The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 8, 1924, Page 4

™ 4 ea en a Page Four THE DAILY WORKER RATE ENURIS, ctnain Thursday, May 8, 1924 The World of Labor—Industry and Agriculture FARMERS WILL STARVE FOR TEN MORE YEARS SAYS SEARS’ REPORT, BRIGHTER PROSPECTS AFTER DECADE Danger that the sacrifice of the American farmer to com- mercial profit will go too far is seen in the announcement of the department of agriculture that the net loss of farm population to the cities since 1920 has amounted to between 1,700,000 and LABOR FAKER ADMITS GUILT IN BOMB CASE Senator Lacey, of N. Y., Admits Perjury. By H. M. WICKS. (Special to The Daily Worker) BUFFALO, N. Y., May 7.—State Senator Robert C. Lacey, arraigned be- fore Federal Judge Hazel on a charge of perjury in connection with the dy- namiting of the Niagara Falls high speed line of the International Rail- way Company during the street car strike of 1922, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a fine of $500 and one day in jail. According to competent legal au- thorities, Lacey loses his citizenship, and thereby his right to sit in the State Senate, tho this is denied at Albany. The charge against Lacey grew out of the dynamiting of the high speed line during the car strike which start- ed July 1, 1922. The bombing of the line occurred in August, and militant members of the labor movement in Buffalo openly charged that the nal bor fakirs in charge of the strike had conspired with the company to dis- 2,000,000. Experts fear that the agricultural system will be unduly run down and that land will go out of cultivation which will later have to be reclaimed at heavy expense. The drift to the cities since 1920, the department says, has been at the annual rate of about 1,000,000, partly offset by a movement the other way and by the excess of human births over deaths on the farm. From 1900 to 1910 this excess was 16.96 for rural territory compared with 8.8 for the cities. Sooner or later this drift will re- duce the percapita production of food below the danger line or to a point where a bad season would result in serious food shortage approaching fanffhe conditions. The opening of the century marked a turning point at which population in this country began to increase more rapidly than farm production. Since that time the exportable surplus of grain and meat products has steadily declined. Crop area per person in the United States dropped in the first two decades of the 20th century from 3.50 credit the strikers, who were support- ed overwhelmingly by the population of this city. Conroy Implicated. Clarence Conroy, notorious reac- tionary, who was the business agent of the street car men’s union, was soon implicated in the affair. So wide- spread was the rumor implicating Conroy that a United States grand jury was forced to return an indict- ment against him. This indictment was quickly followed by charges against Senator Lacey and various of- ficials of the car men’s union, charg- ing conspiracy to transport dynamite. Four of those indicted on conspiracy charges have already pleaded guilty, and twelve more face trial. To Testify for Government. Lacey was permitted to plead guilty to the charge of perjury and received a light sentence. It is quite likely, in view of his record as a Tammanyite acres to 3.18 acges, more than 9 per cent, It is dropping now at a more rapid rate. This tendency will eventfully force a backward flow to the farms which can hardly be accomplished without some violent social convulsion at Zreat economit waste. * ese The supply of farm labor on April 1, according to the department of agri- culture, was estimated at 92 per cent of the demand. The shortage was less than a year ago when,the supply was 88 per cent of the demand. The im- provement this year is probably due in part to the economic pressure forc- ing farmers to reduce their demand and in part to demand unemployment in the industrial centers. The steady migration of Negro la- bor from the south appears in the fact that south Atlantic states report the greatest shortage of farm labor with flunkey of capitalism, that the $500 was paid by his political masters, so his only inconvenience was his one- day jail sentence which’ he has re- ceived. Colonel William B. Donovan, United States attorney, said that La- ~~cey had made a full confession to him. id It is believed that Lacey will be use: as a government witness against the other twelve still under charges of conspiracy. Judge Praises Lacey. Judge Hazel, in sentencing