Redhead's Revenge

Delegates to the United Auto Workers' convention listened politely to the paternal, burr-flecked voice. Words were inadequate, said C.I.O. Boss Phil Murray, to express the good will he felt toward that splendid little redhead, Walter Reuther. Over the mike in Atlantic City's cavernous Convention Hall, he purred:

"Walter Reuther was elected to the presidency of the Auto Workers in this very convention hall a year ago last March. I was here. I took his good little right hand in mine and I patted his red locks. 'Walter,' I said . . . 'Walter, I am going to support you.' He said, 'Phil,

1 am going to support you.' And he did and I did. . . ."

Most of the 2,000 delegates had longer memories than aging Phil Murray. They recalled that last year, when Walter Reuther could best have used a boost from Murray, he got a shove instead. What actually happened in the hectic U.A.W. presidential race of 1946 was that Murray had endorsed bumbling R. J. Thomas, stooge of the union's left-wingers. Reuther had won only by the narrowest of margins, and the left-wingers had captured all the union's other top jobs, plus control of the executive board. Phil Murray had gloated: "Reuther has been contained."

Wading In. But last week ambitious Walter Reuther, no easy man to contain, needed an endorsement neither from Murray nor any other outsider. In the 19 months between conventions, he had worked tirelessly to sap the strength of his left-wing opposition. At first, the results were poor. But as anti-Communist feeling rose generally throughout the U.S., it rose among U.A.W. members, too, and Reuther made the most of it.

He accused U.A.W. left-wingers, led by slick Secretary-Treasurer George F. Addes, of following the Communist line, of trying to railroad the Red-tinged farm equipment workers into the U.A.W., of making big loans out of the U.A.W. treasury to win support from wavering left-wing locals.

By the time he got to Atlantic City, Reuther was invincible. The left-wingers knew it. They did not even contest the presidency. With only the dimmest of hopes, they went through the formality of nominating candidates for the union's other jobs. The voting was the most orderly in the U.A.W.'s lusty history. For once, there were no hysterics and few fist fights.

Sweeping Out. When the ballots were counted, Walter Reuther had complete control of the giant union. Reutherites dominated the U.A.W. executive board by an overwhelming 18-to-4 majority. Most important of all, Reuther's three strongest enemies -- Secretary-Treasurer Addes, Vice Presidents "Tommy" Thomas and Richard T. Leonard--were booted clean out of office.

To replace this left-wing triumvirate, the U.A.W. got a Reutherite secretary-treasurer, Emil Mazey, 34, tough and trigger-witted co-director of U.A.W. operations on Detroit's East Side; and two Reutherite vice presidents, plodding Richard Gosser, 46, of Toledo, and organizing expert John Livingston, 39, of St. Louis. Like Reuther, Mazey--who would henceforth be the U.A.W.'s No. 2 man--once held a card in the Socialist Party. He is a veteran of U.A.W. picket lines; as a G.I. he led a war's-end campaign to bring the boys home early from the Philippines.

There was little danger that the U.A.W., with its leadership unified for the first time since it was organized in 1934, would lose its militancy. In fact, it might well become more rambunctious than ever. Walter Reuther lost no time in warning the auto industry that it must cut prices or face another round of wage demands.

And one of these days, cocky Walter Reuther might reach out his good little right hand for Phil Murray's job. At 40, he was now the most dazzling light in the C.I.O. firmament.

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