The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 17, 1925, Page 1

Help Insure THE DAILY WORKER Entéred as’ second-class matter September 21, 1923, at the Po for 1925! Vol. II.No. 31. SUBSERIPTI’, **7 "AICO, In Chicago, by mail,.$8.00 per year. ~-Ontside Chicage, by mail, $6.00 per year. AS WE SEE IT By T. J, O'FLAHERTY bourge- ‘HE callousness of the geoisie to human suffering was rarely if ever more strikingly demon- strated thah inthe famine crisis which has left a trail of destitution behind it from the north of Ireland to the south along the western seaboard. Be- cause Ireland is now ruled by a gang of capitalist lackeys, the Irish bour- geoisie and the upper middle classes |’ seek to minimize the famine, because they feel that it a reflection on their national dignity. These same ele- ments attributed all the misfortunes of Ireland, in the pre-treaty days to British misrule. But a native parlia- ment rules today, yet there is famine and terrible unemployment. _* * T was not British rule that was responsible for Irish ntisery but capitalist rule. In “black ’47” as ships laden with flour from the United States entered Cork Harbor, several ship loads of-grain were leaving. This grain was sold in order to pay Fish landlords the rack rents impos- ed by them on their tenant slaves. This grain-was being exported at a time when 1,250,000 people either died of starvation or were driven into exile. ¢ *ee T could not be said that the people upon whom this terrible disaster fell had ‘“denie@ god” and were therefore punished for their wicked- ness, as the Irish clergy said about the Russian government when the great drought of 1921, combined with the allied blockade, caused the death of hundreds of thousands thru hunger and disease. No, the Irish people had an abiding. faith in the god created for them by their clerical leaders, but this god is notoriouslytleaf to the ap- peals of those who cannot help them- selves. But it should not be forgot- ten, that, tho hundreds of thousaads of pe ts and workers died of hun- ger, no servant of the lord is known to have passed away because of mal- nutrition. se HAT British rule failed to do for the starving Irish people in ’47, is being duplicated today by the’ Free State government. Not alone is this gang of hangmen doing nothing to re- lieve distress in the west of Ireland, but at the very moment when the workers of Great Britain, the United States, and Russia are taking steps to aid their stricken brothers in Ire- land, this black hand government, that took the place of Dublin castle is preparing to pass a bill thru the legislature, making it a hanging of- fense to Garry on any agitation hav- ing for its object the overthrow of the Free State government. ae * ‘HIS is what the Irish workers have gained by the sacrifice they made in Easter week, 1916, and since then. The Irish workers-and pea- sants led by James Connolly raised the flag of rebellion against the Brit- ish government. Connolly and the best leaders of the revolution were killed. The mediocrities that follow- ed them were not able to do anything better than allow themselves to be maneuvered into a surrender by Lloyd George, granting that they were even endowed with common honesty. The British government granted them a spurious freedom, and both capital- ist political gangs are now fighting over the wording of an oath of alle- giance to the king of England. *_*e NEMPLOYMENT in the industrial centers and famine thru crop fall- ure in the rural sections is the lot of the Irish people under this Free State rule. It would be no different under the rule of the nationalist re- publicans. The latter believe the people should live on patriotism and ignore such material things as food, clothing and ‘shelter. Such terms have no place in the dictionary of a patriot! Of course, the Irish repub- Mean leader’ take good care that their »wn material needs are looked after. Let the masses starve! That appears. o be their sloga: “ee ‘HE writer was born in the heart of the famine region. At best the standard of living was very low, Bread, tea, potatoes and fish. That was the standard menu reakfast, lunch and dinner, The only. well-fed people were the government official | such as the rate collector, jud, postmasters, police and the pr! doctors and bailiffs. The peasant fishermen were strangers to meat most of the time. This did not con- (Continued on page 4) THE HAND THAT WIELDS THE HAMMER IS t* ING € %, t Thev Tell ; 1917, It Was ir +99 °° An “European Affair LONDON, Feb. 15.—The British for- eign office denied today that great 4Britain has any intention of inviting the United States to participate in a {proposed conference to discuss the »| security of France. The subject would be “entirely a European affair,” it is hsaid. MACDONALD AND J, H. THOMAS VOTE WITH TORY PARTY Clyde M. P.’s Lead Fight on Prince’s Tour Appoints Bitter Foes of Labor WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb, 15.