Seattle Revolt

To political prognosticators the most important question of the moment is: how will the seemingly irreparable split between the A. F. of L. and the C. I. O. affect labor's political power? Prime example of its adverse effect was the defeat of the C. I. O. slate in Detroit's municipal elections last year. The most revealing answer will come from the May primary election in Pennsylvania where, last fortnight, John L. Lewis took his political life in his hands by entering Lieut.-Governor Thomas Kennedy, Secretary-Treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America, in the Democratic primary race.

In the Northwest, where Harry Bridges and the C. I. O. are facing the ruthlessness of Dave Beck's A. F. of L. juggernaut, labor has again reaped the rewards of its disunity. Two years ago. Boss Beck and his teamsters elected volatile John F. Dore Mayor of Seattle over a pleasant Scandinavian councilman named Arthur Bernard Langlie. Seattle has since suffered from Dave Beck's vigorous assaults on the rising C. I. O. So by the time this year's municipal primaries rolled around, a rightist revolt was in the air. Mayor Dore sought re-election backed again by rough and ruddy Boss Beck and the A. F. of L.'s Lieut.-Governor Victor Aloysius Meyers, onetime jazzband leader who had enlivened previous candidacies with promises of hostesses on owl street cars and flower pots on fire hydrants, ran with the backing of the C. I. O., the organized unemployed and the left-wing Washington Commonwealth Federation. Councilman Langlie's candidacy was based on the belief that the electorate was fed up with both labor houses. The primary results gave Beck's Dore 21,369 votes, C. I. O.'s Meyers 27,263, fed-up electorate's Langlie 50,389.

C. I. O.'s joy at the blow to Beck's prestige was tempered by the size of Langlie's vote and the knowledge that A. F. of L. leaders would do their best to defeat Meyers. Last week, in the runoff election, 37-year-old Lawyer Langlie's votes jumped to 78,997. "Call me Vic" Meyers, carrying on a serious campaign, was able to poll 48,114 or 518 more than the sum of his own and Mayor Dore's primary votes, but that was not enough.

Although the Seattle election was a blow to the long-term political aspirations of labor as a whole, the C. I. O. was comforted by Beck's defeat and by the fact that it was left with a Mayor who would at least be neutral instead of its sworn enemy in labor's internecine war. Mayor-Elect Langlie specifically promised this neutrality but warned: "It's up to labor to clean its own house. However, labor will not be permitted to step on the toes of innocent persons in its various activities."

Langlie supporters now hope that the new Mayor will get together with Washington's Governor Clarence D. Martin to undertake a drive against labor terrorism similar to the campaign now being carried on by Oregon's Governor Charles H. Martin and Portland's Mayor Joseph K. Carson Jr. Last week, the indictment of eleven unionists in Portland brought the State total of those charged with "goonery" to more than 50. Most of those held are members of Dave Beck's Brotherhood of Teamsters. The charges range from window-breaking to arson and bombing. To date, 16 have pleaded guilty, seven have been sentenced. When Oregon's Martin announced last week that he would again seek the Democratic nomination for Governor, his chances of getting it had been greatly improved by the drive.

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