The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 31, 1924, Page 6

a Page Six 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 mall (in Chicago only): $4.50....6 months $2.50....3 montus $6.00per year $2.00....3 months $8.00-per year Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER 4191%,.W. Washington Bivd. Chicago, Illnols «Editors ‘Business Manager WILLIAM F, DUNNE gz. LOUIS ENGDAHL MORITZ J. LOEB... ——$ $$ _____—. Entered as second-class mail Sept. 21, 1923 at the Post- Office at Chicago, Ill, under the act of March 3, 1879. <> 250 Advertising rates on application. . . More Nonpartisanship The united front against the working class is taking on such fantastic shapes, with new ab- surdities added every hour, that it is very hard to keep up with the latest developments. The most active imagination cannot keep ahead, or even abreast, of the weird and wonderful political alignments that are being concocted in this un- usual campaign that is hardly begun as yet. Michigan enters the lists today as a contender for first place in absurdity. The Detroit Federation of Labor is supposed to be a very “advanced” body. It sent a delegate to the Red International Congress .at Moscow in 1921. It participated in the July 3 convention in Chicago in 1928. It likes to swear its fealty to in- dependent working class action and to progressive measures generally. It is part of the C. P. P. A. now, and boosting LaFollette. But at the same time the D. F. of L. is sup- porting Herbert A. Baker for Governor of Mich- igan. Baker used to be very “radical.” He also be- longed to the ©. P. P. A. and attended its St. Louis conference last February. He was hot for “inde- pendent action.” He was all for the workers and the “new social order.” But—he wants to be Goy- ernor of Michigan. He cannot afford to jeopardize his political career! The republican machine will ditch him if he goes along even with the mild and harmless LaFollette! So Herbert Baker withdrew from the ©. P. P. A., lined up with the machine, declared in favor of Coolidge and Dawes, and is now united in peaceful amity with the strike- breaker republican candidates, the Detroit Fed- eration of Labor, and his own ambitions. What a wonderful thing this “progressive par- ty” of LaFollette is becoming! And what an in- sight it gives us into the progressivism of such leaders as those of the Detroit Federation, prom- inent among whom is Dennis Batt, erstwhile mem- ber of the “Proletarian Party,” boasted Marxist, and editor of the Detroit Labor News! ‘ “Constitutional Progress” It is quite natural that the employers in the women’s clothing industry of New York should be quite pleased at the settlement they effected, thrn the Governor’s Commission, of the great strike movement that stirred the workers. That settlement meant a complete surrender of every demand that was vital to the members of the I. L. G. W. U. That the camouflage which was at- tempted to throw over the miserable betrayal should be labeled “constitutional progress” in the industry does not change its nature by one jot. Surprising to those who do not understand the class nature of opinions on such questions, will be the position taken by the liberals, who unquali- fiedly endorse the purchase of peace at the cost of the workers. The Nation, spokesman for the mid- dle-class intelligentsia, endorses the treason and does its bit to help along the camouflage. It con- gratulates the workers on the betrayal by their leaders. It hails the peace and progress bought and paid for by surrender to the employers. But, to the student of Marxism and Leninism, this is to be expected. It is the inevitable result of the class position in society of these liberals. Strikes, wars, strife of all kinds are to be avoided at all costs. They want peace at any price—es- pecially a price so cheap to them as surrender of the demands of the workers. But this middle-class pacifism, this philosophy of collaboration with the capitalist class, is utter- Ty foreign to the spirit of the working class. The workers more and more realize that it means degradation and death to them. Nothing but more organized power, and its use in struggle against the employers, can bring advancement and relief from exploitation to the workers in the needle trades and all other trades. “Constitutional prog- ress” is a fake, pure and simple, designed to facilitate the legalized robbery of the worker. It is another version of the “company union.” In the Wisconsin Wilderness ‘When one speaks of Wisconsin, he talks of Sen- ator LaFollette. In Northwestern politics LaFol- lette and Wisconsin are synonymous. The polit- feal machine of the Badger state is Lalollette, from the governor down. The Senator is the big boss of the state. At this moment, the state of Wisconsin is a veritable wilderness, Issues, personalities, petty conflicts, and confusion worse confounded, are the outstanding features of the hot gubernatorial cam- paign that is being waged. The political panorama that Wisconsin now affords is a colorful and vivid picture of LaFolletteism at its