The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 3, 1924, Page 4

x , j | | “Page “Four THE DAILY WORKER JAILED MINERS IN APPEAL 10 - SAVETHE UNION Officials Aided the Prosecution By GEORGE PAPCUN. (Special to The Daily Worker) PITTSBURGH, Nov. 2.— From behind prison walls comes the voice of imprisoned left wing coal miners advising and counseling their brothers what | must be done in order to save the union that they went to prison to save. Of all the crimes and betray- als attributed to the crooked and reactionary officialdom of District 5, there is none more hideous and damnable than the desertion and betrayal of the men arrested and convicted on account of the now famous Clif- tonville mine riot, which oc- curred early in the strike days of 1922. ‘When scabs attempted to work the| mine the miners of the Pan Handle region marched to the mine in an ef- fort to convince the strike breakers to join their ranks. They were met by a fullisade of shots from the thugs and guards employed by the coal com- pany and in the riot the sheriff of the county was killed along with many union and non-union men. Today there are 38 men in Moundsville pris- on, 38 union men, serving indefinite sentences for their alleged part in the affair. Last Moment Ruse ‘When their trials came up, the offi- cials as usual betrayed them. Dur- ing the closing minutes of the last In- ternational convention of the U. M. W. A., with over a thousand delegates ‘on the floor, and the convention in an uproar over the steamrollering of the Howat issue the following resolution ‘was supposed to have been adopted, but the delegates did not know any- thing about it until they received the final day’s proceedings after they re- turned home: “ “Whereas, there are forty-two men incarcerated in the Moundsville, W. ‘Va, penitentiary charged with plicity in the march of the miners in Brooke county, West Virginia; and “Whereas, these men have now been in prison for many months leaving their families and dependents in want and destitution; therefore, be it re- solved that we petition the Honorable B. F. Morgan, governor of West. Va., to pardon these men so that they may take care of the’~ families, and again mingle with their tellow men, as we believe they have been sufficiently punished, as they were victims of Communistic and anarchistic propa- ganda Hence, we appeal to you to temper justice with mercy, and liber-| ate these brothers now in the peniten- lary at Mounsville, in your state.” Aiding The Enemy The resolution is signed by Fagan, Patton, Hargest and Wolcutt, presi- dent, vice-president, ' secretary-treas- urer and organizer of District 5. These men who are supposed to lead the miners have the gall to write that “we appeal to you to temper justice with mercy, as we believe they have been sufficiently punished” which is an open and frank confes- sion that in their opinion the men in Moundsville are guilty, are respon- sible that these brothers are in prison at the present ‘time. The bitterness of those imprisoned can be des- eribed only by the men themselves. The Progressive Miners’ Committee is in receipt of the following letter from one of the imprisoned men. Un- til a later date the name and number of the writer will not be made public, The writer is a foreigner. Pat H. Toohey, Secretary, Progress- ive Miners Committee, 805 James St. N. 8. Pittsburgh, Pa. “Dear Brother: We see by the Papers that you have a ticket in the field against Fagan. We hope you de- feat him. If the membership under- SMALL AUDIENCE IS SMALL BUT TOUGH; REPORTER KEEPS MITTS ON HIS WATCH AND SMALL CHANGE ——ees “The wiser they are the harder they fall,” is an old saw. But it still holds good in Chicago. Yesterday at noon Chicagoans weve treated to the spectacle of cries with megaphones calling out, “Overflow meeting at the | Harris Theatre” and “Hear your governor speak,” on all the corners for blocks around the Harris Theatre where the governor was holding forth. Our inquiring reporter directed to the spot by cries at every few steps (who myst have cost the governor a pretty penny!), went in to see a handful com-4 of paid “pluggers” applauding “the friend of the workingmen” whom the Chicago and the State Federation of Labor are supporting. Our reporter |did not stay long. It was a tough looking crowd and you can’t sit com- fortably with one hand on your small |change and another on your Ingersol | watch for any length of time. A block away in front of the Cort Theatre was a giant float in behalf of the labor hating State Attorney Crowe cashing in on the Franks case, representing “justice” blind-folded (and heavily rouged) at whose feet sat a few chorus girls out of a job re presenting something or other, very likely a lavish expenditure of the tax- payer’s funds for which the workers will get the