The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 11, 1924, Page 4

Page Four HARVESTER C0. RULES IN FOREST MINE AND MILL All Its Workers Under Open Shop System FOURTH ARTICLE. The International Harvester Company is one of the worst exploiters of labor in the world. The Harvester Trust, Morgan controlled, not only pays starva- tion wages to its factory em- ployes in the Chicago tractor and harvester works, but it has entered many other basic indus- tries, and has a_ nation-wide record as a non-union company. The International Harvester Company has iron mines in Min- nesota which increase its profits by the millions, while the miners are forced to slave at strictly scab conditions of work. The Agnew mines at Hibbing, Minn, have a capacity of 200,000 tons of iron ore per year. Another International mine is located at Nashwauk, Minn. This open pit and ore-washing mine has a yearly capacity of 1,750,000 tons of iron ore per year. The Bruce mine at Chisholm, Minn., has a yearly ca- pacity of 200,000 tons of iron ore. At present it is closed down, being “held in reserve” by the Harvester trust. Besides these mines the company has the Scranton mine at Hibbing, and one-tenth of an intefest in the Hoyt mining company. Enslaving Lumberjacks. The lumberjacks have cause to know the company store, company town policy of the Harvester Trust effective thruout the Harvester com- pany’s extensive lumber camps and towns. The International Harvester company controls the very lives of its employes in its lumber commun- ities. In Pemiscot and Dunklin counties, Mo., the International exploits 57,000 acres of timber land, principally ash, cottonwood, gum, maple and oak. In these rich lands, the International owns 100 dwellings, schools and churches, telling its employes what they shall think, and charging high rents for the houses and high prices for goods at the company stores. The lumber workers have no other choice —there are no other houses, stores or schools on the 57,000-aeres. Similar slave conditions exist in the International Harvester’s properties in Rives, Missouri, where the company has forty tenements, packing the men in prison congestion, and conducting the commissaries and the public schools to suit themselves. Coal Miners. The International exploits 6,140 acres of coal in Benham, Kentucky, | and in Harlan county, Ky., using only | non-union help, and fighting the mine} workers union at every opportunity. | Two mines of the International in this section have a capacity of one million tons of coal per year, The company also operates 400 beehive coke ovens, with a capacity of 200,000 tons of coke per annum. Over five hundred Inter- national owned «dwellings put the miners at the mercy of the company. | They can join a union only on pain} of being kicked out into the hills. The company likewise runs the churches, schools and stores. The By-Products Coke plant in South Chicago is owned by the Inter- national Harvester company. It con- sists of 88 Wilputte coke ovens with an annual capacity of 350,000 tons of coke, and by-products consisting of tar, sulphur, sulphate of ammonia, benzol and light oils. Steel Workers. The company owns three blast furnaces, with an annual capacity of half a million tons of pig iron, and covering 143.6 acres in South Chicago. It also runs in South Chicago a bes- semer mill, merchant mill, and a blooming mill, with an annual capaci- ty of 350,000 tons of steel bars. The International Harvester com- pany is a giant octupus, spreading thruout the entire country its tent- acles, which smash the unions, en- slave workers, and enrich the Morgan and McCormick interests by millions of dollars. Send in that Subscription Today. in your neighborhood. (Between Curtis ~_ | HITS HARVESTER OPEN SHOP PENS (Continued from page 1.) Burns, private secretary to the works manager, asking her to give me a pass to visit the works. I went up- stairs again and after a long wait was finally ushered into the office of Cyril MacDonald, the assistant works manager of the Harvester company tractor works. I learned that they were reluctant to issue passes, and felt that at the same time, they did not want to let the people know that they were afraid to show how their employes were driven. Half the Force Laid Off. “I don’t see what good it will do you to go thru the plant,” the assist- ant works manager said to me, “Of course, we don’t mind your going thru, but we will-insist that some- body go thru wi. you. This is done for obvious reasons. We don’t want you