The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 21, 1924, Page 6

Page Six THE DAILY WORKER THE DAILY WORKER. Published by the- DAILY’ WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1640 N. Halsted St., Chicago, Ill (Phone: Lincoln 7680.) SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail: $6.00 per year $3.50...6 months $2.00..8 months By mail (in Chicago only): $4.50..6 months $2.60. .8 months $8.00 per year Address all mail: and make’ out checks to THE DAILY WORKER 1640 N. Halsted Street J. LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM F. DUNNE MORITZ J. LOEB... Chicago, Illinois { Me Acberdedisinwae Editors Business Manager Entered as second-clas Office at Chicago, Ill. <tr 804 SS The Dockers’ Strike Instead or greeting the strike of the dock workers as evidence of a revival of miuitancy among the workers of Great britain, the Mac- Donaid government announces in the House of Commons that “the zovernment will not fail to take such steps as are required to secure the necessary transportation and has already set up the nucleus of an organization.” In plain English, the MacRNonald govern- ment 1s preparing to break the strike. It might be noted here that the theory of strike-action is that the cessation of work creates such a shortage of the commodities produced or transported by the particular in- dustry involved that the concessions demanded by the workers become of less importance than the inconvenience their idleness causes. It follows then that in arranging for the transport of foodstuffs the MacDonald govern- ment is actually taking the side of the private employers, who, rather than pay the two shillings per day increase demanded by the dockers, will witness nation-wide suffering. Two shillings per day in England mean the difference between comparative comfort and poverty. That the employers could well afford \ the increase is unquestioned, but in no pro-| nouncement of the MacDonald government is | there found any threat of action against the employers. ay The MacDonald government, the opposition and the capitalist press, are a unit against the dockers. ; Perhaps the dockers believed that with so- cialists elected on the British Labor Party ticket holding the government positions a strike would be won easily; that if the government interfered it would be to aid the striking work-| ers. Perhaps they wanted to settle this dis-| puted question. rs The answer has been given. It is that the MacDonald government is not even a labor s mail Sept. "1928 at the Post- under the act of March 3, 1879. Advertising rates on application. it going to smirch?” Jesse Livermore, the noted New York operator, has said that the confidence of business and the country were being undermined by Con- gressional investigations and therefore called for the election of “none but successful busi- ness men to Congress.” This is the same Livermore, who was employed by Harry F. Sinclair to market stock of the Mammoth Oil Company, which leased the Teapot Dome area. The above statements by men of such great prominence in the financial circles are of in- estimable significance. They show very clear- ly that big business is planning to launch an offensive to put an end to the present investi- gation. The first step in this direction {s the soft-pedaling of the investigation by Chair- man Lenroot of the sub-committee in holding executive sessions during the:absence of Sena- tor Walsh. The Teapot investigation must not be inter- fered with. The workers and farmers should make every effort to force the Senate to probe to the depths of the oil well. The Fate of the Workers We have shown how the workingmen of} New York have been forced to live in abomin- able houses and dangerous congestion. The loss of thirteen lives in a fire which swept a five-story tenement house on the East | side, only brings into painful relief the findings of our investigation. The bodies of seven children, two women| and four men, removed from the burnin tene-| ment house are a ghastly warning to all the | workers of New York and other cities, dangers that beset them in the present acute housing cris's. | The landlords and their government agents know that there are thousands of working men living in fire traps. The government is well aware of the fact that if it were to ex- cute its own laws, it would condemn hundreds of tenements now occupied by working men who cannot afford to pay the exorbitant rents demanded by their profit-hungry land- lords. In the days of feudal oppression, the rul- ing class, now and then, burned their subjects at the stake. Capitalism is much more in- genious and complicated. The capitalist class does not resort to this crude method of mur- — the helpless men, women and children | of the laboring masses. ‘What the ruling class of today does is somewhat more peaceful in appearance yet characterized by the same deadlines in effect. L The fatal blaze in New York, that destroyed the lives of thirteen people is to be attributed government let alone a revolutionary oné. ~~ It is a government of the “people” and just as the interests of the capitalists are para-| mount in economic life so are their interests of first concern to any government that does not intend to abolish the foundation of their. privi- leges—private ownership of the means of pro- duction and distribution. If proof were wanting that the leadership of the British Labor Party has no wish to dis- turb the status quo it has been furnished by its action in the dockers’ strike. Instead of ordering the employers to grant the two-shilling increase as an alternative to| the