The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 22, 1924, Page 6

_ the Dempcratic party, nationally. THE DAILY WORKEK : Friday, February 22, 1924 THE DAILY WORKER. Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING ¢o., 1640 N. Halsted St., Chicago, Ill. (Phone: Lincoln 7680.) SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail: $6.00 per year $3.50. .6 months $2.00..3 months By mail (in Chicago only): $4.50. .6 months $2.50. .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 S"*"""""""* beseees MORITZ J, LOEB........-.-- Business Manager Entered as second-class mail Sept. 21, 1923 at the Post- Office at Chicago, Ill., under the ‘act of March 8, 1879. ai 80 Advertising rates on application. Memory of Washington ‘here is no point in our writing about the of hatchets and cherry trees in the life of recognized father of our country. This task Al be nobly handled by the official ink spillers the big dailies, run-for and by the employing class. : \Today, when the very foundations of the Republic are menaced by the revelations regard- ing capitalist corruption, a brief statement of the outstanding facts regarding George Wash- ington’s role in the American revolution will be most approprjate. ; gee Despite the myths and halo with which George Washington has been surrounded by historians, it is known today by many students of the development of our country that Wash- ington was an aristocrat by origin and inten- tion. He was a slaveholder. As the leader of the agricultural land-holding class and the ris- ing mercantile class in America, Washington fought, and fought valiantly, against oppression of the American colonies and against English capitalist interference with the interests of his class. sa Washington was always anxious to secure a compromise and reconciliation with the Mother country. Even on June 26th, 1775, after he be- came Commander of the American armies, Washington assured New Yorkers that he would do everything possible to establish “peace and harmony between the Mother country and the Coloniés”. And when the commercial and pro- fessional classes were busily at work robbing the masses of the victories of the revolution, George Washington in commenting on the crit- ical conditions and the mass discontent con- fronting the country declared that such unrest Chicago, Illinois exhibits “a melancholy proof . . . that mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.” In practice this aati-democratic spirit of the Father of our country translated itself in Wash- ington’s buying erormous landholdings in_ Vir- ._._ginia, partly on mi itary warrants secured from the soldiers. Speculators purchased the lands from the poor soldiers for a song. Poverty and starvation compelled the masses to surrender the land. But there is one attitude and practice of George Washington that the working and farm- ing masses of this country would do well to heed. He once said: “Government is not, reason, it is not eloquence, it is force . . . never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” Not Qualified! Even if every admirer of William Gibbs Mc- Adoo used a separate radio broadcaster to proclaim belief in his fitness for the presiden- cy, the fact that he accepted a large fee from sinister oil interests renders him decidedly un- available, in the editorial opinion of the New York World, friend of the Wilson family from the head of the house to the son-in-law’s door- keeper. The World has no hostility to McAdoo. This it admits. Yet it marvels exceedingly at the obtuseness of professional politicians who can- not read the signs on the heavens, but con- tinue to run their heads into a hurricane of anti-oil opinion which will blow any politician tainted with its odor into at least temporary retirement. The New York World sees nothing repre- hensible in Mr. McAdoo’s accepting a quarter million dollars retainer from Doheny to go into Mexico and endeavor to hog-tie the Mex- ican constitution so that American oil interests might rape the virgin wealth of. the Mexican republic. The World’s objection to McAdoo as a candidate is that as a result of his name being connected with the oil scandal the Democratic party cannot afford. to have him as its standard bearer. The New York World further believes that the group of McAdoo boosters who met in the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago had doubts of his availability and do not expect to “put him over” at the New York convention, but simply wanted to maintain an organization for bargaining purposes. Quite a plausible explanation! The opposition of the New York World to McAdoo’s candidacy is significant. It repre- sents a powerful section of the Democratic party. The World is a consistent supporter of With that es. to contend with and the machine in New York, Illinois, Indiana and the Boston Post, with half a million circulation in New England, it looks as if Wilson's heir might need more than a radio station and a good publicity agent to bring him the nomination on July 4th. What the railroad brotherhoods, who are ; his candidacy, may do in the event “favorite son” ming “unavailable” interesting subject for speculation. | . . | *Adjustment’’ in Coal | When the coal wage negotiations began in Jacksonville and the capitalist press mani- fested practically unanimous approval of the Lewis demand for a four-year contract, we ventured the assertion that a long term