The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 17, 1925, Page 3

THIS (R. 1 Represents the Left Wing i Is Devoted to the Activity and Interests of the Trade Union Educational League (8. Ue BL) North American Section of the RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS THE T. PAGE LU.) v4 U2. of the Labor Movement. 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 Its AILY WORK SOVIET LABOR UNIONS ANSWER AMSTERDAM INTERNATIONAL ON BASIS OF ANGLO-RUSSIAN PACT MOSCOW, May 19, (By Mail)—The Foreign Relations Commit- tee of the All-Russian Trade Union Council has directed the follow- ing letter to the Amsterdam Trade Union Federation: Dear Comrades: For various reasons, and in view of the London Conference of British and Russian Trade Unions, the plenary session of the All-Russian Central Trade Union Council could not be held sooner than April 30-May 3. The London Conference of the British and Soviet trade unions examined exhaustively both the question of trade union unity and the question of the relations of the All-Russian Central Trade Union Council and of the Soviet trade unions to the Amsterdam International. The plenum of the All-Russian Trade Union Council ratified the work and decisions of the London conference and instructed its Organs of Revolutionary Cl Struggle for the Overthrowal of Capitalism and the Establishment of a Workers’ and Farm- ers’ Government. PROGRESSIVE MINERS DEMAND WORK OR RELIEF FOR STARVING, AND AN IMMEDIATE CONVENTION By ALEX REID, (Secretary, Progressive Miners’ International Committee of the United Mine Workers of America) Brother miners! From all over the country come reports of intense suffering among our brothers, their wives and families due to unemployment, starvation is stalking thruout the mining towns of the country, and many mining vflages are completely deserted, Never in the history of mining has the suffering been so general thruout the country with so little prospect of recovery, and in certain districts, Starvation, while children mechanic-#———————______. ally move around, the picture of ill Farrington, Cappellini, gang of trai- health caused by malnutrition. tors i que ter the TAatnleied. Children Starved. refusing aid to the progressive miners I talked with a school superintendent a@ few days ago, and commenting on the pupils at school, the workers’ chil- dren, he said, “They come into school in the morning and a tragedy is plain- ly written on their face. Their whole demeanor is saddening, many of them not properly washed, no doubt for lack of soap, many in rags, unkept in every way, and all of them plainly hungry. Ambition, desire to learn completely gone, while a dark atmos- Phere surrounds the school house.” In one mining camp I visited, 50 per cent of the houses were empty, and going to wreck, many of them empty for two and some for three years, the owners, after a life of self-denial to build themselves a little home, to be & little independent in their old age, to be free from the spectre of evictions in the evening of their life, to pass a few quiet days in peace before they Passed out into the great beyond, have been forced to move out with their offspring, most of them to the large cities where their conditions are ter- rible. Further Poverty Threatened. In Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana and to nearly as great an extent, the outlying districts from the central competitive field, the miners and their families are practically in collapse and unless some aid is soon forthcoming a con- dition will arise which lower wages and open shops will intensify and which will require all the powers of the workers to remedy. With this situation staring us in the face, the progressive miners thruout the land are arousing their brothers to action, protest meetings are being called, demand is made for work in the coal mines, and failing that, that the state furnish work, or unemploy- ment insurance. Capitalism Owes Its Slaves a Living, The progressive miners contend that it makes no difference how much work there is, their wives and families with themselves are entitled to a liv- ing, and demand that living from cap- {talist industry, or its child—the state. The progressive miners are also showing the reason for this extraor- dimary wave of unemployment, the shifting of the center of production from the union fields to the nonunion fields, to break the standards of liv- ing, to cut deep into the wages of the 5 miners, to break our working condi- tions in the mines, conditions which ‘we have fought for thru many years of bloody struggle. Sacrifices have been made that have thrilled the workers of the world, by the miners in their fights for Justice, the Cabin creeks, the Ludlows, and Walsenburgs, the Calumets, the Divi- den’s, Pana’s, and Herrin’s, all attest to the struggle, that the miners have .