic army, are making preparations to start gas warfare. “The statement says that dur- ing the night of June 12-13 at Perama, near Piraeus, poison gas was unloaded from American ships and taken away by 100 three- ton lorries, guarded by British sol- diers,” read the Greek American Tribune article. “Traffic between Perama and Piraeus was forbidden and police lined the entire route. , “Free Gfeek government very strongly protests and denounces to world public opinion this new crime, secretly prepared, at a time when our people are fight- ing only for democracy, peace and Unemployment held desirable in Britain The innermost thoughts of Brit- ish employers were bared by the business magazine Economist, which stated flatly that it thought more unemployment was desir- able because it would scare work- ers still on the job into working harder for less pay. “It seems probable that there will be rising unemployment in the second half of the year,” the Economist said, predicting that “the British wage earner will have to. be induced, by one means or another, either to put more into the pool than he is doing now or to take less out, or perhaps a bit independence,” the article con. cluded. : of both. PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JULY 8, 1949 — PAGE 3