AN ATTAINMENT OF THE LARGEST GENERAL WEEKLY
NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.
A GENERAL NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS
OF ORGANIZED LABOR IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.
39.
D
SHAP
Recognized and Endors-
oh Woe ed by More Than Fifty Our Shop Is Equipped
our ote Local Unions and Cer. to ®o Job Printing of
struck tral Bodies Over Cam- All Kinds. Nothing Too
vening bria County and Ad- Large or Too Small
n Cre- jacent Mining Areas, We Cater Especially to
Ra Local Union, Printing.
RX
Union Press, Establish , 5
: ss, Es shed May, 1935. i
t 1040 ’ To Patton Courier, Established Oct., 1893.
| frac- — TT re — ————— -
VOL. 45. NO. 23.
dori CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA AR 23 South Fifth Ave.
com: eras —— en EA. THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1939 EATON FAY SUBSCRIPTION, $2.00 PER YEAR
on, in- Y } f ] |
p, in- o J
o
FURTHER TALKS ARE CONGRESS
i ON GETS ODUCTION OF SOFT COAL S—
aen Etro in ARE PR ION A | URGES U.S. MINERS AND OPERATORS
at ? ~ . | SIG
Lo 34TH DAY OF MARCH | nt STRIKES A NEW LOW MARK AWAIT SIGNING OF PACT
mrs rene ame IT THERE'S M
ur, of > | BU S MUCH TO DO
Motor Congress of Industrial Organi- Harrisburg — The State Mining De- | to equal the heat of a ton of coal. | . Po S—
were zation and American Federa- WAGNER ACT partment reported last week bitumi-| Against the nationwide picture, that DEP | Union Asks Annual Wage of
ite to tion of Labor Pe: ‘ rous coal production in Pennsylvania | would mean about 400 million barrels | ‘ri .
3 tap ace Parleys. H : Ind last year tumbled to the second lowest | more fuel oil used in 1938. I don't | fn Boe to $1,300; 50¢
Cone- = earings Indefinitely Postponed | mark in the 20th Century but did not | think’ anybody beleives oil increased | gon i By. Wage Increase,
cured re avon laler gence "el Pending A. F. of L.. C. f. (.|blame the fuel oil competition for the | that much.” | ate Committee Hears Labor wnobmgee
= nity denn oe on un Unity Discussions. drop. The department survey showed the Demand A Guarantee of Its| During the next fifteen days there
ving TEE J gi A survey by the department show- | Pennsylvania slump reflected a nation- | Rights, | will be attempted in a suite of hotel
nr die I ee 1 Shan Jo Washingion =~ Toouch. CIO.AP ed a production of 77 million tons of | wide downward trend with national hs rooms in New York City a settlement
t see Federation of Labor committee will| peace negotiations stole ign 1O-AFL | soft coal last year, a drop of 33,500,000 | production about 100 million tons be- | Washingt CI | of 3 matier which will ieve an import.
high- seek clarification of Federation poli-| light, labor's protest \¢ News Spot- | tons from the 1937 output. low 1937. | creati oo Fe 0 "Sprovel o1 Saja bearing upon economic Sondiiions
them. cies, p changes in the De Sgann Ry “It is inconceivable that the com- The only other time this century | public Works Siete Depariment of ot Cambria, Indiana, Clearfield and
orted Chairman Harry C. Bates of the AFL | tions Act contintied to ont petition of fuel oil was responsible,” | that production in the state dropped | PWA. and of increases 2; Social A | Somerset counties—the new ..wage
n an committee announced his committee Hearings of the Senate Committes said Deputy Secretary Joseph J. Walsh | below the 1938 figure was in 1932. ] curity benefits, was ror Se { scale for bituminous miners in the Ap-
but will go to Washington to confer with on Education and Labor, originally in referring to one of the reasons given Fayette County showed the heaviest | Ralph Hetzel, I CIO Unsnbromon palachian field.
