It Seemed Like a Good Week

To Lew Schwellenbach it seemed like a good week for it. During the 20 months that he had been Secretary of Labor, when the Administration was trying to get along with Russia, he had never made a single public utterance about U.S. Communists. Then a fortnight ago Lew learned of the line the President was going to take. He confided some of his own ideas to Harry Truman. The day before the speech on Greece, Lew appeared before the House labor committee.

"Why should we recognize the Communist Party in the United States?" he demanded. "Why should they be able to elect people to public office? ... I think that Communists should be excluded from participation in any kind of public activity, including the right to run for public office, a right to occupy positions in the Chamber of Commerce, or labor unions, or any other organizations."

Some others also thought it was a good week for it.

Milton Murray, president of the C.I.O. Newspaper Guild, appearing before the same House labor committee, stated that the New York Guild was dominated by Reds, publicly accused two Guild officials of being Communists: Jack Ryan, executive vice president of the New York Guild; William Brodie, executive secretary of the Los Angeles Guild. Said Ryan: "An honor." Said Brodie: "Untrue."

Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. settled an old score. In 1941 the company had been strike-shut for 76 days. Last week Allis-Chalmers fired Communist-line Harold Christoffel, who had led the strike.

One independent and five A.F.L. maritime unions, meeting in Washington, roundly rejected "Communists as traitors to the nation and a detriment to the solid permanency of a United States merchant marine."

But it seemed like a bad week to Reid Robinson, head of the Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers (C.I.O.). A third of his locals had seceded, accusing him of being proCommunist. He resigned. The man who succeeded him was his vice president, Maurice E. Travis--who was redder than Robinson. The secessionists were not appeased.

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