The 1926 AFL investigation of Brookwood Brookwood Labor College

john brophy, insurgent 1926 mine workers presidential candidacy actively supported brookwood faculty , students.

brookwood proved controversial in 1926 in way, too. john l. lewis, president of united mine workers, had largely eliminated opposition leadership of union, , no longer fighting hard against coal mine owners. union contracts being broken, membership in steep decline, , income falling sharply. in june, john brophy, mineworker , brookwood director, forged alliance communists in , out of mine workers defeat lewis in upcoming union election. lewis turned union s allegedly neutral journal against brophy, used union dues pay low-level officials campaign against brophy, , red-baited brophy (who not communist himself) mercilessly. lewis defeated brophy vote of 195,000 85,000 in december 1926. several brookwood faculty , students assisted brophy in unsuccessful campaign against lewis.

these developments alarmed green. throughout 1926, made number of inquiries political beliefs of brookwood faculty , content of brookwood courses. particularly focused on beliefs , activities of faculty member arthur calhoun, avowed marxist. green s inquiries confirmed suspicion college hotbed of radicalism. in april 1927, green made veiled threat against brookwood in pages of afl s magazine, american federationist, arguing worker education should bulwark against rather fomenter of radicalism. events came head following month when martin ryan, president of brotherhood of railway carmen, showed green letter canadian official in union. letter made additional allegations of radicalism against brookwood. green wrote ryan in june 1927 acknowledging brookwood surcharged radical tendencies . later year, green received letters 5 students @ brookwood, claimed may day (then closely associated communist party) , not labor day (the working class holiday promoted afl) celebrated @ brookwood. students further claimed brookwood had formally celebrated anniversary of founding of soviet union; placed pictures of karl marx, vladimir lenin, , leon trotsky throughout school; , hung red banners (the symbol of communist party) on holidays. students claimed brookwood anti-american, anti-religious, , pro-communist. muste unwittingly provided green additional anti-brookwood ammunition in april 1928 when published article in left-wing journal labor age. in piece, muste said working-class people mentally sick, twisted, tied up. workers needed psychoanalyzed...to have thoughts , feelings laid bare before own eyes. know many things not so, living dream world, not real world, in world of fears, illusions, fairies, , bogey men . view of workers afl did not share.