The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 26, 1925, Page 2

KOHN BOASTS OF ‘COOPERATION WITH THE BOSS Bars Daily Worker Reporter from Meet The annual convention of the Up- holsterers’ International Union drew to a close with the main accomplish- ment being the consuming of food at| a banquet in the Cameo room of the| Morrison Hotel, at $2.50 per plate for rank and filers, and a moonlight ex- eursion on Lake Michigan. Th in tion raising of the salary of Pres t William Kohn, from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. ~All resolutions presented which demanded organiza- tion of the unorganized were referred to the usual “committee.” These re- solutions explained that organiza- tion was badly needed in Chicago, which boasts less than one hundred members, and in the south, according to the delegates. Kohn Tatks for Himself. Kohn replied to the rank and filers that he had the power to do this or- ng and would do it if he saw fit. LY WORKER reporter was y Kohn to “Get to hell out before you're thrown out,” en ho appeared at the convention. hn evidently is afraid that a real worker will slip tito the convention and expose the workings of his well- oiled machine. At the banquet Kohn delivered a flowe address, in which he shed t over the demise of Samuel Gompers, but told the 150 persons present to be of good cheer, “William Green is just as good.” Wills Is Also at Banquet. The one thing that Kohn deplored was the tendency of some of the up- holsterers to demand better working conditions. He urged them to “‘co- operate,” evidently meaning with the bosses, and boasted that he had pre- vented several strikes. These strikes were stopped by the simple expedient of accepting the terms of the bosses. “Pinkhaired” Charlie Wills was an- other speaker at this banqnet, and he took occasion to rant about the won- derful officials in the Upholsterers’ Union. Kohn said he heard William Green make a speech some years ago in which he said that those who do not co-operate with the officials of the un- ion would be thrown out, and that. is the way he wanted to run the Up holsterers’ Union. A rank and filer walked into the convention who had just been fired for helping to organize a union. He was an employe of Glabman Brothers, Inc., rug, furniture and Itmoleum deal- ers. This worker had helped organ- ize twelve out of the fifteen employes into the Upholsterers’ Union. The mext day he was fired. Get No Organization Ald. “What did they tell you at the con- vention,” he was asked by the DAILY WORKER. “Did you make a speech on how you organized the union?” “No, the only thing they did was to ask me to buy a ticket for their ban- quet, at $2.50. The delegates get in free.’ Whe sked what help Kohn or the international officials give in organ- izing the trade, the worker answered, “Nothing whateve: Strike Till Scabs Are Fired. BOSTON, July 24.—Strike of all the building crafts tied up the new Wa- tertown high school job for an hour till the contractor took off non-union electricians. Threat of similar action forced the removal of non-union elec- tricians from the new Coolidge school at Watertown and the Lake street school at Arlington, both suburbs of Boston, ject up for considera-| | BETRAYED SHOE WORKERS CALLED ' BY T. U. E. L. TO UNITE AGAINST WAGE CUTS | (Continued from Page 1) ers should be cut, | In Lynn the workers have been cor- ralled into the Boot amd Shoe and demands for cuts have been sub- mitted to the state board of arbitra- tion by the bosses. In some factor- ies a “graded price list” has been in-| troduced. This means that those} workers making the cheaper grades | of shoes are paid less than those em- ployed on the high-priced shoes. The Old Bunk of Steady Work. The bosses are appealing to the yorkers to help them run their fac- tories steadily by accepting wage cuts. Unemployment aids the boss- es in putting this bunk over, and the union leaders are doing nothing to offset it. In this situation the National Com- mittee for Amalgamation in the Shoe and Leather Industry has issued a leaflet calling on the shoe workers to fight militantly against wage cuts. This campaign, initiated by the Trade Union Educational League National Committee, has the endosement of the militants in the various shoe centers. Following up the distribution of thousands of these leaflets it is plan- ned to hold mass meetings in the shoe centers, and rally the shoe work- ers for the fight against wage cuts, the organization of shop committees to lead the struggles, and the amal- gamation of the many shoe unions. The leaflet is as follows: SHOE WORKERS, cuTs! FIGHT WAGE Only By Militant Strikes Can You Maintain Your Standard of Living. To all Boot and Shoe Workers:— The bosses are getting ready to cut wages. In Brockton, Mass., one of the largest boot and shoe centers in New Jngland, the employers are Posting notices and distributing leaf- lets asking the workers to accept a reduction in wages. The reason giv- en is that the wages of the boot and shoe workers are too high. In Lynn the manufacturers have succeeded in forcing the workers into