con- tract was but the first step in eliminating some 200,000 unemployed miners from the industry. Our suspicions are confirmed. The negotia- tions have ended with the acceptance of a three-year contract by both sides ad from the operators come announcemeuits that the elimi- nation process is to begin immediately. One metropolitan paper which covers labor news closely says: ‘“Both operators and miners agree that one result will be the wiping out of many mines and mining communities.” Quoting an operator’ who took part in the negotiations the same article continues: In my territory, where the veins are poor, some towns will pass out like the ghost mining cities of Colorado. Others will survive by going non-union and cut- ting prices. Please remember that the officialdom of the United Mine Workers of America has an- nounced time and time again that it is its policy to co-operate with the larger operators in bringing the industry back to normalcy and we have now a perfect example of what that conception of normalcy is. This is labor leadership that no employer will quarrel with and it is little wonder that the capitalist press and the rotary club plat- form performers are delirious with delight over this evidence that “labor is returning to sanity.” In England the dockers’ union is confronted with exactly the same problem, but the dock- ers are on strike and there is no talk of the elimination of several thousand dockworkers because there is an oversupply of labor in the industry. Even the MacDonald government, with all its desire for respectability and its middle class leanings, dare not advocate such an infamous piece of business as the deliber- ate starvation of unemployed workers as a remedy for unemployment. This is what the Lewis proposal amounts to, this is what the three-year agreement is for and this is the reason why the Lewis program was seconded so enthusiastically by the operators and other employers. |We have here the’ spectacle of a head of one of the world’s largest unions consciously encouraging and fomenting the struggle be- tween the employed and unemployed workers in the union, a struggle whose existence is a constant menace to the solidarity of labor or- ganization and which, when encouraged by officials, can end only in the destruction of the union. ~ We are going to venture one more predic- tion. It is that if an attempt is made to carry out this policy with the Lewis machine remain- ing in control of the union the end of the three- year contract period will see the United Mine Workers, not only weakened numerically, but with less mines under union contro] than they have today. No other consequence can follgw from a policy that is’one of demoralization and not of organization. Mellon’s Allies The power of great corporations to exert an undue influence on public policy comes to light in an issue of the weekly leaflet distributed to passengers via New York Central lines. Under the title “Food for Thought,” this leaflet re- produces tables containing all the sugar coat- ing by which Secretary of the Treasury Mel- lon hoped to Win the support @f the middle class for his scheme to reduce the high sur- taxes on the idle rich. According to this railroad’s propaganda leaf- let the greatest blessings a la Mellon tax cut- ting are to fall upon the incomes under $6,000. Next in order of magnitude are the blessings to be meted out to people with incomes be- tween $7,000 and $10,000. While only aft all lower incomes have been duly satisfied are the incomes over $50,000 to get what bless- ings are left. : Of course, the appearance of a bias in favor of lower incomes is created by a trick of statis- tical grouping. For all that the table shows, no one would guess that there are some in- comes in the United States that run into the millions of dollars a year and that the savings to these incomes will be out of all proportion to the savings of the smaller fry. Nor is there particular mention of the fact that wage earn- ers with family incomes under $3,000 a year, will receive no important benefits from this scheme. They will continue to bear the heavi- est indirect tax burden in the high prices which they pay for the necessities of life pur- chased from protected industries. 4 No! fhe leaflet is obviously designe? ’- win the support of the people of moderate means who predominate in Pullman traffic. It is skillfully designed to that end and it con- tains the suggestion that the reader write his congressman urging support of Mellon’s pro- ‘gram. , But when all is said the most significant point to note is the power which such a medium for reaching the public places in the hands of financiers. Thru their contact with the travel- ing public these few men of great wealth can weigh more heavily in determining national policy than hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens. This shows just one of the many ways in which private ownership makes a farce of political democracy. ' Join the Workers Party. ter Free the By WILLIAM F. KRUSE. iS haa Chicago Tribune has launched a campaign for the release of Federal prisoners now in jail for war- time offenses. This is not a joke—it is really so. The prisoners who have excited the Tribune’s pity at this late day are not “conscientious objectors” or economic and political opponents of American militarism. The Tribune is aroused on behalf of the boys who have been committed for crimes rang- ing up to murder and rape. “Wob- many of whom fought for their coun- try, are still behind the bars,” says the Trib, and even intimates that per- haps the Army courts-martial did not always do justice either, Such sedi- tion! We are surprised to find a question ‘lon which we can see eye to eye with this organ of reaction, But here it is. We see no justice whatever in teaching a man to kill in wholesale LEWIS MACHINE AGAIN BETRAYS NOVA SCOTIANS Miners Get “Raise” that Is Really Cut (Special to The Daily Worker) GLACE BAY, N. S., Feb. 21.