and the accident-insurance department. Adopted at convention held in Chicago in May 1941, and I read from page 8, lines 233 to 239, inclusive. Beginning in the year 1941 the grand division shall elect by ballot officers as follows: "President, general secretary and treasurer, grand outside sentinel, and senior vice president, and eight vice presidents, one of whom shall be a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, and three trustees whose term of office shall be 4 years." The same requirements are placed on our local divisions, and we have about 75 or 80 of them in the Dominion of Canada, as to how they will elect their officers. Now, this officer in the Dominion of Canada participates in all the activities of the Order of Railway Conductors so far as the disbursement of funds and other business is concerned. When a board of directors meeting is held he is present and participates in all business transacted. And he may be called into the United States to handle an assignment within the boundaries. Mr. LANDIS. Perhaps that problem was not known prior to the introduction of the bill. Mr. JOHNSON. I am telling you it would just ruin all of the international organizations. It would involve a tremendous expense. Mr. SCANLON. Now, Mr. Johnson, I understand the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. has incorporated one of their subsidiaries under the English corporation laws, that the president of the company is an American citizen and a majority of the board of directors are United States citizens. Now what effect do you think this H. R. 804 would have on them? Would they be included in this bill? Would they have to dissolve this corporation? I do not think Congress at this time wants to discriminate against labor organizations. I believe that this particular corporation would have to be dissolved, if we would amend this bill to that effect. Mr. JOHNSON. In my judgment it would be class legislation. Mr. JOHNSON. Now, if you want to find out who he is and what he has got, why not amend the Internal Revenue Act and make income tax returns subject to public inspection? Mr. LANDIS. Are your reports open? Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; and our accounts are audited every six months by C. P. A.'s, and a copy of that report is sent to our local division and it is placed on file and every member of that division is free to go and get that report. It covers every fund of our organization. So far as our mutual benefit department is concerned, even though we function under the insurance laws of the State of Iowa-and I do not think there are any better insurance laws in any State in the Union-our insurance funds are subject to the approval of the board of directors before they are paid out. And I am happy to say that our mutual benefit department is about 120 percent solvent. Mr. SCANLON. I want to thank you, Mr. Johnson, for your comprehensive statement. I think you have enlightened us on some things we did not know at the beginning of these hearings, and with the other gentlemen who preceded you, all of you gave a very compre hensive statement and we are glad you came here and we hope we do not have to call you back again. Mr. JOHNSON. Well, if there is anything we can furnish we will be glad to do it, and, in deference to the good Congressman from Indiana, I hope that you render au unfavorable report. Mr. SCANLON. Any other gentlemen who wish to be heard? I leave it to the committee, will you be able to convene tomorrow morning, Mr. Kelley? Mr. KELLEY. Yes. Mr. SCANLON. Mr. Day? Mr. DAY. Yes. Mr. SCANLON. We will have to recess this hearing now because the House is in session and we do not have permission to carry on, and we will meet tomorrow morning at 10:30 and anybody who wishes to be heard will please give his name to the secretary so we will get you in order as soon as possible. Did you wish to say something? Mr. MILLER. I am Martin H. Miller of the Brotherhood of Rail-, way Trainmen. It would be a great favor if I could be heard on Thursday instead of tomorrow. Mr. SCANLON. Yes, Mr. Miller, that will be all right. We will try to hold these hearings if it meets with the rest of this committee's approval Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, as long as they are carried on. If you want to notify any of your colleagues they may get in touch with us. Mr. MILLER. Thank you. (Whereupon the subcommittee adjourned until Wendesday, May 12, 1943, at 10:30 a. m.) TO REGULATE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 1943 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Thomas E. Scanlon (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SCANLON. The hearings will be resumed. STATEMENT OF JOHN T. CORBETT, ASSISTANT GRAND CHIEF ENGINEER AND NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE, BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS Mr. SCANLON. The first witness we have before us this morning is Mr. John T. Corbett, national legislative representative, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Mr. Corbett, you understand we are taking testimony on two bills here. One is Mr. Landis' bill, H. R. 1483, which requires the furnishing of certain information by labor organizations and to prohibit political contributions by labor organizations. The other is H. R. 804, introduced by Mr. Woodruff, of Michigan, which is a bill to prohibit aliens from voting in labor organizations or acting as their officers or agents. Do you want to speak on both these bills? Mr. CORBETT. Yes, sir. Mr. SCANLON. You may proceed. Mr. CORBETT. My name is John T. Corbett. I hold the offices of assistant grand chief engineer and of national legislative representative for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The headquarters of the organization is at 1118 B. of L. E. Building, Cleveland, Ohio. The local office is at 10 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D. C. Proponents of this and similar legislation have made references to alleged racketeers and racketeering. From an ordinary workman's point of view the terms have been used far too freely and, again, have been used improperly. The dictionary defines "racketeer" as one who engages in bootlegging, beer-running, or other illegal occupations. One who terrorizes legitimate business by violence, to obtain control, or to receive graft for protection. Under these accepted definitions we find it impossible to accept the statements of antilabor agitators that every effort of the individual workingman, or of labor organizations, to secure increased wages or improved working conditions shall be referred to as "a racket," or that those making such efforts shall be referred to as "racketeers." 