The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 19, 1924, Page 2

1s ir Ne aS Ah AOE RD E LIAL OREN "Page Two ——— THE DAILY WORKER friday, September 19, 1924 ™ Saas PURO RCHEy + Sameer sree CONNELL HITS | HIS PIPE AND + STRKES FADE Nothing to Do But Draw His Salary (Special to The Daily Worker) | DETROIT, Mich., Sept. 18.— Mr. James O'Connell, former president of the International Association of Machinists, and now president of the Metal Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor, amused the machinists’ con- vention here by telling the dele- gates about his present occupa- tion. He stated: “I am now prac- tically a pensioner. I go to con- ventions like this, make a talk that the men like. Then I go home, smoke my pipe and draw my salary.” : Delegates Oppose LaFollette. After this introduction of himself he went into the political situation to Prepare. the ground for the endorse ment of LaFollette by stating that by Polling a large vote for him in this campaign, it would scare the powers to be, even tho he didn’t believe La- Follette would be elected and it might not. be possible to throw the election into the house of representatives. “The days of strikes are over. La- bor organizations are becoming great financial institutions and corporations. Labor leaders who lead strikes have passed and today they must be men who understand finance and banking.” After this voice from the grave had been heard the resolution on endorse- ment of LaFollette and Wheeler sub- mitted by the General Executive Board was adopted by the convention but it was far from being unanimous. Probably not less than 50 delegates yoted against the resolution. 5 Emme Replies. to O’Connell. Delegate Emme, from St. Paul, in his argument against the resolution stated: “I recognize that what I have to say on this matter will not change the vote of this convention, but I warn the delegates against placing their hope on LaFollette and then be disappointed when he fails and may Not even be able to throw the election nto the House as our past president “Mr. O'Connell pleads the bank- ruptey of industrial organization. I refuse to accept his declaration of bankruptcy,” Emme stated. “I know that our industrial organizations can be built up again. I don’t want the workers to build faith in LaFollette, #o that when this bubble bursts they will find themselves in the same pre- dicament politically. “Nearly every measure that LaFol- lette stands for has been passed in the state of Wisconsin, and yet do any of you delegates look to Wiscon- sin for a mecca of organized labor? | “The working class of the state of Wisconsin is just as much exploited as that of any other state, if not worse,” Emme called the attention of the delegates to the fact tnat nearly all) speakers were meftioning the class| struggle and the sooner we would base the labor movement on that prin- ciple, the better off we would be. Demonstration Doesn’t Come. The delegates were listening atten- tively while Emme spoke and the dem- onstration expegted for LaFollette by some delegates did not materialize. Delegate Otis, from Pittsburgh, the industrial hell of the. United States. stated that the reason his local voted down LaFolette was that he did not represent the working class, that he Was not a labor candidate and that what he stood for did’ not mean any- thing to the working class, and fur- thermore, on his national committee only two bona fide labor representa tives were put on. Delegdte Garner, from Hammond, Ind., called the attention to the fact that on the committee were men like “Rudolph Spreckles, with an outstand- ing record against labor and pleaded for a real working class political ‘party. Labor Party “Postponed.” When the resolution committee |.RESULTS OF THREE SEPTEMBER 16th: Foster Hart, Schaffner & Marx.... 67 Kuppenheimer Royal Tailors otal vote cast, 994, SEPTEMBER 17th: Western Electric Co......... Total vote cast, 1056. SEPTEMBER 18th: Stockyards ....... ed Total vote cast, 348. Grand total for three days ........ oar Total vote cast in three days, 2398, “Amalgamated” T. U. E. L. Members! Notice! A meeting of all the members of the Trade Union Educational League belonging to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers’ Union in Chicago will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 2:30 p. m., at 3322 Douglas Blvd. All T. U. EH. L. members are urged to be present and participate in discussing the plans for militant activity in the Amalgamated. CAPTURE OF POLITICAL POWER URGED BY LONG ATL. A.M. CONVENTION (Special to The DAILY WORKER.) DETROIT, ‘Mich., Sept. 18.