— With the appointment of William M. Jardine as secretary of agriculture, President Coolidge has virtually com- pleted his cabinet of fellow strike- breakers. All of Coolidge’s latest ap- pointees are notorious foes of organ- ized labor and the poor farmers. Jardine first came to the attention of Coolidge when as president of the Kansas state agricultural college he opposed the McNary-Haugen bill, de- signed to give a small-measure of re- lief to the impoverished farmers. Coolidge liked that, and when Jardine later, as a member of the farm com- mission, continued to oppose farm re- lief legislation, he further endeared himself to Coolidge. Favors “Open-Shop” Everett Sanders, recently appointed to replace “Lilly-white” Slemp, as Coolidge’s secretary, also came into favor with the president by his acti- vities against labor. Sanders during his eight year stay in congregs,.help- ed to block the passage of the Howell- Barkley: railroad bill which would abolish the present tyrannical railroad labor board. Sanders boasts. that he “is against the closed shop,” and was against the bill “because it would ex- clude from representation on adjust- ment boards employes not nationally organized.” Sanders is one of Cool- idge’s prize strikebreakers, Exploited Children Charles B, Warren, whose’ nomina- tion as the new attorney general is (Continued on page 4.) LONDON, Feb. 15.—The action of James Ramsay MacDonald, J. H. Thomas, Sidney Webb and. William Adamson in voting with the Baldwin government against his own party, on the question of an increased grant for the Prince of Wales’ tour has caused something of a sensation in British circles. Arthur Henderson, Stephen Walsh and Noel Buxton, also prom- inent labor officials, refrained from voting. The debate which created lively scenes in the house of commons arose from the discussion led by David Kirkwood .of Glasgow, who criticized the prince’s junketing trip to South America. Other labor mem- bers joined in and Saklatvala the Communist, declared that this was one of the prices of empire. The prince’s trip wil cost $73,000. This at atime when one million and a half British workers are ‘unemployed and three quarters of a million are threat- ened with starvation in Ireland. The motion for the increased appro- priation was carried with the aid of the socialist Ramsay MacDonald by a vote of 304 to 90. ss GHOSTS OF 3,000 DEAD IN HAITI FORGOTTEN IN BUNK CORDIALITIES WASHINGTON, Feb. ‘1a—Hannibal Price, minister from the America dummy government in Haiti, presented his credentials to Secretary Hughe: and the president on Feb. 10, and was agsured by Mr. Coolidge that the sole purpose of the United States in running the Borno government in Haiti is the “promotion of the internal stability of Haiti and the welfare and pros- perity of her people. ’ memes No reference was made to the killing of 3,000 Haitians by American marines, nor to the big loans forced upon Haiti for New York bankers. THE DAIL - nm OFF ALDERMANIC ELECTION LIST Swabeck Denounces the Dever Traction Deal Three Workers (Communist) Party candidates for aldermen in the com- ing aldermanic elections have been thrown off the ballot by the board of election commissioners, on trumped up technical grounds. J. Louis Engdahl, in the 35th ward; Jack W. Johnstone, in the 44th, and Victor Zokaitis, in the 11th ward have been denied places on the aldermanic ballot. The election commissioners have denied the Communists the right to appear on the ballots on the charge that the words “street” and “avenue” were left off some of the addresses of those signing the petitions, and that some of the signatures were not written by ‘the persons whose names appeared an the petitions, and equally absurd charges. Condemns Dever Traction Plan. Arne Swabeck,y*organizer for the Chicago district ofthe Workers (Cgm- munist) Party;dssued a statement, condemning the» Dever traction ordi- (Continuedien Page 4.) CLINTON *LABOR’ LEADERS@DESTROY WORKERS? FAITH (Special to The Daily Worker) CLINTON, Ia; Feb. 15.—This little town has a historyin working class ex- perience. The workers here have al- ways been progressive. There are three small towns close together, Ful- ton, Ill, and Clinton and Lyons on the Iowa side, the latter two have now beer consolidated. This territory had always been a strong trade unton cen- ter and as “non-partisans,” then as local labor party, they struggled for years for control of the city of Clin- ton. Politicians Win; Workers Lose Faith. A few years ago, after an intensive campaign, the labor candidates car- ried the city election. Orators and near orators caught the imagination (Continued on Page 4.) THE HAND TO RULE THE WORLD! = ABRAMOVITCH IS Offide at Chicago, Illinois under the Act of March 3, 1879, a 290 Published daily except Sunday by THE DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1118 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill. NEW YORK EDITION Price 3 Cents But the Workers Cheer for Soviet Russia (Special to The ‘Daily Worker) PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 