™ade and let no man believe those struggles have been in vain. Let These Millions Feed Minera’ Children! The progressive miners are calling upon their brother slaves of the picks to organize and demand action for immediate relief from the govern. ment. Mililons of dollars are being spent by the government in China to crush the Chinese workers in their fight for justice. Millions of dollars of blood money wrung out of the toilers’ lives are be- ing paraded in the Pacific to awe the world with the mailed fist of. Yankee imperialism while the toilers at home are starving. We demand the immediate return of the marines, and soldiers from China, the immediate return of the fleet from the Pacific, and the money used for those inhuman ventures be used to feed the straving workers in America, Treachery in the Unions, The progressive miners are showing _ What the workers’ leaders are doing at this time of trial, What the Lewis, Pry sl, re in their noble fight in behalf of the rank and file, and their fights against wage cuts and reduced conditions. The Lewis gang of fakers are not only refusing aid to the progressive ‘miners, but they are lined up with the coal operators, thru their class colab- oration schemes, thru their expuls- ions from office of the militant prog- ressive coal diggers and the expelling from membership of the rank and file progressives, Rank and File Demahds Regular Convention, Letters from every state in the union are pouring into the office of the progressive miners’ committee, ‘pro- testing against the inactivity of the Lewis fakers and demanding militant action in behalf of the rank and file, The committee is instructed by the militant rank and file to state that the vote for postponement of the regular constitituonal international coriveri- tion is snowing under the treacherous proposal of the Lewis machine, Brother miners! On: behalf of our starving fellow workers, we, the prog- ressive miners’ committee of the, U. M. W. of A, demand mass protest meetings against unemployment and starvation, demand government aid,+- and to bring about a mass organized movement for the same,—we demand no postponement of the miners’ con- vention, but the same to convene, as soon as possible. For Immediate Action We demand the international .exe- cutive board convene at once to ar- range for same and we further de- mand that the international executive board at once interview and demand from the government authorities im- mediate relief for the unemployed miners, Brothers, organize, and subscribe for the Progressive Miner, our mili- tant rank and file paper. Address all communications to the ecretary, ALEX REID, 7020 So. Chi- cago Ave., Chicago, Ill. Golf Caddies’ Strike Wins More Wages from Pennsylvania Wealthy By SANDE (Worker Correspondent) WILKINSBURG, June 15.—Three hundred caddies employed on the Edgewood country club's golf links, recently struck for and won an in- crease in wages after showing the caddie master a real display of soli- darity. These young rebels who last year were receiving 65 cents a round, and who sometime ago demanded and were given 85 cents, are now proud to announce that a short strike has forced this club of wealthy buéiness men and capitalists to pay them a $1 @ round. Two members of the East Pitts- burgh Junior group of the Young Workers Deague who are employed as caddies had an additional demand added which was also taken up as one condition upon which the caddies would return, The caddie master had them divided into two classes, Class A boys were receiving more than the Class B boys. ‘The Juniors pointed out that this was unfair as all boys did the same work and that there was only one class— the working class, Before these successful strikes the caddies who are all young boys, were among the poorest paid in the Pitts- burgh district, now they can tell the cock-eyed world they are among the highest paid and wish to announce that they are not thru as they taking steps to organize a union among the caddies to win bigger vic- Five thousand subs for Red Week. are} Tailroad on shipments of wheat, corn, you a reply, On the basis of these de- cisions we consider it our duty to in- form you of the fact that the Febru- ary 7 decision of your general council has made a very deep impression on our trade unions and on their mem- bership. Wanted a Joint Unconditional Conference, We were of the opinion that our correspondence would bring about a greater mutual understanding result- ing in a conference of our representa- tives with those of Amsterdam for the purpose of examining jointly the question of trade union unity—which would have constituted a first attempt at an objective treatment of this prob- lem, which we consider to be of the greatest importance to the workers of the world. We desired a joint unconditional conference of the representatives of the Soviet trade unions with those of Amsterdam. Your resolution rejects our proposal and makes such a con- ference conditional upon a previous declaration on our part to the effect that we desire to affiliate to Amster- dam, The Aim of the Soviet Unions. This would mean: affiliation to the Amsterdam International as it is, i.6., on the basis of its constitution and statutes. The statements of Oude- geest and Jouhaux wherein they con- firm this view is of enormous impor- tance, We find with deep regret that these interpretations and statements, even more than the Amsterdam reso- lution itself, sharpen our differences and far from promote unity. We repeat that we are for a single international. Our aim, and the aim of the majority of the class conscious workers of the world is: To create a single trade union international comprising the organized workers of all countries and standing on the plat- form of the class struggle, and the final liberation of the working class from the yoke of capitalism, Statutes Not Important. Compared with this great goal, the statute question is of secondary im- portance. The trade unions of the Soviet Union are prepared to join a united trade union international whose statutes do not, on the whole, differ much from the statutes of the Amster- dam International, The enumeration of aims of this united international could contain all the aims enumerated in the statutes of the Amsterdam International. How- ever, the Soviet trade unions have no possibility of participating