the Boot & Shoe as the first step toward wage cuts. Already the bosses have gone to the State Board of Arbitration seek- ing wage cuts. A graded price list has been introduced in the Lynn fac- tories by agreement between the bosses and the Boot & Shoe’ official- dom. The bosses promise the work- ers “steady work” if they accept wage cuts. This lie is being used merely to reduce the standard of liv- ing of the Lynn shoe workers. In Chelsea the bosses are setting the price’ and fire workers who re- fuse to accept them. The Boot & Shoe officialdom does nothing to help the workers fight these wage cuts and does not even talk of taking the mat- ter to the bosses’ State Board of Ar- bitration. The Chelsea shoe workers today are unorganized and at the mercy, of the bosses. In Boston where the Boot & Shoe dominates the situation, the bosses are using the existing unemployment to slash wages. The workers are told that when the‘ factories open up $25 a week will be the standard wage. Prices are set by the bosses and the workers are told to accept them or quit the factory. In Haverhill the bosses are demand- ing wage cuts. The so-called “neutral arbitrator” is on the job and wage cuts will be put into effect unless the workers struggle militantly against them. To rely upon negotiations with the bosses only is to invite wage cuts, All over the New England shoe in- dustry the bosses are crushing down the workers’ standard of living. They are determined to squeeze more pro- fits out of the hides of the workers by wage cuts. Too Low Wages—Too Much Speed-up. The bosses say that to consent to & wage cut is a guarantee of steady THE COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL The decisions of its executive bodies in session that have determined the course of the world Communist move- ment during the last years—you will find in Report of the Fifth Congress.....rcscssssssserseee 70 Cents (The latest reports issued) Between the Fourth and Fifth........... ) (Report of the B. C. of the ¢. I senor do Cents Reports of the Fourth Congress Theses of the Third Congre: Theses of the Second Congr Prompt shipment made by THE DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. “The Source of All Communist Literature” 1113. W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, Illinois AND LONGER HOURS work. This is a lie. The real trouble is that the boot and shoe workers, like all workers under capitalism, get too low wages. In addition to low wages, the workers have been speed- ed up until the average time taken to make a pair of shoes is only 54 minutes, In 1916 it took one hour and 42 minutes of one man’s time to make a pair of shoes, The bosses get the difference in the labor cost. The big- ger profits in the shoe industry that come from the speeding up in the boot and shoe making go into the pockets of the bosses. For the workers, the bosses offer wage cuts, altho we are working al- most twice as fast as we were in 1916. One pair of shoes, 1916—102 minutes. One pair of shoes, 1925—54 minutes. The bosses feel that they are able to make us take wage cuts because we are not organized as well as they are. They have powerful and rich companies and combinations. They control, along with their class, the government, and all means of sway- ing the public mind, They are strong and militant. Too Many Unions—Not Enough Unionism. On the other hand, our unions are weak and demoralized. There are too many unions in the same industry, and. only a small fraction of the workers are organized. We must amalgamate these unions and we must put on big organization cam- paigns that will sweep the workers into these unions. These things we must accomplish if we are to main- tain and advance our wages and to better our working conditions. There are 1,542 boot and shoe fac- tories in the United States, but 14 per cent of these factories can pro- duce 65 per cent of all the boots and shoes needed. This shows how the bosses have centralized their power. It also explains why thousands of shoe workers, willing to work, have to walk the streets unemployed while their families hunger in misery. Amalgamate or Perish. If we do not organize the unorgan- ized, amalgamate our unions into one great industrial union, and fight all wage cuts, the bosses will make us work for anything they see fit to give. They will close half their factories and with cheap labor .working at breakneck speed, the rest will make enough boots and shoes for the na- tion. The less wages we get the more money we make for the boss. The faster we work the larger the bosses’ profit. Resist Wage Cuts! We must resist the threatened wage cuts. Wherever the bosses at- tempt to put them into effect, we must reply with strikes. Organize shop committees to unite the scat- tered unions and the masses. The longer we fail to make a fight for our wages and working conditions the less we will have left to fight for. The longer we allow our ranks to be divided, our unions to be weakened by differences of opinion and by am- bitions of the officials, the sooner will the tron hand of the ,boss and the boss’ government clamp around our necks. Fight all wage cuts! Instead of wage cuts— higher wages! Instead of a lot of little unions— one great industrial union! Instead of longer hours—shorter hours! Instead of dissension and division— amalgamation! Instead of isolated action—a united front of all boot and shoe workers! No wage cuts for the Boot and Shoe Industry! International Amalgamation Commit- tee for the Shoe and Leather In- dustry of the Trade Union Edu- cational League. Scranton Strike Ends. SRCANTON, Pa,, July 24.