The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 13, 1925, Page 3

THE DAILY WORKER ~ ) THIS PAGE Is Devoted to the Activity and Interests of the Trade Union Educational League (TiO; BL) North American Section of the RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS (R. LL. U.) THE T.U.E.L. Represents the Left Wing of the Labor Movement. wine Its Purpose Is to Strengthen the Labor Unions by Amalgamation of Existing Unions, Organization of the Unorganized, and by Replacing Reactionary and Class Collaboration Policies with a Unified Program for the Transformation of the Unions Into Organs of Revolutionary Class Struggle for the Overthrowal of Capitalism and the Establishment of a Workers’ and Farm: ers’ Government. FIGHT IN W. VA. MINERS’ STRIKE NEEDS MILITANTS Mass Disobedience is Injunction Cure By E. STEPHENS, Worker Corre- spondent. WHEELING, W. Va.—Despite the weak leadership given their officials and the criminal negligence of real op- portunities to organize the unorgan- ized union miners who are now on strike in the northern part of West Virginia, stand solid as a rock. Wm, Roy, a vice-president of Dis- trict No, 6, was put in charge of the strike in the Panhandle section. Time after time the local men requested organizers, especially colored organ- izers. But they were told there were no organizers to get. At the same time organizers and officers in West- ern Pennsylvania go from local to local, attacking and slandering ~pro- gressive miners. These officals did not send organiz- ers into the West Virginia field until the companies started to bring in col- ored miners from the south. Altho the organizers are now in the field, they are afraid to go near the mines owing to a grey-haired injunction the operators want to revive. The miners of this section remem- ber how Howat and the miners in Kansas struck against the industrial court law and defied the court to stop the strike. As a result of this mass fight by the miners and the ag- gressive leadership of Howat the in- dust zourt law was killed forever. Altho the miners here talk of using the same method and defy the injunc- tion by mass action still they realize that mass disobedience of the injunc- tion requires leadership that is not afraid to face the jail if it is neces- sary. This kind of leadership is lack- ing among the organizers in this field, The only militant leadership that is given comes from the ranks of the miners themselves and is supplied by the Communists. The miners are begin- ning to see who are the moving spirits in this struggle and the need of de- veloping their own leadership. Painters’ Union of Cleveland Shows Fine Class Solidarity CLEVELAND.—Union painters and glaziers struck against the employ- ment of non-union window washers on the $4,000,000 Cleveland public library a few days before the huge structure was to be opened. Get A Sub And Give One! Cleveland Bosses Want Open Shop But Don’t Want to Pay CLEVELAND. — Professional anti- unionists, after working for the cham: ber of commerce, fell flat in their at- tempt to kick up Cleveland public opinion against union men. Only $75,000 was pladged, too little for a bitter war on a scale comparable to Chicago’s $3,000,000 war on the build- ing trades. The chairman of the chamber’s labor relations committee quit his job, bewailing the apathy of Cleveland business men. RAIL WORKERS CONVENTIONS RAISE ISSUE Enginemen Demand An! Amalgamation The Order of Railway Conductors is holding its triennial convention at Minneapolis, having opened its ses- sions May 4. . The Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes began its triennial meet in Kansas City, its original headquarters, on the same day. On May 12, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen convene in Cleve- land. On June 1, the Brotherhood of Loco- motive Firemen & Enginemen meet in triennial session in Detroit. 4 Conventions and Death Benefits. Two issues confronting the Rail- way Clerks are reducing the cost of conventions and putting the death benefit department on a sound ac- tuarial basis. The 1922 convention au Dallas, Texas, cost $263,535.89 for mileage and expense of delegates. The problem is to cut the number of dele- gates without destroying democratic control of the convention. The death benefit averaging $290 per deceased member is draining the reserve fund because the assessments for this benefit are practically negli- gible. Ten years continuous member- ship entitles the member to a $1,000 death benefit certificate but his total payments in that time will amount to only $12. Amalgamation Issue with Enginemen. The locomotive firemen face intri- cate financial problems in the propos- al, so far not completed, to amalgam- ate with the Brotherhood of Locomo- tive Engineers. Negotiations between officials and committees of the two engine Service brotherhoods await convention action of the firemen on insurance and other adjustments that must precede amalgamation. What a Ford Job is Like in Detroit DETROIT, Mich.