—The gang of Lewis appointees and inter- national representatives who have been negotiating a new wage scale with the British Empire Steel Cor- poration has signed an agreement with the corporation which has met with the bitterest opposition from the miners who went on strike. The contract gives the following in- creases to the miners: Underground day men—30 cents a day. Surface day men—25 cents a day. Shooters and loaders and contract men, including helpers—7 cents pet ton. This mean that the seven cents extra is to be split up among all of them. vs Handpick miners—8 cents per ton. Miners working on local contract— 6 per cent. The day men working on the sur- face received last year $3.25 and will now receive $3.50. The day men working underground received five cents a day more than this and un- der the new scale will receive $3.65, Coal Costs Miners More. To compensate itself for this “raise” the corporation has increased the price of coal to the miners from $2.25 to $3.60 a ton! Recently the corporation also announced its in- tention of raising the rents of the company houses! Thus the “increase” actually will be turned into a cut. Negotiations with the corporation have been going on since. last No- vember. Last 15th of January the corporation broke off negotiations and posted notices of a 20 per cent cut in wages and the increase of coal to the miners to $4.75 a ton. | Despite the fact that the provisional officers and the international repre- sentatives were so confused at the | action of the corporation that they did not know what to do the miners struck as one man. It was some days after that the gang finally de- cided to declare a “suspension of work.” Later on negotiations were again started but ended in no deci- sion. ‘The negotiations which have tionist hero (Ramon Navarro). The War Time Prisoners and then purishing him for applying his knowledge retail. If anything he should be commended for his restraint and finesse. The soldier boys were taught the supremacy of the uniform over all things on this mundane sphere. We should not be too harsh with the poor privates who mistakenly applied this |doctrine to attractive members of the jcivilian population—even when citi- zens of an allied and associated power. A number of the prisoners are pgor blies, traitors and. slackers have been|black boys who were imprisoned for allowed to go while these poor boys, {life in connection with the race riots in a Texas army camp, They had been taught that Fritz Schmidts and Hans Schmals were human vermin even if they’were white.. They be- lieved, because they had been told, that the Schmidts of Prussia were enemies of the black boys, but they knew for themselves that the land- lord Schmidts of Texas were just that. It does not matter who started the Texas fracas, the black privates MENTIONING THE MOVIES By PROJECTOR. SCARAMOUCHE, ERE is THE picture of the French Revolution. I thought that Pola Negri’s “Passions” and Griffith’s “Orphans” were worthy of that title. “Scaramouche” makes them look cheap little program pic- tures in comparison. v Here is Revolution with a capital “R.” First the background, starving people more pathetically _ hideous than the famine victims in “Russia Thru the Shadows.” And an arro- gant, corrupt, cruel nobility, ruling brazenly with force and violence. Then the day of reckoning, the people unchained, wiping out the op- pression of the centuries in a mad orgy of, blood letting. The revolu- tion is not a pretty thing. Revolu- tions are that way. Great bonfires are made of fine furniture, paintings are ripped from their frames, neither age nor sex is spared in the revenge upon the aristocrats, heads are car- ried around on pikes. Blood ,and dirt and rage! I wonder what’ the Pennsylvania censors did with some of these scenes—and with the fat priest? ‘fhe picture has an intensely inter- esting love theme as well as plenty of “action,” both mob and individual. A beautiful heroine (Alice Terry), and a gloriously handsome revolu- women who pay their way in will rave as enthusiastically over him ag did the paid extra girls in the mobs. Direction is almost flawless, altho one does wonder how the windmill managed to turn so industriously without any sails on its wings. Sus- pénke is kept up, not merely to the tenth scene from the last but actually until five seconds from “The End.” One has the feeling that it must come out all right but just how is cleverly concealed, ¥ ae tell the or mie take too much $j unfair to eve WORKER reader who is going oO see it. Suffice to say that I paid my way in and shall do so again— and again, School Super Lets Chicago Plutocrats Hear His First Talk _ William McAndrew, the new super- intendent of schools, wants to know, “How the schools of the city can more directly serve the city, the state and the nation.” So he went to a just ended started after Steel (“pois- onal” representative of Lewis) had made a special trip to Indianapolis to drink at the fount of wisdom. These negotiations ended in the sign- ing of the contract which the Lewis gang dares to call a victory for the miners, ‘ Since last July this gang has been declaring to the miners that they would at least get the 1921 rates for the minars, and assured the miners pffice the corporation would be forced raise wages. At Indianapolis Lewis declared that the international union was behind. the miners of Nova Scotia in their strike. Today Lewis wired a local which asked him if he supported this contract, ordering it to follow the in- structions of the provisional officers. Lewis incensed the miners here by calling them scabs because they worked in 1922 when Lewis knew that it was’his own men who told the miners to work on and make the best bargain ‘possible with the corpora- tion. The miners now have Lewis on record as supporting this Contract when the miners oppose it and wish to continue the struggle to secure the 1921 rates, i: Will Expel Strikers. The provisional officers have or- lief has been cut off, tho of worked only a few days. since Se tember last Silby Barrett, provisional president, threatened ex: pulsion if the miners do not return to work, The miners are solid oe pcos gi to ic eut, and contrac! never accepted the referendum vote. Conservative miners who Barrett and Co. t most Feing tongs by tes saieale is is being for y of ‘th ity of the The 1921 rates, and the ousting of the Lewis ba tre oe from ed to stiffen the Risto) = | ners to get ag Es ini ¢ government” ai office min- ers whe will fight the ‘corporation. — that now that the “reds” were out of luncheon of the Chicago Association of Commerce ,in the Hotel La Salle recently and asked the assembled business men. Thru them he hopes the question will get to every citizen in Chicago. : His talk to the Association of Com- merce Pkg ers first speech in Chi- cago since being appointed superin- tendent of schools. =e “We want the schools to function for the good of all,” he said. “We hope you will tell us how we can serve you. Write down your sugges- tions and send them to me. We want and need them.” The Chicago Association of Com- -erce thru its committee on educa- tion recently published a pamphlet on “Public Education Costs,” in which they advise men of superior-financial om le ny Meo men) ‘o themselves appointed to posi- tions on the board of education so that they might help \to keep the costs of education down. for thai dered the miners back to work. Re- |M the miners around Glace Bay have |relieve ‘loss to A NEW FARM SAVIOR proposed measures to relieve the distress of the farmers is proved themselves efficient soldiers tho poor geographers, Sure thing. Free the poor piker “oyiminals” of the late war. The big criminals, the fellows who started the wholesale murder have never been caught—yet. But free the heroes too —real heroes. It took no particular courage to follow the mob into the barracks when faced by the draft law, backed by every form of force known to the capitalist dictatorship. It did take “sand,” however, to stand by opposition principles at that time ‘and a goodly number of those who did so are still in the jails thruout this country, Those are the men that |we_ want freed. To the Tribune and its ilk murder and rape are childish pranks in com- parison with the offense of fighting the sacred capitalist order, It’s all in the point of view. But we are en- tirely willing to support the move for the freeing of the Tribune’s brand of heroes, Will it support the move for liberating ours? SOVIET CO-OPS WILL BE PUT ON VOLUNTARY BASIS Big Inducements Offer- ed Workers to Join (Special to The Daily Worker) MOSCOW, Feb. 22.—Russian co- operatives, which have been one of the chief instruments in carrying out the New Economic Policy of the Sov- iet government are to become strictly voluntary organizations thru a decree that will shortly be issued. Consumers will be free to with- draw from the great “Union of Con- sumers’ Co-operatives” or to join it. Formerly State Organs, Before the New Economic Policy went into effect two years ago the co-operatives were merely the organ that carried out the instructions of the state and depended on the re- sources of the state for their work. With the introduction of the New Economic Policy co-operatives had to depend largely on. themselves but every citizen was connected with the movement: thru_ affiliation of unions or other governing bodies. The decree now coming will do away with the last bit of compulsory affiliation but membership is en- couraged by the advantages the co- operatives will offer. Workers and the poorer peasants will be provided with special exemptions, the details of which have not yet been announc- ed. The number of shares any mem- ber may purchase is limited. Exploiters Given No V The dictatorship of the proletsriat is preserved in tnc cs-overetives, the report declares, granting the vote in the organization only to those members who have the right to par- ticipate in the elections to the Sov- iets under the laws of the Soviet Republic. This bars employers of labor, and other non-proletarian ele- ments from a voice in controlling the cooperatives. at sums the co-operatives will receive from the government will be announced when the new decree is published, The organizations will be freed from the payment of industrial taxes. Had Successful Year, The co-operative societies had a successful year in 1923 but it is be- lieved that the voluntary system will make for greater efficiency. Co- operatives’ sales prices last year were well under regular market prices. Flax, hides, fur, hair and hemp were among the articles exported thru the co-operatives. Cavaire was exported for the first time since the war. Domestic trade in grain, textiles, meat, silk and silk cocoons, harvest machinery was carried on actively. Agricultural machinery is sold to the peasants in exchange for grain thru 400 stations, to which 600 more sta- tions will be added this year. They Get a Ford Without Duty. MOSCOW, Feb. 21.