the President William Green and it was| scheduled for March 10, have been |°Y the industry for its plight. loss—a 50 per cent decline from the | Director, and Alice Liverright lyin opening Sofas Tossasd:
on reported, without confirmation, that| indefinitely postponed pending out- “1: requires 175 gallons of fuel oil| 1937 output of 10,800,000 tons. ber of the CIO Social Security Com- | teed edn wage a a
is He szeyiive council may be eslied come of the unity discussions. Unions, | mittee in testimony at the Senate hear- | $1,300 for nearly 500,000 soft coal min-
- into special session or polled privately | nevertheless, kept up their barrage of G R C CO L | ing on the Byrnes bill, S. 1265 | ers. Th i sks a fi
: | ; g yD. . | . e union ask fift
Sonserving developments on he Bane mail and telegrams to Congressmen HI HER P 1 E FOR A IS | Both bills contained suggestions for | day wage increase Sd 2 ar
me conferences inaugurated by President|and Senators, practically all of them ~ | improvements in the bill, following 2g i
3 ¢ y: iy > 1200 working days per year.
oo Roosevelt last week. attacking amendment of the Act. EXPECTED TO BE REQUESTED lines set forth by the CIO in previous| The Ns ts aunt directly
; It was said authoritatively after the] The fight against the proposed RR Le | policy statements on public works and | only the 320,000 miners in the Appala-
’ fifth session, which lasted two hours | change was redoubled when it be- Washington — Indiations the coal mission is anxious to see righted “the | social security. | chain field but if granted, they like-
he on Tuesday night, that no peace ag- came known that the reactionary New | industry may look to higher prices. | terrible economic conditions which ! CIO PROGRAM | ly would extend to all the country’s
; Toone Nu yet in sight between the | York Chambe rof Commerce had en-| were contained in testimony of Percy | brought starvation to coal miners in| Hetzel's statement quoted five basic | miners. All other contracts are usually
x 1 anc 10 SEpnimalions dorsed the Walsh amendments, and | Tetlow, chairman of the Bituminous | many sections and caused the indus- | POInts for a public works program laid | modeled after the Appalachian pact.
; Blin wes Foporied ¢ at he Tie sm that Sen. Burke, of Nebraska arch-|Coal Commission, revealed last week | try to lose tremendously since 1926. | down by the CIO Convention at Pitts-| Phil Murray censured the operators
: Bing ; pi ay 8 point Same i 15-1 foe of the National Labor Relations|by the House Appropriations Com-! An average loss of 11 cents has over | burgh last November: | on Tuesday in presenting the UMWA
fe 3 on o 2 offer to return Board, was helping the National Asso- | mittee. | a long period been chalked up by the| 1. All workers should be employed | suggestions for contract improvements,
charters to the C1O unions formerly in| ciation of Manufacturers to distribute : : Pj Ste Siar it wel ork suite {hei Po « 5
; . x . | industry for every ton mined, it was | OR Work suited to their needs and| which he labelled as “proposals, not
Tetlow outlined to the committee a| | skill | ultimatums” and “a basis for negotia
BeoTeoeoleetecToate conte ecdiol 8 8 8
PTT RPT)
FooZeeZoedeoootoelont TooTeets To Bese te be Seu, 5.
TRESS B def feodeeofeye
or. .0
eee
the AFL, and tc admit the CIO un-
ions into the Federation as,a body af-
ter jurisdictional quarrels had been
settled between the new CIO affiliates
and the AFL crafts in which they con-
flict.
The CIO negotiators were reported
to have raised the question of wheth-
er the original CIO unions would be
expected to take the charters they held
when they left the AFL or whether
their jurisdiction would be broadened
because they have entered new fields
since the 1936 split.
The AFL proposal seemed to indi-
cate that the original charters would
be returned but this point was not
clear. This was said to be among the
questions which the AFL committee
will discuss with Green and other of
the Federation leaders.
SIMON NIEBAUER, CHEST
TWP., CALLED BY DEATH
Simon Niebauer, 55, one of Cam-
bria County's most prominent farmers,
died at 3:45 Monday morning at his
| Tory propaganda against the Act.
| In the House, mesnwhile, a new
{ amendment bill which would wipe out
| the present National Labor Relations
{ Board as it now stands, was filed with
the House Labor Committee.
| Other developements: a
1. A survey showed enormous gains
made by CIO affiliates with the pro-
| tection of the Act and the NLRB.