—I started in Ford’s River Rouge plant about two weeks ago, as a machine hand, No.483. I lasted two days on their machines and was all in on account of the noise of the machine, dust and dirt and the speed production. I was transferred to the sweeping department. On the eighth day, being a stranger in De- \troit, I was put out of my’ dirty, stink- ing room by the landlord at 515 BH, Congress because, not having been paid yet, I could not meet my room rent, I tried to draw $15 on the $35 I had earned. The foreman e me an order for $15 on the paymaster in Ford's office. The Badge System. Incidently they have a great badge ‘ system here. After the third day you are supposed to get a nice metal badge, instead of the dirty temporary one you wear until the third day. But after you get it you are charged $6 if you lose it, Get in line after eight hours of beastly hard labor, look very apolo- getic and explain to the flunkey in the badge crib why you want a regular badge. I did that for four straight nights after quitting work, but was never able to get a regular Ford badge. Ford has “No Money.” Well, when the paymaster looked at the order for the $16, he sald they . had no money in the office. This was | after I had borrowed enough from a [oe crippled fellow worker to pay for my breakfast and dinner. It was all he had. Now I have known what it is to be on the Bowery in New York City with hat in hand, without a place to sleep or anything to eat, looking for assist- ance in that hardest of places to get it, but I never realized what it was to be a beggar until I tried to get the $15 from that Ford paymaster, after I had earned it sweeping up the dirt, dust, tobacco, sputuum, grease and filth, I have worked at Hog Island and al- most all the large war plants during the war. Hog Island was known as a er resort for war slackers and non-workers, especially the office workers, red tape rats. But Hog Island has nothing on the River Rouge plant, for red tape. ‘They have no police in the place In uniform. They don’t need them, About every five feet there is a boss doing a policeman’s job, stopping, hol- lering and motioning. It took me one day to get the job, after the examina- tion and all the rest from 9 a. m. to 5 p.m T have never been in the peniten- tiary. I often wondered how a con- vict felt leaving prison after doing a hard jolt. But when a man goes thru the red tape here in Ford’s pay office trying to get his final pay, he wil know how a convict feels. I finally got out of\Pord’s jail—Signed, George Henderson. HISTORIC PACT OF RUSSIAN AND bi BRITISH UNIONS BASED ON THE ASSURES UNITY CLASS STRUGGLE LONDON.—In pursuance of the effort. for trade union unity of the world’s labor unions, and at the invitation of the neral council of the British Trade Union Congress, a joint conference of the Russian and British unions was held here on April 6, 7 and 8. Soviet Union Delegates. At this conference which marks a historic day for the world’s workers, the Russian unions were represented by the following delegates: M. Tomsky, Olga Chernishova, I. I. Lepse, N. P. Gle- bov-Avilov, V. M. Mikhailov, G. N. Melnichansky, secretary and V. Y. Yarotsky. . British Union Delegates. __ The British union delegates were A. B. Swales, A. A. Pur- cell, H. Boothman, J. W. Bowen, G. Hicks,,#. L. Poulton, W. Thorne, B. Tillet, Julia Varley, R. B. Walker, Fred Bramley, sec- + SCO retary, and George Young. A. B. Swales, president of the Brit- ish Trade Union Congress pre- sided. Presages World Change. After long and serious discussion, negotiation and exchange of docu- ments, an agreement was reached, which will be recommended to the respective councils of the Russian and British unions. If adopted it will change the relations of capital and labor thruout the world,.and this fact is already sensed by the British and other great capitalist powers’ ruling classes, all of whom have at once launched a world drive to check the westward wave of revolutionary la- bor from its tower of strength in Sov- iet Russia. The text of the agreement follows: The Agreement. “1, The joint conference affirms that national and international unity must be recognized as the first essen- tial condition to enable the trade un- ion movement to defend effectively the present position of the workers against attack and to achieve the so- cial and political aims of organized labor as set forth in the declarations made by the workers of many coun- tries. Reaction Dominant. “2, The political situation in near- ly every so-called civilized country is dominated .by reaction and in many countries the increased power of co- ordinated capitalist interests is evi- dent. This is shown by the contin- ued persecution of leading trade un- ionists who in the exercise of class prejudice. on the part of employing interests are