The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 15, 1924, Page 6

Page views left: 0

You have reached the hourly page view limit. Unlock higher limit to our entire archive!

Subscribers enjoy higher page view limit, downloads, and exclusive features.

Text content (automatically generated)

oH DAIL WORKER THE DAILY WORKER. | Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill. (Phone: Monroe 4712) SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail: $3.50....6 months By mail (in Chicago only): $8.00 per year $4.50....6 months $2.50....3 montas V8 GEG a ASR aA SC Ee ET Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER 1113 W. Washington Blvd. $6.00 per year $2.00....3 months Chicago, Hlinols Editors J. LOUIS ENGDAHL Business Manager 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. <p 250 Advertising rates on application. Our Democracy The Communists entering the presidential elec- tion campaign will have an impressive opportun- ity to point out one of the features of American democracy that has been entirely overlooked or hidden. The monstrous growth of the machinery, Amer- ican capitalist democracy, is appalling to the stu- dent of political affairs. The governmental pay- roll now embraces one out of every twelve per- sons gainfully employed. There are close to three and a half million people on the government pay- roll at the annual cost of almost four billion dol- lars. This number is three times as many as the tetal engaged in the entire mining industry; a greater number than those engaged on all the steam and electric railways of the country; five times as many as those employed in mining coal; and six times the number of those working in the production of iron and steel ‘and the running of the foundry and machine shops. In the last two decades the number of federal government employes has increased one hundred per cent. At the same time the number of work- ers engaged in gainful occupations has increased only ten per cent. In 1901 there were only three government commissions operating at an annual cost of less than a million dolars. Today there are no less than thirty-three such bureaucratic committees sustained at an annual cost of six hundred fifty million dollars. What a staggering price the operation of the hnge governmental apparatus, used with unfail- ing regularity against the working masses de- mands, is reflected in the fact that the total cost is equivalent to a sum sufficient to meet the pay- rolls of the automobile industry. The annual gov- ernment wage bill alone would suffice to sustain ~every form of textile manufacture from the high- est over-paid executive down to the lowest under- paid errand boy for a period of ten years. This gigantic machine of pure democracy, reared by the American masses, is supposedly indorsed by the workers and farmers. In the coming months the Communists will redouble their efforts to make clear the mortal menace of this strike-break- ing Frankenstein. “Liberal” Red-Baiting The Scripps-Howard syndicate of newspapers are supposed to be “liberal.” How little this term means is shown by the red-baiting activities car- ried on by them. Like LaFollette, they have taken up the task laid down by William J. Burns, when that worthy was forced into private life by ex- posures of petty and grand larceny, bribery, and corruption of the professional Bolshevik killers. Their latest is an editorial entitled “LaFollette’s Gain,” which charges that the Communists are masquerading in the false-whiskers of Farmer- Laborism. Of course no one knows better than these same papers that the Communists have not masqueraded at any time. They have made themselves stand out in the political picture by differentiating them- selves from the rest of the Farmer-Labor move ment with which they have gone along. The Com- munists cannot be blamed if all other nationally organized groups got cold feet and quit the in- dependent political movement to surrender to La- Follette. Those who still remain true to inde- pendent action are surely entitled to the use of the Farmer-Labor name, even tho the Commun- ists may be included! But what will these “liberals” say, now that the Workers Party has named its own Commun- ist ticket, and has called upon the Farmer-Labor movement to support the Communists. Now it is the other way around. After two years of sup- porting the Farmer-Labor movement, the time has come for the latter to support the Communists. We suspect that the “liberals” will howl more than ever when they see the Farmer-Labor com- mitees over the country, as in the case of the California committee and the National Commit- tee, endorse the candidacy of Foster and Gitlow. J. P. Morgan’s office