in the formulation of the statutes of the Amsterdam International. For All-Inclusive International. We are convinced that the United Trade Union International should in- clude not only the Soviet trade unions, but all existing trade union organiza- tions at present not affiliated to Am- Sterdam as well. In order to achieve this, the historical and political pecul- jarities of each country must be taken itno consideration, How is this to be done? How can the mutual suspicion existing between the various sections of the divided trade union movement be rei without a personal conferencg out an exhaustive and objective amination of these vital question: The mutual acquaintance of the Brit- ish and Soviet trade union representa- tives, and the sincere desire on both sides to achieve trade union unity thru joint conferences and joint meth- ods, undoubtedly had good results, Propo: n International Meeting, There is no doubt but that the re- cent London conference promoted the proletarian solidarity between the British and Soviet workers, Simil ly, a conference between the repre: tatives of the Russian trade unions and those of the Amsterdam Interna- tional could, with mutual good will, serve as a beginning to the relaiza- tion of unity of the whole trade union movement, We therefore suggest that the gen- eral council of the Amsterdam Inter- national revise its decision of Feb, 5, and 7, and convene a joint uncondi- tional conference with the All-Rus: trade union council, to deal with the question of trade union unity, President: TOMSKY. Secretary: DOGADOV, ee SS |. C, C. Probes Freight Rates WASHINGTON, June 15.—The in- terstate commerce commission today ordered an investisation of the pro- posal to cancel the present joint thru freight rates, provided by the pplica- tion of the St. Paul, Minn., basis of rates from points in northern Iowa on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific cereal products and other articles taking ‘the samo to St. Louis. San Francisco points in Okia- MUST THINK THE UNION USELESS Can’t Hold Gains If Union Don’t Fight ATLANTIC CITY, N. J.—In his speech at the 25th anniversary cele- bration of the local Typographical Union No. 877, James M. Lynch, presi- dent of the International, suggested that conservative means be adopted, which inecommon sense would indi- cate that the struggle against the bosses should be so modified that it would not disturb the profits of the bosses merely to help the workers interests, He stated that “It suffices to hold what we have already gained,” and he warned against “going over the limit” for fear of losing what has been gain- ed. Evidently, Brother Lynch intends to break no speed laws in fighting against the bosses for our triterests. Why Have Unions, Brother Lynch? Assertions like the above from the I .T. U. president ought to make our membership sit up and take notice. It is real Wahneta expression of the function of a labor union. It amounts to saying that the bosses are good fellows and will give us just what we need, no more and no less. But according to such logic, our union is not necessary and it may become a nuisance. However, the members of our union think differently. They know the union is the only means by which the printers can defend their economic interests and fight steadily to beter them. They know (and others are dis- tinetly beginning to feel it) that to hold what we already have is not suf- ficient—for the cost of living is con- tinually on the upward climb. Has He “Strayed?”—We'll Say So! The members also know that it means a fight to even keep what we have, especially a fight against the open shop drive conducted by the ‘bosses at the present time. Our mem- bership disagrees with our interna- tional president at least on the above | points. They believe he has strayed from the fundamental principles of our International Typographical Un- fon. As for the question of amalgamation in-the printing trades, it is totally con- trary to the ideas expressed by Bro- ther Lynch. Amalgamation of the unions means strengthening of the unions to fight against the bosses for work day, etc. Brother Lynch’s policy work day ,etc. Brother Lynch's policy is “Peace at any price”—with the bosses. HAT WORKERS STRIKE FOR WAGE RAISE Want More Pay and eae Better Conditions NEW YORK.—Men's felt hat work- ers of Local 8, United Hatters of America, are striking for 15 per cent wage increases which the New York Hat Manufacturers’ Association re- fuses so far to grant. About 2,000 workers, both men and women, are striking. Bose Baits Collaboration Trap Poor materials are given the work- ers, they claim, so that they are not able to make enough wages at present piece work rates. The strikers ask for better materials and improved con- ditions in their industry. One of the manufacturers suggests that a joint committee of workers and employers undertake to see tha. wages are brought up to stanaard levels in all shops. ’ He said that the empolyers were willing to see that individual shops below standard be brought up to the ‘al level but that the association will not collectively accept the union demands. With poor logic he declares that the workers’ requests would bring wages to $9 a day and that employers insist that most workers make this much already, The Usual Threat The men’s hat manufacturing season is just at its height so that ER B-HOUR DAY IN STEEL MILLS S ALL BUNK Worker Tells of Gary Fairy Stories By THOMAS (Worker Correspondent) PITTSBURGH, June 15. — Judge Gary, the noted steel slave-driver, once stated in a chamber of com- merce meeting that they had the