—Union plumbers of Scranton ned their their two months’ strike with wage in- creases of 25 cents per day, taking effect immediately, another similar raise to come January 1, 1926, Plumb- ers and steamfitters were getting $9 a day and asked for $10. The strike was a hundred per cent effective. Getting a DAILY WORKER sub or two will make a better Communist of you, aadaaaadadaadaadaaaddaaadaad PICNIC SUNDAY, JULY 26 at RYMACK GROVE, LYONS, ILL. Arranged by the White Russian People’s Society and Douglas Park Russian Children’s School, Russian and American Dances. SPEAKERS IN RUSSIAN, POLISH AND UKRAINIAN, Admission with special free tickets 35 cents, at the gate 50 cents. PART OF THE PROCEEDS GORS FOR THE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN POLAND. DIRECTIONS—Take any car to 22nd St., go West to end of the line, Trans- fer to Berwyn-Lyons car to grove. U.S. Ll EFFORT 70 STOP RELIGIOUS FIGHT “Evolution Case” in the Capital Not Popular WASHINGTON, July 24,—The full force of the legal department of the federal government will be exerted to avold a clash between religion and science in the national capitol’s “evo- lution case” schéduled to be heard in the district of ‘Columbia. supreme court next Tuesday, it was learned. With this end ‘in View, the defense will seek to have dismissed on legal technicalities the suit brot by Loren H. Wittner seeking’ to stop salaries of teachers inculéating “disrespect to the holy bible.” * Call it Mere Taxpayers’ Sult. The government has been brot into the case by the, naming of Frank White, treasurer of the United States, as a defendant. .A representative of the department, of justice, under the direction of Assistant Attorgey Gen- eral Letts, will,be,on the defense staff, In addition to numerous alleged minor flaws in the petition itself, the defense is planning to concentrate on having the case thrown out on the grounds it is a taxpayers’ suit and in- volves no material personal interest on the part of Wittner. The defense will contend that the supreme court has decided that a taxpayer, without a personal interest, cannot enjoin Public funds, On the part of government attor- neys there is admittedly a strong de- sire to prevent if possible a recur- rence here of anything like the Scopes trial in Tennessee. Would Stifle Religious Clash. Wittner’s petition’ opens the way for a possible far-flung"battle between religious and scientific beliefs, and the defense wants to stifle that clash before it can gain headway in the federal courts, | | ° Therefore, the’ government will handle the case | purely from the standpoint of law and the right of the treasury to pay salaries to teach, ers, in conformitywith the decrees of congress. The question of whether natural science is right or wrong, or is disrespectful to bible, will not be forced in the government's pleas, If the petition is thrown out on technicalities, ag, defense predicts it surely will be, Wittner will tc difficult barriers in getting a decision from higher courts on the conflicts between religion and science, it was pointed out. His appeal would have to be on his right as a taxpayer to enjoin public money, thus freeing higher courts from passing on relig- fous-scientific theoties, or even decid- ing what constitutes disrespect to the bible. Transfer Fight to Congress. Whatever may be the outcome of court action, it appeared certain that the conflict between science and re- ligion would be transferred to the le- gislative battlements,of congress this fall. 1 Notice already has béen served that an anti-evolution bill, similar to the Tennessee law, would be presented. It is now being drafted by Walter White, superintendent of schools of Rhea county, Tennessee, and a prose- cutor of John T. Scopes. An effort also will be made to place congress again on record as favoring the present provision which forbids teaching of disrespect to the bible in Washington schools. It even may be sought to make the provision strong- er and more far reaching. Watch and Clock Makers’: Union in Organization, Drive An organizationeampaign has been launched by the @hicago Watch and Clockmakers’ Union ‘thru which it is hoped to bring large numbers of new members into the organization. All watch and clock makers not organ- ized are asked to drop in at the union’s headquarters, Room 44, 68 W. Washington 8t., and get into the or- ganization, Conditions are ‘éxceedingly bad in the unorganized fections of the in- dustry. Reports Freeport, Il, center of the watch making indus- try, tell of workers compelled to la- bor for a mere pittance of $20 and $25 weekly, upon Which they are ex- pected to bring up their families and send their children to school. Over- time without pay is also imposed up- on these workers, Some of the reasons for joining the union are pointed out as follows: We inaugurated the 44-hour week. All good watchmakers belong to the unton, " All good shops are union shops. We provide our, members with good Positions, ' We have a minfmum wage scale of $45, $50 and $55, ‘ benefit of $200 We have a di for every member in good standing. Local Union are held ev- ery first and thitd Thursdays of the month at 180 Ww, ‘ashington St., 4th floor, at 6 p. m MY ’ “Hands Across the Sea!” Must Be Labor’s Slogan Until This War Is Won By J. LOUIS ENODAHL, 'ODAY, American workers, in all industries, may well profit by the courageous militancy of British labor ready it seems, to launch a general strike that will cripple all ac- tivity of the capitalist order on the islands. Labor in Great Britain is face to face with wholesale wage cuts, similar to the crisis confronting the working class in this country. On two successive days there came the news first of the threatened strike of the quarter million textile workers in the Rochdale (Yorkshire) mills, and second, the strike call of the million coal miners to go into effect July 31. No hesi- tancy here. Just action. The action of workers determined to fight and win. The terrible plight of the coal miners, linked with that of other workers, and the determination to fight it to the finish, has given birth to the Quadruple Alliance, that has great promise of success, where the failed. riple Alliance of 1919 With the slogan that the time has come for the British workers to “strike together,” the Quadruple Alliance is cementing the forces of the coal miners, the railwaymen, the transport workers and the machinists. How the class collaborating American officials of labor must gas when it is announced that these British unions have pledged their mutual solidarity “notwithstanding anything in their agree- ments and constitutions to the contrary, TO ACT AS DIRECTED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ALLI- ANCE”. It is significant that the only objection came from J. H. Thomas of the railwaymen, one of the chiefs in the “soclal- ist” cabinet of the labor premier, J. Ramsay MacDonald. His was the only discordant note. His motion of opposition did not even receive a second. e * The British workers can be depended on to take care of this weak link in their united front, There were too many such weak links to make the Triple Alliance, in 1919, a suc- cess. These past experiences will help mend * in the Quadruple Alliance before it goes actively in breaches ‘to battle. The workers have also been taught that they cannot ‘depend on the parliamentarism of the acDonald “socialist” type, that only helped fasten the chains a little tighter about labor's limbs. In fact, it was the MacDonald ministry that paved the way for the conscription of British railway labor during strikes, Thus the British workers are without illusions as to the real nature of the war ‘between themselves and their @x- ploiters. They know it is a class war that brings the social revolution in its wake. The miners know they are lost with- out the support of the workers in other! industries. And they know that there is nothing that will help them so much as a simultaneous strike by the coal’ miners of France, Belgium, Germany and the United States, é British imperialism also knows the meaning of the growing crisis. The Baldwin aa at what it is about in trying to form a is fully conscious of jaltic bloc against the Union of Soviet Republics. It is only one front on which it Egypt, in India, and especial seeks to bulwark its or y rule, her weak spots are in in China, British tory rule is also tremendously anxious to bring Germany into the League of Nations and cut, if it can, any sympathetic relations that may exist between Berlin and Moscow, and they are not a few. All these complications give world importance to the rapidly developing clash between labor and capital in Great Britain. ee The left wing in the American labor movement must begin the fight now that will halt even a single ounce of American scab coal going to Great Britain. This is not only the affair of the coal itnere, both in the union and non- union fields, but also of the railwaymen, longshoremen and seamen who will be called on to transport the coal intended for strike-breaking purposes in Great Britain. Labor's left wing must also fight to have a large part of the copious funds of the rich unions diverted in support of the British unions, some of which face the battle with depleted treasuries, “Hands Across the Sea!” should be the slogan of all American labor in this fight. “INVESTIGATION” OF MURDER OF TWO POLISH REDS IN CHARGE OF WHITE TERROR JUDGE, TORTURE CONTINUES WARSAW, Poland, July 24.