The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 23, 1924, Page 4

sis Page Four G@HE DAILY WORKER THE DAILY WORKER. Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1640 N. Halsted St., Chicago, Il (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 $2.50..3 months $8.00 per year Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER 1640 N. Halsted Street J, LOUIS ENGDAHL H WILLIAM F. DUNNE MORITZ J. LOEB Entered as second-class mail Sept. 21, 1923 at the Post- Office at Chicago, Ill., under the act of March 3, 1879. ae Our Railroad Empire In the welter of political recriminations and charges now burdening the governmental struct- ure of the country there is coming to the sur-| face a great contest against powerful Western railroad interests that should receive the un- divided attention of the workers and farmers of the country. 2 The Departments of Agriculture and Interior are challenging the right of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to acquire approximately three million acres of Government land in Idaho, Montana, and Washington, claimed by the rail magnates under the provisions of the land grants made by ‘Congress in 1864 and 1870. The demand of the company is further strengthened by a decision of the Supreme Court in 1921 that “the Government could not reserve as against the railway company any of the land” within certain specified limits. Much of the land in dispute is heavily forested and the Government has spent vast sums in pro- tecting and administering it. These lands were given away to the “builders of the continent” to help them construct rail- ways. The Northern Pacific has received more than 136 million dollars from the sale of these lands, the the cost of the road’s construction has not exceeded seventy million dollars to date. Besides, the railroad has failed to build 1,507 miles of its line within the time specified by the grant. Thus, if the Government were really anxious to enforce its own law the granted lands would be subject to immediate forfeiture. But let. no one have any misgivings as to what the Government will do. The belated at- tempts of Wallace and Work to save this vast tract of land from the railway kings is in all likelihood an eleventh hour political gesture to help the Administration “make up its record” for the coming election campaign and counter-} act some of the oil stench. a4 -—The-story.ofthe..development..of, Amer‘can railways is a story of the government’s giving away tremendous areas of land to the railroad capitalists. The free land gifts, thru Federal and Texas grants, total 312,000 square miles— an area in‘excess of the six New England States, the five Northern Atlantic States, the three Southern Atlantic States, and the District of Columbia. The land given away to the rail- way corporations by the Government is 100,000 square miles in excess of the area of Germany or France before the war. Today, these gigantic empires of land are part of the investment of the railroad capitalists. Today, the workers have to pay the capitalists high tribute in low wages, huge dividends, in- tolerable working conditions in order to guaran- tee these captains of transportation a “fair” rate of profit. Today the farmers must pay exorbitant freight rates to save the capitalists from losses on their heavily inflated invest- ments, a large portion of which is this very land belonging to the masses of the country and given away for nothing to the railway barons. : And today the Government of the United States is putting at the disposal of these capital- ists who have looted the country as no other employers have in the history of the nation all its military, judicial, and financial power to guarantee fabulous profits to the rail corpora- tions and to perpetuate unbearable freight rates for the farmers and open-shop conditions for the workers. Revealed in the light of these facts the suit of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior against the Northern Pacific does not bring much hope to the working masses. Church and Court The church is one of the bulwarks of capi- talist society. Another is the judiciary. Both are looked on with contempt by the class con- Chicago, Illinois Editors ...Business Manager Advertising rates on application. It has not yet developed that they were urged on in their amorous adventures by circulation managers with a touch of originality, but cer- tain it is’ that those gentlemen whose business it is to secure new readers have slept easier of nights thanks to the gay activities of the serv- ants of Jehovah. The case of a local clergyman with a wealthy bits of scandal arising out of the sex relation- ship that the good citizens of this country had the pleasure of reading for many a day. The good preacher bears a saintly look. He also has a wife. So had a certain Mr. Leland. Mrs. Leland had Godly thoughts so she sallied