The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 13, 1925, Page 12

natlieagihliriniaibes | ea — Pittsburg Steel vs. Human Freedom (Continue from Page 3) Organization of Progressive Miners’ Committee. HE contact made in this relief work between the Pittsburgh trade unionists and the progressive ele- ments of the union miners, resulted in the fall of 1922 in the formation of the “Progressive Miners’ Commit- tee of District Five, U. M. W. of A.,” to carry on an aggressive fight against the operators. Naturally the Pittsburgh “nuts became extremely dangerous to the big operators who still cherished the hope of driving the U. M. W. of A. from the Pittsburgh district. This fear was greatly in- creased when the District Five com- mittee became sponsor for the “Inter- national Progressive Committee of the U. M. W. of A.” in the spring of 1923. Naturally the members of this committee fraternized much . with their friends in the “Pittsburgh Min- ers’ Relief Confenence,” and this group came to be regarded by every- oné as responsible for the virile spir- it that developed in District Five. “Red Raid” of April 27, 1923. N this miners’ committee issued a call for a national con- ference of the progressive miners’ consternation reigned in the camp of the “open shoppers” for they knew this group would fight and a fight was not what they were looking for. Immediately scores of detectives be- gan shadowing and hounding the rep- resentatives of the Progressive Min- ers. The “reds” retaliated by bring- ing Alexander Howat into the dis- trict and having him tour the district. This brought the flight to a white heat and in a final desperate effort to prevent the June National Confer- ence of Progressive Miners in Pitts- burgh a raid was made on the build- ing of the Labor Lyceum, and lists of progressive miners’ names seized. The Workers Party office in that building was raided, everything in the office carted out and officers of the party placed under arrest along with members of the party in other parts of the city. The district organ- izer was held for indictment as a se- ditious person and bail fixed at $50,- 000, Other members of the Workers Party were held on equally ridiculous bonds. The-defendant very naturally refused to give such bonds and after twelve days they were released on bonds varying from $15,000 down. Among those held were a delegate to the Pittsburgh Central Labor Union, three members of the machinists’ union and two members of the office workers’ union. A few days later Thomas Myers- cough, secretary of the International Progressive Miners’ Committee was put in jail and charged with sedition and held on high cash bail. This made in all ten defendants who were indicted for the major crime of se- dition under an act approved in 1921 which provides a maximum sentence of $10,000 fine and 20 years impris- onment. This act was so savage in its character that when before the legislative committee hearings were had on it, and the present governor, Gifford Pinchot, President James H. Maurer of the Pennsylvania Federa- tion of Labor and scores of labor leaders appeared and _ protested against it. © Called for Trial After Two Years. O hard was it to find in the mass of literature seized, anything tang- ible on which to hang such a serious charge that the district attorney has done nothing since the original indict- ment. The raid was on April 27, 1923, and now after more than two years the defendants are called for trial. Probably in no other part of the Unit- ed States could there be such an ab- surd manipulation of “justice.” The severity of the class struggle here has made it necessary for the ruling class to develop political agents who are willing, on a moment’s notice, to vio- late even the “American traditions” so brazenly as to make the whole thing ridiculous, Coal Figures Again. GAIN coal figures in the economic cause of political reflexes. The tragic evolution of the soft coal in- dustry has brought the big Pitts- burgh coal operators into keen com- petition with non-union operators in Kentucky and southern West Vir- ginia. Since the Lewis administra- tion of the U. M. W. of A. is not raising its finger to organize this non- union territory while confusing the membership with strike in northern ‘West Virginia, the “union” operators of the Pittsburgh District have an ad- ditional economic incentive to de |stroy the last vestige of the U. M. W. of A. in western Pennsylvania. Out of fifty-four union mines the Pitts burgh Coal company has closed down every singke one and dismantled al- most half of them. It is as plain as a man’s hand that they intend to move against the union miners in a bitter struggle very soon. They re- member the role of the Pittsburgh Miners’ Relief in the last struggle and they propose to remove that group be- fore the battle starts if possible. These old bald-headed cases are the only excuse but they will be used as far as possible to accomplish this. The Mellon powers are busy and all the influence of that gigantic group will be thrown against the defendants who have been a thorn in the side of these capitalists for the last fif- ten or twenty years. Competent attorneys have been se- cured and when the first trial starts on June 15, the only necessity to an adequate defense will be lack of funds. The need of a big strong, non- | partisan defense organization is the primary requisite to successful or- ganization of the workers in western Pennsylvania. The first step in that work is to support-the present fight to the limit. Sacrifice all you can and insist on building up adequate and permanent defense machinery of the working class. Fortunately the Labor Defense Council has pledged it self to support these cases to the limit and money may be sent to that organization, 19 South Lincoln St., Chicago, Il. Red Radio and Film for Russia’s Workers By WM. F. KRUSE. The newest methods of news trans- mission, the motion picture