—Dele- gate William Long, Montreal, today sailed into the resolution on insur- ance presented here to the conven- tion of the International Association of Machinists. He urged the neces- sity of capturing political power as against insurance, while Delegate Tate, Akron, Ohio, insisted on the union becoming an economic force capable of wresting economic power from the capitalists. Fry, a Chicago delegate, pointed out that the international had gone into all kinds of business, banking- insurance, machine shops and over- alls, and still it had lost four-fifths of its membership since the Roches- ter convention. Discussion will continue on this question during the afternoon ses- sion... A. §, Brownlie, president of the Amalgamated Society of Engi- neers, (machinists) in Great Britain, will address the convention and speak at an open meeting here to- night. recommended non-concurrance on the Labor Party resolution, President Johnston pulled the usual bunk about how these Communists destroyed the socialist party, and those resolutions come from the same factory. How- ever, he was careful not to go into a long denunciation. He stated that the next gathering of the Conference for Progressive Poll- tical Action would no doubt form a labor party, and therefore was suc- cessful in, having the resolution de- feated, but the vote was very close. Delegate Slaven’s Local 119, Rhode Island, led the fight for its adoption and he very ably pictured labor’s ex- perience with so-called friends from the time of the Ludlow massacre and up to the present. He warned the delegates not to be too overenthusias- tic on LaFollette. He concluded his speech by stating that labor must look forward and fight not only for higher wages, but for the complete control of the means of production. His remarks were greeted by tremendous applause. Amalgamation Comes Next. The question of amalgamation will no doubt create a spirited debate. The majority of the railroad delegates will no doubt vote in favor of this im- portant resolution. A small meeting of some delegates supposed to repre- sent railroad men was announced by President Johnston. Delegates Barnard Cortez, from Chi- cago, and Lester, from Montreal, in- formed the delegates that it did not represent the rank and file. A meet- ing was then arranged for after the adjournment for all railroad delegates. New York Comrades, Take Notice. The Harlem section of the Workers Party, Local New York, will hold a general membership meeting of all the branches of the section on Satur- day afternoon, Sept. 20, at 2 p. m., at the headquarters, 143 Hast 103rd St. Every mémber must attend. The mem- bership meeting will take up very urgent matters in connection with the election campaign. DAUGHERTY BOYS ARE TWO SHARP TACKS ON SILENT CAL'S CHAIR WASHINGTON, Sept. 18.—Steps will be taken to advance before the United States Supreme Court the case of M. S. Daugherty, banker of Washington Court House, Ohio, who is charged with contempt of the senate in refusing permission for a senatorial committee to examine the books of his bank, Attorney general Stone announced today. The committee sought Daugherty’s books in connection with the department of justice inquiry, directed chiefly at the investigation of Daugherty’s brother, the former attorney gen- eral. DAY’S VOTING IN DAILY WORKER STRAW VOTE Coolidge LaFollette Davis 158 206 31 94 200 19 37 90 8 407 408 70 136 118 57 832 1022 185 38 DEAD IN MINE BLAST IN WYOMING Only 12 Escape Tomb with Their Lives (Special to The Daily Worker) KEMMERER, Wyo., Sept. 18. —The death toll in the terrific mine blast that wrecked mine No. 5 of the Kemmerer Coal company at Sublet, near here, today was definitely placed at 38 by P. J. Quealy, president of the company. is A close check-up showed that fifty men were in the working when the explosion occurred. Bring Bodies To Surface. Of these, 12 made their way to safety alive. Twenty-seven bodies, the majority showing signs of having been burned by the fire that broke out following the explosion, have been brought to the surface. Seven others j have been located. No arrangements had been made for an inquest into the explosion. Many Bodies In Morgue Twenty-two bodies of victims lay in Kemmerer morgues tonight, while other bodies taken out of the mine property still were at Sublet. Some funerals will be held tomorrow, Much time was spent today by the rescue workers in cleaning out the main entryways, which were clogged with thousands of tons of rock after the explosion. The work was slow. The coal company has not made pub- lic a list of names of the men who were in the mine at the time of the ex- plosion. Dr. F. Flinn, in charge of the United States bureau of mines rescue car here declared that rescue work was going forward as rapidly as possible. Many reports are in circulation as to the cause of the explosion. One is that is was caused when a spark flashed as a tool scraped against the side of a coal car. Death Came instantaneously. Rescue workers said the only means of identification of most of the bodies recovered was by the numbers on the electric lamps carried by the miners. A number of the victims were found sitting in cars, where they were about to ride to the surface for dinner. Some were on their hands and knees, many with their hands over their eyes Death was believed to have been in- stantaneous in most cases. WOMEN WILL NOT EVEN LEAVE THE PREACHERS ALONE “This case ought to be a lesson to the church vamps of America to let their pastor alone.” The speaker was Mrs. Leslie An- derson, wife of the pastor of the Evangelical church of St. Joseph, Mich., whose plan was to end his life because of a church scandal yesterday, ended when he was struck down by an automobile here. Mrs. Anderson arrived at the bedside of her husband late yesterday. Today she