best, and at its worst. ; In the great “progressive” Wisconsin we have a socialist candidate for governor, despite the fact that nationally there is no longer a_ socialist party as an independent political unit. Then there is the LaFollette pet, Governor Blaine, who is fighting to succeed himself. Mr. Blaine is said to be the very incarnation of LaFolletteism in the state. Mr. Commings, his lieutenant governor, who mouths progressive phrases with greatér ease, is also trying to climb a rung on the political ladder thru winning the republican gubernatorial nomina- tion, Add to this mess the candidacy of a certain Mr. Hirst, who is a supporter of Coolidge and Dawes, and you have a composite picture\of the LaFollette machine and the LaFollette movement in its territory, Wisconsin, where it has flourished for decades. Hirst, Berger, Blaine, and Commings—these are the wheels of the LaFollette machine in Wiscom sin! It is precisely because of this weird class combination which LaFolletteism has produced in Wisconsin that most of the talk concerning the state being genuinely progressive has turned out to be empty. LaFollette, the enemy of war, is the political boss of a state whose military establish- ments have increased seventy per cent since the war and which now ranks seventh in National Guard strength. LaFollette is the political boss of Wisconsin where the State Federation of Labor has just declared: “The so-called progressive wing of the Republicgn party has brought forth no re- liable adhesive ‘legislative group in the state... . We regret to say that no recognition of labor has been given in the selection of lawyers to fill the important office of judge. Labor was encouraged to entertain a hope, but was finally ignored.” This is the kind of promised land that Mr. LaFollette wants the great mass of workers and farmers to attain, Send in that Subscription Today. . Political Bedfellows Every day in every way the political bed of Robert LaFollette becomes more bizarre and in- congruous in its inhabitants. All the loose “lead- ers” of the so-called progressive. groups having been correlled, including Debs, this ambitious solon is now reaching far over into the camp of reaction for support. The latest incident is the reported en- dorsement of Governor Blaine, of Wisconsin, for election as a real honest-to-God progressive. “It is inconceivable,’ George Commings, LaFol- lette patriot and active fighter against a Farmer- Labor party, is reported as saying, “that the sen- ator will openly ally his candidacy with that of the Dave Rose candidacy of the republican party.” But of course it is not inconceivable at all. The man who dickers with Hearst, who comes to an understanding with Len Small in Illinois, who knifes his friends in Montana in return for another block of reactionary votes, who puts the most re- actionary elements in charge of his campaign in other states with instructions to destroy the Farmer-Labor parties, who surrounds himself with bankers, manufacturers, and merchants—it is not at all inconceivable that he will support Blaine, even tho Blaine keeps “regular” in the republican party. In this “melange of middle-class intelligentsia, petit bourgeoisie and trade union bureaucracy struggling to find a formula for class collabora- tion,” Hillquit and Berger find their true place. There is only one occupant of the disgraceful bed who, on account of his record of revolutionary activities, seems out of place there. That is Eugene Debs. And Debs, by identifying, himself with this demi-monde of politics, has canceled his right to call himself a revolutionist. Send in that Subscription Today. Bourgeois Solidarity Notwithstanding all the differences among themselves, the members of the bourgeoisie always find the means of developing and expressing their solidarity as against all forces that threaten their fundamental institutions. It is interesting to dig back a few months in history and produce one example of this instinct to “stick together” of the upper classes. We find it in LaFollette’s state- ment on the death of Warren Harding, a year ago, at a time when Lafollette—but not the world at large—was aware of the rotten nest of corrup- tion that Harding had created in the White House. Here are the words of LaFollette: “The sad news that the President is dead came to the Pa gers on Friday. It passed from one to another swiftly and every face gave striking proof that the President holds a secure place in the affection of the American people. IT WAS A GRATIFYING AS- SURANCE OF THE STABILITY OF OUR INSTITU- TIONS that regard! of the cross-currents of po- litical opinion we have a definite and assured respect for the official who embodies in his exalted position the sovereign will of all the people. The handsome, genial, and gracious Mr. Harding caught the imagin- ation of the American people because he knew and followed the best traditions of American hospitality and social grace.” LaFollette found it gratifying that large masses of people, kept in ignorance by himself and his kind of the enormities going on