eight-hour day in force all thru the steel industry. Never was there a more brazen lie. There is mo such a thing as a general eight-hour day. It Is mostly ten or twelve hours and there are men working fourteen hours a day, Of course, they have the eight-hour shift in certain departments which can be forced to produce six times as much as when they were on the ten-hour shift, or where it would be more owing to the terrific heat. ‘So you can see the only time that the steel corporation gives its employes anything is when they can get twice as much back. They will give water for blood any day and the blood of the workers flows freely in the United States Steel corporation works—altho it is never allowed to get outside the gates. Workers Pay for Funerals. When there has been a serious ac- cident it is all hushed up. The steel company makes another boast, that NEW YORK BAKERS IN UNITED FRONT TO ORGANIZE INDUSTRY AND FIGHT OPEN SHOP TRUST By JOSEPH MANLEY,- | The task of bringing unity into the ranks of the Bakers’ Union of Greater New York is meeting with a hearty response, especially from the Amalgamated Food Workers and the rank and file of the A, F. of L. or ganizations. Since the recent formation of the Bakers’ United Front Committee, the movement has taken on more than ever a rank and file character, The United Front Committee is composed of fivé delegates from the local unions of the A. F. of L., and the A, F. W., This committee since its | inception has met regularly. Its principle task has been to draft a practical | program of action and to drive the +— |united front ever more deeply into {the ranks of the entire membership. organizations. fundamentally, Some Questions For Bakers. impossible for the men to last much | To achieve this end the United Today you are_only working four Front Committee at its last meeting |days a week. The jobbers are work |decided that speakers on the united! ing only two or three days a week, |front will be invited to address gen-| Why? Because the bread trust 1s or- jeral membership meetings of the v nized to destroy us. }ous locals, and to have such g¢ most the same situation faces ;membership meetings register t the members of the A. F, W. A largé jselves squarely upon the issue of proportion of the members are more junited front of the Bakers’ Unions jin Greater New York. It also ordered the printing of thousands of copies in three languages of the following letter: An Open Letter to the Members. The movement of a united front of the bakery workers against the bread trust is progressing. This move- ment had its origin in the rapid growth of the gread trust, which is threatening to crush the workers’ or- ards of wages, hours and working con- ditions for which they have strug- gled. Unemployment amongst the bakery workers of New York is a dis- ease, which must be eliminated. To cope with these conditions, a mass meeting was held at Cooper Union on February 29. ganizations, and destroy their stand-| This mass | is, that if a man gets killed in their| meeting passed resolutions, a@ decent funeral. They seg to that all right. They send their under- bosses to make a collection from the |Committee to organize the workers who have to pay it all, and to develop a united front for the They are very desirous of giving | betterment of the bakers’ wages, flowers to the workers when they are |hours and working conditions. dead. When those same workers were | A United Front Committee. living they never had a chance to see | Following the Cooper Union meet- or eels Sowsr a8 Rowers would not |... ‘eis United Front Combltttee was tions—A. F. of L. and A. F. |form a Joint Bakers’ Ww. | grow near the hovels and shacks that | which works, that they will see that he gets | called upon the respective organiza. | to! United Front | bakers, | workers live in. A worker who has had the privilege of staying in the place for fifteen years is allowed to have one week's vacation with pay. After wasting his energy for fifteen years he is given a week to recover and get ready for another fifteen years’ work. But | there are not many who live or re- main in the mills long enough to re- ceive that pension as they are so broken after a few years in the mill that they have to retire or find some lighter work. There is no doubt that those who reach the pension stage de- serve every penny of it for being able to stick it out that long, Control Librarians. The steel worker does not have much time for study thru the long hours. But even if he did the steel trust owns and controls the public library, so if the worker has time to read and gets a book from the library he can only get a certain type which the bosses allow, A worker could not get any of the latest educational books, but only stuff that will make the boss class is the only way to save the world from ruin. Then they have meetings all thru the mill explaining what the capital- ists have done for the workers. But for all that they are not so sure of themselves as they keep a very large force of police to guard thejr interests and in case the workers start to show @ little class consciousness these coal and fron thugs will soon put a stop to it. They walk about with guns and an argument with his boss they are right there to take the part of the Private Police and Courts, | Workers are arrested and fined for | pay the fine is taken out of the work- ers’ pay without consent. These police- work or not. loafing they arrest him and take him to the foreman to be fired. It is al common sight to see two or three of! these thugs hauling a worker to Jail) for all kinds of minor