to get injured on our property where we would be responsible. I can’t give you a job. Our plant is working only five days a week now and we've laid off half our force. However, I'll cali up Mr. Gastman at the tractor works, and tell him to let you go thru the plant.” At the tractor works, Mr. Gastman told me he had heard from MacDon- ald and he Immediately gave me a pass to go thru the plant. The pass declared, “The acceptance of this pass releases the company from all Hability in case of accident or injury to holder.” I considered this a wise warning, as the plant seemed a dan- gerous place to work. The pass also said, “Do not converse with employes. If any information is desired, consult the management.” Negroes In The Foundry. I spent almost the entire working day going thru the tractor works. I was unaccompanied, the guide having gone back to the office after a few minutes. The foundry and steel shop seemed to be the most vicious place of all for the workmien. Only colored help worked here. The men worked in intense heat, rushing back and forth with the molten metal in con- stant danger of losing their lives. The huge shope where the automatic forges and great hammers smash the red hot steel into different tractor GERMAN MINERS ORGANIZING FIGHT ON EMPLOYERS Ruhr Workers Behind Workers’ Councils (Special to the DAILY WORKER) DRESDEN, Germany, July, 10.—The national convention of the German Miners’ union, held in Dresden the week of June 15, was chiefly devoted TTT TUT MALIK LLL Boys Wanted Make money during your Summer vaca- tion by, distributing THE DAIILY WORKER Exclusive territory given to first boys calling at our office Saturday morning between 9 and 11 a. m. The Daily 1113 W. Washington Boulevard to discussing how to check the offen- \sive of the employers, who clearly showed their hand in the recent lock- |out of the Ruhr coal miners. The miners insist upon democratiza- tion in the mining industry, and will put their influence behind the works | councils, Backing Amalgamation. The miners also believe that amal- |gamation must supersede craft union- |ism, and are backing the policy of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Germany in slowly transforming \the craft unions into groupings by in- dustries. The precarious life of the miner was brought home by the statement of ; President Husemann that 706 mem- bers of the miners’ federation lost their lives thru accidents in the mines since the last convention, and that 263 had been seriously injured. Big Membership Loss. The union is smaller in numbers than in 1921, the peak year. Then there were 467,000 members. Now \there are 265,000. Some members have joined the syndicalist Union of Hand and Brain Workers. The general de- rangement of industry in the Ruhr valley since the invasion by the French has thrown many out of mine employment. The convention urged that more miners seek seats in the reichstag and in the provincial diets, as the next years will see the introduction of im- portant legislation affecting mining. The miners’ delegation will work for gradual socialization of the mining in- dustry thru its control and operation by the government. Worker and May Streets) parts, is also a ghastly place to work. I was in the foundry five minutes and had a cold for four days. When I came out of the shop I was pouring sweat. MacDonald, assistant works mana- ger, had told me, “Of course, we haven't got the automatic assembling and part making system down to the science Ford has, as yet. But we'll get there. It’s bound to come. Spe- cialization and standardization are ne- cessary to keep pace with increased production demand.” Ford Like Automatons. The Ford system, I found, is used in assembling the tractor engines and the tractor bodies, Along one side of the assembling plant is a moving run-way, which slowly passes before @ long line of workers. Across against the other wall is a similar moving track. At one run-way the men as- semble the tractor engines, and on the other side the bodies of the trac- tor. Later the engines are tested, then put into the body of the tractor and the wheels put on. The work is monotonous, each man as he stands there, repeating the same process. True, as MacDonald told me, they are not as fast at it yet as in the Ford plant, and the runway has to stop often for the men to catch up, but they are getting there. The ideal of every anti-un- ion company such as the Harvester is the use of the stop watch in con- nection with the time clock. One of the Harvester officials said to me, “You’ve seen.a stop-watch haven’t you? Well, when we get the man- agement where it belongs every sec- ond will count and all superfluous motions will be eliminated. That’s scientific management. We well use a stop-watch.” Before I left they gave me all sorts of pamphlets advertising their com- pany. Communist Among Women Delegates to New Reichstag BERLIN, July 10.