between Harding, Daugherty, Jess Smith, McLean, et al, should have a “definite and assured respect” for the oil presi- dent as embodying “the sovereign will of all the people.” Such stupid and silly “respect” for po- liticians and grafters is the basis for “the stability of our institutions.” If the masses knew the truth they would get rid of these institutions. All middle-class saviours of humanity, a la La- Follette, want above all to “preserve our institu- tions.” So, no matter how much they may fret and fume among themselves, they always find oc- casion, as on the death of some eminent grafter, to declare their solidarity with all the forces of ig- norance and oppression that keep the working class in subjection. Sond in that Subscription Today, THE DAILY WORKER Thursday, July 31, 1924 The World War and the Trade Unions By A. LOSOVSKY. OON it will be ten years since the European nations had been thrown into the mad war. The world came out of the last war in an entirely dif- ferent shape than when it entered into it. Millions of dead, millions of inva- lids, incalculable losses in wealth and means of production, the destruction o@ European economics and the sub- jection of Europe by the powerful capitalism of America—these are a few of the results of the “war for democracy.” The end of the war also brought to a close the world hegemony of the capitalism of Europe. The center of gravity was shifted to the United States. At the present the world is ruled by the dollar. The war was con- cluded by the Treaty of Versailles, and it is really hard to say what has con- tributed more to the ruination of the world—the four years of war or the six years of peace, The entire conti- nent of Europe has been shattered to its foundations, We recollect a few of the slogans in the last war. “To disarm the Prus- sian militarism,” “Self-determination of peoples,” “A war for civilization.” All these slogans were on the ban- ners of the democracy of Europe. The result of this “democratic” pretence was a terrible and shameless peace of brigandage—a peace which humanity had never had to live thru. Up to this very day Europe is suffering as the*result of the consequences of this peace, The last war would never have lasted more than a few months if not for the support it received from an en- tirely unexpected source—from the socialist parties and from the trade unions. ; It is hard to tell which of the two are the more responsible for 1t, the leader of the social-democratic parties or the leaders of the trade un- ions. One thing is certain, that both are responsible. Would it have been possible for capitalist society to mobilize so many millions of workers for the slaughter without the support of the trade un- ions? Would it have been possible to keep on sacrificing millions of people in the course of years if not for the support of the labor organizations? Never! The most significant feature of the last war was that the trade unions appeared in the role of pur- veyors of food for the cannons. The leaders of the trade unions utilizéd the machinery of their organizations, the discipline of the membership that was built up thru years of struggle, in. short everything, including even the craft prejudices of the member- ship in order to drive the masses to the slaughter. More than that, the leaders of the trade unions were most instrumen- tal in creating a basis of morals and ideals for the capitalist war. No soon- er was war declared than Jouhaux, Legien, Leipart, Appleton, Hender- son, and many others, made the great discovery of the existence of such a thing as “the Fatherland.” The trade union leaders of the Allied countries were defending the idea of democracy against the barbarians of the Central Powers. The Patriots of the Central Powers were saving civil- ization from the menace of the Rus- sian cossacks. They all pretended to be fighting in the interests of the workers, while what they were do- ing in reality was, to fight for the\ interests of their respective capital- ist governments. When we consider the history of the four years of war and see what the bureaucrats of the trade unions have been doing during that time to confuse the minds of the workers; when we also consider that these or- ganizers of mass-murder, these initi- ators of the international ‘slaughter, still continue to speak in the name of the working class; that there are still in existence millions of proletarians following these reformist leaders; when we consider all these facts, we are. compelled to ask ourselves\ the following questions: “Wasn't all this enough to free the working class from their reformist leaders? How many more tens of millions of peo- ple must be slaughtered before the masses will begin to see the light?” However, such pessimistic ideas are groundless, It is necessary to understand the reasons why the re- formists are still influencing the masses. And when these reasons are understood the ways will be found for combatting them. How did it come about that the leaders of the trade unions gave their support to the war? How should we