nationalization of their properties and en- terprises, the MacDonald government does ex- actly what its predecessors have done—mobil- izes the attaches of the government to do the| work of the strikers and force them back to their jobs in the name of the good of the British Empire. It is well that this early in its career the re- formists of the second international, who rule in England, have shown their close kinship to the Kerenskys, Noskes and Pilsudskis the world over. Parliamentarism as an end in itself leads to the same point in all countries—betrayal of the workers and support of the workers’ en- emies. solely to the hortiblée system of housing that} now prevails in the metropolis. The blood- guilt for this heinous crime is to be placed solely on the heads of the landlord class of New York. Dollar Diplomacy While the Interior, Navy and Justice De- partments are being drained of Teapot oil, it might be well to pay a little attention to the State Department. It is an open secret, in political circles, that the Department of State also reeks with oil corruption—the Standard Oil brand. The State Department is now in the midst of a controversy with the Government of Peru be- cause of the attempt of a Standard Oil bank- ing firm, the Guaranty Trust Co., to mosopo- lize the field of Peruvian investments. The president of Peru has just protested to Washington against the methods pursued by the Guaranty Trust Co. in Peru. It is charged that the New York bank has notified all fin- ancial institutions that it alone has the option on Peruvian financing. This group of Wall Street bankers proceeded to “warn all others; off the field.” On the basis of the record of ‘the State De- . ia Business and Politics Because of the shocking disclosures of ab- normal graft and corruption in Washington many people have limited their consideration of the Teapot scandal to the political field. An important and seldom considered angle|lame-duck reactionary ex-Senator Poindexter, |the air lead one to I of the historic investigation, now besmirching | will do his best to defend “our interests” in|not as enthusiastic as the skipper. In the fore- partment, the policy that our government will pursue is a foregone conclusion. There is no doubt that Secretary of State Hughés will run to the support of the Guaranty Trust Co. in Thursday, February 21, 1924 Russia Leads the Way With Germany on the eve of becoming a, satrapy of the- international finantiers and France face to face with bankruptcy because of the collapse of the franc and burdensome taxation, Soviet Russia’s great advance in recon- struction is the outstanding feature of the European politico-economic situation today. M. Krassin, the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Trade, has just announced that the Soviet Re- public, in the fiscal year 1922-28, exported goods to a total value of more than 210 billion gold rubles—an increase of more than 200% over the preceding year. According to Krassin the estimate of Russian export for the coming year already exceeds 500 billion gold rubles. The Soviet government is now winding up ar- rangements with French, Austrian and Dutch firms for credit on consignments of grain lying in Russian ports. Up to the end of 1923 close to 2 million tons of grain have been forwarded to Russian ports and 1,300,000 tons had been delivered abroad. This shows the great pro- gress that the Russian railway system and shipping are making. The trade balance is now on the right side, imports having been reduced, those of food having practically ceased. The recent recognition of Russia by England, ° Italy and Norway are of paramount political importance. The British government has laid special emphasis on its ambassador to Russia devoting his major attentions to securing agree- ments for English interests to counterbalance the close French control of nearly 70% of the iron and coal deposits of Central Europe by French capitalists. . The political side of these prospects for gigantic British development of the coal and iron wealth of Russia spells an attempt of Eng- land to co-operate with the Soviet government in order to “counteract French policy in Central Europe. To the workers and farmers of the world the great advance made by Soviet Russia, to date with practically very little outside help, is a victory of first rate importance. The Soviet government’s tenacity and strength have forced the foreign capitalists to terms. Germany is making a strong demand for Russian rye and barley; Italy and France are competing for Russian wheat. While the currencies of prac- tically every government in Europe are tum- bling, Russia’s financial condition is becoming more and more stable and sound. Pollyanna at the Helm President Coolidge, if one can judge by his st recent official statement, is an incurable optimist. The governmental machinery, he says, has not been injured by the oil scandal. The ship of state, says he, sails serenely on. New Hampshire’s favorite and favored son is at the helm, a Jonah has been jettisoned, and the name of national honor and the country’s security—in reality the banker’s securities. Needless to say our ambassador at Lima, the the White House with oil is the business-side | the South American republic. of the matter. The mailed fist of dollar diplomacy will be What effect does the revelation about sordid-| swung in the face of the people of Peru who ness in politics have on business? How do the| are dependent on American capital for the big interests react to the examination? These| development of their natural resources. questions are pertinent