—While the pre- vious German reichstag had a delega- tion of 35 women, the present has only 19. All but 3 were members both of the previous parliament and of the natfonal assembly at Weimar which adopted the republican constitution and organized the present republican state. The newcomers are Ruth Fischer, Communist, Margarete Stegmann, So- cialist and Magnus von Hausen, rop- resenting the German People's pafty. The Socialists have 9 among their 100 deputies. The German National- ists have 2 out of 95. Ludendorff’s Na- tionaf"Socialist party neither nomi- nated nor elected any women. Boosting Prices, Cutting Wages, Is B. C. Lumber Game VANCOUVER, B. C., July 10.—The lumber bosses of British Columbia are in a conspiracy to keep the price of lumber up. During the past fort- night, there has been a decided im- provement in the lumber markets as to orders and prices but the bosses are refusing to reopen logging camps until they get an exhorbitant profit. As soon as lumber dropped they closed down their camps and an- nounced that when they did reopen wages would be reduced. Los Angeles Robber Horse. LOS ANGELES, July 10.—In this city of real estate sharks, Ku Klux Klan and Ole Hanson, the chief of po- lice, Vollmer, reports that robberies increased 182.2 per cent; burglaries; 90.2 per cent; grand larceny, 6638 per cent and murders, 12.5 per cent. Apart from this civilization continues on its way and “Fatty” Arbuckle regrets the comeback that did not come. Party Activities Of Local Chicago The first Polish open air meeting of the season will be held tonight at Gross Ave. and the corner of Ashland Ave., near the stockyurds. Speakers in English and Polish will address the workers. Comrade Kowalski will be the Polish speaker, 8 p. m. On Saturday there will be a street meeting at the ocrner of Dixon and Division Sts. near Milwaukee Ave. Speakers in Polish and Engilsh. Com- rade Marek will be the Polish speaker, 8 p.m. Tomorrow night, July 1, there will be an open air meeting in Hast Ham- mond, Ind, at Columbia Ave., near Mondo hall, at 8 p. m. Comrade Ko- walski will gpeak in Polish, All communications to the Polish section should be addressed to the organizer for this dtstrict, J, Kowal- ski, Room 302, 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, . Open Air Meetings. This Week. FRIDAY Wogth and Rockwell, English N. W. Division ao and Wash- ws iiglas Parke Jewish, W. 1° soe were Ca arg | laeon, "AY. 1d and’ Roosevelt,” THE DAILY WORKER 6: ee eee “THIRD DEGREE” METHODS BLAMED ON DICKS? CHIEF Shoemaker Acoua of Greatest Brutality James Nitti was immediately seized by the police on a suddenly discovered “bond forfeiture” charge after Nitti’s attorney made public the “third de- gree” methods employed against him. Captain. William Shoemaker took Nitti in hand obviously to squeeze a “repudiation” out of him by intimida- tion. Acting-Captain William Shoemaker, head of the infamous Chicago detec- tive “gold-fish” bureau now under in- vestigation for cruelty by the city council committee headed by 'Alder- man Guy Guernsey, and Sergeant Paul ‘Riccio have been charged with brutal- ity against James Nitti and Michael Travaglic. Nitti is the son of Mrs. Sabella Nitti Crudelle, recently granted a new trial after having been sentenced to deatir for the alleged murder of her hus- band. A letter from attorney Benja- min Cossman, counsel for the Nittis and Travaglia, to Alderman Guernsey makes the “third degree” charge aaginst Shoemaker and Riccio. — Beaten With Lead Club. Shoemaker and Riccio.are accused of having held Nitti and Travaglia for six days. incommunicado in the detective bureau, of having beaten the men brutally with a lead-filled club. so that they were ill for weeks and the marks still remain, of threatening the victims with being thrown from the third story window, and of forcing them to sign blank papers when the vicious dicks were unable to extort fake confessions from the men. Attorney Cossman promises fuller disclosures when the charges against the detective bureau head are investi- gated, according to the letter to Guernsey which is now held by Alder- man Thomas