explain the fact that the workers of England have gone into the struggle against the workers of Germany with so much bitterness, and the German workers, on their part, have thrown themselves into the struggle against the French workers? The: facts cannot be. explained merely by gov- ernmental compulsion, or by martial law. It must be understood that the tries, they were at the same time, perhaps without being very much conscious of it, fighting for the exten- sion of the boundaries of their re- spective countries. The capitalists had succeeded by means of their schools, churches, press, etc., to in- still into the minds of the workers, love of country, national pride, and the desire to become bigger and more powerful than other countries. All these ideas found their expression in the very first days of the war. The labor organizations, ‘trade unions, ap- peared to be nothing else than an organic part of the capitalist state. This became apparent only with the beginning of the war, It is true that even before the war some of us had begun to see the danger of reformism. But nobody foresaw that these reformistic lead- ers would bring the working class to the position to which they brought them. They began with the idea of national defense, maintaining at the same time that they will not sur- render the class positions of the workers. But these were only words. Right at the outbreak of the war the labor bureaucracy transformed the trade unions into, war machines of the capitalist state, the trade un- ion leaders serving in many insti es in the capacity of mobilizing agents, The history of the four years of war is the history of a continuous be- trayal of all the fundamental and elementary interests of the workers. Once the labor bureaucracy accepted the point of view of national defense, it later on was compelled to exer- cise the functions of the police with regard to the membership of their own unions. Later on they had to surrender everything the workers had won thru the years of hard strug- gle. They had to suppress every in- dication of dissatisfaction among the masses, and in doing so the labor bureaucrats were working hand in hand with the capitalist police. The labor bureaucrats knew only one slo- gan: “War to the end, at any cost!” Our great slogan: “Proletarians of all countries, aah they substitut- ed with anot slogan: ‘Proletari- ans of all countries, kill each other!” ‘For the sake of the interests of the heavy industrialists and large bank- ers, the labor bureaucracy had brought corruption and destruction into the labor movement. This his- tory of the role of the labor bureau- cracy in the last war.hos not been written yet. When this is done it will be seen, every official leader of the trade union movement considered it an honor to be of assistance to his bourgeoisie in the last. war. Due to the activities of the labor bureaucrats, the nationalistic preju- dices of the working masses had been raised to the highest point. These gentlemen had been preaching the wildest nationalism and imperialism, thus destroying the foundations of the international solidarity of the working masses. The logical conse- quence of these’ activities was the total collapse of the International. Thus have the labor bureaucrats ful- filled their “patriotic” duty. They have shown that their conception of trade unionism is to make the labor organizations part and parcel of the capitalist state, to subordinate the interests of labor to the interests of capital. The war came to an enu. And the enemies of yesterday began talking about the restoration of the Interna- tional. But what kind of an Inter- national can these fellows create? What sort of an international labor organization can result out of the ef- forts of these “Fatherland patriots,” these nationalists, for whom the bourgeoisie are more important than the interests of the working class. They may succeed in giving us the appearance of an International, its form, but never its real substance. They may succeed in bringing togeth- er a number of national organizations and call it an “International,” but it will be nothing of the sort. That, by the way, is what they ac- tually .did. The exhausted and be- trayed masses had begun to feel again the need for an international working-class organization. These masses have compelled their nation- alistic leaders to attempt to re-estab- lish the international relations of the working class. But instead of bread, the labor bureaucracy has given the masses a stone, Instead of an Inter- national that can really unite the working class, leading them in strug- gle against capitalism, the labor bu- reaucracy has giveh us an appendix to the bourgeois League of Nations, and this they call a “trade union In. ternational.” * This is how the. Amsterdam Inter- national came into being. It is the same International which is beirfg led by the social patriots of all countries, by the same people who are spattered with the blood that the workers spilled in the last war. We have seen these men at work. We have seen them begin their activities