—The Immi- gration Committee of STO (Councit of Labor and Defense) has permitted the American Agricultural Com- mune, “Echo,” to import from the U. S. a Ford duty free. The Ford has been donated to the Commune by American comrades. ively. ‘ : the aakering farmers of the North- i i Fi zit i i AS WE SEE IT _ By T. J. O'FLAHERTY. : MES: GANNA WALSKA McCOR- 4 CORMICK does not appreciate ,, the eternal fitness of things, She lefty ¢ for Paris to take the part of the Vir- gin in the “Miracle” about to be pro- duced in the French capital. The Polish beauty’s qualification for the virgin role is about as incomprehen- sible as the virgin birth theory to an atheist. se o8 President M. L. Burton, of the Uni- versity of Michigan, states that the four outstanding Americans of the twentieth century are Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Thomas Edi- son and Orville Wright. Teddy owes his leadership to his comprehension of the social problems of his time; Ford for his proficiency in‘ turning out flivvers; Edison for his inven- tions, and Wright for his work in heavier than air flying. Dr. Burton could find no‘ literary man to place on his list. What about Walt Mason or Calvin Coolidge? They turn out some funny stuff. * * Samuel Gompers is holding do his rising gorge. That portion of hi: \ anatomy experienced an - upward trend when he learned that the Ger- man embassy in Washington failed to honor Woodrow Wilson by placing its flag at half mast. Sam had a good time while Wilson was in the White House. His son got a good job in one of the federal depart- ments. Sam will not bite the hand that fed him even after it is cold. , ie ieee ee Gompers referred to the officials of Germany as “jackasses” because such an insult was offered to “our” people. There was no indication of national indignation except what was visible in the capitalist press and on the faces of the flunkeys who sold them- selves for a consideration to the capi- talist class of this country during the war. “The German workers thought I would not move to their aid because I fought them so vigor~ ously during the war, but they for- get that I am a trade unionist.” That is just why the simple minded Ger- mans cannot understand him. In Germany carrying a union card does not give a “brother” license to mur- der his fellow worker. No, Sam, they didn’t forget. That’s the cause of the misunderstanding. Be: OS Samuel Gompers is not a column- ist but he is a great help. But for people like Sam who say foolish things a columnist would be obliged to rack his brains for unusual inci- dents worthy of notice. As it is the speeches of Gompers, Coolidge, Bea- trice Fairfax, Billy Sunday and Wil- liam J. Burns are a constant source of inspiration to columnists, poets and cartoonists. 3 It is rumored in Washington that the Prohibition Department of the T-easury intends to issue a daily casualty list. This would have been done long ago but for the fear that a panic might seize the nation and the people of this country who have been celebrating the armistice might feel they were suffering from a ter- rible nightmare since 1918. The list of dead and wounded resulting from the efforts to make bootlegging a profitable tho hazardous business would if published ‘make the Euro- pean war look like 2 Finnish picnic. G * ~ Since the shooting of Senator Frank L, Greene, of Vermont, while walking in the vicinity of the Capitol by a’prohibition agent for no.reason except perhaps that he did not ap- pear to be under the influence of liquor, senators are talking quite seriously of purchasing coats of mail and wearing bullet proof helmets. Southern senators are talking of for- tifying the senate chamber. Owing to the presence of oil, senators are not allowed to carry flame throwers else the upper house could beat off attacks with some, degree of success. The signation of Otto Bran- stetter, Tene national secretary of the Socialist Party of America, has set the rumor mills going in the Windy City. It is reported in quar- ters generally considered authentic that Otto drew the last dime in the treasury and then handed in his resignation with a recital of his sacrifices for the cause. In departing from the office he filled so well, Mr, Branstetter declared that the iliness of Eugene Debs rendered it almost impossible to keep the party in a functioning condition as Gene’s un- availability for lecture tours robbed the organization of its only visibl means of support. Branstetter dis- tinguished himself during his term of office by giving the department of justice every possible assistance in discovering literature published by the American communists while th were living in a ity. Otto ceeded admiral color of the S. tithere. docs