F. Byrne, chairman of the police committee. Nitti is now out on bond but Travaglia is still held in the county jail. Shoemaker Chief Inquisitor. Shoemaker is the inventor of the severe blow of the fleshy side of the hand against the base of the brain, which makes the victim think his head is about to fly off. He has unof- ficially been charged with many other vicious practices designed to “get con- fessions” from suspects who are often entirely innocent men. Lieut. Axel Jensen and Policemen Thomas Connolly, James Crawley, Harry Pherson and George Laurell are charged with having Sbused and rob- bed Samuel Cherry, owner of a pool- room at 533 West Division street. Jensen and Lieut. John J. O’Brien and six other members of the detectives bureau squad have not been sus- pended from the department as the capitalist press announced. Chiet Collins says that not one out of ten policemen accused is convicted by the civil service commission. O’Brien and Policemen John F. Stebb and William J. McKenna were charged with violating police rules and of stealing much money in the raid of a cigar store owned by Robert E. Gal- lery, 5626 Broadway. Chicago Russians Will Picnic Sunday At National Grove Another big picnic will be held in Chicago radicals, the Workers Party, next Sunday, July 13, at National Grove, Ill. The picnic is given by the. White Russian Peoples’ Society, the South Side Children’s School and the Russian Branch of the Workers Party. This picnic will be a jolly affair. Don’t miss it. Reach the grounds by taking any car to 22nd street, 22nd street west to the end. Then La- Grange to National Grove. The grove opens at 10 o'clock. Lower Bokharan Prices. MOSCOW, July 10.—A special ses- sion of economic organizations has re- cently been held at the Russo-Oriental Chamber of Commerce, to consider questions of trade with Bokhara. Measures to lower prices of Russian manufactured articles bold in Bokhara were devised and an application has been sent to the Bokhar vern- ment, asking it to reduce the tariff tax on Russian articles, which is now 6 per cent, to the level of % per cent, prevailing in the U. 8. 8. R. How many of your shop-mates read THE DAILY WORKER. Get one of them to subscribe today. CELEBRATES AT SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. ‘ Barney Mase will speak at the Springfield (Il.) Y. W. L. plenic, July 20, There will be rts, varieties of entertainment. dition to this, the league orchestra will be present to sooth every com- rades nerves with its exceptionally melodious music. Many other sur- prices are in store itd those com- ing. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS CONTINUE TO AROUSE PARTY'S ENTHUSIASM The second of the seri eral membership meeting! Workers party in the various cen- ters of the country will be held on Friday night, 7:30 p. m., in Minne- apolis, Minn. at Richmond Hall, No. 2, 225 S, 5th street. These meetings are all to be addressed by William Z. Foster and C. E. Ruthen- berg, chairman and executive sec- retary, respectively, of the Work- ers party, who will make clear the party position and policy at this time and outline the program of action adopted by the central ex- ecutive committee for members’ ac- tivities during the coming political campaign, as well as on the battle front of industry. The remaining meetings are as follows: Taneea ays July 17—Detroit, Mich., at P. M., House of the Masses,»2101 Gratiat Ave. Friday, July 18—Buffalo, N. Y. Saturday, July 19—Boston, M Tuesday, July 22—New Haven, Conn. Wednesday, July 23—New York City. Thursday, July 24—Philadelphia, Pa. Friday, July 25—Pittsburgh, Pa. bay July 26—Cleveland, Ohio. ib arty get to one of these mem- bership meetings so that he will be prepared to aid in the building up of the party thruout the country and in increasing the party influence among the workers and farmers. HUGHES TRIES TO SAVE ROUMANIAN OIL TO JOHN, Calls His Jay Home to Talk it Over (By The Federated Press) WASHINGTON, duly ‘10--Denial is made by Secretary Hughes that he has recalled Minister Jay from Rou- mania as a consequence of the en- actment of the confiscatory law under which the Roumanian oil capitalists propose to get for a song the $150,- 00,000 worth of foreign-owned oil pro- perties in that country. He says the facts as to what the law will do to foreign property owners are obscure, and that is one of the reasons why he has considered—but not decided —summoning Mr. Jay here for a con- ference. Another question that needs discussion is the debt of Roumania to the United States. Press reports of this so-called min- ing law adopted by the Roumanian parliament at the dictation of Premier Bratiano agree that it confiscates practically all of the values of the foreign oil operations, thereby rob- bing Standard Oil and Royal Dutch Shell particularly. The Roumanian dictator does not even claim that he is attempting this defiance of capital- ist society’s rules for the enrichment of the state, but merely to put the oil industry in the hands of Rouman- ian capitalists, Baku Fair Boosts Persia’s Trade in Soviet Republics (Rosta News.) MOSCOW, July 10,—In a special ar- ticle on the Baku Fair, the vice-chair- man of the Russo-Oriental Chamber of Commerce remarks that this year the Fair differs largely and in a favor- able sense from last year’s, which was, 80 to say, but a first real attempt at finding a way to a commercial rap- proachment with the Eastern mar- kets and,/in particular, with Persia. Indeed, last year’s Fair consolidated the Soviet commercial bonds with these markets, and, for instance, Rus- sian cotton cloths, sugar, hardware, matches and petroleum have now won @ prominent and influential position in the Persian market. Thus, trade be- tween the Soviet Union and Persia alone aggregated several tens of millions of gold rubles during last year, its general turnover now reach- ing about 35 per cent of the pre-war figures. The writer further points out to a special feature, which is peculiar to the trade relations between the Union ot Soviet Republics and the Eastern countries, particularly—Persia. The Union does not confine its operations to the export of Soviet products into those countries: it also imports from those countries raw materials and semi-manufactured products, doing it in such a way as to help in the ameli- oration and progress of agriculture and the development of the productive forces of the Eastern countries. In other words, the Union tries to make its trade relations with the East high- ly beenficial for both parties con- verned, Blood On the Coal. PHILADELPHIA, July 10.—Fatal ac- eidents in Pennsylvania coal mines during the period between 1916 and 1922 made fatherless 4,065 children, according to a recent report of the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau. The average age of these children was six years and thirty-four weeks, The compensa- tion paid the mothers of the children ceases after 300 weeks, and altho the compensation of each child will con- tinue until the age of 16, it can seldom exeged $2.8 week. | 1 een Sa augers - a bee manglllOSh. SUN HEAD HI A an: 1 Me Cleveland, Attention! t Are you superstitious? Then come'to the Young Work- ers League Picnic on July 13th, at Russick’s farm and you will surely have a good time. Dancing, Games, Refreshments, Directions: Take W. 25th thru car to end of line, change to State Road car, get off at Rus- sick’s farm. Admission 35c, BRITISH NAVY BACKS BiG SHIP OWNERS IN B. 6. Navy Week is Hold-up Fest for Business By SIDNEY WARREN. (Federated Press Staff Correspondent.) VANCOUVER, B. C., July 10.—Noth- ing like sticking to a good thing. That's what the big boat owners of Vancouver figure. “When the British naval squadron arrived here, Admiral Field, with innate respect for big business, announced that no small vessels could take visitors to the bat- tleships. It was a signal for the big steamship companies to “clean-up” on the Union-Jack. All the respect- able ship owners, the Canadian Paci- fic Steamship Co., the Union Steam- ship Co., the West Vancouver Ferries allotted certain ships to each battle cruiser and charged 50c per head to ferry passengers over, a distance little more than a stone’s throw from the wharf. Boycott Steamers. So exorbitant were these charges that a strong protest was made to the city council here to have the fees re- duced. A public boycott against the big steamship companies was: de- clared. Every effort was made to further the militaristic idea in the minds of the children, so that*their impres- sionable minds are filled with the glory of killing. For their benefit Admiral Field ordered a parade of the marines from all three of the batile cruisers. He took the military salute surrounded by thousands of school-children. God Interested in Jack. In every conceivable way has the spectacular side of military life been held befdre the children as a bait. The girls of the town came in for an- other side of it, several of them being attacked and assaulted. The local Methodist Anglican and Roman Ca- tholic preachers announced that a divine providence had a special in- terest in seafaring men, especially those of the British navy. Moving picture owners bought up antiquated patriotic films for a song and screened these at holiday prices. One enterprising ice cream company changed the color of its Neapolitan ice cream to red, white and blue and boosted the price from 25c¢ to 35c. It's been a great week. Philadelphia Young Workers to Picnic On Farm on Sunday PHILADELPHIA, Pa., July 10.