15:—Despite the fact that ‘socialists and police- men at the door barred Communists from entering the Rafael Abramovitch meeting at the Arch street theater, the workers in the crowd loudly de- nounced Abramovich as a counter revolutionary when he appeared. The crowd quite generafly demon- strated its opposition to the white guard traitor and cheered lustily for Soviet Russia. Just Like They De in Russia. Just as in Russia, where the yellow traitors of the Second International called in the capitalist governments to try to crush the revolution of the workers, so in Philadelphia, the “so- cialists” had hundreds of police and detectives scattered thru the hall, and ambushed about the neighborhood in patrol wagons. Together with these instruments of the capitalist government, the so- cialists had their own white guard and busy stool pigeons pointing out militant workers to the police. The hall was like a factory on strike or a fortress"held by. capitalist armed fore- es, socialists and police were busy everywhere pouncing upon workers who tried to get in or who. were not dumb cattle after they were in. Between the police, the detectives, the white guard socialists and their hired sluggers, forty-three, workers were beaten and afrested, police using clubs freely, altho the more they at- tacked the greater the disturbance. Cheers for Lenin and the Soviet drowned out Abramoyvitch. Abramovitch Heavily Guarded. Abramovitch, the cause of this, was heavily guarded by police at all times —on his way to the hall, while he was on the stage and in departing. The meeting ended with the wild demon- stration still going on. Despite po; lice, leaflets exposing Abramovich were distributed both inside and out- side the hall. The workers arrested were held over night and rushed to “trial” be- fore their attorney could appear, and were given from five to ten days in jail, but were released after bail was furnished. Abramovitch began his speech and spoke for some time without mterrup- tion. Then when he suddenly launch- ed into a hysterical denunciation of Soviet Russia, a woman called out something. At once, a detective sta- tioned near her seized and began to choke her. He scream groused the audience of 1,500 and a majority of them jumped to their feet in fren- zied protest. Traitor Himself Sets’ Police Workers. At this development, Abramovitch himself called out to the sluggers and Police, “Do your duty! I cannot speak if this noise continues!” Then came the general assault up- on the workers. At least fifty were thrown out of the meeting besides the forty-three arrested, excepting ten who, after being thrown out, came back and demanded admittance. Then they were beaten by police and taken off in a patrol wagon. They were charged with “breach of the peace.” The others with “inciting to riot.” Magistrate Toughill handed out the sentences, and strictly conformed to the united front arrangement between the socialists and the capitalist gov- ernment. Among the prisoners were eight women, “With the Able A: ism.” The local capitalist press, while falsely stating that the counter-revolu- tionary professor finished his speech, begins its account with the following significant paragraph, underneath a seven column streamer headline say- ing, “Police Quell Riot as Speaker Assails Soviet Russia.” “With the able assistance of po- lice, Professor Rafael Abramovitch last night finished, for the first time in four starts, his favorite oration de- nouncing Soviet Russia.” The police department and the so- clalist party is becoming indistin- guishable to the Philadelphia work- ers. ance of Capital- ne Bei \ \ “Zinoviev Letter” For BACKED BY COPS United States Shown AT PHILLY MEFT|| Up As Clumsy Fake HE story printed in the Chicago Tribune on February 14, signed by George Seldes, and dated Berlin, purports to expose another “Zino- viev letter,” much the same as that used in the British elections except that the forgery ‘is so crude and patent that it evidently did not fool even the hysterical red-baiters who live upon such food or the usually gullible Tribune which relegated it to the back pages. The whole document cited’ in the story bears the marks of clumsy forgery. That the Communist International should donate $340,000 for the Purpose of creating a “labor party,” at a moment when the whole idea of a “labor party” in the United States has been taken off the calendar of immediate political questions, is an idea so preposterous that only an imbecile police agent and forger could have conceived it. Just a few more items to clinch this forgery. The letter, says Seldes. “was written on the stationery of the communist official organ, the Investia, and rubber stamped with seals.” That the Communist Internatfonal, instead of using Communist Party and government its own letter heads should use that of a Russian newspaper, is about as reason- able and probable as J. P. Morgan writing to Ramsey MacDonald on the stationary of the New York Times, and sealing it with the stamp of the republican