BROCK & HENRY
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
WADESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

July 17th, 1919

Hon. T. W. Bickett,
Governor of North Carolina,
Raleigh, N.C.

Dear Sir:

Complying with the request contained in your letter written from Mount Airy, N.C., which was received by me on July 6th, I proceeded to Stanly County on Monday morning, July 7th, to attend the regular term of criminal court for that County.

On my arrival there I at once began an investigation with reference to the matters leading up to the complaint made in a letter by Mr. D. L. Goble, International Organizer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The first gentleman with whom I conferred relative to this matter was Mr. Barrett of Asheville, N.C., who was representing the North Carolina Federation of Labor. A little later on the same morning I conferred with Mr. Barrett and Mr. Goble together. At that time I requested Mr. Goble to furnish me with a statement of the facts upon which he based his charges in his letter to you. I was unable to obtain from him any definite information until Tuesday afternoon, July the eighth, at which time he handed me a paper containing certain allegations, with the names of certain witnesses. I immediately made out a list of the names and had the Sheriff of Stanly County to subpoena the witnesses to appear at the general offices of the Tallassee Power Company at Badin at five o'clock Tuesday afternoon, July the eighth. The witnesses were examined, that is all those who were available. Also Mr. Goble was examined, being the first witness.

In addition to the evidence taken at the investigation, I made other investigations relative to the matters alleged, and after doing so and considering the facts obtained outside of the written evidence taken at the investigation, I am fully convinced that the charges made were without the least foundation. The fact is, that there is no evidence obtainable which sustains any of the charges made by Mr. Goble, as an examination of the evidence, copy of which is herewith sent you, will disclose.

I desire to say, in connection with this report, that I do not know of in this section, any individual or corporation that looks more closely after or makes better provision for the comfort and happiness of its employees than does the Tallassee Power Company. It is not necessary to subpoena witnesses to determine this fact, but a mere casual observer who visits the place and observes the good school buildings, the comfortable homes, the places of amusement prepared for the employees and the various little things that go to make for the pleasure and comfort of people will be forced to the conclusion that there is no cause for dissatisfaction at this point on the part of the employees.

During the entire investigation I heard no complaint relative to the wages paid or the treatment accorded, except from hearsay testimony as given by Mr. Goble and from a discharged employee, and you will observe from Mr. Goble's testimony that there was no act, or even the offer of an act, toward him personally that would in the least justify his charges. Of course it may be true that some of those who joined his union were discharged, but if they were this is no violation of the law in North Carolina, for it is a well settled rule in this jurisdiction than an employer has a right to employ whomsoever he pleases for such time as he sees fit and for such wages as may be agreed upon between the parties, and he has a perfect right at any time to dismiss the employee for such cause as he may see fit. On the other hand, the employee has a right to quit whenever he desires to do so, except, of course, in cases of special contracts for a specified time, and then if this contract is breached by either party, the employer or the employee under our laws, can resort to their civil remedies.

My own conclusion about the matter is that Mr. Goble was not as successful as he desired to be in the organization of his union - not as many members as he wanted - and he of course did not like this. Another thing about it, and this is partly disclosed by the written evidence in the case, is that there was an effort, or an inclination, on the part of Mr. Goble to organize the negroes into a union. I learned during my investigation of the matter, not at the hearing where the evidence was taken, but from other sources, that Mr. Goble, during his efforts to organize the union at Badin, and while soliciting members, told certain of the employees who did not care to join that they "Had better join, because if they didn't they would be driven out of employment as soon as three-fourths of the employees at Badin should become members of the union." I do not know how true this is but it is only one of the various particles of information given me.

In conclusion I desire to say that the employees at Badin, as hereinbefore suggested, are well provided for, they are paid good wages and for the four and a half years that I have been familiar with the situation at that place the employees have had no complaints to make against the employers, and I think this condition still exists and will continue to exist unless they be disturbed by some agitator. 

Since the investigation I have received three affidavits which I attach hereto, together with the letter accompanying them.

Respectfully submitted,

Walter E. Brock
Solicitor of the 13th Judicial District.

WEB.L.

Enclosures, viz:
1 - Copy of evidence
2 - Copies of affidavits with letter
3 - Copies of letters to D. L. Goble and J. E. S. Thorpe.

Enclosures: 1919, July 14. Thorpe to Brock.
1919, July 17. Brock to Thorpe.
1919, July 17. Brock to Goble.