AFL GROUP HELPS
2. An A. F. of L. Committee to aid
C. I. O. Hearst strikers in Chicago
| warned the Illinois Congressional de-
legation that amendments would be
considered an action hostile to labor.
3. Similar action was taken by CIO
groups in Portland, Oregon, and New
York State, while the Aluminum Wor-
| kers of America launched an active
| campaign among all affiliated locals
to build support for the law as it now
stands.
HII.LMAN, MURRAY
HELP A. F. L. STRIKERS
| Washington — Presidents Philip
new scheduwe of vrices which the com-
mission is advancing, to increase by
37 million dollars the annual paid
price of bituminous coals, and to thus
elieve the “long-suffering coal indus-
ry.
The rew scale would increase the
price of coal on an average of 11 cents
a ton, it was disclosed.
Officials of the commission descri-
bed the increases as “the only fair
thing.” A spokesman said the com-
| reported. |
| The greater portion of the increase |
is expected to be borne by industrial |
| consumers who, the commission poin- |
| ted out have, by their concentrated |
| purchasing power, been able to “dic- |
tate” the lowest prevailing prices for
themselves. |
Consequently home, or domestic |
| uesers of small grade coal will likely |
experience only a fractional increase |
in their retail cost, the commission | or i i
| ¥ S101 | Jivlihood for unemployed workers at|man beings. They live.
| times when as long as private indus-| coal operators can’t eat losses. Nor can
stated.
The Patton Athletic Club boxers,
under the management of Pete Pan-
dola, will stage six boxing bouts with
twelve of the best “Leather Pushers”
of Patton and vicinity. A capacity
crowd is expected to attend the first
show of this kind to be held in Patton
for some time.
|
BOXING EXHIBITIONS TO BE |
HELD IN PATTON MARCH 27
ter of the two. This bout alone will be
more than worth the donation asked.
The following boxers will also ap-
pear in the other five bouts, with op- |
ponents to be announced later: “Mutt”
Stevens, a heavyweight, who will also
fight on the Johnstown ecard on March
2. Projects should be socially nece-
ssary and productive.
3. Jobs should be given for all with-
out humiliating means tests.
4. Funds should be appropriated to
meet current needs as they arise.
5. Guarantees of collective bargain-
ing rights.
Following these points, Hetzel ur- |
ged that he Byrnes measure should
provide “employment and a means of
try cannot use their services.”
.. UNION RIGHTS URGED
Guarantees of collective bargaining
rights were also asked, both to allow
workers “to form, join or assist labor
organization, to bargain collectively
through organizations of their own
choos#1g, or to engage in concerted
activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or pro-
tection.”
At the same time, Hetzel- urged
“that no contract shall be awarded to
1
tions.”
“The United Mine Workers of Am-
erica contend that if there is any chaos
in the industry respecting its market-
| ing practices, that chaos and dissension
lis directly attributable to a lack of
| proper organization among the coal
| operators,” Murray declared.
| ““We realize that the wage demands
| mean an increase in the cost of coal
! production but mine workers are hu-
I know that
| the mine workers live on wind.”
The coal operators will answer on
| Wednesday, with Charles O'Neill, of
| New York, as their spokesman. The
producers are expected to counter
| with suggestions for a wage cut and
t hours increase.
COUNTY SELLS NOTE
ISSUE AT NEW LOW
RATE OF INTEREST
|
At the record-breaking low interest
16th; This boy has dynamite in both | = i an |
y any person who at the time of such an rate of 54 of one percent, Cambria
home in Chest Township, near St.| Murray and Sidney Hillman showed The show will be held on the third) Bande —Bud Tinnick, 140 pounds: Joe | award shall be interfering with, re- | ; =
Lawrence. Mr. Neibauer’s death was their union solidarity with AFL pick- | floor of the Good Building in the Ital-| Svrdergol, 142 pounds; Kid Rogers, 115 | straining or coercing his employes in | County last Friday borrowed $350,000
attributed to a heart condition, from ets when the Hotel and Restaurant|ijan Club Rooms. pounds; Conky Zungali, 115 pounds, | tne exercise of their rights.” . | on tax anticipation notes to be dated
| 7 | March 15, maturing December 1. The
which he had heen suffering for the | Workers Alliance, AFL affiliate, called The feature bout will bring together | and “Rabbit Ears” Gelermino, 127 | WHITE COLLAR PROJECTS | ] f : ;
| pounds. | Protection of certain types of WPA | successful bid, one of five, was sub-
mitted by Fisher, MacEwan & Com-~
TERETE ITI TT 00 r Teeter:
past two years. He had been bedfast
four months. k
Simon Niebauer was a son of Mich-
ael and Barbara (Ropp) Niebauer and
was born August 23, 1883, on a farm
near St. Lawrence. He had been en-
gaged in farming 25 years. M. Nie-
bauer served several terms as a school
director and was a road supervisor in
Chest Township. He was prominent in
grange activities for many years and
was a silver star member of the St.