by agree- strike at the outbreak of the new war? Didn't they create a united front with the petty bourgeois paci- fists? Didn't they Set aside the third Sunday in September, 1924, for an- ti-war manifestations? Haven't they again just the other day repeated that they are opposed to war? Is there still‘any doubt in anybody’s mind as to the readiness of these men to fight! war? He who takes the word of these fellows is a fool! These people will cry against war in time of peace, but when war begins they will be shout- ing louder than anyone else that the war must be continued to the very end. Ten years have gone by. The world is today totally different from what it was at the outbreak of the world war. And the working class also is no longer the same as it was in July, 1924. The years of the war and the destruction of capitalism that fol- lowed the war have created among the masses a feeling of opposition, not only ‘against capitalism, but also against the agents of capitalism in their own ranks. During this time the Communist International has come into existence and has grown into a big power. Also the Interna- tional organization of the Red Trade Unions. Ever new and more masses are streaming into the ranks of these two revolutionary centers, Capitalism is fighting despergtely! ai for its existence, ‘and still more des- ' NS perately are fighting the reformist leaders. But it will not help them. They will, they must be driven out of their trenches, On‘ this tenth an- niversary of the world war, millions and millions of proletarians are throwing into the face of the capital- ist world, their hatred and hostility. And in celebrating this tenth anniver- sary, the working then and women.of all countries will remember who it was that attempted to create the mo- ral amd ideal justification for the world slaughter. They will remem- ber how the reformists and bureau- crats have brought demoralization and destruction into the internation- al working class movement. Remem- bering all this, the working masses of the world will then inscribe on their banners: “Down with capital- ism! Down with the Fascist reac- tion!” And then they will add: “Down with international reformism! Down with the social patriots! Drive the betrayers of the working class out of the labor movement!” AS WE SEE IT By T. J. O'FLAHERTY. (Continued from page 1) Berry is president. Should they go on strike in sympathy with the fypos, Mr. Berry would have them outlawed and blacklisted as he did in New York. And yet, it is difficult to im- agine men with real spirit getting out a paper set up by scabs. But that is the gospel of the American Federa- tion of Labor according to Sam Gompers. * a8 In the United States wealthy busi- ness men subscribe heavily to the campaign funds of the capitalist par- ties in return for concessions and other advantages. Harry ‘Sinclair swelled the treasury of the Republican Party and he got the Teapot Dome. Doheny was good to the war chests of both parties. He got a big stretch of California. Over in England the capitalist parties get the dough and it does not even cost them a conces- sion. In return for titles wealthy men dump coin into the vaults of the Tory rand Liberal parties. A whiskey dis- tiller once rated as a wealthy man died leaving debts of $3,000,000 behind him and his assets consisted of an ap- plication for a title on which he paid the regular fee. It appears the distil- ler paid the money ($250,000) to Lloyd George and got no title. Another gen tleman, Col. Parkinson wanted a “Sir” to his name and he went to the Tory party. He made a deposit but after waiting for a considerable period for his title, he became impatient and went to Tory party headquarters and was told that he gave the money to the wrong person. He sued and re- covered his deposit. see General Smedley Butler was given leave of absence several months by President Coolidge in order to give the general the opportunity of clean- ing up Philadelphia. Mr. Butler started his campaign with much blow- ing of trumpets and beating of drums. Shortly after he assumed office, the general was riding down the street one’ morning when he saw a suspic- ious-looking character on the street corner. He stepped out of his auto- mobile and approaching the suspect, stuck his gun into his ribs and told him to make speed in any direction that would lead him out of Philadel- phia. According to the press report, the alleged evil doer went, and may be going yet for all we know. But so is General Butler. The brave man has come to grief. He has become a crop- per in his attempt to make Philadel- phia even a more dismal hole than it was. One try at being a Mussolini is enough. And the papers that heralded his appearance as the beginning of the Ku Kluxation of the United States ig- nore his passing. Only “Labor” a so- called labor paper published in Wash- ington sheds a tear over his enforced resignation, PNW Ai hag ~ Another moral scavenger to fall by the wayside is Glenn Young, notorious Williamson County raider. Young, early last spring undertook under di- rection of