The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 9, 1925, Page 3

* greatest cleverness. Bt THIS Organs of Revolutionary Ci, ers’ Government, Is Devoted to the Activity and Interests of the ‘Trade Union Educational League (T. U. B. L,) North American Section of the RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS (R. I, THE T.U.E.L. Represents the Left Wing 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 of Capitalism and the Establishment of a Workers’ and Farm- PAGE L. U.) Caste Ite Struggle for the Overthrowal ADOPT FIGHTING PROGRAM OF T. U. E, L. AGAINST WAGE CUTS IN SHOE AND LEATHER TRADE |*** oo sxorna By TOM BELL BOSTON, Mass., July 7.—The campaign of the Trade Union Educational League against wage cuts in the shoe industry was heartily endorsed by a conference of militants in the shoe industry called by the national amalgama- tion committee for the shoe and leather industry. Workers came from the shoe centers of New England such as Boston, Chelsea, Lynn and Brockton, ™ From each center reports of the were given. as a means of seguring work,” In Boston many factories are shut down, and the workers have been informed that when work is resumed $25 a week will be the standard wage. In Chelsea the foremen set the list of prices and those workers who re- fuse to accept-them are fired, In each of these places the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union officialdom is the best ally of the bosses in wage cutting. Not only do they bind and gag the workers who protest by put- ting the local into the hands of a “~ commission, but they refuse to take any action whatever against the wage slashing of the bosses. B, and L. Agrees. In Lynn the bosses. have succeeded in forcing the workers into the Boot and Shoe by refusing to employ them unless they join this union. The workers were without leadership will- ing to lead them with a definite policy in this situation, and bombarded as they were by the Boot and Shoe prop- aganda in the capitalist press, they are now in the Boot and Shoe, Already tae Boot ana sive omctat dom has signed contracts with the bosses which agree to wage cuts and a graded price list which means that the cheaper the shoe manufactured the lower the wages will be. The policy of the T, U. E. L. for the shoe industry was accepted. This policy is practical and leads to the amalgamation of the shoe unions into one industrial union with a_ mil- itant program of struggle against the bosses based upon the class struggle. It advocates a militant campaign against the class, collaboration polic- ies of the Boot and Shoe officialdom and against the despotic rule of the officialdom against the rank and file, In each shoe center this campaign against wage cuts ‘will be waged by Means of leaflets and mass meetings to rally the workers to stem the tide of wage reductions which is going on. The organization of militant left wing groups to supply leadership for the workers in this struggle will be Where Does Sigman’s Pogrom Lead To? that from his pains he gets satisfac-) ment it means a strike, (The Outlook in the Present Strug- gle in the International.) a cy are two means by which it sought to attack the cloakmakers. From the “bed-time stories” of the Forward both originate. They were tried out many times by this yellow gang, One means is to take Henry Dubb for granted. This yenow gang looks down on everything and everybody, Their own idiocy they consider the And the wide general public is considered by them as a.“bunch of fools, Dubbs who have not the least bit of sense.” They can talk into them whatever they want. They believe that they can talk*a woman into beliieving she is Pregnant, and whatever the Dubbs need’ they do not need, and what they want they do not want. a therefore they yell, for in- stance, that among the cloak- makers everything is at present nor- mal, that their union offices are func: tioning in the best of order, that all members are greatly satisfied, and they congratulate the union for throwing out the Communists. Even those who are being attacked with the strong-arm gangs in ‘the streets and union offices, even those who are being insulted by the ma- esluggers and other appointed scoundrels, all are enthused with joy. That is how things seem in the bed- time stories of the Forward. They do this, thinking to tall into the masses that they are really satisfied, with the bellef that just as one can make himself believe that he is sick, \ 4 General Wage Cuts Reported. wage cutting campaign of the bosses In Brockton the workers are being asked to accept wage cuts | “steady +- taken up, and the best militant conduct the battle against the bosses which the ‘labor leaders” have de- serted. Propose August Conference. will lead to the holding of a great conference of rank and file shoe work- ers in August during the height of the wage cutting. The organization of shop committees to lead strikes against the wage cuts where the union leaders refuse to take the leadership, rallying the forces of the workers in defense of their standard of living, organizing the unorganized, and work: ing for the amalgamation of the shoe unions are the tasks of the rank- and, file militants among the shoe work- ers. The conference was an organizing conference, It took up the question of organizing a militant leadership for the shoe workers in this situation. This will displease the moguls of the + Boot and Shoe and the bosses, but the rallyng of the shoe workers against wage cuts will be accomplished in spite of them, Rail Unions Win New Trial in Case of Scab’s Suit DENVER, Colo., July 7.