41 The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers is the oldest of the railroad labor organizations and its history of more than 80 years reveals no instance in which it has demanded the protection afforded by socalled closed-shop agreements. It endorsed the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, in which the closed-shop agreements shall not apply to those subject to that act. Because of the many references to alleged racketeering made in connection with a decision of the Supreme Court on a case involving certain activities of union truck operators, it may be interesting to secure information that may assist in advising workers of some apparent inconsistencies presented during the discussions of that case. As we understand it there were certain union truck operators who, probably because they had become members of the union holding contracts to operate trucks to certain warehouses in the State of New York made it a part of their endeavors to have trucks from outside of the State operated by their union members. Complaints were made to the authorities. The union men were brought before the courts charged with violations of a Federal law. The case progressed through the different courts until it reached the United States Supreme Court, and the decision of that Court was not favorable to the ideas presented by the United States attorneys in their presentation of the case to the courts as a violation of the Federal statute. We write no brief either for or against the activities of the union members whose actions caused this case to travel through the courts. To the ordinary citizen it must appear as a gamble in which attorneys in the employ of the United States used their time, paid for by the taxpayers, their efforts which might have been used to greater advantage and the time of the courts, also paid for by the taxpayers, in endeavors to show that their ideas or judgment were superior to the ideas or judgment of their opposing counsel. If we may use language sometimes heard outside of the courts, it would appear that the United States attorneys surely got the hell licked out of them. There have been critical remarks made about the endeavors of those truckers to secure the work they considered their members entitled to. Suppose we give the matter some attention and that we endeavor to approach the discussion in as unbiased a feeling as possible. Then suppose we start from the view expressed by those opposing the activities of the truckers. We assume that these union members were actually members in good standing in their union and that they were sincere in the belief that their union membership entitled them to the protection to handle trucks to and from the loading platforms in the city of New York. It is our understanding that at every port of size on the coasts of the United States vessels are required to secure the services of a licensed pilot before such vessels may be docked. Why is it wrong for a transportation agency by water to secure the services of one licensed in a particular place and wrong for the operator of a different form or type of transportation to be required to secure such assistance? Again, it is our understanding that certain States have adopted laws that require attorneys who have passed their State bar requirements to join the bar association and continue to keep their dues paid up, before they may practice before the courts of those States; and, again, if an attorney from outside the State desires to handle a case before a court in these States, such a foreign attorney must secure the presence of an attorney accredited to practice before the court, and have the attorney aprove the outside attorney's proposal to present his own case. Just why shall an attorney be privileged to allege the efforts made by working organizations as "racketeering" and have such "closed-shop" arrangements for their own protection? A fraternal organization has used the motto: "There is so much good in the worst of us, and there is so much bad in the best of us, that is ill behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us." The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers respectfully suggests and recommends that name calling, unfair references to the activities of our fellow workers, whether they be professional or manual workers in any line of activity, shall be immediately discontinued. Strife can lose us the war-and the peace. I appear in opposition to the provisions of bill H. R. 804 and of bill H. R. 1483, now before your committee for consideration. The brotherhood which I have the honor to represent is one of the oldest of the present American labor organizations, having been in continuous existence for about 80 years. It is the oldest of the railroad labor organizations. It has been one of the railroad labor organizations which have membership from the railroads of the United States and Canada. This because there are a number of railroad assignments in train service which cross the international boundary and it has been the practice to permit train service employees to operate trains crossing the international boundary from the terminal in the United States to the terminal in Canada and, as many of those men have homes in Canada, the brotherhood is made up of members living in both countries; and it has been a practice at the conventions of the organization to have delegates from the different divisionswe refer to our lodges as divisions-in Canada and to elect certain officers from those Canadian divisions as officers assigned to handle the work in Canadian territory and on Canadian railroads. It would appear that the provisions of bill H. R. 804 would prohibit our brotherhood from continuing to follow the same procedure that has been in operation for these many years; and, as there has been a very close and fine spirit of cooperation between those operating locomotives over the railroads of Canada and the railroads of the United States and across the international boundary, we feel compelled to protest against the passage of bill H. R. 804 in its present form. Bill H. R. 1483 proposes in part as follows: That any labor organization may, within thirty days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and thereafter on January 1 and July 1 of each year, register with the Secretary of Labor by filing, on such form and in such manner as the Secretary may by rules and regulations prescribe, a statement, signed under oath by the president and the treasurer of such labor organization, containing the following information: (a) The name of the labor organization and of the State or other governmental unit under the laws of which the labor organization is organized; (b) The address of its principal office; (c) The name of each person who at any time during the six-month period immediately preceding the day on which the filing of such statement is provided for held the office of president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer of the labor organization, and a statement of the period during which such office was so held; (d) The total number of members of the labor organization as of the close of the day immediately preceding the day on which the filing of such statement is provided for; |