pledged re- newed faith in him and had censure FEDERAL JUDGE ‘Cause Unknown! Report DEFERS ISSUE |Comes from Scene of OF WARRANTS |the Latest Mine Disaster Four I. W. W. Members Face Deportation Issuance of the deportation warrant against four members of the Industrial Workers of the World, who have had deporta- tion hanging over them for four years, was postponed by Fed- eral Court Judge Adam Cliffe in | declaring the I. W. W. organizers must the Post Office Building yester- day, after the plea of the attor- ney for the Industrial Workers of the World, that time was needed to prepare for deporta- tion. The four defendants, William Moran, Pietro Nigra, Joseph Oates, and Herbert Mahler, are all prominent members of the I. W. W. who served terms in Leavenworth after Judge K. M. Landis sentenced them during the war hysteria. The case was taken to the United States Supreme Court by the defense, on the grounds that the warrant is- sued by the immigration bureau of the U. 8. Department of Labor failed to show cause why the men should be deported. Warrant Defective. The United States Supreme Court has ruled against the Industrial Workers of the World, according to John 0. Ryan, one of the defense lawyers, admitting’ that the warrant was technically faulty but declaring | the immigration authorities had a right to amend the warrant of de- portation. A new warrant was issued be deported as “Undesirable aliens,” who were not working in accord with American principles. Thomas Doyle, of the Doyle-Fisher group of the I. W. W., against whom an injunction has been issued by the Rowan-Griffith-Bowerman faction, told the DAILY WORKER reporter that the injunction brought into the capi- talist courts has seriously hampered the defense of the four I. W. W. mem- bers. “They have shown not the slightest disposition to co-operate,” he declared. “It might have been a. very serious matter. Because of the injunc- tion proceedings we could not get hold of the receipts for the boi the four defendants. Under this contin- tinuance, the four wobbly organizers might have had to go to jail for sixty days, because we could not get the bond receipts in order to make the bond transfer.” Time Necessary. The defense lawyer, in pleading for the continuance, declared that the: I. W. W. defendants needed at least sixty days in order to get their af- fairs in order. He emphasized the case of Pietro Negra, who has been @ resident of the United States for 21 years. “All of the defendants have resided in the United States eight years or more,” Cunnea said. William F. Bigelow, one of the lawyers for the Rowan-Bowerman- Griffith faction of the I. W. W., re- fused to make a statement other than to deny that his clients are intending to drop the injunction case, which has been landed in the court of the worst labor-hating judge in the city, Superior Court Judge Dennis F. Sul- livan. “I have not heard of any move to drop the injunction against Doyle and Fisher,” Bigelow told the DAILY WORKER. “And it would be mighty funny if there was a move for a truce and I had not heard of it.” He char- acterized as “untrutuhful” statements only for “those women in every church |that his clients intend to drop the who develop a strange love for the | injunction charges. preachers.” “For the last two years, Leslie never knew a moment's peace,” Mrs.|/tenced by Judge Landis, were also| Four Active Workers. The four I. W. W. organizers, sen- Anderson said today. “This womanysentenced to deportation at the ex- followed him everywhere. She de-|piration of their terms in Leaven- clared her love for him. She was 80| worth which they have served. shameless that she threw her arms about his neck in public. Doyle told the DAILY WORKER/ And this/that the four defendants are among woman thought my husband loved her.|the most active organizers in the I. It is such womén in churches allover |w, W. movement, and he looks upon the country who are forever dissension and church scandal S 2.9 Scandal Could be Hushed, BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Sept. 18.—“We back our pastor, Rev. L. R. sing }the move to deport them as a drive of the employers to disrupt the or- ganization. Imitates Fi owe SPRINGFIELD, Ill, Sept. 18.—An Anderson, with our unqualified moral inquest was to be held today in the and material support and should he death of Frances Murray, 3, who died’! wish to return to his pastorate here, from burns received when she and we invite him warmly and cordially her 5-year old brother tried to imitate to do so,” Secret Covenant. This statenfent of the board of| greg: trustees of the Evangelical Church | injured, whose pastor, Rev. Anderson, lies in- jured in a Chicago hospital following his attempt to commit suicide as a result of a church scandal, was made public today.. It was drawn up a secrét meeting last night with presid- ing Elder C. B. Stroh of this district. The statement “regrets the unfor- tunate publicity” which has attended the affair and suggests that had the pastor consulted with the board the “scandal” could have been satistactori- ly adjusted. Subscribe for “Your Daily,” the DAILY WORKER, i a “fireeater” they had seen at the Illinois State Fair. The little girl’s caught