Lacey, praised him for his “manly” attitude in “making a clean breast of it.” Altho his offense was a serious one, still there were extenuating circum- stances that made it possible to let the culprit off easily. There are rumors that Conroy is to go on trial for conspiracy. The street railway company used this trai- tor to labor as long as they could, and now that the strike is smashed and the union completely destroyed, they leave the miserable creatures they used against the workers to face the music, “A Labor Senator.” When the Buffalo Labor Party was in the process of organization its bit- terest opponents were Lacey and Con- Toy. Lacey at that time was senator, | haying been elected by the Demo- cratic machine as a “friend of labor.” Municipal elections were approaching and Lacey became a candidate for the City Council against the Labor Party candidates. An attempt of his sup- porters to secure his inddérsement by the Central Labor Council failed to gain the needed support, so they re- frained from presenting his name to the body. Ignorant and vicious, Lacey typifies that gangster element of organized la- bor that is always ready to sell a strike to the employers or play the contemptible game of the bosses by indulging in dynamiting of struck property. The significant thing about the Au- gust, 1922, dynamiting of the Niagara Falls line was the fact that a repre- sentative of the company had his car parked within a short distance of the scene. Dynamite was found in Sen- ator Lacey's car, and after a few weeks indictments were returned against a number of active strikers. Honest labor leaders in Buffalo claim that Lacey and Conroy are the real culprits, and that they will prob- ably both be released and permitted to turn state’s witnesses, while some of the workers implicated will be made the goats. Now that the object for which the International Railway Company has long fought—destruction of the unfon —has been achieved, nothing remains but to dispose of the mess in the easi- est way, with the least inconvenience to those involved. b Lacey was one of Gompers’ local apostles, and his election was hailed by the Old Man of the Sea as a great victory for labor. Gompers has thus far been silent on the Lacey confes- sion, but the Buffalo trade union movement and the Buffalo Labor Party has gained thereby. i supply equal to only 84 per cent of the demand. In the west, northwest and Pacific states the supply exceeds the demand by from 2 per cent to 10 per cent. . ee Farmers were forced to pay higher wages for farm labor in 1923 than in 1922 but at that the wages were only 57 per cent above the 1914 average. The average rate with board for male farm labor in 1923, according to the department of agriculture, was $33.18 a month compared with $29.17 in 1922 and $21.05 in 1914. Day wages for harvest labor with board averaged $2.45 in 1923, $2.20 in 1922 and $1.55 in 1914, The increases from 1922 to 1923 are attributed to the industrial competition for labor especially in the northern states. *-* @ The average value of plow land de- creased from $90 an acre in 1920 to $65 in 1923, according to the Sears, Roebuck Agricultural foundation. Crop values an acre fell from $36. in 1919 to $15 in 1921. Farm bankruptcy pro- ceedings in the federal courts jumped from 1000 in 1920 to 6000 in 1923, The foundation expects farm values to continue downward for about ten years. Then when the demand for farm production exceeds the supply, prices will rise and with them the price of farm land. This is a beautiful prospect for the farmer who borrowed money to put land under cultivation when the world needed more food, only to lose both land and investment when farm values collapsed. He will live to see EXPECT ROOFERS TO JOIN WAR ON ST, LOUIS BOSSES Painters Battling With Associated Builders By MARTIN A. DILLMON (Staff Correspondent of the Fed. Press) ST. LOUIS, May 7.