suspected, persecuted, thrown into jail and even tortured by those in power. “3. Tn the industrial and economic field the capitalists of allt countries are forming their united front—a united front for the exploitation of workers all over the world. The work- ers in the meantime remain divided, and in some countries are formed into antagonistic groups. Instead of being employed in the task of defense against capitalist aggression they are plunged into bitter quarrels and dis- sensions. Workers’ Advantage Lost. “4. In nearly every country, in consequence of the growing power of the capitalist class and the lack of unity among the workers, advantages gained in the direction of reduced hours of labor and increased wages have been lost. Where the 8-hour day has not been abolished, it is im- perilled. In many industries the hours of labor have once more reverted to nine, ten, or even more hours per day, and it is only in countries where the trade union movement is strong that the standard in relation to hours is maintained. Unemployment, Despair and Degrad- ation, “5, Thru the economic paralysis of Europe caused by the world war, mil- lions of workers are unemployed and with their families are being driven into the depths of despair, starvation and degradation. Wages, never suf- ficient to maintain a decent standard of life tor the workers, have been re- duced by 20 per cent, 30 per cent, and in some cases over 40 per cent. The standard of living in many coun- tries is now below pre-war level. “6. The hope of better times which existed among the workers shortly af- ter the great world war and which they were led by unscrupulous poli- ticians to believe would be the result of their enormous sacrifices, has now disappeared, and given place to de- spair. The pledges of politicians and the promises of capitalists during the war and directly after it, have been cynically repudiated. “The blind faith that inspired the workers to fight for respective gov- ernments in the universal catastrophe in which millions of their class were killed and maimed, has been shatter- ed. After the greatest sacrifices and the severest sufferings they are now faced with little prospect of a better life for the workers. New War Preparing. “7, Already it would appear that @ new war, more terrible, more mon- strous than anything known hitherto is being prepared. New weapons of destruction are being devised; the chemists and scientific thinkers of European countries are devoting their knowledge and skill to the task of inventing new weapons of torture and destruction for use not only against bad soldier, but also against the civil- “In the meantime so-called disarm- ament conferences are merely encour- aging dangerous illusions. “They are being used to deceive the workers and lull them into a false sense of security, “But the capitalist politicians and the employing interests are no long- er able to hide the fact that new arm- aments are being built up, greater than before and more deadly. No Hope—But in the Working Class. “8. There is but one power that can. save mankind from being plung- ed into another universal catastrophe. “There is but one power which can defend the workers of all countries against political and economic oppres- sion and tyranny. “There is but one power which can bring freedom, welfare, happiness, and peace to the working class and to humanity. “That power is the working class, If well organized, properly disciplined, self-devoted and deter- mined to fight all who would op- pose and prevent its complete emancipation. “The working classes, if united na- tionally and internationally, would constitute an insuperable barrier to capitalist oppression and an unbreak- able bond of peace and economic se- curity. “The workers are able to defeat all those who by their reactionary tend- encies keep the workers divided. So long as-the capitalist system contin- ues there is danger of war. The mer- ciless struggle for supremacy between the conflicting vested interests of competing groups of exploiters will (as in the past) eventually provoke a new crisis plunging the workers of the world into ~ another disastrous war, a feapad = 4 Re-Affirm Moscow Agreement. “For the above reasons the British and Russian trade union representa- tives re-affirm the agreement made in Moscow between representatives of British and Russian organized labor to promote international good will among the workers as a means of more adequately safeguarding the in- terests of international peace. “As a result of the discussions at this London conference and of the agreement reached there, joint efforts as provided in the procedure laid down in the British declarations will be made to induce the Amsterdam In- ternational in all good will to agree to a free, unconditional, and immedi- ate conference with representatives of the Russian trade union move- ment, For a World Federation. “We also jointly