—The Broth. erhood of Railroad Trainmen and Order of Railway Conductors won a victory today when the Colorado state supreme court handed down a deci- sion reversing lower courts in which R, F. Jones, a former conductor, on the Denver & Interurban Railroad was awarded $50,000 damages against the Brotherhoods, In his suit Jones claimed the Broth- erhoods had prevented him from, se curing a livelihood because of his failure to join in a strike several will soon have a bundle.” years ago. The high court ordered a new trial. tion. ‘on second way in which they seek to attack the cloakmakers is thru the bundle. They know that the bundle cloaks is very dear to the cloakmaker. They know that he is hungry and tired of the long slack season, and yearns for the bundles. Therefore, they assume an attitude toward the “Dubb” of a cloakmaker as if he were a child yearning for Sweets; they paint before his eyes the shadow of a bundlé, seeking to scare him by saying “Remember, you “If you will be good and obedient,” they say, “and do what Sigman or Feinberg tells you, you will get a bundle.” “If not you will be out of luck. The bundles will disappear, and others cleverer than you will catch them.” if bron means were used against the cloakmakers at the time when they carried on a struggle against the machine when, a few years back, it expelled the “Communist union- breakers”—Professor Isaac Hour- wich, and Bisno. True, Hourwich and Bisno were not Communists, but “Perlstein, the union” were then there, and Hourwich with Bisno did not agree with the policy of “Perl- stein, the union” and they were there- fore disturbers and liable to be sus- pended. And so they yelled with great head- lines in the yellow Forward: They are cutting bundles in the shops.” With this yell they sought to scare the cloakmakers. The shadow of the bundle was their greatest weapon. Similarly they did in 1922. The cloakmakers were greatly dissastis- fled with the “victory” of the renew: make believe that his|ed agreement and they were threat- forces in the shoe towns organized to} This work among the shoe workers | PLAN SHOWS CLOVEN HOOF Deprecates Violence; But Buys Clubs CLEVELAND, July 7.—The promot-| ers of the “yellow dog” contract in| Ohio, the American Plan Association, are jumping into the arena of strug- gle with all four beastly feet.. These yellow doggers have felt quite spry, recently, what with several court de- cisions against the trade unions to their credit. Will the trade unions in Cleveland fight back? Will they allow this open shop association to make the yellow dog contract effective in Cleveland? Will labor permit an organization of employers to force employes to sign a contract not to join a labor union “Signs of the Times.” "Down town, in the heart ot the city, on Superior avenue, upon three immense plate glass windows we read a sign of the times. There in foot high letters the name of the American Plan Association can be read together with the announcement that help is furnished free by it and employment given to those who call. Then we turn to the help wanted page of today’s Plain Dealer and find | this little insert: “Police Wanted.” “100 able bodied men for special police work, equipped with uniforms and clubs, Box 12039, Plain Deal- er.” | Then we turn the pages of the | Cleveland Times and happen upon nearly a full page adverstisement headed: “Judges and Juries Condemn Closed Shop Lawlessness. Court Cases Bring Judgments, Fines and a Sweeping Injunction, American Plan Association helps Both Union and Non-Union Workers.” What About “Union” Shop. The advertisement, and a very ex- pensive thing it is to run so continu- ously, starts out by saying the closed THE DAILY WORKER LIVINGSTON ioe L OF U, M, WIDE A. DEMANDS CONVENTION IN. 1926 LIVINGSTON, Ill,, July 7—It is learned that the United Mine Work+ ers Local No, 2656 at this city re- cently passed the following resolu- tion: “We the members of Miners’ Lo- cal 2656 U, M, W. of A. at Living- ston, I/l., go on record at our regu- lar miners’ meeting June 18th, with a membership of 730 miners, con- demning the action of the Interna- tional executive board of the U, M. W. of A. of postponing the next national biennial miners’ convention to 1927 instead of 1926, as a dic- tatorial act of the International of- ficers and unconstitutional,” (Signed) Walter Koch, President, Frank Paulicha, Rec, Secy., Robert Windish, Jr., Fin, Secy., Rudolf