offenses, | The worst part of it is that they almost get their arms torn from their | shoulders, The police and spies work | as close together as if they were the Siamese twins. A worker no sooner will say something than it is in the ears of the foreman or police. If you mention “unions” you are immediately told that you are opening your mouth @ little too wide and that it would be| far wiser to keep it closed, If they hear another word from that same! worker about unions he is red, The workers are alwyas in fear of losing their jobs from the time they go in until the time they come out. There are so many men around the employment office that they do not| give a rap what they do with men who are working, as they know they can get a dozen to take his place. The mills around here are only work- ing four days a week and certain sections are shut down, | ater a U. S, Imports Soviet Furs WASHINGTON, D. C., June 16..—In 1924, the United St, imported over $80,000,000 worth of undressed furs, according to the European division of the department of Commerce, Of this amount $6,750,000 ig credited to Rus- Burope and $5,000 to Russia in ® the workers believe that support of | balckjacks and if a worker gets into | boss. | minor offenses and the money to| men watch whether a man is doing his | If they catch anyone) composed of a number of local unions both of the A. F. of L. and A. F. W. each sending five delegates to this | United Front Committee. carry on the work and to familiarize the rank and file with the necessity for a united front, another mass meet- jing was called at Webster Hall on |April 11. This meeting was ® rank jand file affair, and a full discussion was had, which indicated that the jrank and file of the respective or- |ganizations were overwhelmingly in |favor of the united front. ; The task which faces this commit- tee in the immediate future is to ac- tually put this united front into ef- fect. Action and not words must be the slogan. We, therefore, appeal to you to rally to the support of this tasks. The existing conditions among the bakers at the present moment are well-known to you, who suffer under j them. Unemployment has shown a | Steady increase in recent years amongst the organized bakers. Both organizations endeavor to cope with it. The A. F. of L. organ- ization, itself hemmed in by the in- creased production of the bread trust, which @ecreases the market supplied by the small bake shops, has en- deavored to spread the remaining amount of work amongst the mem- bers. situation, we must deal with it more What Are union halls— Hundreds of branches of and June 21— doing what thousands of To further | committee and undertake the future | This only partially meets the | SSS This Week ? wy ‘At least a few thousand workers will be going door- “_ to-door, talking to their shop-mates, speaking in To get subscriptions for the DAILY WORKER at a ~ special rate of two months for one dollar. 5 Party have mobilized their forces to do this work, Pledges have been given assuring the DAILY ¥ WORKER many new subs. Free copies distributed will run into many thousands... i i> All this movement is taking place between June 15 raf , THIS IS RED WEEK! What are you doing this week, comrade? If You are Do you need more copies of the DAILY WORKER to distribute free of charge— 4 Can we send you more special sub cards?. YOUR ‘ANSWER! ~ or less permanently unemployed. Those employed work six days @ week with one working day a mont? off. This too is no real solution, That this unemployment is caused by the growth of the trusts cannot be successfully disputed. Today thé puts out per cent of the kery goods consumed in greater York. The wages paid gt the trust plants are far below the wages paid in union bake shops. Must Fight. The organized bakers cannot pere mit this situation to continue. They must not allow their respective organ- izations to be annihilated by the bread trust. The problem that faces the bakers is, not to take the em- ployes of the trust and to place them: at work in the union heke shops. The problem is to organize the non union shops and plants, especially those controlled by the trusts. The wages, hours and working conditions of the workers of the bread trust | must be bettered. The workers of jae trust must be organized. By organizing’ these workers and |carrying on a militant struggle for | better conditions and increased wag+ jes, the entire problem of the bakery workers will take on a new characte ter instead of as at present, in fight» ling a section of the bosses with a | small section of the workers. | We must unite the workers to face | the united bosses, The Bakers’ Unit \ed Front Committee proposes a wide spread organization campaign to orm ganize the workers of the bread trust, |To increase the wages and better their conditions. Detaled plans and | policies for the carrying on of this | work will be formulated by the Bak ers’ United Front Committee. We | call upon you to gupport us in thi |coming struggle fort tony | Better wages, hours and work- Ing conditions! Organize the unorganized! Unite the bakers against the bread trust! | One union in the baking In- | dustry! Read this and discuss it at your general meeting. Give your approval to foregoing suggestions and make your further recommendations tot The Sub-Committee, Bakers’ Unite ed Front Conference. Amal. Food Workers, Gund, Frank Kirnbauer, Foders. International Bakery & Confection~ ery Workers’ Union, J. Hoffman, Sam Nezinsky, Karl Relse. Herman Anton Get a sub—make another Com mupist! . 4 You Doing 4 the Workers (Communist) is f others are busy with— * i