—According to information received, the in- vestigations in connection with the murder of Comrades Baginsky and Vet- cherkovitch by the secret police agent Murashko, have now been concluded. Rudmitsky has been appointed as prosecutor in this case, being especially appointed by the ministry of justice. will be the counsel for the defense. The lawyers Nedzelsky and Shuley The wives of the murdered comrades have presented a civil claim for 10,000 gold marks. The lawyer Duratch will speak on behalf of the wives of Baginsky and Vetchorkevitch, who ¢#———__________ recently arrived in Moscow. The case will be heard-in August in the town of Novogrudke. The relations of political prisone have approached the minister of just- ice with a complaint against the ill- treatment of prisoners confined in Lodz prison who commemorated the anniversary of the shooting of the young Communist, Comrade Engel, and have demanded the appointment yi of a special commission of investiga- tion, The prisoners were beaten to such an extent that they had to be sent to the hospital on special motor ambu- lances. During the interviews those arrested refused to mention the names of those who had been beaten, to avoid this savage treatment being repeated. REUTER NEWS SERVICE LIES ABOUT CHINA Capitalist Press Not to Be Believed By ART SHIELDS (Federated Press Staff Correspondent.) NEW YORK, July 24.—(FP)—A fighting piece of labor journalism is the Shanghal Crisis which has crossed the water with its first two issues. The Shanghai Crisis Is published in Press Picnic Committee Meets MONDAY NIGHT, 8 P. M., 19 SO. LINCOLN STREET All delegates elected by branches and representatives of all Workers Party papers should be present. Chi; and English editions by the students of Tsing Hua College at Peking in the Interests of the strike and the contents of the paper show that these lade are real up and at 'em scrappers. The June 10 and June 14 issues to hand tell the story of the early days of the great struggle and the story of the atrocities of the British troops is illustrated by a loose leaf picture of the corpses of five of the martyrs calculated to stir the blood of read- ers to more intense resistence. Shot Without Warning Shooting down of the strikers was a cold blooded massacre without any warning the Chinese could understand, the paper shows. Inspector Everson of the police is quoted as testitying before the British Assessor that he sounded his orders to disperse and his commands to fire, in English—a form of speech the Chinese crowd could not understand. Meaning is given to the attack on “truth-twisting” Rewspapers in a warm editorial in the June 10 issue headed Reuter vs. Truth. Of this huge press association which {s to Europe and the Far Hast what the Associated Press is to America the Shanghai Crisis says: Capitalist New Service at Work “The most terrible instrument of Derverting truth is the Reuter News Agency, an integral part of British im- perialism and an indespensible aid of the British foreign office. It reports in full one-sided versions of POlice In- spector Everson, an English officer, who was most directly responsible for the killing of May 30th, without saying a word about the manifestos of the Chinese, not even the officially re- corded testimony of the students at the inquest.” “It practically controls the transmis- sion of news from China to most parts of the world. Therefore, the reading public, abroad, particularly. English-) ' men in England, will have no oppor- tunity to learn the truth of the Shan- ghai massacre. And the perversion of truth will seem truth to them be- cause it is Reuter’s perversion.” Plate Printers’ Union Happy Over ‘Printing Money They Don’t Get WASHINGTON, July 24.—(FP)— The International Plate Printers and Die Stampers Union of North Amer- ica is holding its thirty-third annual convention at the Shoreham hotel here, Forty delegates from the United States and Canada are attending. The meeting was called to order by Wal- ter A. Burke of Boston, international president. Lots of Nice Paper Money on Tap Thomas J. McQuade, chairman of the executive committee of the Wash- ington plate Printers Union informed the convention that the bureau of printing and engraving that employes the largest number of plate printers of any establishment in the country, is entering upon “halycon days” with ~ more work assured than ever before in its history. There is no prospect for a let-down, he said for at least a year. Under the present regime, he said a reserve stock of 40 million sheets of paper used in printing currency has been accumulated that will be allowed to age properly before it is used so as to avoid putting “uncured” currency into circulation. Mr. McQuade de- clared this was an economy because it will make paper currency last lon- ger in circulation. James E. Goodyear of Philadelphia, secretary of the international union reported the treasury in excellent shape, and president Burke declared -hat the organization was in a gener ally prosperous state. Jam Pickford Kidnaping Trial. LOS ANGELES, July 24—With nine men and three women temporarily in the jury box, . another huge crowd jammed the courtroom today at the trial of Charles Stevens, Claude Hol- comb and Adrian Wood, accused of conspiring to kidnap Mary Pickford, ao \ | v