Paulicha, Treas. fighting the “closed shop” (read “unions”) ought to be worth $10 of anyone’s money, And one and all are to send that much for a year’s dues. Pretending to be Popular Move. Not, of course, that the American Plan Association needs the money. While they pretend that the poor and the humble and downtrodden have reason to rally to the holy of union erushing and ask for the same P. H. and D. T. to fork over $10 for the erican labor movement on the same basis. Bare Faced Steal. With tremendous outspoken decis- jon of the rank and file the last elec- tion showed that the membership in all of the 1a¥ge industrial centers was overwhelmingly against the Johnston administration. In the city of New York, to give an example, the vote was approximately 2,300 for the An- derson glate and 74 for Johnston. In Chicago, the biggest and strongest district in the International the vote was 2,700 to about 800 for Johnston. The Canadian locals gave the Andar- son slate a majority over Johnston of over 1,200; Other important centers like Seat- tle, Pittsburgh, ete., gave an over- whelming vote to the opposition. In spite of these facts the administration is announcing the election of William H. Johnston by a majority of 984 votes over his opponent, J. F. Anderson. How it, Happened. The members of the organization are asking how did it happen? The answer is that the administration counted itself into power and stole the election. In the last convention, held in Detroit, a new paragraph was added to the constitution whereby the counting of the ballots was supposed to have been taken away from the general secretary-treasurer. This proposition caused one of the most bitter struggles in the conven- tion but in spite of the administra- tion forces it was finally carried. Af- ter the convention the administration forces immediately started to make their own interpretation of that privilege, this is just a blind to cover up the conspiracy of the big boys in the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association to fight the unions under the cover (“under cover” think of that!) of a great popular mass movement, with acres of those who are “oppressed by the unions” swarming about the office of the American Plan armed with ten dollar bills. | In fact, the big boys, and just a few of them, are secretly in conspir- acy and are forking over huge sums to finance’ the page ads in the Times and the little advertisement in the “help wanted” columns of the Plain Dealer callifig for “ablebodied men with clubs.” And they likewise are paying the bills for both the men and the clubs. ‘Such is the “open shop” American Plan. shop is “Un-American”—whatever that means. It accuses the “closed shop” (it does not use the words “union shop”) of various violences, ‘all oblivious of: the fact that their own methods of using “ablebodied men equipped with clubs” is not ex- actly a-form of-procedure tobe class- ‘Med as pacifist or non-resistant. “Under Cove i It further states that the supposedly pernicious “closed shop” also “works under cover whenever it can.” Again quite oblivious of the fact that the advertisement for the “ablebodied men with clubs” they inserted in the der cover” address. for the very term “under cover man” They set forth there many arguments and they will lose the bundles. : ND similarly they are doing in the present struggle. The cloakmak- er, they yell, does not think of the present struggle which is going on in the union, he does not even speak about it; he only thinks about the work in the shop, about the bundle. And therefore they scream with great headlines in the yellow For, ward, “They are already cutting work in the shops,” etc, ORRIS SIGMAN, the union boss, that teamster with the strong hand, who has broken and ruined in the union this which someone else built, this Sigman who only retains the rags of the gambler who has lost everything — his only hope is also built on the above-mentioned two means. And therefore, he continues to mumble “Sulkeses, scab-agents” and speaks with the tone of one who is sure’ of everybody. He desires the members of the union to believe they are all with him, they are all g union people and stick to “Sigma: the union.” Only a few “Sulkes Communists, are the breakers, They want to break the union, He also mumbles: “Everything is normal in the joint board,” “There will soon be work in the shops.” The bundles are the main thing, not only for the cloakmaker, but for Sigman and Fein- berg. The cloak makers are inter- ested in the bundles because they need to make @ living. Sigman and Feinberg are interested even if only in the shadows of bundles with which to scare the cloakmakers. They also need to make a living from them.. Phan UT how faréan the Sigman ma- chine fi such methods? ‘Those who come among the oteak Plain Dealer as noted above, is a] Workers’ Union are the militants and “blind” advertisement, giving an “un- progressives,in a life and death strug- They even fail} gle against the officialdom which in- to explain that the employers of this| tends to hold power by all means country, by use of industrial spies| against the wishes of the rank and against the workers, are responsible | file. from which they seem now to shrink.