because if any pressure| smoke screen of the thinnest juridical abstrac-|U8ed, may stil) not prevent quarantine officers is to be brought to bear on Congress to drop} tions will be raised to show that American| refusing it permission to dock on November 7. the whole investigation, it will be big business} property rights are being violated in the Latin that will do the pressing. The black smoke of the oil conflagration is befogging many a hope of Wall Street. will the investigation stop. republic. Soft as these words may appear on the sur-| fleet of which it is a part continues to seize Big| face, they are in reality stern warnings to the| much rich loot. business is plainly worried where and when| English capitalists to keep out. They are a The reaction of| challenge to the safety of the Latin American| Captain Pollyanna Coolidge. the market to date spells only trouble. Said} republics in general and the national life of the authoritative Commercial and Financial| Peru in particular. The services rendered by A the odor of disinfectants that, tho. liberally all is well. ; The agonized wails from amidships that split believe that the mates are ~ castle mutinous curses are. voiced’ by; the ordi- nary seamen who complain of the smell. of ‘oil in their quarters. The ship itself reeks with Tho jagged rocks shaped like teapots beset the course of the careening vessel, the pirate “Business is good. Be of good cheer,” says These be parlous times for American institu- Chronicle: “It would be useless to blink the|Secretary Hughes to these bankers is a con-| tions and we are moved to inquire the where- fact that the oil scandals at Washington have|stantly recurring menace to the safety of the| #bouts of their staunchest defender—one Wil- had a more or less disturbing effect on all the| American workers as well as their southern| liam J. Butns—who was wont to issue from markets, whether for securities or for com-| brothers. time to time hair-raising statements dealing modities. To merchants, stock markets and| Dollar diplomacy is only another form of| With the communist plans for s@izing the its decline of late on enormous transactions,| dollar democracy as enjoyed by the workers| White House. : has been the subject of painful interest as re-| when they strike for the right to organize and| Perhaps he has discovered that the White flecting the disturbance of business sentiment} against unbearable conditions of employment.| House is now so well oiled that the Commun- growing out of the fact that the more the Tea- : ists could not h on to it. Even his chief, pot Dome oil scandal is probed at Washing-| The British dock strike is holding up seven|the doughty Da seems to be having ton, the worse it looks, until men are beginning cargoes of bananas at Liverpool. Yes?, a maintaining his hold. © ' ' OSES REARS SRS Re RAGE hs A eR ace ee et TORE) ee Sere TEER po ER oS aa ee Bie ee SR A ES Se tak Sa 2 ar ae RE i co Et Die ey ee ea y to nak Noe far is the thing going? Whom is | YELLING F On this basis, it is easy to understand why | OR HELP | The Strikebreaking “‘Pennsy”’ One of the bitterest, if not the most uncom- promising, anti-labor corporations in this coun- try is the Pennsylvania Railroad. During the shopmen’s strike of 1922 and since, the Pennsylvania Railroad set the pace in smashing the organizations of its workers. So tactléss and arrogant have the officials of the | Pennsylvania system been in their attack on the labor unions that now and then a govern- ment official was compelled to disapprove of the offensive open shop methods. Now,, the Interstate Commerce Commission has come forward with a report which shows that the Pennsylvania Railroad has been able to break” up the railway workers organizations only at the expense of crippling its service. The war of the Pennsylvania on the union men has brought in its wake a serious danger to the people traveling ¢on this railway system. The Pennsylyania Railroad which is the leader of the anti-union crusade also ranks first in faulty engines. The Interstate Commerce Commission has just found that the Pennsylvania Railroad has had the largest percentage of defective locomotives of the nine railroad systems selected by the Commission as representative of the rail- ways of the United States. Of the Pennsylvania locomotives examined for so found -defective-or- closely approaching violation of the law and actually committing the most flagrant disregard of all safety statutes. ~ Within the last six months of the calendar year 1923, all of the nine railroads except the Pennsylvania showed a decided improvement. The Pennsylvania alone which has been most violent in its campaign against organized labor, showed no signs of improvement. The conditions on the Pennsylvania system are a menace to the safety of thousands of people traveling on its roads. The dangerous state of affairs arises directly from the war being waged on the workers by the labor-hating officers of this corporation. The government in not compelling the Pennsylvania to improve its system and in tolerating the continuation of this man-killing inefficiency is aiding and abet- ting the strikebreaking activities of the Penn- sylvania railroad. To a foreigner who saw Austria on the verge of chaos only eighteen months ago, the attitude of the bank employes and of the working class, who are constantly striking, appears to be grossly selfish while the Government is struggling to meet the obligations of the State and the interest on the international loan due in April. —Vienna correspondence of the N. Y. Times. We submit the above as