and the radio, are being extensively used to otbring the happenings of the workers (word before ‘the eyes and ears of Russia’s toiling millions. Six thou- sand workers’ clubs and twelve thou- sand provincial reading rooms are be- ing equipped with loud speakers, while constantly increasing thousands of clubs and schools have portable motion picture projectors. These new metheds dovetail per- fectly with the great daily newspa- pers. For instance, the “Pravda” has a regular news reel under its own name which is shown all over the country, and which deals, as. far as possible with the same subjects that are treated in its columns. Free open air shows are given from a roof over- looking a big open space. Furthermore, it has a full length feature film showing how news is sent to it from all over the world, by wireless, cable, telegraph, post and WIRE IF YOU ARE LATE! lf you have not sent in your order for a free bundle of the DAILY WORKER to distribute during RED WEEK send in your order at once by mail or by wire if necessary. Send also for a stack of special sub cards to the special rate of two months for one dollar week. £ Thousands of BUILDERS will be on the munist building during RED WEEK set aside subs at uring this ~ of Com- or this pur- Se. WILL YOU BE ON THE JOB, COMRADE? * * 0° 86 IN THE SECOND ANNUAL SUB CAMPAIGN These new subs were received on Fridey, dune 12: CLEVELAND, 0O.—J. R. Rancken (4); chic (2). J. A. Hamilton (2); P. Luca- NEW YORK, N. Y.—Dissenhouse (2); Yetta Davis; Bessie Turick; Salkend; Fannie Bobick. PHILADELPHIA, PA—Lena Rosenberg (3). CHICAGO, ILL.—Mrs. Lee Green; H. P. Clausen (2). ST. PAUL, MINN-—J. F. Amme (2); 0. R. Votaw. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.—Dan W. Stevens (5). OAKLAND, CALIF.—P. B. Cowdery (5). : WARREN, 0.—John Yanoz (2). HANCOCK, MICH.—Farmers Co-operative (2). FRANKFORT HEIGHTS, ILL.—Wm. Schroeder. LOS ANGELES, CALIF.—S. Globerman. HOUSTON, TEX.—N. Bell. MORE PLEDGES FOR RED WEEK i. CP er rier 15 15 personal messenger, how it is then written, set up, proof-read, plated, printed, and distributed. The film is used to instruct the Worker Corre- spondents in every factory, trade union, co-operative, village soviet etc., how to write. up their stories; it serves to dramatize the newspaper columns with the vital moving image of the actual events written about. Thus May Day riots in Paris are thrown on the screen, the’ news !s wirelessed to Moscow, and soon the workers of Russia are reading about it. Less spectacular but equally im- portant events in Soviet Russia, the improvement of production technique, the fraternizing of workers and peas- ants and soldiers at a joint picnic, the habits and customs of all the far- flung sixty-five nations that make up the U.S.S.R., as well as the methods by which this information reaches the newspaper offices are shown. Much the same purpose and method underlies the tie-up of the radio with the press. Two editions are broad- casted daily, one at 12:25 p.m., to co- incide with the workers’ noon-hour, the other at 7:55 p. m., when they get home and prior to the start of most evening meetings. The noon edition includes only the principal happenings of the day and the work- ers gather around the loud speakers as they eat their lunch. The evening edition includes all the departments of the printed paper—news, editori- als, special educational articles, party doings, short stories, and literary, musical, dramatic and motion picture reviews. Thus the world’s news be- comes accessible even to the last aged iliterate. Special lectures are broadcasted, Particular attention being given to agricultural instruction, suitable to the season, for the vast peasant audi- ence. A children’s newspaper is be- ing planned by the Narkompross, (the department of education), and A. V. Lunacharsky, the people's commis- sar for education, has summoned the leading pedagogs in his department for suggestions and Plans in this field. Concerts are devoted more to class- ical and folk music than to jazz, but attention is nevertheless, focused on the new developments in music to encourage. progressive thought on this fleld as on all others. The actual charge of the radio transmission is entirely in the hands of the department of poste and tele eens, and thus far about fifty broadcasting stations have been es- tablished. This development of a great new discovery by a workers’ government for the enjoyment and instruction of csr oe the working class is in clear contrast © to the line taken by the same indus- try in America, Here the broadcast- ing is in private hands, generally that of the manufacturers of receiving ap- paratus who use the programs to stimulate the sale of their products. These programs are often paid for by other private interests who receive in exchange radio notice for the par- ticular product and trade mark which they exploit. Thus, it will be an- nounced, that “The next number will be ‘How Can I Leave Thee,’ by cour- tesy..of the Sticktite Flypaper Com- pany.” Fucthermore, the large sums needed to establish a broadcasting station gives the capitalists a mono- poly of this form of news and propa- ganda transmission. Only reactionary politicians or bourgeois stalking hors- es can use it at election time, while bankers and ministers have it al ways at their service for the preach- ing of capitalist virtues. Fortunately most of this preaching is ‘so deadly dull that nobody listens to it. In Russia the air, like the land and the factories, belongs to the working class, and theirs is the full benefit thereof. The workers’ state, exclud- ing all enemy classes from control of these new media, develops them as rapidly and as fully as possible for the service and enjoyment of the masses, Madison Pharmacy INC. BETTER DRUGS Light Luncheon Served 1154 Madison Street, Corner Ann OPEN DAY AND NIGHT Four Phones Chicago working Weber Printing Co. 3650 N. FIFTH STREET, Philadelphia, Pa.