The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 8, 1924, Page 1

THE DAILY WORKER RAISES THE STANDARD FOR A WORKERS AND FARMERS’ GOVERNMENT bets Il. No. 145. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: cae nn an ee penne in Chicago, by mail, Outside Chicago, by $8.00 per year, mail, $6.00 per year. Entered as Second-<lass matter September 21, 1923, at the Post Office at Chicago, Illinois under the Act of March 3, 1879. , . MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1924 Published Daily except Sunday by THE DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL } Communist Candidates For President: WILLIAM Z. FOSTER. For Vice-President: BENJAMIN GITLOW. Price 5 Cents MINERS LEAD FIGHT FOR JOBLESS AS WE SEE IT By T. J. O'FLAHERTY. ANY American workers may con- sider the civil war in China, something that should not concern them, The capitalists of this coun- try are deeply interested in it and more than likely had a hand in the inevitable conspiracy that preceded the hostilities. What concerns the capitalists also concerns the workers but for different reasons. The great capitalist powers are quarreling over the exploitation of China, This com- petition has been going on for many years. Japan insists on a Monroe Doctrine for the Orient, as the United States has on the American contin- ent, but “might is right,” and while the United States government is able to keep the capitalist wolves of the rest of the world from establishing new footholds in South America, Jap- an is not strong enough to enforce its Asiatic Monroe Doctrine. 4 -_* * USSIA in the days of the Czar was an important factor in China. The Russo-Japanese war of 1905 was fought over the spoils of that rich country. Japan won that war. ‘Today Russia is an important factor in China, But it is a different Russia from that of 1905. The Russia of to- day has a friendly interest in the workers and peasants of China, the hundreds of millions who are exploit- ed by the capitalists’ of the world. China is helpless and is easy prey for the robber capitalists. tre Generals on the payroll of some group or some foreign country acting in the behalf of its capitalists. usually *e * HINA is a nation of 400,000,000 people. It is tremendously rich in mineral wealth. This great popu- ation is awakening and Soviet Russia comes on the scene in the role of a friend at 2 moment when the capital- ist woive’ are more anxious than ever to get their fangs in China’s neck. Hence the excitement among the dip- omats’ of the robber nations. -e 8 HINA recently signed a treaty with Soviet Russia. When it was ennounced that this action was to be taken, Charles Evans Hughes warned China that such action would not be considered henevolently by the United S But. the only favor China ever received from this country ar- rived on the point of the sword, so the government took its pen in hand and signed on the dotted line. China then had a real friend for the first time, UT the capitalist brigands were not satisfied. “ Their conspiracies increased. It is yet too soon to state with detailed accuracy the complete story of the intrigues hatched by the U | States and other governments 2 t the Chino-Russian agreement. But this much stands out clearly. The tentral government of China is the ‘target of threats, warnings and de- nds from the capitalist diplomats ng. The central government 1 less powerless to do any- cept let the two principal gen- who are battling for possession the port of Shanghai fight it out ong themselves. It is clearly the tention of the capitalist govern- ments to humiliate and embarrass the present central government in an ef- ‘ort to force it out of commission, and (Continued on Page 6) Subscribe for “Your Daily,” the DAILY WORKER. PEN SHOP’, UNEMPLOYMENT MENACE LABOR Foster Sees Conditions in Middle West “Unemployment and ‘open shop’ conditiors are rapidly in- pho | in the ‘Middle Wost.” said William Z. Foster, Com- munist candidate for president, upon returning to Chicago from a trip thru Illinois, lowa, Neb- raska and Missouri. “The capitalists are pushing ahead everywhere, and the un- ions are losing ground. In every city crowds are waiting vainly for jobs around the factor: gates. In Omaha there ar. bricklayers working 9 hours pe day. 4 Kansas City the building trader’ worked on Labor Day, an unheard-oi thing, that indicates how demoralizec is the labor movement in that section. Finishes First Lap. Foster had just fiinished “one -lap, 1800 miles, of the 17,000 miles that he will travel in the course of the campaign. His meetings were more satisfactory than expected, indicating that the number of disillusioned