Lawrence Grange.
Mr. Niebauer and Miss Stellt Kibler
were married September 24, 1907, the
ceremony being performed by Rev.
Father Raphael of St. Lawrence. Mrs,
Niebauer died July 19, 1937.
Surviving are these children: Ray-
mond, Ebensburg R. D.; Margaret,
Helen, Bernard and Louise, all at
home; Anna Marie, a teacher in the
Chest Township schools, and Ethel, a
student at Mt. Aloysius Academy,
Cresson. A son died in infancy.
Also surviving are these brothers
and sisters: Mary, wife of Frank Kru-
ise, St. Bonifacius; Mrs. Catherine
Fronheiser, Akron, O.; Barbara, wife
of Michael Yahner,
Anthony, St. Lawrence; Regina, Cres-
son; Sister Mary Barbara, Mt. Aloy-
sius Academy, Cresson; Benjamin and
John, both of Hastings, and Margaret,
wife of Dr. Francis Leahey, Lilly. A
brother and two sisters preceded him
in death.
Funeral services will be conducted
at 10 o'clock this morning in the St.
Lawrence Catholic Church by Rev.
Father Lawrence. Interment will be
in the church cemetery under the dir-
ection of J. Edw. Stevens, Carrolltown
mortician.
CORRECTION IN THE
AMERICAN STORE AD
In the American Stores Co. adver-
tisement, appearing on page 2 of this
issue, California Baby Lima Beans are
quoted to sell at 2 pounds for 9c,
whereas they should read “2 pounds
for 11 cents.” Fancy Blue Rose Rice
appears on the ad priced at 2 pounds |
for 19 cents, and should have read “2
pounds for 9 cents.
i tee?
Every county in Iowa and all but
three counties in Illinois are included
in the Corn Belt's commercial corn-
producing area.
Two way radio is proving useful in
national parks in such emergencies
as fires, floods, and search for lost
persons.
Detroit, Mich.;!
strikes in 13 major Washington hotels
last week.
The two CIO leaders in Washington
for labor peace conferences, immedia-
tely moved out of the hotels in which
they had been registered. Murray dis-
covered the strike, which had begun
at dawn as a result of a refusal of the
employers to sign a new .tontract,
when he came down into the lobby in
the morning.
Scorning the services of a scab ele-
vator man, he walked four flights of
stairs, packed his bags and walked
out .Hillman was notified of the strike
when the headwaiter offered to serve
| him breakfast. He immediately left the
hotel, sending a messenger boy back
for his luggage.
MINE ORGANIZER
FEENEY, 62, DIES
Charleroi, — William J. Feeney, 62,
international organizer of the United
Mine Workers of America, died sud-
denly last Thursday of pneumonia.
The veteran union leader who once
| served as president of District 4, was
stricken last Saturday after returning
from a conference in Harrisburg.
He began sinking Thursday morning
and could not be roused despite use
of an oxygen tent and the new pneu-
monia serum.
The widow, three sons and four
daughters survive. iE
SAFETY UNIT HOLDS
MEET AT EBENSBURG
Francis Feehan of Pittsburgh, a rep-
resentative of the United States Bur-
eau of Mines who recently attended
the world safety council meeting in
Geneva, Switzerland, was the princi-
pal speaker at the monthly meeting of
the Cambria County unit of the Joseph
Holmes Safety Council held last Fri-
day evening in the courthouse at Eb-
ensburg. Over 100 persons attended the
two of Patton's best known amateurs, | |
who have records of winning all of| Tickets are now on sale at the Out- |
their fights within the past two years, | let Store, Patton, or from any member |
and one of them confident of winning | of the Patton Athletic Club or the It-|
again in Johnstown on March 16th. |alian Club.