bill when Crowe “gets in.” Adjoining was another float with radio appartus broadcasting “the ben- efits” to be acquired by the working man when “our candidate is elected.” Chicago is a big city “a wise town.” | Verily, “The wiser they are the hard- er they fall.” stood the full import of what he has done and it doing with us thirty odd \men behind the prison walls for the Cliftonville trouble, they would put him out now in a hurry. He procured the release of five of the boys for the purpose of making «propaganda for himself. The district officers insisted that we plead gullty, promising to |get us pardoned within a short time, jand knowing too that if we had not pleaded guilty we might have been re- |leased as the third term of court was approaching and only a few could jhave been tried at that time. The machine desires and congpires to keep us in prison for very much the same |reasons that they keep McLachlan | and Myerscough out of the union. “Fagan is doing in District 5 the same that Farrington is doing in Illi- |nois, bankrupting the district. Do not the time will come when you will have to meet the operators with a depleted treasury. i To Stand Firm “We must grasp this situation and rise to meet it. Our action in this |respect during the coming year will |determine to a great extent the life |and character of our union. We must | build our treasury so we can stand firm. The non-union fields proved that they will stand with us, but there is no one trying to organize them, we must organize them and have our expelled brothers reinstated and go forward. But if we keep Fagan and his gang they will glean all they can get and provide themselves with polit- ical jobs and the poor miner will be pelled to accept adverse terms of em- ployment. They were directly the cause of us being in prison and large- ly responsible for us having to re- main here. “Fraternally, “ (Signed) r Will the miners of District 5 have to contend with this any longer? Men behind prison walls are hoping that the Fagan gang are ousted, for as long as this crew of worthies are in control of the organization then that long will the United Mine Workers continue to be a meal ticket for a | bunch of rascals, and that long will \the miners be constantly betrayed. |The progressive miners will make | this one of the campaign issues, and |ask the support of all honest and sin- | cere miners of this district in their ef- fort to make the organization what it should be, a powerful, fearless and militant weapon of the working class. Vote on Workmen's Compensation. ST. LOUIS.—War to the finisa has been declared by the associated in- dustries of Missouri, the open shop group, upon the proposed workmen’s compensation law, which goes to the voters Nov. 4, by initiative petition. Come Over! At any time during the day or evening if you have an hour to spare—come over and volunteer your help to enable us to get out a heap of mailing, inserting and other odd jobs on the cam lation of the DAILY WO! aign to increase the circu- KER and the WORKERS MONTHLY. We are very busy and have loads of work —help us out—come over! NEEDED! Comrades to distribute special November 7th Edition of the DAILY WORKER at shops and factories. Call at the local office and _register when you will do your share. Distribution to take place on Nov. 5, 6 and 7. |loan them any money, for if you do} Amoskeag Workers Stop at 10 Per Cent Reduction in Wages MANCHESTER, N. H., Nov. 2.—In spite of plentiful company hints on the part of Agent Parker Straw that Amoskeag needed to cut wages 20 per cent the convention of employes of the big cotton and worsted mills voted only to accept the 10 per cent cut previously voted on but not put into effect. The company officials made much of “southern competition” in their arguments and said that a 10 per cent or 12% per cent wage cut would not be sufficient to enable their reducing prices on ginghams and other goods to get trade. Nothing was said of reducing the profits rate instead of wages. Nearly 270 delegates represented the 14,000 Amoskeag workers employed in nor. mal times. Less than one-third of the workers have been working in the mills recently because of “lack of or- ders,” according to the Amoskeag of- ficials. Ps Amoskeag Manufacturing company, which practically owns Manchester, is continuing its fight for tax reduction ef half a million at the same time that it is attempting to force heavy wage cuts in the workers who are poor from long periods of idleness and part-time work. -The Manchester Tex- tile Council, representing the United Textile Workers’ Union locals, still protests against any wage cut, but is not in a position to lead a strike for maintenance of the wage scale. The 1922 strike which lasted nine months in Amoskeag mills, impover- ished the workers and the