party and the United States government. The document itself is senseless and silly. The only thing that could have any connection with reality is the statement about a “labor party,” but this, unfortunately for the forger, would have been impos- sible for any one connected with the C. I. to write in December, 1924. The supposed signature of the document shows that the forger did not even Have sense enough to look up the forms of the Communist International correspondence as published in innumerable papers all over the world. Never did any one ever see a Communist International letter signed “General Secretary of the International Executive Com- mittee.” And, again unfortunately for the forger and his customers, the name used for signature, Kolarov, was used more than six months too late. Kolarov was secretary of the Communist International—until June, 1924 when he left Moscow for his home country, Bulgaria—but the forged letter is dated, December 16, 1924. At that latter date the secretary of the Communist International was Kuusinen. The supposed signature of “Stuart” also struck @,enag, ‘in that STEWART, an Eng- ishman, surely knows how to spell his own name in the English language. But what does the capitalist press care for facts? Nothing. They. gladly publish stories like this from George Seldes, and pay more money for forgeries of this kind than even these experienced liars claim that the Communist International sends to America for “propaganda.” The purpose is obvious; it is the same as that of the other forgery, the “Zinoviev letter” used in the British elections, and which the British trade union delegation, after vistng Moscow, branded as a forgery. And like the British forgery, this latest one will have the result of waking up larger numbers of workers to the real meaning of capitalist demo- eracy and capitalist “feedom of the press.” The Workers (Communist) Party of America calls the attention of the American workers to this impudent forgery. We warn the workers that this is part of a concerted attack—not against the Communists alone—preparatory to a new war on the workers’ and peasants’ govern- ment of Russia and the whole working class. Wage cuts are on the order of the day, unions are to be smashed, Therefore the capitaNsts again raise the cry of the “red menace”—and every worker who stands up for his class interests will be branded as a “red.” Central Executive Committee, Workers (Communist) Party of America WILLIAM Z. FOSTER, Chairman Cc. E. RUTHENBERG, Executive Sec’y. SOME TEXTILE STRIKES SHOW SPIRIT DESPITE UNION DIVISION; WORKERS SUPPORT UNITED FRONT By ROBERT MINOR. (Special to The Daily Worker) MIDDLEBORO, Mass., Feb. 15.—When George Mascott, weaver, came to his job in the Nemasket Worsted Mills here one morning last September, he found one of his two looms with the warp put in for two kinds of filling This was a violationof a promise. duced over night. More than a year It meant a speeding up system intro- ago the workers in this woolen mill had been called in by Superintendent Lord, who pleaded with them to ac: cept a drastic cut in their pay—14 per cent, Otherwise the mill could not afford to run, the superintendent said. The textile workers accepted the plea of the bosses’ “poverty”-—on one condition: that if wages Were cut there would be no speeding up. Hach weaver required to handle two looms (in a woolen mill two looms are a full job) was given only one kind of filling for each loom. On the solemn promise of the mill owners thru their superin- tendent, the workers proceeded to work nearly a year for wages upon which it was almost impossible to live, i Practicing Class Collaboration, It was hard pulling, but the workers were “helping the boss to meet compe- tition,” so as to “put the business on a sound basis, to enable the mill to pay better wages later on.” When it comes to talking a worker out of his wages, these New England mill super- intendents can out-panhandle the smoothest artist on the Bowery. Then, on the 11th of last Septem- ber, George Mascott, found one of his two looms loaded for two kinds of filler, meaning about a fifty per cent speed-up, requiring the weaver to han- dle three shuttles. Mascott took one look at the loom and sat down with folded’ arms. The Result of “Helping the Boss.” The other weavers left their looms and crowded around.. The superin- tendent came. A weaver told) him “You promised not to give us two kinds of filling when we run two looms, Mascott will not run that job.” “Then let him loaf,” said Superin tendent Lord. “All right,” said another weaver. “if he loafs we will all loaf until you take the filling out.” The superintendent grinned at the men and women whom he had so eas ily bluffed out of so many dollars in lost wages a year before. “Very well,” he sneered, “we'll call it a general strike.” Two hundred weavers walked out of the mill, ers followed, Thus began the first strike that was ever known at the (Continued on page 2) promptly Other work: (FIND THE HANMER ON PAGE 6)