work- ers and farmers who know that nebu- lous progressivism will not help them. is increasing. Workers came from distant towns to hear Foster. In Sioux City, for example, a group came all the way from Centerville, South Dakota, 70. miles away, in order tc hear Foster. In Springfield, another group drove in from Decatur, a dis- tance of 40 miles, to be at Foster’s Lose Hall In Omaha. Notwithstanding the threats made in various places hy the police, Am- erican Legion, and Ku Klux Klan ele ments, to interfere with Foster's meet- ings, the most serious obstruction that developed was the cancellation of a hall in Omaha, which necessitated the last-minute hiring of another meeting place. In Ziegler, where more than a thou- sand miners turned out to the meet- ing, the. gathering was held at six o’clock in the evening in order not to interfere with the local union meet- ings that night which was going to put 14 K. K. K. members on trial for expulsion on acount of their: hooded activities. In the Springfield meeting, Alex Howat and Duncan MacDonald were present, and at the request of the meeting Howat made a spech, coming out flat-footedly for Foster for presi dent. He declared that some of his “progressive” friends had told him that he must support LaFollette or forfeit their support, but that he had told them to go to'the devil. ‘His political opinions were not for sale. The Foster campaign thruout the sec- tion covered has been considerably strengthened and enlivened by the metings which Foster addressed. Probe Death of Worker. WASHINGTON, Sept. 7.—An in- quest was opened today to establish responsibility for the death of Harry Bidwell, who died shortly after being dug from beneath a pile driver used near Brighton. Bidwell was caught beneath the big derrick when it top- pled over and lay for two hours be- fore it was possible to dig him out. all to the LaFollette camp. dates in Wisconsin, The lone congressman SOCIALIST TORCH SNUFFED OUT (ARTICLE 13.) ‘OR many years the rank and file of the socialist party succeeded in preventing their leaders from going over boot, baggage, and In the past. the opposition of the socialist members to LaFollette’s swallowing their party was so strong that a national referendum was once held to decide upon the expulsion of Victor Berger on charge of having been in collusion with capitalist parties and capitalist candi- The strong resentment of the rank and file of the socialist party has time and again compelled the leaders to denounce LaFollette’s program of trust-busting antics, his hostility to independent working class political action, and his coterie of anti-labor associates. The socialist party as an independent political organization of workers is out of business today; for all practical intents and purposes. jer, the prominent New York attorney, Hillquit, and the somewhat less known Reverend Dr? Thomas have tied the Socialist Party to the coat tails of spurious progressives and so-called honest republican and demoer: je politicians. PICKING THE “CLEAN” CANDIDATES | oe y CRS Drawn especially by K. A. Suvanto for the Daily Worker. LABOR CONDEMNS GOOSE-STEP DAY BOB SWALLOWS UP SOCIALIST PARTY CORPSE By JAY LOVESTONE. (Thirteenth Article.) For all practical political in- tents and purposes the socialist party is no longer in existence. Thru permitting the LaFol- lette movement to swallow it, the socialist party has signed its own political death warrant. The lone Congressman Berger, the prominent New York attorney Hill- quit, and the less well-known Rever- and Norman Thomas held formal ob- sequies over the corpse of what was once the mighty Socialist Party at the LaFollette Conference on July 4, 1924, Yor many years there was unrelent- ing hostility between the Socialist Party and the followers of Senator La Follette. Despite the repeated flirt tions of the Socialist Party bosses with the Wisconsin reform wizard, the membership time and again pre- vented a merger of their organization with the Badger state senator. In fact, there was a time when feeling tan so high vgainst stch improper po- litical coquetting that a national re- ferendum was held to dee on the expulsion of Berger from the Socialist Party on the charge of having been guilty of collusion with capitalist poli- ticans, It was this continued, strong oppo- sition of the Socialist Party rank and file that forced the leaders to de- nounce LaFollette on many occasions. Time and again the Socialist member- ship drove the party officials to attack laFollette’s trust-busting program tie graft with wi'ch his machine was reeking, his antilabor liewtonants, his opposition to the work'ng class wag- ing political struggles against the ex ploiters, and his general fraudulent progressivism. In the light of the success finally achieved by the leaders of the Social- ist Party in annihilating its last pos- sible claim to be called a party of in- (Continued on page 3) BROWER MEMORIAL MEETING TO BE HELD IN BROOKLYN, WEDNESDAY (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, N, Y., Sept. 7.—-Comrades Ludwig Lore, Juliet Stuart Poyntz and Noah London will speak at the memorial meeting for our Com- rade Charles Brower, Wednesday evening, September 10, at Brownsville Workers Hall, 1844 Pitkins Ave:, Brooklyn, Comrade Brower was ‘a member of the Communist Party and later the Workers Party since its organizati He was one of our most prominent lecturers in this district, having devoted himself entirely to the educational work of the party. When the Workers School was organized he was on the Board of Directors and also one of the teachers. Comrade Brower died Thursday evening, August 28, map FEDERATION IN CHICAGO HANDS WAR BIG BLOW The Chicago Federation of Labor, at its regular meeting yesterday, unanimously passed a resolution condemning “De- fense Day” or “Mobilization Day,” as it was originally named. | The resolution which was in- | troduced by .Arne Swabeck, delegate from™ Painters’ Local Union No. 194; H. Klausen, |Carpenters’ Local Union No. 180, and George Leach, Car- penters’ Local Union No. 16387, was amended by the resolutions committee, by adding “and give the republican party material for campaign purposes.” The resolution as introduced and passed with the above addition reads as follows: “Whereas, September 12 has been proclaimed National Defense Day, to be observed thruout the country as a means of testing the nation’s preparedness for war, and, “Whereas, this preparedness test is an avowed part of the efforts of the capitalist war mongers to build constantly greater armaments, to build a military machine ready to extend and protect American im- perialist investments and exploita- tion of workers of colonial coun- tries, and other oppressed nations, as well as to be held in readiness (Continued on page 2) Left Wing Plans Big Fight for Progress at convention should endorse. been passed by many miners and other local unions, and will be acted on by the con- vention. Farrington Out for Small. Frank Farrington, president of Dis- trict 12 (Illinois), of the United Mine Workers, finds himself in another ter- rific muddle as the convention opens. Farrington announced Saturday from Springfield: “I am indorsing HE Forty-Second Annual vention of the Illinois State Fed- ominous circumstances. With al- most £9,000 miners in the state idle and thousands of families sterving, with the K. K. K. trying to destroy the miners’ Ufiion, the miners’ situa- tion becomes the paramount issue before the convention. In immedi- ate Importance, all other questions sink into the background. Up to the present writing no offi- cial of the State Federation has is- sued a public statement on the un- employment of the miners, not to mention suggesting a remedy for it. They have been silent on the crimes committed by the K. K. K. The murder of a miner on the streets of | Dowel, the murder of another miner in the court room of W. Frankfort by klansmen, the killings in Herrin, the klan terrorism that exists thru- out southern Iilinois has not brot a single protest from either Presi- dent John Walker, or Secretary Vic- tor Olander. They however have been excep- tionally busy in their condemnation of the Workers Party and the Trade Union Educational League, and equally busy in their support of the LaFollette-Len Small political com- bination. In fact, they have been so busy fixing up their political fences making their position secure pollti- cally, that they have had no time to pay attention to small matters, such as miners being murdered, or miners’ families going hungry. The reds must be defeated, Len Small and LaFollette elected, seems to be the only reason for the present existence of either Walker or Olan- der, as far as the state labor move- ment is concerned. What have these so-called labor leaders done during the past year in building up the labor movement of Illinois? Nothing, positively nothing. Organ- ize the unorganized? They never even thought of it, and it is safe to say, judging by their past record, that they will have nothing to offer as a solution for the unemployment problem that now confronts the miners. As for the K. K. K. menace they undoubtedly will follow the lead set by Frank Farrington in the min convention held in Peoria last May, and try to keep it off the floor of the convention, on the grounds that it is a religious issue. The poverty of the miners will keep them from being strongly rep- rm ited. Nevertheless they will be represented well enough to bring these issues before the convention. The problem of unemployment that now confronts the miners, can only be permanently solved, of course, thru the forming of a workers’ gov- ernment. But immediate aid to the starving families is what is re- quired, The miners must demand state government assistance. Work must be supplied to the unemployed at | union wages and under union con- The Issue at Peoria By J. W. JOHNSTONE Assistant Secretary, Trade Union Educational League Con- | ditions, eration opens today in Peoria under | State Labor Meeting By KARL REEVE ' (Staff Writer of the DAILY WORKER) PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 7.—A small left wing element, represent- ing thousands of rank and file union workers of the state of Illinois, will battle staunchly in the convention of the Illinois Federation of Labor, opening here Monday, to keep the vital issues facing the workers before the convention. Meanwhile, the reactionary labor leaders, representing their personal machines, will battle as to which corrupt old party, the Resolutions demanding a drive to organize the unorganized worker, indorsing amalgamation of craft unions, conference to consider unemployment, denouncing the Ku Klux Klan, and favoring independent political action of the workers in farmer-labor party havet— oo is - ‘of the|Gevernor Small for re-election.” calling for a He intimated his intention of fight- ing for Small’s indorsement by the State Federation convention. At the same time circular letters are being distributed to the Illinois miners, signed by Farrington, in let- ters half an inch high, which declare, “The democratic and republican par- ties not only treat with contempt every measure of interest to the work- (Continued on page 2) A demand must be made for an appropriation from the state treasury, to relieve the suffering of the miners’ families, and to be ad- ministered by the union. They must instruct the State Federation offi- cials to fight for the nationalization ‘of the mines atid Falifoadsé, for the my six-hour day and the five day week. And they must demand that the Fed- eration officials start a public cam- paign against the K. K. K, by hold- ing meetings and demonstration thruout the state, especially in Will- jlamson and Franklin counties. These demands along with the bet- ter known ones such as amaigama- tion, labor party, organize the unor- ganized, etc., will be the basis of the left wing fight In the conven- tion. Of course officiaidom will dodge and try to squirm out of it by the usual bunk, that these things are outside the jurisdiction of a state or ganization, etc... Nationalization of the mines and railroads, the slx- hour day and five day week, these things belong to the unions who have that jurisdiction, they will say. The unemployment of the miners, well, that is up to the miinere’ un- ion. Amalgamation, Labor Party —those come from Moscow! They will say and do anything but meet the issues. They tied the Ilinole labor movemént to the LaFollette- Len Small political machine without considering whose jurisdictional toes they were treading on. - But to take up the issues that bring into broad relief the class struggle, that is a bird of a different feather and not to their liking. The reds will, again get a panning and be blamed for all the miseries of the working class. Olander will again tell the story of how the ship was scuttled by the borers from within. Walker will shed a few tears for poor Len Small. LaFollette and his conglom- eration of poor republicans and dem- ocrats and rich labor leaders will be endorsed, but unless the militant rank and file ate ably and plentifulé ly represented, nothing will be done in the interest of the working class, The miserable condition of the miners favor the reactionaries, The miners, 100,000 strong, are the back bone of the Illinois labor move- ment. Crush the miners and the whole movement in this state is im reparably weakened. Yet that is what is being done. The miners are slowly being crushed to death. Thru a starvation process, the coal operators are trying to subdue the militant miners, and they are using” the K. K, K, to terrorize them where they can’t starve them. The labor movement of Illinois must stand be- hind the miners in their fight. The miners of Illinois have stood behind every fight of the workers, giving liberally when they had very little to give. They are now in need. What has the Illinois State Federa- tion of Labor convention to offer them? co th