union be- cause of conditions beyond their con- trol. MODERN FARMING. GIVES BIG BOOST TO RUSSIAN CROPS Society for Technical Aid Reports Progress (By the Federated Press.) NEW YORK, Nov. 2. —M odern farming methods used by American agriculture communes in Russia are producing remarkable results, accord- ing to the reports of the Society for, Technical Aid to Soviet Russia, which has sent 18 agricultural units to the grain fields of the labor republic. Deep plowing is one of the secrets of the Americans’ success and this is accomplished with tractors. The deep plowing is patterned after the methods used in American “dry farming” and has produced. good crops where the drought proved fatal to the hopes of peasants uaing the old fashioned Rus- sian plows which, did little more than skim the surface. Some of the comparative crop pro- duction figures furnished by the Tech- nical Aid society, speak for them- selves. In one Don Region commune, where the drought ruined other bce the number of poods per dessiatin for the commune and the averfge Mu- jik farm compares as follows (A pood equals 36 pounds, a dessiatin 2% acres): Rye, 53 poods for the Ameri- can commune, 4.1 for the average mu- jik; winter wheat, 92.5 poods as com- pared to 4.7; spring wheat, 40 as com- pared to 4.6; barley, 15 to 7.7. Other Don communes give results that are not quite so surprising but still aver- aging more than twice those achieved by the average peasant. Similar con- ditions prevail in the Tambov guber- nia. The satisfactory crops of the com- mune farms, organized by the techni- cal aid society have taught the pea- sants the advantage of large machin- ery-working, collective agricultural units, says the society. The lesson is driven home to the surrounding pea- sants by evening schools and lectures on agricultural subjects, but the ar- gument which sells the big idea is the success of the communes’ own opera- tions. A total of $3,000,000 has been put into the agricultural communes from America, CHARGE LAFOLLETTE’S CANDIDATE FOR SENATOR IS HELPING TO SHIELD STANDARD OIL TRUST FROM EXPOSURE DENVER, Colo.,. Nov. 2.—Charges that Senator Thomas J. Walsh, en- CZAR’S MEDALS FAIL TO FILL ICE BOX OF AN ANTI-SOVIET GENERAL ‘ By SYDNEY WARREN, (Federated Press Staff Correspondent) VANCOUVER, B. C., Nov. 2.—Col. Vladimir Dmhoysky, former officer in the czarist forces'in Russia and adjutant-general of the anti-Bolshevik army under Semenov, has been sued for non-support by his wife, who claims that since Vladimir arrived in Vancouver with her from Russia, she has had to provide the fodder for the ice chest. She has grown weary of this foraging since the pickings are none too dorsed for re-election by LaFollette and Wheeler, the so-called “progressives,” has been, in company with Senator Adams of Colorado, Walsh's assistant on the senate committee supposed to investigate Teapot Dome, sheltering the Standard Oil company from exposure, are flying about in high oil circles. John D. Shielded by Walsh. The facts cited show strong reasons why it happened that thruout the whole Teapot Dome scandal, the saint- ed name of Rockefeller was conspicu- out by its absence. The whole world of oil men are dis*ssing how it hap- pens that Walsh and Adams can get away with such bare-faced blocking of the investigation whenever it led up to 26 Broadway. From what is now disclosed, the Standard Oil company of Indiana, the ‘ Midwest Refining company, the Mid- west Oil company and the Prairie Oil and Gas company were deeply involv- ed in the Teapot steal. The Standard of Indiana and the Midwest interests were involved up to its neck by half ownership of the Sinclair pipeline built in pursuance of the lease to take oil from Teapot Dome, around which lease the whole scandal arose. Standard in on Steal. Incidently, this pipeline is likewise to take oil from the Salt Creek field controlled by the Standard, the royal- ty oil of which was sold by Secretary Fall, now indicted for conspiracy af- ter being forced to resign from Cool- idge’s cabinet over the Teapot af- fair, to the Sinclair gang. But in that sale, along with Fall, was the Standard Oil, as half owner of the capital stock of the Sinclair Crude Oil Pyrchasing company, The oil investigation committee run by the democratic friend of LaFollette, Walsh, labored very hard to con- vince the public that it was follow- ing out every shred of testimony that promised to yield the truth. But the ugly fact now appearing is that where- ever a trail of suspicions led up to the door of Standard Oil, Senator Walsh immediately drew a red herring across it and sent the inquiry off on another scent. Senator Adams of Colo- rado, was Walsh’s assistant in this business, Walsh Sidetracks Investigation. This is clear from the fact that as early as February, 1924, the atten- tion