fire: The boy was not BRITISH PLOTTERS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE SEVERELY DEFEATED ¢ jal to The Datly Worker) LONDON, Sept. 18,—Afghanistan rebels financed by British govern- ment have been defeated in battle by government troops, losing 1300 men, according to Dispatch from Allah this after- noon quoting the Ploneer, tral News | By J. LOUIS ENGDAHL. Toay. the usual report, “Cause Unknown!” that always follows in the wake of every mine horror, comes from the scene of the latest disaster, at Sublet, Wyoming. “Disasters At Mines Alarm U. S, Bureau!” declare the newspaper headlines. But the alarm lasts for a day only. The capitalist editor shoves the follow-up story, of 38 dead miners’ bodies being. dragged to the surface and stretch- ed out in a morgue for identification, on a back page, while the first page display goes to the story under the headline, “Find ‘Girl in Gray’ in Thill Death.” That is capitalist civilization. The death of a rich busi- ness man, trying to steal some one else’s wife, outwieghs the wanton murder of nearly two score workers, wealth pro- ducers, not parasites. : * * * * They were slaughtered on the job, while turning out profits for the mine owners. Some were found dead sitting in cars, ready to be hauled to the surface for dinner. Death won by seconds. In another moment they would have reached safety. Now the charred corpses can only be ident- ified by the numbers on their electric lamps. In no country in Europe is the death rate of coal miners as high as it is in the United States. Last year, every time a million tons of coal came to the surface in this country, four coal miners gave up their lives. The death list of coal miners, last . contained the names of 2,452 workers. Two hundred t ousand were injured. The ‘coal mining industry is no exception. Out in the State of Washington, industrial accidents claim a life every day; 20 being killed in one month in the logging and lumber- ing industry alone. . One writer has put it this way: “One out of every five of the American soldiers mobilized for the world war was a casualty—wounded, or gassed, or injured somehow. “One out of every 12 of the wage earners of New York State was physically injured in the last fiscal year. “One out of every 24 American soldiers in the World War lost his life. “One out of every 3,000 wage-earners in New York State was killed in the last fiscal year, while at work, or died from injury or dis- edse suffered or contracted at his work.” Oe eee eee Even the big employer, Arthur Williams, of the New York Edison Co., confesses that, “More than two out of every three industrial accidents might have been or can be pre- vented.” This employer has also been forced to make the con- fession that the increase in the killing of workers on the job “has been partly due to the speeding up of production in shop and factory.” * xe * % Yet the whole capitalist system demands of the worker, “Greater speed! More work!” As the army of the ries grows, it is used to batter down working standards. The work-day is lengthened. To the tired worker at the end of the long shift the boss hands out the warning “safety first.” That is a poor stimulant for weary muscles, unable to guard against every pitfall that follows in the wake the bosses’ “economy methods.” * * * * “Half of the accidents and deaths occurring in the coal mines of the country annually could probably be eliminated by more adequate safety supervision by operating companies and the exercise of greater care by the mine employes,” de- clares W. W. Adams, statistician of the Department of Labor. What a ghastly joke to add, “and the exercise of greater care by the mine employes,” as if the workers willingly went to their graves. But this lackey of a Coolidge administration at Washington must practically charge the workers with com- mitting suicide on the job, before he can get over even the mildest criticism of the. employers. ‘ In one year's record, one of every ten men employed in the — mail service sustained injuries while at work. The casualty list showed, for one year, 1,537 killed, and 113,- 511 injured. : site The deaths in industry are the plagues of the 20th Century torturing mankind. It is estimated that over 60,000,000 of the inhabitants of Europe died from small pox in the 18th Century. It doesn’t pay capitalism, in Europe, or in the United States, to permit this disease to decimate the population as it did two hundred years ago. Therefore a suc- cessful fight is urged against small pox, to save the workers for the equally murderous industrial machine, Capitalism didn’t worry much about diseases in the mos- + papers J swamps of Central America until it wanted to ig a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The lives of workers in industry are cheap. When one worker, dead upon a stretcher is carried from the factory entrance, or is raised to the surface from the mine pit, there are always a host of live, strong workers ‘to take his place. The factory or mine owner need not worry about the death of workers, and he saves money thru failure to install safety appliances and maintain the Proper workday. Not far from Sublet, Wyoming, is Mba, ei Dome, the scene of