evidence of the im- partial character of the news carried by the capitalist press, No comment or editorializing is allowed in the news columns, is the claim of its apologists. Sixteen million dollars in. fines have been collected from bootleggers by the courts ac- cording to a government report. There are no statistics available as to the amounts col- ‘lected by prohibition enforcement officers. ‘. Brother Denby has, gone to swell the ranks of the unemployed and the “Help. Wanted” sign on the White House has brought scores of applicants. Our conviction that the oil leases were en- tirely legal has been somewhat shaken by the insistence of prominent prospective witnesses upon immunity. Clare Sheridan says the’ British aristocracy is looking for a savior of the Mussolini type. They probably do not recall that Clare does not approve of Mussolini. y The Hearst papers are disappointed by the developments in the Teapot Dome scandal. No sex angle has been found as yet. The tie-up of shipping in England must be working awful hardships on the drove of lec- turers who are headed this way.* If we were Attorney-General Daugherty we would begin to believe that the boss wanted us to ee i " {i AS WE SEE IT By T, J. O')FLAHERTY. A young girl, a foreigner wh' assimilated some of the Americanisn' y that is floating around every large city, is on trial for her life in a Chi- cago court room. As the task of selecting a jury proceeds she reads a German bible. The poor unfor- tunate is a Christian. Perhaps she hopes the jurors are. So much the worse for her unless they have for- gotten the Puritan brand of that creed. wat wy ae This girl came from Hungary nfne years ago. She had dreams of a land where there were rich folks but no poor. It did not take her long to learn her mistakes. The first thing to do was to drop her old world customs and become Americanized. She had to quit school early and go to work, Her father was sick, She went to work in a mail order house. Only a few weeks ago the wife of a mail order king gave a few mil- lions to a university. This girl wh is now on trial for murder | to pile up those millions. The bloo: of countless slaves is on every dollar of that gift. 7 * @« * The girl could not live on the wages paid in the mail order house. She got a job in a restaurant. Long hours, seven in the evening to seven in the morning. No, the League for the Suppression of Vice took no in- terest. Neither did the Ku Klux Klan, She was just a victim of le- gitimate capitalism. She had to make a living. She refused to starve. Ignorant, untrained, without friends, there was only one way. She had a body that appealed. .* 8 @ Christian ministers continued to rave about a just God, defended the virgin birth theory, while committees of pestiferous busybodies raided pool rooms, bootleg parlors and houses of illfame. But the real houses of shame, the shops where girls were forced to work for a wage so low that they were forced to choose shame or death were not raided, the ostrich heads of the Christian craw- thumpers were buried deep in the sand of hypocrisy—for a price. ** * @ An unfortunate victim of capital- ist society today sits in a capitalist court charged with murder. Ignor- ance, starvation wages, prostitution, robbery and a murder charge, Who is the criminal, that ignorant girl o» ad system that breeds the condi- fons that produce that type? We say the system. And the judge who presides over the trial and the prose- eutors who will try to send her to the gallows—all staunch upholders of this immoral robber system— should be placed on trial and the victim who is in the dock sent to a hospital or a school. yee ee A, see es “The workers of this city who suf- fer torture in riding to and from work in crowded, insanitary and crawling cars ask themselves the question: Why the political bosses of this growing community do not provide the people with adequate means of transportation? To any- body who does not know that demo- cratic and republican politicians do not seek election to run cities but to Tuin them the failure to build sub- ways would be a mystery. The capi- talist politiciafis take advantage of their terms of office to make money. They take advantage of the conflict- ing interests of rival capitalist groups. The big fellows are gob- bling the little fellows and Sam In- sull is.probably gobbling them all. By the time that gentleman has dined on his competitors perhaps he may graciously give Chicago a subway. We will have a good deal more to say about the Traction gluttons later on. ** # © Modern politicians promise material consideration to those who can afford to back them in the race for office with cash. But the practice is by no means new even tho the considera- tions offered are different. As far back as the year 1455 a. book was printed containing an indulgence is- sued by Pope Nicholas V, “to each person as should contribute money to aid the King of Cyprus against the Turks.” An Ameérican millionaire, if living in those days, would have little difficulty in passing the pearly gates. Dohen: could purchase several, helsfull of indulgences for the cash he used in oiling the ways for the Teapot Dom . The writer noticed a dead! lor overspread the Gountenknong: Po the delegates to the McAdoo conference ‘when the photographers set off their flashlights in the Crystal Room of the Great Northern Hotel. He could not understand the reason. He has an inkling of it now. They feared an explosion. Scratch a capitalist politician nowadays and you will touch an oil can, Get unity thru the Labor Party! WEB crane. Manske “rentable ar de Ant ms ae