place on record our determination to maintain and weld closer the friendly relations of the British and Russian trade union movements by taking such joint ac- tion as is provided for in the arrange- ments annexed herewith. “The representatives of the Brit- ish and Russian trade union move- ments herewith declare their inten- tion to do what they can by joint means to bring about international unity. “The need and importance of in- ternational unity is recognized by mil- lions of organized workers thruout the world. Their co-operation in the task of removing racial prejudices, artificial barriers and economic ob- structions to their joint development is assured. “Knowing that unity brings power, we convinced that the workers of a jountries, joining hands across the frontiers, will work together to secure their emancipation, “The motto to be inscribed on our international banner must continue to be the following: “Workers of the World, Unite! “Long Live a ‘World-Wide Federa- tion of Trade Unions!” on @ The above agreement has annexed provisions outlining the technical ma- chinery of further joint action and contact for work laid down above. Eleven Million Workers Speak. It is an event of world shaking sig- nificance that the above frank declar- ation for the final overthrowal of capi- talism, is adopted by the authorita- tive central organizations comprising 11,000,000 (eleven, million) workers. oo Get a subcfor the DAILY WORKER from your shopmate and you will make another mem- ber for your branch, a CARPENTERS’ OLD |° AGE HOME A NICE THING FOR HUTCH A $420,000 Kitty to Play With By MIKE ROSS. For a number of years propaganda was spread by the general officers of the carpenters’ union, for the neces- sity of an old-age home to take care of the old and infirm members. It seems peculiar that an adminis- tration that has persistently defeated the will of the membership and so notoriously worked against their wel- fare, should suddenly become so in- terested in the welfare of the old members. A few examples of their actions are shown in the signing of the Chicago scab agrement by William F. Hutche- son, Czarist Actions. In the expulsion of 65 locals of New York by Hutcheson in 1916 because they fought for a higher scale of wages. Lately the expulsion of all those militants who actively fought for the welfare of the membership and the ruling that the progressive carpenters’ campaign program, on the basis of which Morris Rosen, candi- date for general president, asked the members to support him, is “uncon- stitutional.” When such a corrupt administration becomes so anxious for the welfare of the old members that it goes to the extent of falsifying the referen- dum vote and violating the constitu- tion in order to get the old age home, as proven in the evidence published in the pamphlet “What's Wrong in the Carpenters’ Union?” then it is high time to wake up and examine the reasons. Raising the Kitty. The first thing done was to increase the per capita tax to 10 cents per member per month for that purpose, netting an increase in revenue to tho general office of about $420,000 per year. , 3 The second thing done was to pur- chase the land at Lakeland, Florida. The inner details of the transaction will probably never be made public, yet there is a rumor that the land was first purchased by a private com- pany in which certain union officials were secretly interested and then re- sold to the carpenters’ union at a great profit to this private company. Big Graft in Land. Whether this is true or not, at any rate many people who know the value of land there claim the price paid ir greatly in excess of its value. So important was the old-age home considered that every issue of The Carpenter had articles on it, and at the last convention almost half the time was devoted to it. An appea! for the repeal of the proposition war suppressed and the chief spokesman Muleahy, was expelled from the con- vention. Despite all this treachery, fraud and corruption, the old-age home was de- feated in the last referendum vote after the convention. Since then many locals have asked that the land be sold and the 10-cent per capita tax per member per month be relinquished, but the officials are in a dilemma. If it is sold it would have to go at a great loss. This would cast suspicion among the membership. Give Back the Cash! As to the tax, it is now six months after the old-age home was defeated, and they show no intentions of giving back to the membership $420,000 per year. In this fight the selling of the land and the dropping of the tax, the mili- tants must take the lead, not because of the tax or land itself, but as 6 means of rallying the membership around the left wing and exposing the corruption of the machine. NEW YORK; BIG MEETING MAY 14 By ARTHUR SMITH NEW YORK CITY, May 11.