| Association of Machinists under the After reciting numerous horrible de-| leadership of Johnston and Davison tails where the capitalist courts have| have recently announced to the world in all due solemnity declared that] that they have again succeeded them- unions and union men have actually | selves in office. This is probably one violated capitalist law, the point of| of the most brazen election steals in the big advertisement is brought out} the trade union movement in this in a heart rending plea for money.| country and puts the officialdom of CALL |, A.M. TO BUCK UP AND DO BATTLE AT ONCE Crooked Election. Deal Must Be Corrected By Rank and Filer. Not only in the Miners’ Union and in the International Ladies’ Garment The officliadom of the International clause. One mistake seems to have been made by the progressive elements who proposed the clause. They forgot to mention that this new law naturally supersedes the old one, and as a re- sult Johnston and his clever lawyers tation to mean that the old law still stands. Two Contradicting Laws. So we find two laws in the consti- tution, Section 14, stating that the general _secretary-treasurer shall count and supervise the ballots in the election and paragraph 15 stating that the candidates or the tellers of the two respective candidates shall super- vise the counting of ballots. We find therefore that nothing was accom pish- ed by having this bitter struggle in the convention. After all, the powers that he do as they please in spite of the understand- ing of every delegate in the conven- tion who understand that Davison would no longer count ballots, In this election Davison. counted all, of. the ballots first and then after he had done so gave them over to, the regu- larly appointed tellers. In - other words, he knew the results before the tellers knew anything about it. Sabotaging Election, . A number of other crooked. maneu- vers were made. For example, we find that locals have sent in their ballots and forgot to send in the tally sheets. In the past these sheets were taken.care of in Washington by the officials. There are other examples where we may have the suspicion that some of the secretaries have been tools of the Johnston administration and deliberately sabotaged sending in the tally sheets. Local 82, in Detroit, had a majority for the Anderson slate, but it was the machinists together with the rest to prove that the great pleasure of| of the labor bureaucrats in the Am- never counted. According to inform- ation that the writer has, the secre- tary of Local 82 is a Johnston man and he claims to have sent in the tally sheets. The question to ask is “Where are those tally sheets?” 2,000 Illegal Ballots. If this tactic has been followed in and dressmakers, those who are ac- quainted with the spirit that rules among the workers, they know that! the first method is played out long since. You cannot take the masses for granted. Among the widest | masses of the cloak and dressmak-| ers, they laugh in their sleeves when | such union-breakers as Sigman and Feinberg speak of “Sulkeses.” The cloak and dregsmakers know for a long time the deeds of the Feinbergs and Perlsteins, They also know the left wing and they know who are the disturbers and betrayers. 5 eid very differently it is with the second method. It must be ad- mitted that... generally even the shadow of a bundle has a great at- traction for most cloakmakers, that regardle of the consciousness which has penetrated deeply in the ranks of the ikmakers, the yearn- ing for the bundle is stili such a tac tor that it often demoralizes the con- sciousness of the workers. This is because the cloakmaker is tired and hungry, especially in the last few years, when the trade has been brought to such terrible chaos, when the competition is so great, when a large part of the garments are made in scab shops, when the co- operation shop has so developed, and when thé most.of the union men work only a few weeks a year. In such a time and under such conditions it 1g very natural that the cloakmaker shonld often be scared, perhaps he will lose the possibility to make a few, bundles, Mores SIGMAN & Co. cannot ftely any more on this fear of the bundle. Sigman machine has in the|that this decision will give nothing to uhe workers. It is possible that he time of its rule led the cloakmakers have bluffed the members so much, that the disillusionment is continual- ly increasing. The further the mem- bers go, the more they see for them- selves only the hole of the doughnut, which is continually being promised them. For two years they were fooled with the trade program of 10 points. And what was the result of that? Sigman, Feinberg & Co. have on that account destroyed the strength of the International. In- stead of mobilizing the workers to struggle for these demands, they dis- organized their ranks. The funds of the union were wasted in union- breaking activity and other irrespon- sible acts. And about the demands of the workers the machine relied upon miracles from heaven and the goodness of the governor's commis- sion, the jobbers and manufacturers. ND what is the present situation? It is clear that if in the present struggle against the three locals, 2, 9, and 22,°Sigman & Co. should be victorious, this victory will not be built upon the interests) of the work- ers. Sigman's machine cannot get any better conditions for them, Sig- man’s leadership is bankrupt. His tactics are played out.