is now the headquarters of the Capitalist International. Thru its parties, and interlocked financial institutions, it directs the governments of Great Britain (“Labor”), of France (Left Bloc), Italy (Fascisti) and the Unit- ed States (two-party dictatorship). In Germany it rules from month to month thru Socialists, na- tionalists, catholics, democrats, ete. The League of Nations-is a sideshow. Al Smith says, “I’ll take off my coat and vest and work for the ticket,” which is just AV happy way of telling us that he'll put on his frock coat and maké after dinner speeches for the ticket. ane one Paleolithic Politics . It is small wonder that the vast majority of workers in the trade unions take no interest in political action. The reason is not because they fail to understand political issues as affecting the working class, but because the leaders of the trade unions obscure such issues in a maze of political trading, according to the Gompers’ formual of “re- warding friends and punishing enemies.” A case in point is the political situation in Illinois. The workers in this state have been in the lead in demanding indepndent labor action, as against participating in the old parties. But the intrigues of Victor Olander, John Walker, and others under the direction of. Gompers, coupled with the miserable collapse of Fitzpatrick, enabled these worthies to hitch the machinery of the trade unions onto the Len Small republican machine in control of the state government. Now these same “leaders” (unless Gompers orders them otherwise) will be swinging over na- tionally to support of LaFollette since he has re- pudiated the organization of a party. But LaFol- lette’s swarm of middle-class supporters are de- manding a state-wide “independent” ticket to hitch onto LaFollette’s national campaign, hoping to catch some of the offices in that fashion which they failed to get in the old party primaries. This is threatening the success of the Len Small-labor combination, which requires the elimination of such “indepefffents” in the state elections. So Olander is dickering for LaFollette’s influence to keep the independents out of Illinois in favor of Small. It is a political madhouse, in which a worker can see nothing except a bunch of politicians crowding greedily to the pie-counter. No wonder they reject such “politics.” The Workers. Party will be the only organization offering these workers issues of the class struggle. The Wall St. Journal Speaks The court gazette of the House of Morgan, known as the Wall Street Journal, has already announced its preferences among the presidential candidates. Both Coolidge and Davis find favor in its eyes. Its own correspondent has been travelling the wheat fields of Kansas. The headline over his re- port nner F proclaims that “Confidence rests with Coolidge” in this abode of farmers’ discon- tent. Over the wale telling of the democratic nomina- tions it has the headline: “Davis Nomination is Best Solution,” declaring that: “The democratic national convention has reached the best possible solution of an almost impossible situation with the nomination of John W. Davis of West Virginia and New York for president of the United States.” Wall Street has adopted the two old capitalist class parties and their candidates. Let the work- ers adopt their own working class party—the Workers Party. This year witnesses the first out and-out political struggle between capitalism and Communism. Let the workers and farmers throw their strength for Communism and against capi- talism. + REE SS OS, cL ET nd A aL AN nN Eh Ne BO AN ts NR A a Coolidge Regrets Gompers’ Illness (“I greatly regret to learn of your illness and trust you may have a speedy recovery,” read a telegram today to Mr. Gompers from President Coolidgeé—News item.) “O Mr. Gompers, we regret that you have fallen you are slick enough to keep our agents in the unions on the job, and keep the rank and file con- fused and ripe for us to rob.” “OQ Sam, the ruling class of this great country sends to you, thru Cal, another lackey, the ap- preciation due to one who serves us always, who was never known to fail, when a strike was to be broken or a rebel thrown in jail.” “The workers will not mourn you if, perchance, you have to croak; they think that you have ruled too long, and that’s why they are broke. But the} Civie Federation, Judge Gary, and the rest of the bosses of the country, Sam, all think that you're the best.” “OQ Sammy Gompers, do not die and leave us, for we need you; the bosses speak, and you must heed! Did we not always feed you? So read the wire from Calvin, for it’s in our name he speaks—get well and on the job again a-killing Bol- sheviks.” When Is a Woman? State’s