—The hotel and restaurant workers’ branch of the Amalgamated Food Workers is about to start the most significant cam- paign to organize the unorganized of the trade ever launched in New York. The conditions of the unorganized of the industry are turning from bed to worse. It is a generally known fact that hotel and restaurant workers spend half and in some cases even ¢—————————————————— more than a half of a day in filthy cellar kitchens or airless dining rooms making heavy profits for the bosses and getting hardly enough to make a living for themselves. Under such conditions a drive to organize them for the betterment of their miserable lot is very timely. Organization Drive Proposed. The recommendations for the drive were put forward by the executive board on the initiative of the secre- tary-organizer, at the last general membership meeting of the branch. It was a lively meeting. It aroused real enthusiasm among the members. In view of the fact that the hotel and restaurant trade, particularly the former, went thru a_ trustification process in the last couple of years, the problem confronting the organization on the eve of an organizational drive on a large scale is very great. How- ever, the suggestiens of the executive board seem to have solved this prob- lem at least from a theoretical point of view. To put it briefifly, the recommenda- ; tions of the executive board are as follows: To make the campaign a success the organization will charge $1.00 for the initiation of the new members, That is the only charge we make unless the man wants to become a full-fledged member of our organization right away. This amount shall entitle them to a mem- bership and stand good as initiation fee for six months. No worker shall be compelled to join as a full fledged member until we succeed in securing him the promised betterment of his conditions. For the newly initiated members the union shall organize educational meetings. In our drive we demand $50 mini- mum wages for the chefs and waiters, $38 for comis, and $30 for miscel- laneous workers (bus-boys, blue jack- ets, dishwashers, etc.). Our demand for $50 weekly wages for the waiters, | of course, means the abolishment of tipping system. To interest the wait- ers in our drive this is made plain in 80 many words, by our slogan. Organized Workers Must Support Drive: When the floor was thrown open for | discussion there was not a single ob-} jection. Everybody taking the floor supported the recommendations whole eartedly. The members readily con- leved the great problem before the rganization and it was repeatedly smphasized that if we want to make 1 success of the campaign, we, the or- yanized workers, have to support it to he fullest extent. The benefit of a successful organiz- ng campaign accruing to us organized workers are immense. The control of the closed shops shall be solidified. The competition of unorganized labor, shall be at least partially eliminated, ete. ®ryant Hall Meeting May 14. A mass meeting at Bryant Hall, to be held probably on May 14, will mark the start of the campaign. The drive is centered against the big hotel trust and restaurants simul- taneously. The first object being to initiate sufficient number of workers into our organization to paralyze the whole industry in case of a strike. If the contention that conditions are ripe for such a drive is correct and the organized workers will give their active support to this campaign, it un- doubtedly will, in face of all obstacles, be a success. It is on us organized workers of the industry that the suc: sess of this drive greatly depends. if the unanimous vote given to the recommendation of the executive board, and the enthusiastic reception of them means something, if it will »e converted into active support, we have won the battle. cn Farm Workers Treated Like Work Animals WASHINGTON, May 11.—Living conditions for farm laborers, and_es- pecially for transients, “were found to be in a deplorable state” on many of the 375 representative truck farms in New Jersey which have been studied by the U. S. department of agriculture, which is seeking to find what can be done to make farm labor more efficient. The official report, just out, is a confession of conditions such as have led to the formation of protest movements in other parts of the coun- try. “Some cases were found where only a board set on edge marked off family spaces on the floor of shacks used for common sleeping quarters, where straw and rough bedding were laid,” says the department. “Sanitary facil- ities were sometimes conspicuous by their absence, and when found were usually primitive and inconveniently located.” Recommendations include the con- struction of decent sleeping and cook- ing quarters, sanitary arrangements, etc., and the giving of more steady employment. It was also the opinion of the investigators that some means must be found to “enforce” school at- tendance of children of migratory farm workers. Only one in seven, of the native- born