of the Walsh committee was call- ed to a suit begun which alleged that not only Sinclair, but the Standard Oil of Indiana and its subsidiaries, the Midwest Refining and the Mid- west Oil companies, had conspired to defraud John Leo Stack of Denver over this very Teapot Dome lease. Further, in the course of the testt- mony before the Walsh committee, the charge was made that the real con- spiracy, out of which the lease came like manna from heaven from Albert Fall to Sinclair, was a secret meeting at Mexis, Texas, followed by others iu Now York. F These conspiratorial meetings wore participated in by representatives of the Standard Oil company of Indiana,| Subsoribe for “Your. tho Prairie Oil and Gas company, and! the DAILY L 2 Sinclair, The financial transactions were later arranged between Secre- tary Fall and the oil ring, including the Standard. LaFollette’s Darling Covers Crime. Strangely, Walsh, who has elevated himself to national and even inter- national fame by passing himself off as a great and thrice-righteous cru- sader against oil steals, ignored this information and covered his failure to investigate.the Standard Oil with lame excuses about these charges be- ing made by blackmailers. All mention of the Rockefeller in- terests in the Teapot ‘steal was se- dulously kept out of the press by Walsh, the Montana darling of La- Follette. Many people who at the time wondered at the exposure how Rockefeller was dodging investiga tion, will now look to Walsh to tell them. . . It even appears that Walsh had the investigation hastily ended to avoid developing too much evidence against Standard Oil. And when the two at- torneys who were assigned to prose- cute the conspiracy, so the story goes, were looking thru the record, they dis- covered that Walsh's committee, which made both himself and Senator Wheeler, now running with LaFollette, famous, had covered up the existence of important evidence. Crooks Flee Country. Upon trying to get in touch with those charged to be at the Mexia, Texas, conspiracy, it was found that every one of those shielded by Walsh was out of the country, having re- moved themselves beyond the juris: diction of the government. « ~ Walsh Asked to Explain. Ever since the government counsel has at least pretended to be trying to secure the deposition of H. S. Os- ler, counsel of the Impérial Oil com- pany, Limited, the alias for the Stand- ard Oil company of Canada, in con- nection with the Mexia, Texas, con- spiracy, the suspleion in the minds of ofl men who know, has become cer- tain that Senator Walsh's fame as an investigator should be better that of o whitewash artist for John D. Rockefeller of the good old thieving Standard Oil. r good and now is petitioning the Can- adian courts to compel her much-deo- orated hubby to do a little practical kitchen police in their domestic war. Dmhovsky is the holder of five dec- orations for war service under the czar. When he arrived in Canada the newspapers made much of him stating that men of Dmhovsky’s type were Russians that -really were an asset to the country, etc. Since com- ing here the czarist officer has lost _ no opportunity to advertise himself as a military hero, but when Mrs. Dmhovsky announced the prosaic fact that she was working in a beauty shop in Vancouver fora small pittance, the glamor surrounding her swash- buckling husband was dimmed. The general seems to be in line for an- other decoration, usually bestowed by the courts in Canada on wife de- | serters. COMMUNIST UNCLE SAM WILL DANCE WITH MISS BOLSHEVIK AMERICA AT NOVEMBER 4 BALL NEW YORK, Nov. 2.—The New York Communists have put up a splendid campaign for Communism thru hundreds of open air meetings, indoor meetings, d lebates and red nights we carried the message of Communism to the workers of Greater’New York. The culmination of this suc- cessful campaign will be a cele- bration by the New York Com- munists with a Blection Re- turns Ball on election night, November 4, to be held at Park Place 110th Street and Fifth Avenue. Ad- mission 50c. Election returns from all over the country will be reported from the stage by Comrade.Sam Lipzin who is a very well liked militant in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers un- ion and who is known as Uncle Sam by his humorous articles in the Jew: ish Dally Fretheit. This affair by the Trade Union Educational League is more than a simple dance for in addition to the election returns we will have all the Communist. candidates attending and the experiences during this cam- paign will be told to those that are interested and in general a good time is guaranteed to all present. Get your ticket now for they are selling fast and you may find yourself on the out- side looking in, while others are cel- ebrating the culmination of the most successful