They are Willie Driscoll and Charley | A donation of 25 cents will be asked
Selfridge, both fighters weighing 138| for adults, and 10 cents for children
pounds, and anxious to meet in a real | under 16 years. The first bout will be-
battle on March 27th to decide the bet-| gin at 8:30. i
|
Soa 2000ONNHNOONNONNNNONOONOOOONK OOOOO0
A.F.L.INTOTHE G. O.P. §
OOCOOONOCONHOONNNNONNNCONONONNNNOCOCOGANNHOO
By Kenneth G. Crawford appointed. He has come too late
In “The Nation” The ruling clique of the A. F. of L.
has already gone over to the Republi-
|
THOUGH expediency and plausi-| cans. At its meeting in Miami the Ex- |
bility are on the President’s side in| ecutive Council issued the statement
his effort to bring peace to the labor | that might have been written by the
movement, it will be no simple weld-| N. A. M. It deprecated “fear, lack of
ing job the unite the A. F. L. and C.| confidence, and distrust” on the part
I O. The last time it was tried, without | of business, deplored “various forms of
success, the sole issue was jurisdic-| public spending,” and recoiled the idea
tional. Both Green and Lewis were | of maintaining “an army of unemploy- |
going along with the New Deal. Their | ed as wards of the government.” Its
organizations, making the most of up- | essence was well expressed by the
precendented opportunities under the | headline: “Green Raps New Deal's Re-
Wagner Act, were gratefully gathering | covery and Relief Policy.”
in membership cards. Labor was di-| Thys the voice of labor became an
vided but on the march. echo for the lament of big business,
Since then more serious complica-| The Wolls, the Hutchesons and Freys
tions have set in. It is no longer mer- | reverted to type. Always at home in
ely a matter of who shall organize | the Hoover camp, they do not usually
whom. The clevages between the par- | wory to much about the unemployed
ent organization and its offspring goes | and the unorganized. The depth of
deep into ideological as well as pro- | their concern for the under-dog could
2000C
:
QO
cedural bedrock. The trend of the C.
I. O. has been to the left of the New
Deal; it has demanded heavier relief
expenditures and larger recovery out-
loys than those Roosevelt has appro-
ved. The A. F. of L.,, meanwhile, has
veered sharply to the right, joining
the National Association of Manufac-
turers and the Chamber of Commerce
have been easily plumbed by anyone
who watched them go perfectionist
and hold out for a wage-hour bill so
inflexible that they knew Congress
would not pass it. Now the reaction
has set in, and they can abandon
such subterfuges. But how can Lewis
and the C. I. O, champions of the
unskilled and the unemployed, sign on
in advocating appeasement of business | with this crew ?
at the expense of the unemployed. The differences between the A. F. of
session. In the course of his address
Mr. Feehan stated that the safety code
has developed to the extent that a uni-
versal code soon is expected to be for-
mulated. i
Ira Bradley of Cresson presided at
the meeting. Moving pictures of safety
work at the No. 4 mine of the Johns-
town Coal and Coke Company in Por-
tage were shown to the assemblage.
W. A. Filer, state mine inspector for
the district, spoke briefly.
The next meeting of the council will
be held in the courthouse April 14.
But for the President's personal in-|L. and the C. I. O, at this stage are
tervention and his apparent willing- | best illustrated by the current fight
peace project would be hopeless. As
it is, there is small chance for more
than an armed truce or a superficial
reconciliation. If it is the President's
idea to save business the annoyances
incidental to labor rivalries, he may
succeed. If he is trying to unify labor
as a political force, for its effect on
Congress now and on the election In
1040, he will almost certainly be dis-
ness to serve as mediator, the latest| over the proposed amendments to the
Wagner Act, a law which has doubled
labor-union membership since its pas-
projects unprovided for in the Byrnes |
bill was urged. These include WPA |
projects for women, clerical and white |
collar workers, musicians, teachers, ar- |
tists, ete. Hetzel also pointed out that
protection for unemployed farm work-
ers should be included, “upon pro-|
jects that will permit them to remain
in the community where they reside.”