the robbery of the nation’s resources by the oil mag- nate, Sinclair, with the aid of a secretary of the navy, Denby. In this same State of Wyoming, at Elk Basin, for in- stance, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust works its oil slaves seven days week and 12 hours per day. In this same state, at Rock Springs, for instance, it is estimated that there are 42 nationalities. Workers are brought here from every corner of the world. Chinese and daps, as well as Italians and Slavs, to dig coal and profits for the je owners. The thirty-eight coal miners dead, at Sublet, ny | out against the Lg of the coal barons, just as Teapot Dome and Elk Basin have told the world, in thunder tones, the crimes of the oil profiteers. Let workers everywhere hear this or: labor wipe out this 20th Century industrial scourge, almost » as deadly as the scourge of war itself. This can only be done by abolishing the social system that breeds this scour; the capitalist social system with its rapacious ruling class that worries not about the blood of the workers upon its gold. At least when capitalism falls the report will not go out, “Cause unknown!” ‘ of the dead. .Let LEGION’ ENTRY INTO POLITICS RAISES FLURRY Military Clique Union Danger to Workers (Special to The Daily Worker) ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 18,—~ Does the speech of labor-hating Judge Kenesaw Mountain Lan- dis at the American Legion con- vention here today foreshadow the entrance of the organiza- tion into politics with a bang? That is the question that is being discussed not only in St. Paul, which thinks “legion” to- day, but by political leaders. in all parts of the country. Politicians On Watch Duty. A number of nationally known pol- tical wiseacres and leaders are pres: ent at the convention and are display: ing a keen and unprecedented interest in the proceedings, especially those that go on behind the scenes. The Landis speech has stirred up quite a flurry. “You men of the legion are always being told to do things,” said the old Jingo, “I don’t think you need to be told how to act in time of peace. You certainly knew how to act in time of war. Nevertheless anyone who does @ bit of good is always being called upon again. Get the vote out. It’s one of your duties as Americans.” The temper of the reaction to this speech and the undercurrent of the en- tire convention, was expréssed unof- ficially by one high in the councils of the legion, “The legion can swing elections and it is my genuine belief that the legion will swing elections. It may not happen this year, but it is coming just as sure as tomorrow's sun, and when it comes—well, look out for the ex-service men, They’ll run the country.” Is Danger To Workers. While this is quite an exaggeration. there is not a bit of doubt that the legion’s entry into politics as a veter- ans’ unit would contribute greatly to the strength of stark reaction in “Am- erica. A militarist clique, controlled completely by officers with capitalist affiliations, which will enter politics as a whole, has had a reactionary ef- fect on the workers’ struggle for bet- ter. conditions in various European countries and the same is a possible condition in this country. While the danger is not so great at present, a growing movement of the workers here would bring this force into active play. The election of national command- er, here will hinge largely on the de- cision of the convention on the poli- tical gestion. FRENCH PREMIER RUNS FOUL OF ANGRY WORKERS (Special to The Daily Worker) PARIS, Sept. 18—Apparently every- body in France does not assume that a man who uses his feet instead of an automobile is above suspicion. Premier Herriot came to this conclu- sion last night after a large number of workers carrying banners demand- ing the release of political prisoners met him as he walked thru the city of Marseilles after landing from a torpedo boat. Did Not Thrash Him. The workers were led by young Communists. No violence. was of- fered the premier, tho the capitalist papers made it appear that the work- ers would have beaten him but for Police interference. Amnesty for political prisoners was one of the issues on which Herriot ran for election. Like all bourgeois Politicians he has conveniently for- gotten his promises since he assumed office. The Communists are holding him to his promise. « ‘When the premier landed from the torpedo boat, he insisted on walking instead of riding in his automobile, claiming that it was more “demo- cratic” to walk than to ride. It turn- ed out to be much more disagageabl than he expected. * . Fog Hits Chicago; “L” Trains Collide; Taxicabs Get Scary A near-panic resulted here today when an express elevated train, jam- med with passengers en route to work, crashed into the rear end of a local, hidden by a dense fog which enveloped the city in a blanket of darkness. Windows in both trains were shattered and passengers fought each other for exits until g: were able to restore order. No one was injured, So dense was the fog that taxi cab companies ordered all service except in the down-town district suspended. All traffic was hampered and “slow” orders were issued on all railroads entering the city, a8.