the Ku Klux Klan to take a Shine out of the moonshine business in that locality, but it is believed that his real object was to smash the un- ions of the miners. However much blood was spilled and Young traveled thru Chicago several times like a walking arsenal, Since then his star has waned, An East St. Louis judge has remanded 21 of the famous Her- rin rioters of February the 8th back to Williamson County and Young must is yet in the pulpit and that no sheep no matter how black is immune from a coat of spiritual whitewash. Good democrats, good republicans, good so- cialists, they are all the same to the “revolutionary” Doc. ; see William J. Burns succeeded in get- ting his name into the Washington Herald a few days ago. The poor fel- low. Perhaps you don’t remember the fellow. Well, he is the man who solved the Wall Street bomb plot 99 times and arrested almost half the popula- tion of the United States in his search for the “culprits.” “Ha! I have him now” Burn would exclaim when some deluded moron would confess to a Ser- ies of crimes from the shooting of Dangerous Dan McGraw to the Wall Street explosion. His life of ill-fame was brought to an end when he got the gate along with his master Daugh- erty. How Burns managed to break into the news now was on the occas- ion of his taking a trip to Europe where he intends to rest. Thousands of workers would like to have the pleasure of placing a lily in his right hand and a bunch of daisies at his toes. 6 eee The French government has intro- duced a measure for the transfer the ashes of Jean Jaures to the Pan- theon, where the ashes of France’ great heroes, mostly militarists, are kept. Jaures was assassinated by, a French patriot on the eve of the world war in 1914, Had he not been killed he would very likely have spent sev- eral years in jail, or perhaps have the honor of being legally murdered as’ James Connolly was by the British government for carrying his protest against war beyond the talking stage. The ashes of the socialist Jean Jaures , will be honored by the very govern. | ment that stood for the imperialism ot * France and has since the armistice ; supported the Rhur invasion. It seeme socialists dead or alive cannot keer away from the capitalists. 2. * . “But for the grace of God” declare¢ E. Crowe, when about to examine ¢ juvenile witness in the Franks mur. der case “there is the corpus delict in this murder.” How very thotfu of the Deity. But one would have more respect for his grace and hi: alertness if he showed equal consid eration for the Franks boy. Rathe: peculiar that God gets thanked wher somebody escapes but never geti | blamed when somebody doesn’t escape Furthermore if God hadn't been aslee)_ on the job Mr. Crowe would have los much ‘valuable publicity. 4 ry se @ A little woman carrying a lara Bible approached the door of th. ae are on trial. card” she told the guard, “I was se here by God to bring His word to th two boys, I came all the way from De| troit, Mich., because the call to m from above was so urgent.” The guar was not taking his ordefs from body so far away and refused admi tance Ao the celestial envoy, capitalists succeeded during the war in subjecting the working c also ideologically. As long as capitalist development is on, the up-grade the working masses share to a: certain degree in its prosperity. The more powerful capitalism becomes, the wider its spheres of influence, the more concessions can it make to the working class in order to enlist its service for the exploitation of the colonial peoples, The world war was’ a struggle for hegemony on the part of finance and industrial capital, When the work- ers of England, France, and Germany, were defending their respective coun- i ing to serve as an appendix to the League of Nations. We have seen them participate in the working out of the Treaty of Versailles. We have seen them support every bloody pro- position that was put across by the bourgeoisie in the last six years. Every time that the smell of pow- der is rising above Europe this Inter- national begins immediately falling apart. The only time these fellows speak against war is when is no immediate danger of such, Who does not know these loyal pacifists? Have not they arranged the international peace congress in Hague? Didn't they decide to declare @ general ; stand trial in Herrin or Marion, He does not relish the prospect, eS. es The Reverend Norman Thomas, La- Follette’s candidate for governor in New York state, writes that John W. Davis is a nice clean man and is too decent to do the dirty things that Harry 8. Daugherty and Mitchell Palmer did while the above worthies were public officials at Washington. But the Rev. Doctor believes that pure tho Davis is LaFollette is purer, and furthermore the latter is backed by what is left of the socialist party. The Reverend Thomas seems to think he The Poor Fish says: it’s mean of the pacifists taking adv: tage of the War Department's of the tongue in calling “Inspection: Day” by the more ha title of “Mobilization Day.” says it doeen't mean a thing Shed, Ms ere bac. ne