forth to one of the Deity’s lieutenants for consolation. And this is where the party began to get rough if we are to believe the testimony of Mrs. Leland given in court before Judge Foell. She was definite about the history of the case, the details of which were given as much space in the capitalist press as the testimony of Edwin Doheny of Teapot Dome fame. The man of God was at least as human as any man could be and perhaps more so than many. Mr. Leland was justifiably angry when he heard of it and ‘sued for divorce. And here is where it resembled the oil inquiry in Washington. As soon as the first stone was cast at Dr. Case, the alleged culprit, outraged husbands began to appear with bricks which were hurled with vigor at the holy man. It looked like a clear case against him. There were plenty of bricks. Yet, the judge, instead of granting the in- jured husband a divorce, got quite angry and threw the case out of court, exonerated Dr. Case, and declared that Mrs. Leland was suffering from delusions, or werds to that effect. The Chicago Tribune, ongan of militant im- perialism, congratulated Judge Foell on the de- cision. The reputation of the preacher could not survive an adverse decision and clergymen are too valuable to the capitalist system to allow half a dozen illicit love affairs to impair their usefulness. In this instance—and it is only one of many—the court and the church put up a united front against the common enemy. Capitalist courts and capitalist churches, both live on the system. They must hang together or hang separately. The Roosevelt Name Frantic efforts are being made by the Elder Statesmen of the Republican Party to salvage the name of Roosevelt from the wreckage of the present administration. Old “Teddy” had a taking way with him. Perhaps no more ignorant mountebank ever ap- peared on the stage of American political life and succeeded in attaining the highest office in the powey of the ourgecisie to give; than Thevaore Roosevelt{ unless it might be the present president incumbent by the Grace of God and poisoned shell fish. 4% While Theodore Roosevelt was a dyed-in-the- wool faker and reactionary, but by the clever use of buncombe andthe personality of a bar- tender he was able to fool a considerable portion of the American workingclass and that vague element known as the “people,” that he was a progressive. He had even the bosses scared for a little while but not for long. He was their useful and willing tool. Roosevelt is dead but his progressive reputa- tion lives after him. The master class cleverly nourish it. Besides leaving a reputation as an asset to the Republican Party he also left-a few sons, who appear just now to be more of a liability. On account of the name they have been taken care of by the G. 0. P. Teddy’s namesake, young Theodore was planted in the navy department as Assistant Secretary. He was groomed for a higher position and kept primed for use in the event of some great emergency. But tho chance was kind to young Theodore nature was cruel. He is not gifted with brain or brawn and did not even have the sagacity to keep his skirts clear of the oil that has squirted its evil way over the White House and ruined several reputations, already rather shady it is true. Roosevelt had he been a chip of the old block could jump out of the Teapot, grind ahis teeth, wave his club and go after the evil doers like one of his jungle ancestors, scouting around for his breakfast. Alas, instead of the Terrible Teddy, there comes forth from the pen of the political car- toonist the picture of a puny weakling, march- ing toward the cabinet exit in the protecting shadow of the towering and burly grafter Harry M. Daugherty. It can,be truthfully said that Theodore Roose- velt, Jr. had a bright future before him in the Republican party but he sold his birthright for scious elements among the workingclass, with suspicion mingled with awe by a still larger a paltry oil can. If the attempt of the British dockers’ union section and with awe mixed with terror by| officials to end the strike can be takeh as evi- the great majority of the workers. dence it: appears that the motto of officialdom The confidence which the church and the | is: (The more successful a strike the more rea- courts once enjoyed among the workers is be-|son we should compromise on demands. As in ing constantly shaken by incidents in which} this country, both are shown up as hollow mockeries of re- ligion and justice. The church is ostensibly established and sup- ported for the purpose of maintaining the spiri- tual atmosphere at the proper degree of tem- perature in order to render the people elizible for entry into the celestial kingdom when they d from this mundane sphere. e courts cloak themselves in the robes of the membership is having more trouble with their officers than with the em- ployers. It is an interesting commodity conflict that is presented by the spectacle of Lodge, senator for the textile interests, and Pepper, senator for the steel interests, demanding the resigna- tion of Daugherty, attorney-general for the oil respectability, claim they are above temptation | interests. ; and hold the scales of justice evenly, for rich and poor, clerical and lay. Why doesn’t Attorney-General Daugherty . As to the church and its piety. During the |get out an injunction restraining the senate past decade clergymen have supplied the yellow |from taking his job away from him? press with the snappiest copy. These soldiers of the Lord have added hundreds of thousands of nals that { ) in news with a sex flavor. A chilling wind from Wyoming has blighted es to the circulation of the salacious jour-!the young Roosevelt boom for governor of New York. congregation was one of the most enticing tid |}, CANDLING THE C. P.'P. A. By WILLIAM F, DUNNE ‘TH round of investigation halts for the week-end and as the dust settles and quiet impends it is possi- ble to estimate the casualities suf- fered and the terrain lost or gained yy the fire of charges, counter- charges, accusations and denials that the press. reports to a palpitating public. Outside the immediate zone of the struggle, a non-combatant within every meaning of the term, the Con- ference for Progressive Political Ac- tion has suffered vicariously but severely, Its spiritual leader, Wm. G. McAdoo, venturing into the combat area, received the fire of both forces and retired in great disorder, blood and oil dripping from a thousand wounds. Gathered in St. Louis, to rally the faithful to the McAdoo standard, the Conference for Progressive Political Action found the name of its leader on the casualty list, Prepared to serve under no other banner, it met, mourned and went home after calling another meeting for Cleveland for lack of something better to do. In the meantime, careful nursing had restored McAdoo to activity if not to health. Hope Revives, The more obvious oiliness of others whose love for lucre had ‘brought them to the edge of the Teapot and into which they slipped, gave en- couragement to the McAdoo clan. Perhaps the chieftain was not so bad- ly wounded after all. The spark of hope, almost extingu- ished, began to glow again in the breast of the Conference for Progres- sive Political Action, To what unkind critics réferred to as the McAdoo candling conference in the Great Northern Hotel, came the still down- east but more hopeful spokesmen of the railway unions, The candling completed, it was dis- covered that the. McAdoo albuminous content was somewhat addled by oil; undeterred by this discovery leaders of the Conference for Progressive Po- litical Action present made a few quick comparisons and announced that addled or not McAdoo was not addled to the extent that other candidates were. It was a noble decision and tears were in the McAdoo voice as he refer- red to their loyalty in accepting the “command” to serve, delivered by leaders of organized’ workers, rally- ing to an open and avowed supporter of the blackest labor-hating interests in America, McAdoo Messiahs. What term is too approbrious to characterize labor officials like B. M. Jewell, head of the railway employes department of the A. F. of L., Ryan, head of the Railway Carmen, Frank- lin, head of ‘the Boilermakers Union, Manion, head of the Railway Tele- graphers, Sheppard of the Railway Original Director Uses His Hat as Well as His Head By ALFRED V. FRANKENSTEIN. Musical education of the finest sort is contained in the programs of the children’s concerts of the Chicago Symphony orchestra, one of which was played on the afternoon of Feb- ruary 21, at Orchestra Hall. For these concerts a screen is érected in back of the orchestra, and pictures of the composers and notated ex- cerpt of the music to be played are projected onto it. Mr. Stock acts as teacher and musical director and general factotum, saying a few words before the performan: of each number, and making the chil- dren sing the musical phragés on the sereen before them. The concert last Thursday opened with the stirring rythym of Chopin’s “Military Polonaise.” Following this was the light-hearted and jovial overtute to “The Magic Flute,” by Mozart, To acquaint the children with the more serious forms of orchestra music, Mr. Stock has been ying at each concert of past mon’ one movement of Beethoven’s fifth gym- phon. ‘By February the joyous and triumphant last movement been reached. Stock then threw on the screen the theme of the very first | wi bars of the symphony and asked his audience if they recognized it. Im- mediately there chorused from all over the house the words “I lost my hat.” The explanation is that, in or- der to enable the children to remem- ber mgt hag the director in oats quently ives tl a ly foolish verbal text with which to pen . And with these texts they probably never will forget the phrases to which they are set. © Then came a bit of jingoism, when the orchestra pares and the audience sang ia, the Gem. of the One cannot help but think that “A better world’s in birth” is a better line for children “to sing than “The Army and Navy forever,’ Two lighter works of modern com- ae Grainger and Sow fol- lowed, “Molly on the and “The Trish Washerwoman,” and the concert closed with the tarentella from Rubinstein’s suite, “The Cos- tume Ball.” For the next children’s concert, which will be played on March 6, and repeated on March 20, at Or- chestra Hall, an all Saint-Saens pro-' gram is announced, The French composer's “Carnival of Animals,” a suite in fourteen movements, de- scriptive of all sorts of from pianists and fossils to elephants and royal lions, will be played, and the Conductors, Flojsdal of the Mainten- ance of Way Brotherhood, Fitzgerald of the Railway Clerks, Healy of the Firemen and Oilers, Wharton of the International Association of Machin- ists and others who sign a resolution expressing confidence in McAdoo with the full knowledge gained from his own statement that he was employed by Doheny to foment a war against the workers and peasants of Mexico, so that his paymasters could seize the Mexican oil lands? What of Wm. Johnson, head of the Machinists Union, who issues an apology because some newspapers quoted him as saying that McAdoo was unavailable as a candidate be- cause of his oil connections? What of this whole crew of labor officials who control the Conference for Progressive Political Action in the interest of the parties of Amer- ican capitalism and who, when their chosen candidate in the democrat par- ty is found to be on the Ha Gh of oil companies in a_ particularly vile capacity, apologise for his actions, stall for time and finally end by en- dorsing him on behalf of the organ- ized workers. Some Illusions Shattered. It has beer said by persons more cheritehln them discerning ¢--4) these labor officials were honest in their convictions; that in good time, when the opportunity presented itself, they would lead their followers into a political party independent of the capitalist parties; that they moved slowly because y felt the weight of great responsibilities. It was even said that these labor officials would themselves launch a great mass party of the workers and farmers of Amer- ica. They have been the petted darlings of American liberalism; the intelli- gentsia who hang about the fringe of labor movement and write their col- lected impres8ions have been greatly impressed of late with the new spirit that animates labor union officialdom. The Chicago conference which re- novated McAdoo gives the lie to all these statements. The officialdom of the Conference for Progressive Political Action has been shown to belong to the right wing of the democrat party; its of- ficialdom has announced to the world that its policy is the Gompers policy of getting something for labor of- ficials in the shape of appointments to fat jobs while the rank and file fights injunctions issued and wars dec- lared by the successful candidates whom their officials fawn upon. The endorsement of McAdoo has shown the Conference for Progressive Political Action to be part and parcel of the Gompers machine, its progres- sivism to be a sham and its inner in- famy to exceed anything hinted at by the most bitter critic of the American Federation of Labor. Previous Servitude. We say here and now that the FORGET THOSE DEBTS By SCOTT NEARING (Federated Press Staff Writer.) Many an American farmer id worker worries about his debts. Fe cannot # cd them. He cannot shake them off. They dog his steps and |. Is there no way Yes, there is one perfectly simple way—the Russian way of 1917; the German way of 1923. He can for- get them! “Another matter of great signifi- cance is the disposition of Germany’s debts,” writes Nicholas Roosevelt in the Annalist for Feb. 4, 1924, “There appears to be no doubt that all gov- ernment, state and municipal debts have been wiped out, thus leaving Germany free from bonded indebt- edness. The small sums required to restore the nation’s finances will, therefore, be the only debt charges on the government besides the rep- arations, “There is obviously a great advan- tage for the Germans. . There is also little doubt that the majority of private debts have been wiped out. ... Debts, mortgages and loans of all kinds have been wiped off the slate, so that German corporations and individuals, like the German gov- ernment, will be able to start work ith a clean slate.” “This is obviously a great advan- tage for the Germans.” And for the Americans? monte ate debts, ee the means wi owner property is able to live, without work, on the labor of some fellow man? die Son tele he bo, way. tien not differ in any way from pri- The bondholdes vate bpp ba sae draws his interest and lives on the saedread the land. ta farmers and workers produce pay. Germany seems to be starting over again, The debts are forgotten. A new is turned. Will it take another world war to teach bah mine, to the people of the United Workers Blown to Bits by Locomotive; Investigation Begun MOROCCO, Ind. Feb, 22.—An investigation of the explosi of a locomotive on the Chicago & Eastern Wlinois railroad near here yesterday, which cost) two lives, was started today by Silverton Breed, a gov- ornment ins: . Frank er, of Hammond, engi- neer, and Jesse M of Danville, ul, seca ‘Milled bythe” oar bodies were blown bits. “The workers’ state is the organ- vier. si¢ilttetion and pA REGGE Bot Gi A0SReaeet verethatieer FEF Seewe | __d : | E i crimes perpetrated upon the Amer- ican workers during the world war b; the Wilson administration of whic! labor union officialdom was a part were of such an atrocious character, their connivance in the gigantic loot- ing schemes so flagrant, their be- trayal of the active unionists in co- operation’ with the department of justice so infamous, that they dare not, unless confronted by a greater danger, desert the parties of em- ployers. j The Conference for Progressive | Political Action since the McAdoo {endorsement stands convicted ebefore |the American workers and farmers as an agency for sabotaging the farmer-labor party movement; an organization dominated by officials | whose stomachs are so strong that jthe crudest of crude oil does not act as a purge; an organization whose mission is to confuse, demoralize and finally sell out to the lords of oil, steel, coal, transportation and credit, the men and women who pay their salaries, The. Conference for Progressive Political Action waits now for. pay- ment for its treason. It hopes that one or the other or perhaps both of the capitalist parties will incorporate planks in their platforms or nomi- nate candidates that can be held up as concessions to labor. They join with the employers and bankers in slandering the organizers of a farmer-labor party and in white- washing the spokesmen of American capitalism at whose names the Amer- ican people spit, - What Must Be Done. There is one thing that may force these capitalist party politicians in the labor movement to acknowledge their attempts at betrayal and dis- continue their efforts to sabotage the formation of a mass party of workers and farmers. If the May 30 Farmer- Labor convention in St. Paul is a great demonstration of the disgust with and distrust of the parties of American capitalism on the part of great sections of the workers and farmers the Cleveland meeting of the Conference for Progressive Political Action may be swung into the move- ment. F ‘aid mass pressure can accomplish this. For the organization of a ‘great mass convention on May 30 that. will launch a great party of workers and farmers every nerve must be strained by those who understand that the time for such a movement is here and is prevented only by the treason of ignorant and corrupt officials. A The Conftrence for Progressive Political Action must not be allowed to consummate its 0 and obvious plans for wrecking May 30 con- vention and making the Cleveland conference a ratification meeting for McAdoo or some other representative of oil, steel, transportation and banking. World Language Movement Injured by “Ido,” He Says To the DAILY WORKER:—The article in Tuesday’s number of the DAILY WORKER, entitled “To Pro- vide the World’s Workers with Com- mon Tongue,” needs a little correc- tion. In the first place there has as Petde "Tao Yin ‘sonaseng ot Caneel lo. lo congress a’ last August rallied all Idists, workers and ian eg and numbered only 160 delegates; True enough, there were special sit of the so-called Communist Ido were only 35 or 40 persons present, and many of them call themselves anarchists in their own country. The ene on Ido Federation exists mai on paper. The article ignores the fact that in the same city. of Cassel was also held an exclusive workers’ congress of Esperanto with 252 delegates present. This was the third congress of the Proletarian i anto Association, called “! Asocio Tutmonda” (Nationless World x Saturday, February 23, AS WE SEE IT By T, J. O'FLAHERTY. Doubts are expregsed in England that the Prince of Wales will ever ascend the British throne. If the.lad Keeps on descending from his horse at the present rate it is only a ques- tion of time until he meets with an accident. Aside from that Miss Minnie Pallister, who was the elec- tion agent to Ramsay MacDonald in Aberavon in the recent general elec- tion, declares that the improbability of the Prince’s filling his father’s chair was not due to any hostile sen- timent against him ‘so much as to the fact that+the country is growing up and sloughing off the old institu- tions, including the monarchy, ee ® In the meantime Ramsay MacDon- ald dines with the king and queen to prove to the- satisfaction of the royal family that yellow socialism does not eat its soup with a knife or wipe its nose with the tail of its coat. British yellow socialism is quite respectable. It believes in evo- lution, Perhaps King George may join the British Labor Party and turn over the palace to the labor minis- ters for use during week ends, Japan is learning fast. Just as Harry M. Daugherty is getting ready to’ put on his hat and coat and go back to his wigwam the Daugherties of the Mikado’s realm have discov- ered a Communist plot to overthrow the Empire. The “#lotters” are a group of college professors. Per- haps a little more radical than Nich- olas Murray Butler. The Japanese sleuths discovered that the young lad who made an attempt on the life of the Crown Prince was the dupe of those professors. They have not yet been accused of being responsible. No doubt that will be developed dur- ing the trial. As William J. Burns would say, “startling disclosures will be made, revealing underground plots, financed by——” That was a real underground plot. The plot was “nipped in the bud.” Almost word for word the description given by the “Great Defective” of his squelching of several attempts to topple the White House before the republican administration had a chance to sell it ‘out. They are Lonnie 8 in Japan. We may look forward a Teapot Dome scandal in Nippon. . ee: Ww McAdoo will be held to a strict availability by his friends, general opinion to the contrary. Some of ‘them still call him McAdoo, others McAdid and still others McAdone. Among the latter is Otto Branstet- ter, former secretary of the treasury in the bankrupt socialist party. This was his comment on McAdoo’s con- nections with Doheny: “There seems to have been nothing illegal in Mc- Adoo’s service to the Doheny inter- ests, but there is a question of the propriety of a former cabinet officer, after leaving his post accepting em- ployment with such interests and then asking to be nominated for President.” Wellsaid, Otto! Just like a yellow socialist. There is nothing illegal in selling one’s ability to bribe the Mexican government to violate the constitution in behalf of Ameri- can oil interests! It seems the big blunder that McAdoo was guilty of is, that he did not make a donation of part of the Doheny dough to the socialist party. * es @© @ Labor fakers are the same all the world over. When General Hell- and Damnation Dawes, head of the Central Trust of Chicago, went to Germany to investigate the practi- cability of making a loan to the capi- talists of that country he called into his presence Peter Grassman,’ vice- president of the German Federation of Trade Unions. He talked with the labor leader over the German workers attitude toward the eight- hour day. When the inquiry was over Dawes gave Grassman a hearty handshake. We wonder if anything stuck to the dabor faker’s mitt! Grassman told Dawes that there was no chance for Communism in three thousand | Germany as the rank and file reject- qenibets ind hing the monthly | eq Sovietism. He believed that the ‘page magazine, © | existing vesti of radicalism in vuo,” with a circulation of 8,000. Germany would disappear with the The Ido workers cannot show half | s,provement social conditions. Ss much. f How sweet this language must have 2 The to prove, for the same reason, The of the pudding is inthe eat- ne there is no use of discussion. ‘ARL FRODING, Rockford, Ill. Hungry German. Workers Break Thru the Police Lest Feb, 22—In a mass demonsti n of unemployed in Halle- the s led in bi thru the li aie se With the great cry of “Shoot us down! We are hun- Be ae ec + ; sounded to the ears of the head of the Minute Men of the Constitution, the famous open-shop ‘organization! Now, this man Grassman is of that coreg af grrihobg ny, Is ty ‘king class cemarops are losing faith in those traitors and are turn- to the Communists for leader- ip? Grassman prefers the capital- ist system that has ht the Ger- man workers to the brink of starva- tion, to Communism, because under the former he can sell the workers - the capitalists, * * The Russian Soviet Republic is adopting new tactics, observes the Chicago Tribune in an editorial. The statement was elicited by the si of the Italo-Russian treaty in Mos- cow under the watchful eye of a camera. The Russian Communists are charged with using the occasion for propaganda Well, what of it? The Tribune periodically publishes fifteen-year-old pictures of © riots under new date lines and new titles showing that a revolution has broken out in Moscow and that the Red Army is shooting up the Krem- lin. Why not tolerate a little ager once in a while, organ o: capitalism? ——— ~ Discuss New Economic Policy. W. H. ineer con- ew Soviet Russia,’ orkers Party Open day Feb, 24, a8 p.m in the Capital Bllg., 109 'N. Sees )s fy 4