"Dear Sir & Brother"

John Llewellyn Lewis had turned the meeting hall into a wildcats' den, had inveighed against the all-powerful, conservative Executive Council --finally knocking a fellow vice president flat--but that did not prevent sanctimonious President William Green from winding up last month's American Federation of Labor convention with: "It becomes our duty now to forget. The debate is over. The problems have been solved."

In strict truth, the debate was not over. During the convention, United Mine Workers' President Lewis had inserted in the convention record a catalog of accusations against the shortcomings of Green & Co.'s administration. No Federation action, said Miner Lewis, had been taken on 46 Congressional bills urged at the previous annual meeting. A. F. of L. had failed to push for equality of wages for women, had ignored 24 studies and investigations ordered by the delegates in 1934. Last week the record of last month's convention was available at A. F. of L.'s headquarters in Washington. Those who turned to the record were astonished to see that a reply to each of the Lewis accusations had been written by William Green and added to the minutes.

John Lewis forthwith sent William Green this message:

Dear Sir & Brother:

Effective this date, I resign as a Vice President of the American Federation of Labor.

Yours truly, John L. Lewis

John Lewis had reached a critical phase in his career as one of the nation's most puissant labor leaders. To Miner Lewis, an advocate of industrial unionism who considers himself a progressive, the Federation's president and 12 of its 15 vice presidents are rank reactionaries, dedicated to craft unionism. When he got on the Executive Council through its enlargement in 1934, John Lewis thought he might make A. F. of L. reflect his way of thinking. He and one or two other "progressives" found themselves monotonously snowed under by Green & Co. Last week's resignation came as a surprise to few followers of U. S. Labor Movement's spittoon politics.

At a subsequent press conference. Miner Lewis declared: "The American Federation of Labor is not organizing the workers in the great fundamental industries and it is not going to organize them except on the basis of crafts. This is not going to suffice in those industries where the line between the craft and the unskilled workers is not discernible." Miner Lewis claimed to have lined up not only his own huge industrial union but the International Typographical Union, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Ladies' Garment Workers, Mine, Mill & Smelter Union, milliners, rubber and brewery workers. However, he was at pains to disclaim any ambition to unseat William Green, vowed that the quarrel would be conducted within the Federation.

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