Finally, Hetzel urged, in the name
of the CIO, that the bill include uro- |
vision to make full use of the U. S.|
Employment Service, and that this be
kept as at present under the U. S.
Labor Dept. “Labor is strongly oppo-
sed to taking the Employment Service
out of the Labor Dept.” he said.
CLYDE S. SLICK, IS
NAMED MEMBER OF
APPRENTICE BOARD
Governor James on Monday inclu-
ded the name of Clyde S. Slick, Johns-
town printer, on the State Apprentice
Board, set up under the federal wage
and hour law to consult with the ad-
ministrator at Washington on condi-
tions in Pennsylvania regarding ex-
emptions in the apprentice class to the
wage and hour minimums. Mr. Slick
is an employe of the Johnstown Tri-
bune, is recording secretary of the
Johnstown Central Labor Union, and
an auditor of the Pensylvania Feder-
ation of Labor. He has always taken a
foremost part in the affairs of the
Johnstown Typographical Union. We
congratulate him upon his appoint-
ment,
TEN "CAMBRIA SCHOOL
DISTRICTS IN DISTRESS
the coal mining counties, has become
a major concern of the legislature. The
special two million dollar current bi-
ennium appropriation for allocation to
hard hit districts was exhausted in No-
vember. More than 200 boards of di-
sage in 1935. In its reckless courtship
of reactionary business, the A. F. of I..
has proposed, through Senator Walsh
of Massachusetts, a series of amend-
ments that would make this law use-
less at best and a deadly weapon
dation.
against labor at worst. The Walsh
(Continued on Page 3)
districts have filed requests for aid.
pany Ine, Philadelphia. It was im-
mediately accepted by County Com-
missioners John Thomas, Jr., and
Frank P. Hollern.
The interest rate is the lowest ever
obtained by Cambria County on a tax
anticipation note issue. Last year the
county sold $350,000 worth of six-mon-
th tax anticipatior notes and paid an
interest of .92 of ene percent. Proceeds
of the new loan will be used for gen-
eral operating expenses.
Other bids submitted follow: Har-
iman, Ripley & Comanpy, Philadelphia
with an interest rat of .60 percent and
a premium of $5; Halsey Stuart &
Company, Philadelphia, interest rate
{ of .70 percent and a premium of $11;
Singer, Deane & Scribner, Pittsburgh,
interest rate .?5 percent and premium
of $27, and C. C. Collings & Company,
"Philadelphia, interest rate of .84 per-
cent and a premium of $11.
COUNTY SCHOOLMEN HEAR
LEGISLATIVE TALK BY
ASSEMBLYMAN ANDREWS
Assemblyman H. G. Andrews spoke
to supervising principals of Cambria
County schools at the March meeting
of the schoolmen last Friday night in
the Brandon Hotel, Spangler.
“Principles Underlying Sound Ed-
ucational Legislation,” was the topic
(of Andrews’ address. He discussed a
minimum standard which would af-
ford equal educational opportunities
to all school children in the state. An
open forum followed his taik.
E. W. Overberger, of Cresson, presl-
dent of fhe principals’ group, pre-
sided during thé business session, dur-
ing which the schoolmen voted to ap-
The financial distress of Pennsylva- prove a music festival to be held Sat.
nia School Districts, described as the | yrday, May 20, in Ebensburg-Cambria
most serious since 1922, particularly in
High Scheol, Ebensburg.
The festival is being arranged by
music supervisors of the county. The
| affair will not conflict with the Penn-
| sylvania Forensic and Music League
| competition in the county, It was an-
nounced. The festival will not be com-
rectors are clamoring for a deficiency | petitive and all schools will be given
allowance to tide their districts over|an opportunity to participate.
until the new state fiscal period opens
June 1st, when another two million | thyr M. Stull, superintendent of county
dollar appropriation becomes available | schools, and Daniel L. Auchenbach
for distribution if the assembly ap-| assistant superintendent. ?
proves Gov. James’ budget recommen-
Short talks were given by Dr. Ar-
Scotland js credited with being fore-
Ten of the Cambria county school most in Britian to use films in educa-
tion, '