* All his. possi- bility he lost in his gamble. He can- not bring about any improvement in the bad conditions of the workers. Te can be no doubt for any one that if Sigman should suc- ceed in the present struggle a the cloak and dressmakers, this vic- tory will surely be built upon the sacrifice of the living conditions of the workers, Sigman will accept the decision of the governor's commis- sion, not taking into consideration in Washington made their interpre- the convention 4 ‘should lessen their profits by retreat- APPEALS T0 AM FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLID ERICAN MINERS ARITY " | The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain is threatened with a serious fight. The employers by the unemployment caused b displacing British coal in the sou attacking both wage and hour st: be called by the end of July. of the United Mine Workers of A ing statement on the situation: eee To American Coal Miners and Transport Workers! The miners of Great Britain are facing a situation at the present which is similar in many respects to the situation in the United States and Canada. Unemployment among the miners, lasting many weary months, has re- duced them to the verge of starvation and a campaign of wage cutting union breaking and destruction of working conditions is on thruout the British fields. Unending Greed Northumberland mine owners have forced the miners down to starvation wages and still attempt further reduc- tions from a standard of ‘living that is a disgrace to civilization. The week ending June 18 showed several brothers’ wage for the four week to range from $5.00 to $7.50 for the week. A reduction of 20 per cent was made in- Longwell cutters’ yard prices, and @ reduction of from one to eleven cents in cutting rates. Unbearable Conditions The cost of living in Britain is as high as in America, so the situation can be readily understood by the miners in America who are experienc- ing similar attacks. The situation is international in every respect, the capitalists are or- ganized internationally and the miners must be not only organized interna- tionally but must protect themselves in action against the onslaught of the coal barons, and prepare to take over the mines in the interest of the are taking the offensive, aided y Dawes’ Plan reparation coal th European market, They are andards, and a great strike may, The Progressive Miners’ Committee merica, today issued the follow- pr 5 shar Lavtaenan CEomninbadabats tah sis Scotia, against wage cuts, union wrecking and loss of working condi- tions, the same thing at the Crows Nest Pass in Alberta, the outrages on miners in West Virginia, in Oklahoma and thruout the country, show the in- ternational aspect of the situation. A strike is threatening in the Bri- tish coal industry, and the miners of America will again be called upon to scab on their British brothers, to sup- ply the British coal market, and help the English operators defeat the strik- ing miners of Britain, Not A Pound of Coal te Defeat Our Brothers! Miners and transport workers of America, the Progressivg Miners’ committee calls upon you.20 on guard and to refuse to o aur brothers across the sea We pledge ourselves to aid in ev: way our brothers across the seas, - fering is our suffering, their fight fs our fight, their victory of defeat ig likewise ours. At RES ru As capitalism and ita interests aré international, so is labor &nd its im terest. A militant internationaborgan- ization of the workers of the world, based on the class struggle, fof Inter- national unity must be supperted by the workers of America, ae The Progressive Miners* committee congratulates the British Prade Union committee for their unbiased report on the Russian situation, and empha- tically endorses its conclusions, Brother miners of Britain we greet you and pledge our support for tnter- national unity in every possihle at our command! : workers. The strike of the miners in Nova Alex Reid, Sec’y, 7020 8. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Il, one local it may bave been followed in other locals. About ten locals were not counted because they came in late, that is all the locals that gave a majority to the Anderson slate but we find that a big number of John- ston locals that had sent in the results after May 3rd were counted and, ac- cording to reliable information, about 2,000 ballots were thus counted. We also find that a number of locals in checking up on the secretary-treas- urer’s report, does not correspond to the report of the local. A number of locals are supposed to have been thrown out due to submitting more ballots than the lodge members. These locals, however, claim that this is not true, that according to the lo- cal financial statements it does not correspond with the figures of Davi- son. The Anderson followers claim that had the election been carried on in an honest manner the whole Ander- son slate would have been elected by approximately 2,000 majority. Check Up the Locals. It is very advisable for the locals to check up on the report in the last journal and their own local report and also protest against the violation of ecision in regard to fake referendum. But the decision itself will not change the conditions. An improvement the workers can only get thru a struggle. IHE bosses in the industry are too far away from responsibility, so the counting of the ballots, The John- son administration seems to be deter- mined upon maintaining itself in pow- er regardless of the will of the mem- bership. The locals should immediately be- gin to demand an emergency conven- tion in 1926 and the recall of the il- legally elected officers. Militant and Progressive elements all over ; country should get together immedi ately and devise ways and means to make it possible to have an honest election in the I. A. of M. Only with a unified, national pro- gram on the basis of every day needs of th machinists in this country will it be possible to smash thg preseht bureaucracy. Get Into the Fight, |" Membens of the I. A. of M.! ! unite with the militants in the call for an emergency convention, for the recall of the illeglaly elected officers, for a national conference of militants and progressives, for the amalgamation of all metal trade unions, for reinstate. ment of expelled members, for a na» tional labor party based on trade unions and workers’ organizations, and for the international trade union unity. By P, Yuditch the bluff which lies im thig scare. © N addition, we must not forget the following: If certain cloakmakers can be scared with the hole of the doughnut, the same is not the case with the dressmakers, Both above-! that it is impossible to imagine that/mentioned methods used by the ma- thru a spirit of philanthropy they ing. It is impossible to believe that thru their good nature the bosses should see that the cloakmakers need also to earn a living from cloaks, The bosses can be brot to see this only thru a strike. But if a strike occurs, Sigman and his machine surely can- not be the leaders of it; under the conditions that they have created a strike under their leaderships is a danger for the workers, Sigman can- not really carry on a struggle against the bosses, and he cannot lead the workers in a strike. If a strike oc- curs, then the Sigman gang must go chine have long since lost their ef- fectiveness on the dressmakers, You cannot scare them any more with bundles. They are long ago acquant- Jed with the fakes of the yellow Sig- manism, much more than the cloak- makers. And the dressmakers will play in the present revolt a very Prominent role, They cannot be pushed aside. Against the cloak- makers of Local 2 and 9, and in addi- tion to the dressmakers, Sigman’'s pogrom will surely be a failure. It will be a failure, We mean, in the senseof perpetuating Sigman’s ~—but such @ pogrom cannot be “it ure so far ag concerns the ¢ from the union before that. IGMAN, Feinberg, and Perlstein, cannot come out victorious on the basis of a strike. Victory for them is only possible thru a combination with the bosses. 4 And what can be the result of such a combination? The answer is very clear. Sig- man's combination with the bosses harm which it does. 1 eal the cloak and dressmakers be victorious in this struggle? The foregoing explanations show the ans wer to the last question, It is clear that the failure of the Sigman ma chine, the failure of the pogrom-lead- ers, is a victory for those who robbed and attacked. Sigman very possibly obtain not even a t porary victory if the present will do much to undermine his rule. The end of his leadership will be more securely sealed, and that very Victory for him under such conditions will be a formal, » Momentary victory. will mean a worse defeat, Sigmanism iL thy broad aapiigit™ it they. seare a few with the ow “Pshops will not permit themselves: In fact it/be frightened with the bundles and because if] wilt not los there are any cloakmakers who do consciousness, not yet see the utter bankruptcy of] chine will be forced to remove ti see it in| selyes very soon frém the can still] gang has no place in the of | al. bundles, those few will then also see \od. of revolt which rules among the c and dressmakers refuses to be cho by. the threats and bluffs of the man family. If the workers of for one moment then the Sigman They themselves have tee