attorney Robert E. Crowe makes the pro- found statement: “A woman’s a woman.” He was referring to “Topsy” Duncan who had a nasty beating from one of Western Electric-run Cicero’s cops. Crowe said that of course “Topsy” was small, but even if she weren’t she was a woman and no policeman, no man, could remain one and attack her brutally. Pickets must be different. Maybe they’re sort of robots to state’s attorney Robert E. Crowe. Any- way he never saw his manhood vanish when he sent his special “bulls” out on Market street to beat up the union girls and women who were de- fending their jobs in the garment factories while they were striking for decent conditions. The garment workers are women with flesh and blood and nerves like “Topsy” Duncan, but the state’s attorney evidently doesn’t admit it. Work- ers are workers, or workers are slaves, must be his argument and defense for vicious attacks his men made upon the striking garment workers in March and April. Calles is reported as being elected President of Mexico. If he has enough soldiers, he will now proceed to occupy his office. sick; we need you on the job, by gosh, for only | $abbing of the railroad brotherhoods. Morgan’s Rise to Power Thru Control of Government is Shown by History F This force is fighting in France By ROBERT GRIM \ AMES Pierpont Morgan is a candi- date to succeed himself in the White House. Like the shrewd sure- thing gambler that he is, he has pro- tected himself by entering the race on both the old parties. John W. Davis, his personal attorney, means Morgan. Calvin Coolidge, his Dawes plan backer, means Morgan. Morgan has thrown off disguise at Washington. He now bosses Washing- ton as unblushingly as he bosses Wall Street and the interlocking trusts which it controls. In the past Morgan used presidents. Now he appoints them. Fish, Fowl, Man. Beast? Who is James Pierpont Morgan, this figure who picks presidents in little hotel rooms and overthrows French cabinets which obstruct his loan pro- grams? Who has just whipped the premier of the British Empire into line with his policies? Is Morgan a mere symbol of financial power? Morgan is more than a symbol. Mor- gan is the power. He is a hereditary financial chieftain from a family whose power has swollen in more than geometrical ratio as it went from grandfather to father to son. , From England to U. S. The House of Morgan was a power from the earliest days of capitalist civilization. Its first headquarters were in England, the first capitalist country, It now rules the world from America, which by the march of his- tory has become the dominant capi- talist country. It gained its power thru its control of government. As civil war profiteers in worthless rifles and other equipment, the House of Morgan got the financial capital to lead the banking forces of America. In the great trust-building days of the Clevelaitd, McKinley and Roose- velt administrations, the Morgan for- tune grew enormously. Trampling on the Sherman anti-trust law and a host of other federal statues involved no difficulty, for Morgan controlled the presidents and the attorney generals. Generation of Politics. James Pierpont Morgan, the elder realized the value of political power to back up his industrial and financial power. He was too wise to say that economic ‘effort was sufficient. Mor- gan needed the control of the financial nilitary, judicial and financial re- sources of Washington. He has had hem for a generation. President Cleveland was a Morgan president. He gave Morgan an enor- mous bond issue at private sale, with- out public bidding. For this he was bitterly criticised later by the Bryan- ites who are now endorsing his attor- ney, John W. Davis, Crushed Pullman Strike. Cleveland crushed the Pullman strike in the interest of Morgan and the other stockholders of that com- pany. Cleveland did this with federal troops tho it must be emp! ized that his efforts against the American Rail- way Union would have failed if they had not been backed by the official Morgan’s next president, William McKinley, was elected on a gold stand- ard platform to protect the money trust against the disturbing effect of a free coinage of silver policy. But McKinley proved equally useful in other ways. Under his winking eye, most of the present great monopolies were formed, finally the most gigantic of all, the great Steel Corporation with MORGAN, HATER OF SOVIETS, FLOATED GZAR’S WAR LOANS By J. PIERPONT MORGAN. (Written for Who's Who.) J. PIERPONT MORGAN, financier; born at Irvington, N. Y., Sept. 7, 1867. /A. B., Harvard, 1889. Entered London branch of J. P. Morgan & Co. upon graduation, re- maining until 1901, becoming a member, and upon his father’s