communist campaign in New York City. All the militants will be there so you can’t stay away on Election Night from Park Palace, 110th Street and Fifth Avenue. OUT NOW! Get it on the News Stands! literature MAX BEDACHT MORITZ J. LOEB HARRISON GEORGE Editorials it each month— Fir€ Destroys Labor Temple. OAKLAND, Cal,—The Oakland La- bor Temple has been completely de- stroyed by fire, and all its records lost. A ngy labor temple has been in course of construction, but meanwhile all papers wete stored tn the old build- ing. The cause of but because of an it, the police suspect arson. _—_——_—— 1113 W. Washington Bivd., Enclosed Subscription, City ccessessersssasosssoee “The Workers Party to the Fore” By William Z. Foster Subscription: $2.00 a Year Use this blank. THE WORKERS MONTHLY -— German Police Use Third Degree Methods On Arrested Workers BERLIN.— The German police are sinking to the level of American third degree experts in the treatment of workers arrested on suspicion. Hvi- 'dence given before the Prussian legis- {lature showed that German police dogs are ordered by the police to at- tack workers held in police stations. One man. testified that he had been savagely bitten in the side by such a dog after the officers had knocked out several of his teeth with blows from their fists. Another worker from Halle testified that he was forced to run a gauntlet of policemen who kicked him with their hobnailed boots, pounded and finally laid him out with a club. These and other instances were re- cited, in reply to the claim of a mem- ber of the legislature that the result of the Dawes’ plan makes a strong Police force in Prussia necessary. 12,000 Jute Workers Strike. CALCUTTA, India, Nov. 2. — Over 12,000 jute workers in Howrah, India, are on strike to force the discharge of a doorkeeper who had insulted a woman worker. The company refuses to fire the offender. The very first issue ‘of the larger and more important Labor journal WORKERS MONTHLY Combining The Liberator, Labor Herald and Soviet Russia Pictorial. Edited by Earl R. Browder. Beginning in this issue the first installment of one of the classics of Communist “The History of the Russian Communist Party” By Gregory Zinoviev including also OTHER CONTRIBUTORS: WM.F.DUNNE MOISSAYE J. OLGIN JAS. P. CANNON J. W. JOHNSTONE REBECCA GRECHT . ALEXANDER BITTELMAN International Events Cartoons Photographs Single Copy 26 Cents To subscribe and be sure you get —- For bundle orders for your news- dealers—your bran: _union meeting—use this blank. Chieago, Il. soeemonths’ “Progressive, But Not Labor” By C. E. Ruthenberg THE WORKERS MONTHLY 1113 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, tI. SONA...cssosssssreerseeneenCOPles every month to NQ@Me nccsssossosessssssseernsseeeanteeservvnssessevssseecnssentansonsss HB@ et acesssssccnsessorsnsscnsevssseneveinacecntnsessssseeventsasooes Monday, November 3, 1924 N.S. MINERS CLEAN UP MESS LEFT BY LEWIS Offcials Tour the Nova cotia District GLACE BAY, Nova Scotia, Nov. 2.—Hardly had the tem- porary officers of District 26 been elected by the rank and file convention of the miners when they immediately set out on a tour to the most backward parts of the district. While the results of their la- bors have been profitable, yet the district is not too well or- ganized, due to the success of the combined forces of the Lewis appointees and the steel corporation in their union split- ting activities. Ready To Fight Wage Cut These with other sinister forces have made slight inroads into the miners’ ranks. However the tempor ary officers are confident that before the new year dawns the miners will be fully ofganized to combat the wage cut that may be proposed by the Brit- ish Empire Steel Corporation. It will be remembered that Lewis restored the autonomy of District 26 on September 20, and on the 29th a rank and file convention was held. At this convention temporary officers were appointed to take charge of af airs and prepare for a district elec tion. The officers elected were J. W. McLeod, President; Joseph Nearing, Vice-President; and Alex A. McKay, Secretary-Treasurer. : Joseph Nearing has also been nom inated for the Secretary-Treasurer- ship of the International Union of the United Mine Workers of America. Present Formidable Front While the miners have been driven before tho, onslaught of John L. Lewis for over a year—by such tactics as expelling individuals and cancelling local union charters, forceful collec: tion by collaboration with company of $117,000, attempt to kill labor news- paper, and indifference to to disrupt- ive tactics of the One Big Union— they are. now reorganizing their forces and by January 1 will be able to present that formidable front for which they have been noted. . $1.25 Six Months x your wscerrssseies BEALO.sccsesevssennee