—The downtown branch of the Young Work- ers League are inviting every one in- terested in their movement to~join them in a big picnic, their third an- nual, at the Flaxman Farm, on Sun- day, July. 13. Sports, games, amusements of all kinds and plenty of good eats are promised. Real country unwatered milk will be sold over the bar with- out interference by prohibition agents, and fresh eggs will be obtainable from the henyards instead of the cold stor- age cases. Come one, come the Young Workers, have a good time, Directions: Take car 50 to 5th St, and go till Church line, is the word of you want to How many of your shop-mates read THE DAILY WORKER. Get one of them to subscribe today. PIC i Nay Peete inonenptries th Seo Friday, July 11, 1924 WEST VIRGINIA COAL OPERATORS CUT WAGES AGAIN Unorganized. dines at Mercy of Bosses By LELAND OLDS (Federated Press Industrial Editor) Drastic wage cuts are announced in reopening 45 coal mines in the Ka- nawha, West Va., district on a non- union basis. These renegade union operators take pride in the fact that their new scale is not quite so low as the worstsofar attempted But this will hardly sweeten wages ranging 30 per cent to 40 per cent blow those established for the cenjral competitive field by the Jacksonville agreement. Since the expiration of the agree- ment between Kanawha operators and the United Mine Workers, March 31 the union mines have been closed. In conferences the union representatives stood pat for following the Jackson- ville agreement while the operators insisted that wages must be material- ly reduced to enable them to market coal competition with non-union mines. Wages Way Down. Basic rates in the neW scale com- pared with union rates in the nearby Pittsburgh, Pa., district as follows: Ka. Pitts- Miners’ Wages nawha burgh Inside day rate for drivers..$4.92 $7.50 Pick mining, per ton (thin yein) . 18 112 Pick mining, per ton (thick vein) .. 70% 1.08 Other y wages in the Kanawha district will be tracklayers, $4.88; helpers, $4.56; slate shooters, $4.64; greasers, $2.56; trappers, $2.56; Spraggers and couplers, $2.80; old men trappers, $3.40; motor and mar chine runners, $5; all others, $4.52. Tonnage rates for machine cutting and loading vary according to thick- ness of seam. Machine loading runs from 42c up to 50% a ton for work in rooms, with work in entries paid 5c more. Machine cutting runs from ° 10c to 12¢ a ton. Extend Non-Union Area, The operators arg taking advantage of a virtual lockout by open shop manufacturing interests with huge coal reserves and are reducing wages @ in preperation for the day when these reserves are exhausted agd industrial activity picks up. When this reviv- al of demand occurs the test of the ability of union mines to compete with non-union mines will begin. By that time the operators: hope to have added materially to the non-union pro- ducing areas by the wearing-away strategy reflected in the Kanawha situation. Wanted. Single room for man (without board), Northside, near Lake. Quiet. Ad- dress Box C-7, The Dally Worker, DETROIT, MICH. Mikel Sherman, N. D. Naturopath & Chiropractor When other methods fail try Nature's road to health. Hours: 11 to 4 and 6 to 8 P. M 4863 VAN DYKE AVENUE, betw. Forest and Gratiot PITTSBURGH, PA. DR. RASNICK DENTIST Rendering Py 5 centat Serviee tin Ra st oer 2 ay PORTNOY & CO, d_ Decorators See ae wr, NTER: Estimates on 19 MILWAUKE: ye Marine Co., Dept. H. S.,9B. OhioSt.,Chicago “PHILADELPHIA NOTICE Help the Starving Children of Germany ATTEND THE FIRST GRAND ANNUAL NIC GIVEN BY THE Internationale Arbeiter-Hilfe (International Workers’ Aid) SOUTH PHILA. SCHUETZEN PARK 83rd and Tibioum Ave. Saturday, July 12, 1924 Dancing — Games — Refreshments — Sports Articles Left from the Bazaar will be Raffied Off ADMISSION 25 CENTS DIRECTIONS :—From Subway take Chester Car No. 37 at 18th and Market St. Get offcat 84th St. Walk one square South, From South Philadelphia; Take Southwestern Line on Jackson St. or Mancini Ave, and get off at Schuetzen Park stop. \