death, 1913, head of the firm. Now director United States Steel corpo- ration, International Mercantile company, Pullman company, First Security company of New York, Aetna Insurance company. Ar- ranged for payment of $40,000,000 in gold to French Panama Canal com- pany for United States government; after outbreak of European war made first war loan to Russian impe- rial government; appointed commer- cial agent of British government in the United States, January, 1915, therafter conducting purchase of all munitions and suppli In United States; made loan of $50,000,000 to French government, April, 1915; organized syndicate of about 2,200 banks in United States and floated Joan of $500,000,000 to allies, Sep- tember, 1915. Ex.member advisory council of Federal Reserve Board. Member New York Stock Exchange. Clubs: St. James, City of Lon- don; White’s (London); Metropoli- tan, Union, University, New York Yacht, Harvard, Racquet and Ten- nis, Century (New York). Home: 231 Madison, Ave, New York, and 12 Grosvenor Square, London, W., England, "| saved the deal. its $1,400,000,000 capital, same time American with the aid of the armed forces of America working in the interest of Morgan, seized the Philippines and Porto Rico and gained sovereignty in many other islands, furnishing new fields for Morgan exploitation. Morgan and the associated capital- Tsts working with him needed politi- cal power and they seized it. Again they ruled the government during the Roosevelt administration, tho with occasional difficulty. But they ruled it. The hectic Teddy ad- mitted once in a cooler moment that he was a practical man and coyld be dealt with. The Morgan strings were tied to Teddy and the traces held when they were needed, ‘We remember his hurried assent to the absorbtion of the Tennessee Coal and Iron company by U. S. Steel af- ter a conference with bankers. Later Teddy publicly admitted that he had permitted violation of the law, excus- ing himself by saying that he had to concede to the bankers to avert a panic, And at the Held Taft and Wilson. The Taft administration and the Wilson one showed a strengthening of the Morgan power in Washington. One of the first acts of the professor- president was the forcing thru of the Federal Reserve Act which centralized the operations of the bankers and whipped the little free-lance banks in- to line with the policies of Wall Street. Morgamr became a Federal Reserve director. The Civil War made the House of Morgan a big American power. The World War made it a world power. a , Morgan was the loan shark who bled European and American workers alike during the great struggle. His first loan of $50,000,000 to the Frencf government in 1915 was a picayune affair compared to his next when, with the aid of an organized syndicate of 2,200 banks, he floated a $500,000,000 loan to the allies in September, 1915. Here again his control of government The act was contrary to the rules of neutrality. It was ex- pected that Wilson might stop it. But Wilson did not stop it. He was a Mor- gan president—put in with the aid of Bryan, by the way. Morgan’s World War. As purchasing agent for the allies, Morgan placed contracts for more than three billion dollars’ worth of war materials. He received cominis sions on all these purchases, beside: the gains from the fanufacture, where the work was done by companies in which he was interested. Later came loans that ran into the billions, on all of which there was an enormous rake-off. Morgan was the greatest single war profiteer. It ‘was a Morgan war. James Pierpont Morgan, ‘the elder, may have been more of a financial genius than his son. But James Pier- pont Morgan, the younger, is vastly more powerful.” As the elder Morgan inherited the power of his banker fath- er, Junius, and increased it, so has the present lord of Broatl and ‘Wall streets multiplied the power that he received. Beats Rothschilds. The elder Morgan was the Ameri- can ally of the Rothschilds—the Eu- ropean banking trust. The younger Morgan has taken the leadership of European finance away from the old Jewish house. More than ‘that. He has risen to mastery that the Roth- schilds never possessed until today he controls the cabinets of France and Belgium and has just bent Ramsay MacDonald to his will in the matter of an assurance that the Dawes plan would be enforced on Germany with the force of the British Empire. Morgan holds the world’s purse strings, or rather strings to the big- gest purses. He is many times more powerful than an industrial capitalist whose personal, wealth might be as great. He is the leader of the world’s banking trust, the master of credit which is the basis of capitalist werld trade. Ramsay Minds His