employes, had attended school beyond the grammar grades. About one-half of the native-born had five or more grades of common school work. One-third of the foreign-borr had attended school in their natiy lands from five to ten years, and som: had received their schooling in Ame ica. Of the 17 nationalities amon the foreign born workers, the Italian were the predominant group, Nearly 60 per cent of the foreig: born could neither read nor write Eng- lish. Seven per cent could not speak it. Jimmie The Faker Changes His Mind WASHINGTON, — James Duncan, first vice-president of the American Federation of Labor, has withdrawn his resignation from the executive councli, which was offered at its De- cember session in New York. Jobs Are Si er in New York, ALBANY, Y., May 11.—Employ- ment in New York state dropped 20,- 000 to 25,000 from the middle of March to the middle of April, according to figures of the state labor department, Of 55 industries examined only 15 reported increases. Metals and tex- tiles led in the decline, TAILORS’ UNION OF PARKERSBURG IN HARD FIGHT Firm Against Courts and Yellow Scabs By A. G. MURPHY. PARKERSBURG, W. Va.—The lock- out of the local Journeymen Tailors’ Union by the National Woolen Mills of this city which became effective January 24th last, continues, with the membership of the union, tho fight- ing against great odds, refusing to yield to the demands of the mill own ers that they drop the union and re+ turn too work on an open shop basis. Contrary to the expectations of the basses, who thought they would have the union members crawling back the first week, begging for work on any terms, not a member has broken the solid ranks, and not one will. An Injunction—As Usual, Early in the lockout the mill man- agement secured an injunction against the union forbidding picketing, and they were also enjoined in this from |doing everything except breathing. The union a little later sought to have this injunction dissolved and many of the members learned then for the first time that the courts of their country were class courts, and not working class, either. The trial judge gave the union short shrift, refusing to dis- solve the injunction. : Since then, the mill has been able to secure a few inexperienced work- ers and also some experienced work- ers (about twenty-three) from the force of the United Woolen Mills of Columbus. Former Unionists Turn to Scabbing. The United Woolen Mills, which had moved many of its operators from here last December after their plant here had been burned, is a closed shop concern paying the existing scale of union wages, and yet many of the operatives have sunk so low in de- cency that they left there and, throw- ing their union principles to the winds, returnd here to scab on fel- low workers. They have won the scorn and contempt of all except the business men's clubs and boards of commerce and their ilk. General Organizer George Sangster, who is here conducting the lockout for the union, has issued a compre- hensive statement of the lockout and bills have been distributed giving the workers’ side of the controversy. The local union has also learned in this fight that the newspapers, lIfke the courts, stand for a class, and that class is not the working class by any means. HILLCREST TAKES BITTER PILL OF OPEN SHOP MINE HILLCREST, Crow's Ne#t Puasd, Alta.—The Hillcrest miners have doa cided to go back to work, the vote be) ing 123 to 91 against and nine spoiled’ ballots. . Most of the contract miners voted against it. There are a lot of men who can’t get back now and are not likely to later. Several of them were ordered out of the mine office when there looking for work. They went to see the general man- ager. He told them, “The Hillcrest collieries will hire and fire whom they think fit.” He then added, by way of nsult, “Who do you think is running his mine?” This is only the beginning of what s going to happen. The men who ave no work have called a meeting f the unemployed, trying to get the en on strike again. It is the only hance they have. Hillcrest is on the road to get a bellyful of open shop conditions. It is up to them, By sticking together they can improve their conditions. Leaving it to the few militants to better things gets them nowheres, only gets the few blacklisted and the rest are left helpless. The conserva- tive elements must aid the militants and fight under their direction and learn how to make it a common strug- gle. This is what they must do, or else they will always stay beaten down. Too many think that ff they have a Job they will not do anything for fear of getting themselves “in wrong.” But they find that they get in wrong ultim- ately anyhow and have no organization to help them after Wake up, Hillerest! You shown the rest of the Pass that can fight. You have nothing to but your bad conditions, ee f Page Three RGANIZATION DRIVE FOR HOTEL a AND RESTAURANT WORKERS ON IN