—The painters are still on strike for an increase of wages and improvements in working conditions, and a strike of composition roofers and pile drivers is an im- mediate prospect. The painters voted a few days ago to reduce their $12 demand to $11 a day. While many contractors were willing to settle, the compromise offer of the strikers was turned down. The painters’ present scale is $1.12 1-2 an hour. Ask $1.37 An Hour. Composition roofers demand 1.37 1-2 an hour instead of the present $1.25. Originally the union asked for $1.50. The roofers demand $1.37 1-2 an hour. Pile drivers want $1.50 an hour, at present receiving $1.25 an hour. The pile drivers are affiliated with the carpenters’ district council. The local building industry has been in a turmoil of industrial war since the inception of the Associated Build- ing Interests. This group is made up of employers of every trade in con- struction. An employer who is a member of the A. B. I. is not per- mitted to sign an agreement with his employes without the approval and consent of the one big union of con- tractors. Builders-Bankers-Real Estate. “Fraternal membership” in the A. B. I. is allowed the bankers association, the architects’ organization and the real estate board. According to the striking painters, the real estate board a new farm.boom, but not as an inde-|has sent circular letters to its mem- pendent farmer. He will be a tenant or wage earner without interest in the land. His farm along with others will have been consolidated into some great capitalist enterprise farmed_by an expert manager and the profits of the recovery will go to th@ capitalist lending-institutions which secured. the land cheap under foreclosure proceed- ings. More May Day Marchers NEW YORK, N. Y. Kost Diduch Peter Darck Louis Rosenthal Goldie Barandess Morris Kaso Mat Scheinman Jamie Simon Willie Zweison S. Ewyoman Natlie Bronstein Rose Bronstein Frida Bernbaum Sarah Kronenberg Benny Sherman Anna Sweiboss Irving Shiller Leah Herz Celia Samorodin SIOUX CITY, lOWA Harry Ratner Jenny White Rebecca Tauby . Ben Kaplan Paul Silver Henry Chulilsky Peter Stulba Paul Kaplan Liza Lozunsky Mary Merlin HEDGEWJCK, ILL. Nick Busich George Roccov Tony Masich Steve Busich Bob Grol! J. M. Gega CLEVELAND, OHIO C. Mauerur Geo. Hovacic Tony Mezulunos John Robich Fred J. Niol J. H. Mehuhv David Melrid James Robich Tvo Cvetko BRONX, NEW YORK Graneer Coope August Morris A. Goldkapp Eraus R. E. Chodow Rosposoit J. Miobrobiz Minnie Latker Anna Turgelsky Bosse Tabia Ja. Nullmen Jack Yellin M. Zimmerman D. Zain F. Seuun Mildred Skurrile Karasuk Joseph Mannides Florence Goldkoph Sophie Knynits STEEN Ra McKEESPORT, PA. H. Stomberg A. Levchendo 1. Mozurs H. Chotner M. Sisakank A. Pavloff P. Halma J. Berouguk M. Smolak S. Helmach P. A. Burton BROOKLYN, N. Y. S. Coper Brown A. Wolinetz Talealae A. Subak S. Wershitz A. Kawun A. Woytuk W. Zenek Woroutzoff A. Nehay N. Sheteh Eva Gurwitz HAMMOND, INDIANA Steve Selyan Frank Lovrich S. Ban Joy Novosel M. Barilotz Nick Meacak John Lovinich Mike Marincic Vincent Loockskh Sam Puskovich Thos. Panyan Steve Navsel amend CHICAGO, ILL. Ed. Peterson R. A. Olson Wm. Wolkowsky Helen Wolkowsky Walter Wolkowsky C. Dritsas C. Demitrakopoulos 8. E. Tsicouris G. E. Kellas A. Ghikas N. Boubous L. Fasanes D. Plarinos P. Sechas A. Piffanis MARIANA, PENNA. Steve Pavich LOS ANGELES, CAL. J. Sambursky Isaac Strier WATERFORD, CONN. Axel Carison How many of your shop-mates read |for non-union help. It THE DAILY WORKER. thom to subscribe today. bers, warning that any member hav- ing painting done on the basis of $12 a day, the new union rate, will be penalized. The striking painters have been contracting work direct and a large number have been kept busy in that way. Small Ousts Park President; Puts In Lundin’s Man John C. Kruse enjoyed his job as president of the Chicago West Park Board for just about eight hours. He was sworn in yesterday afternoon and last night Governor Len Small dis- placed him, selecting Dr. Kohn Dill Robertson to the presidency. The governor’s action is regarded as a slap at William Hale Thompson, former mayor. Thompson’s success in having Kruse and others placed on the board was haled as a victory over Fred Lundin. Small’s action, in oust- ing Kruse and the other Thompson selections, is held as evidence that Lundin now is to be Small’s chief lieutenant in Cook county. Japanese And U. S. Labor Fakers Support Their Own Masters (By The Federated Press) SEATTLE, Wash., May 7.—Labor in America and Japan could settle the Japanese immigration problem in the United States without the friction and sensationalism which carry the threat of war, Bunzi Suzuki, president of the Japanese Federation of Labor de- glares in interviews published by the local Japanese language press. Passing exclusion laws aimed at the Japanese laborers is an insult to the Oriental nation, he believes. Suzuki, who has visited America three times to study labor problems on the Pacific coast, declares the problem to Pacific coast, declares the problem to be purely economic. “If workers from our country really are under- mining the position of organized la- bor in America, the J; Federa- tion of Labor is pe’ willing to take measures to fix the matter up,” Suzuki asserts. “We feel that there is good ground for complaint from the American side.” The Japanese government has pro- hibited the immigration of Chinese laborers into Japan to improve labor conditions in the island empire, The action has the support of the Feder: tion of Labor. ‘ Hoover’s Fish Packers Threaten To Lock Out Union Members SAN FRANCISCO. — Negotiations between the Alaska Fishermen's Union and the Alaska Packers’ Asso- ciation are still deadlocked, The packers want the men to accept a de- crease of 1 cent, and the men are asking for the same amount increase. The union claims that the packers are preparing to lock them out, and cer- tainly the employers are advertising '§ cannot Get one of |be settled soon, a may be called. COAL OPERATORS’ GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY LETS BOSSES BREAK LAWS, SENDS TROOPS TO MINES To THE DAILY WORKER: While the socalled ‘mine war” in eastern Kentucky is attracting so much attention will you al- low me speak a few words in the columns of the DAILY WORK- ER, by way of pointing out a few conditions which I know to exist in the eastern Kentucky coal fields—conditions which I am thoroly familiar with, as one who lived in that region from baby- hood until only a few months ago. Governor Fields is very responsive to the call of the coal operators. He is right on thé job with troops galore to send into the mining zone, with instructions to work in conjunction with the two-legged degenerates, somewhat resembling human beings, otherwise known as “mine guards,” whenever the coal companies see fit to call for them. Like all other political watch-dogs of privilege (with apologies, of course, to all de- cent dogs) he stands just out- side his kennel, with both ears stuck up, listening for his mas- ter’s whistle. a Blind to Miners. But what about the miners? What is the attitude of Governor Felds to- ward them? What is the attitude of Kentucky’s governor toward the work- ing class of that state— toward the people without whose votes it would have been impossible for him to pile up that tremendous majority of more than 50,000 votes last November? Does he’ show the same tender and watchful regard for the welfare and safety of them and their families in times of peace that he does for the coal mine owners in times of war? Does he still remember the people whose votes made him governor of Kentucky, or has he entirely forgot- ten them in his zeal to repay his debt of gratitude to the interests that put up his campaign funds? Let us see. There are mines in eastern Ken- tucky that have never been visited by a state mine inspector. In those mines accidents of the most shocking and fatal character are occurring al- most constantly. The miner who goes into one of them is simply gambling with fate that he will live to see the light of day again at quitting time. Governor Fields has been in office 'sev- eral months now, yet he has made no move which indicates that any inten- tion on his part to see that the laws relating to safety in the mining indus- try of Kentucky are enforced. The camps in which the miners and their families live are in the most un- sanitary condition imaginable. The odor coming from filthy outhouses and huge piles of garbage in hot weather is almost stifling. Typhoid and other diseases whose germs flour- ish only in filth are common epide- mics every year in that region. Is it any wonder? I have not yet heard that Governor Fields has ever called the attention of the State Board of Health to these sickening conditions. Operators Control Elections. The coal barons of eastern Ken- tucky dominate politics to such a de- gree that a candidate for political of- fice, no matter how worthy he may be, has no chance of election if his candidacy is not approved and en- dorsed by the coal operators. Not only do they own the buildings in which the elections are held; théy pick the men who sit on the election boards, thus being in a position which enables them to stuff ballot boxes and put over all the other many stunts known to political thieves. In a speech at Barboursville, Ky., last summer, Congressman Barkely made the charge—and no attempt has yet been made by any one to deny or refute it —that the number of election ballots sent to Lynch, Ky., a mining camp on the Cumberland river, in the Har- lan coal fields, exceeded, by nearly two thousand, the voting population of that precinct. Enough ballots, he humorously explained, to give the coal company a vote for every one of their employees and every one of their mules. And he acaed the fol- lowing comment: “So far as I have been able to learn, Lynch, Kentucky, is the only place in the world where mules enjoy the right of suffrage. “I don’t know whether Governor Fields and the other officials of Ken- tucky’s law-enforcing department have heard of these things or not. Maybe they don’t know that there is a Corrupt Practices Act on the stat- ute books of that state”. Operators Own Schools. The public schools in eastern Ken- tucky mining camps are taught in buildings that belong to the coal op- erators, and it is no secret, but an openly admitted fact that a teacher re- ceives, in addition to the regular sal- ary paid him by the state, a regular stated compensation from the min- ing company in whose camp he hap- pens to be teaching. In some camps this additional compensation is rais- ed by deducting a “school tax” each month from the pay of the miners. You will note that I have not men- tioned any of the economic conditions of the miners in that section, nor have I mentioned any’of the harsh, humili- ating and outrageous treatment to which they are subjected at the hands of the coal hogs. I could fill a large volume with stories of unspeakable cruelty and crime, indescribable mis- ery and squalor, unparallelled auto- cratic insolence and oppression, un- equalled in hellishness—stories of the heartless eviction of women and little children in the dead of winter, of bru- tal assaults and blood-curdling mur- ders committed by so-catled “peace officers” at the command of eastern Kentucky autocracy—stories, some of. which might sound unbélievable, but all of which would nevertheless, be true. I could cite numerous instanc- es of the kind I have just mentioned, but such is not the purpose of this article. My purpose in writing this, is to point out, as briefly as possible, some of the wonderful things which Governor Fields could be doing which would be of immeasurable benefit to Kentucky’s toiling masses, were it not for the fact that to do such things would be adverse to the interests and wishes of the pampered classes; and the governor, judging by his conduct, evidently knows which side of his bread is buttered. One thing more. If the DAILY WORKER doubts the veracity or ac- curacy of any of the statements which I have made in the foregoing para- graphs, I shalt-be glad to furnish the names of scores of people in various parts of the eastern Kentucky coal fields who will verify every assertion I have made. (Signed) ALONZO WALTERS. Farker Urges Berry Or Davis To “Non- Partisan” Labor | HOAQIUM, Wash., May 7.—Support of George L. Berry, breaker of the New York pressmen’s strike, on the Democratic ticket, and of James Davis Secretary of Labor, on the Republican ticket,—both for the office of Vice- president—was called for by William Short, President of the State Federa- tion of Labor, at the annual dinner of the Carpenters’ Union held here re- cently. Short predicted that next fall's elec- tion would bring a more “liberal” ad- ministration than the country has had for years. Short repeated that or- ganized labor had best remain “non- partisan” and work for the grafters and fakers he named. This is the notorious yellow labor “leader” whose efforts to smash the Seattle Central Labor Council because he could not dominate it are notori- o His policy is that of Gompers, “the bi-partisan machine” as the Chi- cago Tribune used to call it in the Lorimer affair. His efforts to wreck the Tacoma Central Labor Council, which is mildly progressive, are less widely known, because more under- handed and sneaky. In neither case has he succeeded. { Short Would Be Gompers’ Shadow. Short’s policy is that of Gompers. |t He, and his tools, have condemned the Central Labor Councils of Seattle and Tacoma for refusing to co-operate with the State Federation, in which his reactionary machine, backed by ‘Spokane, Yakima, and Bellingham, and other less important locals, con- trol. His idea of co-operation is for him to be boss and the others to do as he says. Short recently praised the Spo- kane Central Labor Council as ideal. It is affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce, and some of its members are directors of that organization. Ac- cording to Ryan’s Weekly of Tacoma, C. Coates, president of the Spokane Central Labor Council, was selected as a delegate to the Republican Na- tional Convention by the state con- vention which recently met in Wen- atchee. © The control of the Republican par- ty in the state of Washington by the Power Trust is notorious. In Seattle and Tacoma there is municipal own- ership of powerplants. ‘The falls of the Spokane River have been given to a private corporation which is also back of the Columbia Basin Irriga- tion plan by which it expects to grab still more water power. In Belling- ham, the labor paper fought munici- pal ownership and stood by the pow- er trust. Doubtless Mr. Coates will help thé interest of the workers by endorsing Hon. James Davis, Secre- tary of Labor in the Teapot Cqbinet, for the vice-presidency. NEW YORK, May 7.—Building op- erations exceeding the prewar period wide survey the associa- that 1924 will be the ban- with a gradual decrease he SALMON TRUST ADMITS VICIOUS LABOR CONDITIONS Companies Promise To Bring Reforms SEATTLE, May 7. — Grand jury exposes at Ketchikan. and Valdez, Alaska, of horrible labor conditions in the Alaska canneries have brought a promise of reform by the big com- panies. The fact that it was getting harder to procure labor for their Alaska Summer hells was another factor in this promise to ve good. The Salmon Trust’s statement is signed by George Warrén of the Alas- ka-Portland Packers’ Association, David Branch of Libby, McNeill & Libby and A. K. Tichner of the Alas- ka Packers’ Association, and three representing a committee on Oriental labor conditions appointed by the As- sociation of Pacific Fisheries, Admit Abuses Existed. The committee’s recommendations urge among other things that: Sub-contractors be abolished; that at least three meals a day be given all employees; that each employee be guaranteed a minimum amount of $75 in cash over any deductions upon his return to port; liberal supply of drinking water to each labor passen- ger on the vessels to and from the canneries and payment of wages un- der contract in the presence of the labor commissioner. This is an admission of the grand jury findings that labor passengers were denied sufficient drinking water, were beaten out of their wages, were underfed and speeded up under a sys- tem of sun-contracting. French Flight From Europe to India Makes New Distance Record PARIS, May 7.—Liecutenant Pelle- tier D'Oisy, French aviator who is attempting to establish a new long distance flight record, has arrived in Karachi, from Bender Abbas and is Preparing to take off on the next leg of his long trip to Japan. D’Oisy already has established a distance record for a flight from Bu- rope to India, covering thé long dis- tanee in an actual flying time of 38 and one-half hours. D'Oisy flew from Bender Abbas to Karachi, 1,250 kilometers, in seven phours and 15 minutes. The landing at Karachi was made with some dan- ger, as a tire on the landing wheel was blown out. The greatest difficule ty on the trip was in crossing the Beluchistan Mountainous deserts. The aviator is resting today. Standard Reaches Into Russian Oil ; Thru Germans ‘Special to The Daily Wi BERLING May 7 saeketh on is putting its finger into the Russian pie indirectly by verbal agreements with the German Erdoel Company and the German Petroleum Company, These firms have just concluded ar- arngements with Russia which bring them $10,000,000 worth of lubricating oil and benzine from the Russian re- sources. Standard has whispered to these concerns its willingness to take most of this imported oil from their hands. Pennsy Lays Off ; More Men As Gompers Warbles At Plute Meet PHILADELPHIA.—The Pennsylvas nia railroad is again~laying off men, During the week ending April 15, the number on the payroll was reduced by 1,271 making the total now employed 211,782. This is 6,765 ahead of the low mark in January when only 205. 017 were employed. But it is 20,936 less than during the week ending April 15, 1923. Maintenance employes chiefly involved. es While the great railroad corporas tion was throwing some thousands of workers out of employment, Samuel Gompers was telling the National Civia Federation that the relations between employers and employes were nevep Scab Road Swings Ax, DANVILLE, II, May 7.—Shakeup@ among the higher-ups in, the Chicagd & Bastern Illinois railroad shops herg continue ‘as the motive power and com dition of rolling stock grows worse, The road: still refuses to settle witht its union shopmen, who went on strike in 1922, together with the res¢ of the shopmen in the country. Th@ local shop superintendent is the official to get the ax from the pany, MEETING TONIGHT. Ger -Hungarian—634 Willow Jofin Frelfoyel, Sec'y, 3741 Any mary Ave. f 4 “