Master. With these credit strings Morgan can perform his wonders; he can even pull a much advertiaed pacifist, Ram- say MacDonald, away from his con- victions into a virtual pledge of inter- vention against Germany should she default on the Dawes payments. Against this world power an inter- nationally organized fight must be waged, It must be a céntrally direct- ed war that will hurl its force united- ly into the fight where the fighting is hottest. It is obvious that the old Second International with its nationalistic separatism, is helpless. Even if it were militant, instead of anaemic, it would be unable to fight on a basis of isolated nationhl action. Comintern Fights Him. But there is one world power that is fighting Morgan all along the world line, with disciplined forces, That is the Communist International, a cen- trally directed proletarian army, that is organized for the one purpose of taking power away from Morgan and giving it to the workers and farmers of the world fhat robbery by the mon- ey barons may cease and Volpe and freedom may take ss Bagg imperialism, | against the Morgan controlled Herriot government. It is fighting in Ger- many against the Morgan controlled German government, which with the assent of the Social Democrats of the Second International, has surrender- ed to the Dawes exploitation plan. It is fighting Morgan in England. and in America. LaFollette Won't Hurt Him. The Communists of America are not fighting Morgan thru the LaFollette movement. The LaFollette movement is a petty bourgeoisie movement backed by small business men and by the officialdom of the railroad unions who are bankers and business men first and labor unfonists second. The Communists of America, the American regiment of the world-wide revolutionary army which is pitted against the leader of the world’s ex- ploiters are found in the Communist \ 4 Party— officially named here the Workers Party. They are fighting politically and industrially; political- ly arousing and organizing the mass- es for the seizure of political power —which must be seized for working- class victory, and industrially thru the militants in the trade unions and in the unorganized industries. » Workers’ Party Hammering. Foster and Gitlow are the Commun- ist candidates in the political cam- paign this year., They are running on an uncompromising proletarian plat- form—leading the only clear-cut agita- tion against the masters of America this year. The Communists do not say that the power of Morgan will be overthrown by voting for Foster and Gitlow, but it will be a TORistering of revolutionary strength. Down with the power of Morgan! Raise the standard of the working- class! AS WE SEE IT By T. J. O'FLAHERTY. McAdoo will not bolt the democratic party ticket. Like Bryan he suddenly discovered that the forces of evil he was fighting are after all progressive and that the vanquished leader of “progressive democracy” can now con- scientously give his support to Mor- gan’s counsel. Nobody should take the statements of capitalist politicians be- fore conventions or during election campaigns too seriously. Robbers quarrel over the loot but they put up a united front against their victims. The rialroad brotherhood leaders who held up McAdoo as their ideal will now explain that Wall Street did not want him. Hence his defeat. But how can they explain McAdoo’s promised support to Wall Street after he was slapped in the face? ee © That all the capitalist parties an¢ the LaFollette parties are controlled by business men is unquestionably true. But it is also true that the dom- inant faction among the capitalists, represented by Morgan, Gary, Rocke- feller and the big fellows do not al- ways manage to have their own way with their parties. The republican par- ty is usually managable. But some- times they do not get the right man nominated-on the democratic ticket and this failure costs them a lot of zood money until they tame the presi- lential shrew. - ? eee This year, however, both parties are securely in their grip. So much so that Morgan got his attorney on the democratic donkey’s back and another banker to ride the elephant with Coo- lidge. McAdoo and his kind have other strings to their bows. Wall Street would tame McAdoo after a ile but he would have trouble with the labor leaders to whom he prom- ised favors for their support. There are no such strings on Davis. Wall Street will now proceed to get a stranglehold on LaFollette’s outfit and it will be interesting to watch the “progressives” making for the dough bag. ee The organs of big capitalism are severely attacking LaFollette. They charge him with being a reactionary capitalist, whose policy is to go back to the era of small business and cut- throat competition, to smash up the monopolies that represent industrial progress. This is quite true. LaFol- lette represents the middle class, not ater the big capitalists or the workers. The capitalists recognize in him an: irri- tant which interferes with their dom- ination and introduces an element of chaos into politics. They know quite well that he will not solve any of the problems of the workérs. They know that he is not concerned with the workers but is only using them to further his own ambitions and the interests of the class he, represents. The. Communists attack LaFollette b e has has blocked the great Farmer-Labor Party class movement and postponed the formation of a mass party of workers and/ exploited farmers. Wall Street attacks LaFol- lette because he is throwing a mon- key wrench into their political ma- chihery represented by the democrat- ic and republican parties, MAG The Communists expose sec as one of those saviors who tinually cropping up to free the pe ple” with the people having nothing to say as to how they shall be freed. Theirs not to reason why; theirs but to vote and pay. Roosevelt, Bryan and Wilson were also going to free every- body yet we have seen that these gentlemen became the worst charla- tans and the most able and loyal servants of the master class. While posing as champions of the “people” they are the first to betray the work- ers. To these fakers the people means the middle classes not the workers who comprise the great majority of society, ewe Lloyd George in England once played the role of capitalist killer that La- Follette is now playing. But Lloyd George, tho bitterly hated by thé im- during the war, so much so bodyguard of workers to protect him against the attacks of the maddened bourgeoisie, afterwards became the most able leader of the same im- Perialists when they were in the midst of the greatest crisis that ever faced the British Empire. se @ There can be only one solution of the problems that confront society to- day. That is the abolition of the capi- talist system and the establishment of the rule of the working class, thru Soviet republics. The illusion that salvation can be secured by clipping the claws of the capitalist tiger is worse than futile. There is not a syl- lable or progressive viewpoint. It hearkens to the past. The major prgb- lems that confront the workers today can be traced to the inequitable sys- tem of society under which we live. The Communists therefore, while rec- ognizing that Wall Street is opposed to the LaFollette movement, points out that the capitalist system can- not be reformed and that LaFollette is a serious obstacle in the way of its overthrow. The workers themselves under their own leadreship must per- form the task. Under the leadership . of the Communist Party they will fin- ally accomplish that purpose. In the meantime education, organization and agitation is necessary to built up a powerful Communist Party, see John W. Davis smokes a pipe. Another reason why he should be presidential candidate. This is the day of the pipe smokers. It is now _ reported that the pipe manufacturers ~ had a strong caucus at the republican — and democratic conventions. They put over Dawes and Davis. Dawes never — smoked. He simply wears his pipe. | Wears it upside down. Davis carries — it to show that even tho he is a mem- ber of the House of Morgan, he is still a democrat without the capital d. But he wears fancy knickerbockers which may lose him the vote of Art Brisbane. » Art is undecided whether to vote for Coolidge or LaFollette. Neither smoke pipes or wear knickerbockers. se @ i James J. Davis sat a stool at alunch | counter and had a cup of coffee and a | piece of apple pie. This historic event — happened while the secretary of Labor _ was on his way to Mooseheart. A newspaper nincompoop who stood by remagked that it was rather out of — place for a man in such an exalted — positiomyto patronize a lowly lunch counter, Mr. Davis indignantly replied, “not at all. This is real Americanism. No one can claim title to being a real American until he has sat on a stool at a lunch counter and sampled the food.” Pie counter Americanism! ss Whether the Ku Klux Klan resented a clergyman having the name of Van Loon or whether Van Loon did some- thing that a minister should be dis- creet about, is not quite clear but the letters “K.K.K.” were quite clearly branded on Van Loon’s back. seared and scared servant of the Lord was found near Battle Creek, Mich in a dozed condition. Send in that Subscription Today. nice of Coolidge to tell Gompers he did not want die just now. This proves ma there are no classes 1 joa.

Other pages from this issue: