The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 15, 1925, Page 6

Six THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 1113 W, Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill, Phone Monroe 4712 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicagy only): By mail (outside of Chicago): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year $3.50 six months $2.50 three months $2.00 three months Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, Illinois | N many different occasions the Communist International, in its various comniunications to our party, has stressed the necessity of our de- voting more attention to the trade un- ion work, In the decision of the En- larged Executive Committee on the i ] THE DAILY WORKER Party Trade. Uni that no worker in an industrial coun- try like America can be a real Com- munist unless he is an active labor unionist. The party must take a de- termined stand against any sign of slackness in labor union activity. The work in the labor unions must be re- garded as the basis which will deter- dering this activity. almost entirely into the hands of those who now make up the majority of the Central Ex- ecutive Committeé. From the foun- dation of the Workers Party, and @ure ingthe--lest™ months” of the “wnder ground party; thé PepperRuthenbers group left the working” out-and"appli- cation of tfadé tition policies almost on Work -. - first fruits of this were presented to the last convention of the party in the form of an industrial program, ‘The outstanding ‘features of this’ program were proposals ‘to drop the slogans of amalgamation and organize the unor- ganized. On’ the question of amalga- mation, the minority program said: “Neither the workers of the unor- By Wm. Z. Foster Communfets in the full sense of the word. The impression has been cre- ated that trade union work, as such, is to some degree syndicalistic. Many comrades seem to take a sort of pride in the fact that they playno part in the struggles of the trade union om ganizations, af pee DAE ‘ 1 A mine th ccess of the party in most As for the Trade Union Educational J, LOU GDAHL American question, it says: prend ate ot poe if complétély in our hands. The objec-| ganized industries nor the hundreds Leagué, it has been singled out for WILLIAM F. DUNNG “In America the regular work of tive~situation:.was~highly~favorable, | of thousands of organized workers are | attack, Campaigns have been openly MORIT J, LOEB Business Manager Why all this repeated insistance by at the post-office at Chi- 3, 1879. Entered as second-class mail September 21, 1 cago, Lul., under the act of Marc ‘Advertising rates on application. _ age 290 party members in the trade unions must be considered now as the fun- damental work on which depends the success of the party in most of the other fields, and especially the strug- The Attack on the Atmulgnmated Last Wednesday afternoon a small army of police under the} leadership of the notorious “Mike” Grady, police lieutenant with a shady history, raided the headquarters of the joint board of the Amalgamated Clothing, Workers and arrested sixty-two members | of the organization that. were present, including several officers. | stant manager and business Later on, when Sidney Rissman, as agent of the joint board, appeared at the detective bureau to take steps to release the members of the union, he was seized by Lieuten- ant Grady and thrown into a cell. This raid is added proof—if any is needed—of the close relations between the mannfacturers and the police department. It clearly, what we have alwé is the tool of the employing class. This raid on the Amalgamated headquarters had no other pur- pose than to break the strike of the union against the millionaire clothing firm, the International Tailoring~company. The police acted directly thru the chamber of commerce. It is also significant that on the very day the raid took place, the International News Service sent a story over its wires that the American Federation of Labor was threatening to break with the Chicago Federation of Labor over the latter’s attack on the United Garment Workers for scabbing on the Amalgamated Clothing Work- ers. The news service gave the name of Tom Rickerts local scab herder as authority for the statement. Thus we have in one unholy combination against the Amal- gamated, the bureaucracy of the American Federation of Labor, the chamber of commerce, representing the International Tailoring com- pany and the police department to do the dirty work. This united front of the employers and their lackeys is a challen trade union movement fo Chicago. This latest outrage against mili- tant unionists must not go unanswered. The working class must show Mayor Dever, the humble tool of big business, that it is in the power of the working class to put a representative of labor in the city hall and kick out the handy man of the chamber*‘of commerce and the combined capitalists of Chicago. The attack on the Amalgamated teaches many lessons, not the least of which is this: Any union that fights for the interests of its members, no matter what political views the mass of its membership represents, is sure to draw the fire of the master class. ~The Amal- gamated was not rdided because its officials are sympathetic to the shows Communists. Such a charge could not be directed against them. In| fact many of them went out their way quite recently to convince the employers that they had nothing in common with the Communists. But this did not save them. Why? Because the particular employer “who stands to lose money by being compelled to pay better wages to his wage slaves is not worrying so much about the distant future as he is about the here and now. Thus, we see, that it makes little difference to the employers whether he is compelled to turn over more of his profits to a Communist worker or to a worker who still believes in the parties of capitalism. Unions that adopt the policy of collaborating with the employ- ers are never in any danger of police raids. It is significant that the capitalist press reports stated that all the cockroach firms that com- plained of being attacked by alleged agents of the Amalgamated were either open shop or had agreements with the United Garmen Workers. The Amalgamated members may also notice that all the capitalist papers played up the arrested men as if they were a lot of criminals. The DAILY WORKER alone of all the dailies in Chi cago defended those workers. It is nothing new to have reactionary labor leaders co-operating | with the police and the employers in bringing about the arrest of workers. In Los Angeles, reactionary officials of the carpenters’ unions co-operated with the police in raiding the offices of the Trade Union Educational League and the Workers Party. John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers, boastingly admitted that he helped the-department of justice ferret out the radicals in his own pointed out, that the police department | 2 to the entire | gle fora Labor Party. Therefore, any tendency to neglect or minfinize the | importance of this work must be ener- getically combatted.” HE Comintern found it so neces- sary to stimulate the Workers Party on the question of Communist work in the trade unions, that it, in conjunction with the Profintern, has addressed a joint letter to our party on this general subje This letter bristles with instructions to devote moré and more attention to activity in the mass economic organizations of the workers. It says: “It is of extreme importance to the life and growth of the Workers Party that its members as a whole realize better the necessity of more intensive work in the trade unions, The labor unions are the basic mass organiza- tions of the workers. They wage war against the employers on one of the most important sectors of the front | of the*class struggle. The capture of the leadership of the labor union not only for the strengthening of the the revolutionary struggle. The cap- ture of the labor unions is our first and foremost task.” And again: “The Party must use disciplinary measures to compel its members to | join the labor unions and to become active in them. It must be firmly fixed in the mind of every party member masses in their struggle is necessary | Workers Party at the present time | but also for the ultimate victory of | the Communist International for in- creased activity by the Workers Party in the trade unions? The answer is found in the facts that only about one- third of our party members are at the same time members of the trade un- ions, and of this trade union member- ship only a very small portion are really active in the trade unions. That is to say, the Workers Party-is doing only..a.fraction of the work that should in the trade unfons, and this faet-is..well.known. to the Comintern, which is determined to ‘correct’ the situation, and to throw. ail avaitable forces of our party into this” baste work, the Centtalexacitive Conitiittce min- ority group that eae not take to eae amterepemeet Structions from the “Commterm~ ot "the question of trade union’ wOrk;"and join whdle- heartedly with’ the»@entral Executive Comnittee*in-a. ‘campaign to-improve the st ‘this'vital respect..This is-que"to"a Tan -lack..of.ap- preciation of ‘the importance..of-werk in the’ proletarian’ 7 economte: or- | eealeathng Uae ee mést. serious | is its underestimation of party work in trade unions. Reb underestimation and lack of understanding of trade union work has long characterized the minority leadership and has manifested itself in various ways. When the minority group controlled the Central Executive Committee, and before the present fac- tional situation developed, the indif- ference of this group towards trade union work showed ‘itself by surren- It_is one of the greatest errors of, weaknesses of the minorityas.a-whole- with the workers then engaged in the greatest series of strikes in Americair history. Our campatens’prospered and the Trade Union Educational League made rapid headway. It imme- diately became the leader of the whole left wing in the trade union move- ment. The Pepper-Ruthenberg group gave this work their blessing from afar. unanimously without discussion all the propositions of the Industrial De- partment. Yes, despite this policy of non-participation in trade union, woPk; we found the minority. delegation-aty Mos¢Ow during the last hearing on the American question graciously tak- Ying the credit for allethe»work that was done. They declared that the party work was highly effective in the trade unions and then took to them- selves the full credit-for it simply be- cause it was performed when they the truth is that the only real credit they can claim, if credit is due for such, is for not hindering the work at that epoch. They had almost nothing to do with its actual performance. jaa the dispute in the Central ~ Executive Committee in August, 1923, regarding the Federated Farmer Labor Party policy, which was the be- ginning of the present factional situ- ation, the weakness of the minority on trade union work manifested itself in new forms. For one thing, the min- ority found it necessary to have a trade union policy. No longer could it surrender completely this important branch of party work to our group, The minority then began to dabble in. mapping out trade union policies. The 1 Trade From the Executive Committee of the Communist International afd the | Executive Committee of the Red International of La- “bor Unions. T is of extreme importance to the |4 life and growth of the Workers | Party that its members as a whole realize better the necessity of more intensive work in the labor unions. | The labor unions are the basic mass | organizations‘of the workers. They | wage war against the employers on one of the most important sectors of the front of the class struggle. The capture of the leadership of the labor union masses in their struggle is vital- ly necessary not only for the strength- ening of the Workers Party at the present time, but also for the ulti- mate victory of the revolutionary struggle. [he capture of the labor unions is our fitst and’ foremost task. | "Phat the Workers Party as a whole does not yet thoroly realize the ex- ceptional importance of trade union | activity is clear from the fact that only 40 per cent of the party mem- bership are members of labor unions, and even of these only very few are active in the latfer work. If the unions are weak and are dominated by the reactionaries, itis the business of the Communists to strengthen them nion Work exclusive. organ. of the Chamuniata and their ¢ siympathizers,. irre- [Sbective” of whether “such arse avé"a result of pressure from outside or of pressure.on.the ‘part of the party member anxious to:keep out. non-par- ptisans. ‘The party thust strive to con- vert’ the League’ into an extensive Left Bloc Orgunization, lining up all the revolutionary and progressive ele- ments inthe labor uniohs against the reactionary bureaucracy. The Commifist strategy in the la- bor unions miist' be ‘to unite, thru the medium of the Trade Union Educa- tional League, all the left wing ele- ments against the old officialdom and their policies. Every struggle of the workers and all everyday’ activities must be directed to this object. One of the important features of the work jin the labor unions is without fail to utilize the elections of trade union of- ficers and of the delegates to the lo- peal, district, national and A, F. of L. conventions. Among the. so-called progressive elements there is a grow- ing tendency to develop an opposition against the reactionary labor union bureaucracy and to put up their own ticket in opposition to them at elec- tions. This tendency must be stimu- lated and developed by the Workers Party as a means of bringing the work- ers under its influence. In every elec- tion, both in local unions, central 2. Class Collaboration. Hit party must conduct a relentless war against all class collaboration lans, such as the labor banks, insur. | ance companies, the B, & O, Plan, etc., which are being foisted upon the workers by the reactionary bureau- cracy. This campaign must, be op- Posed by a militant struggle for a class war policy. The party must steadily expose the incapability, cor- ruption and treachery of the reaction- ary bureaucracy. On the ques’ n..of labor banking, our policy must ‘be to oppose the establishment of new banks on the present basis and to de- mand that the existing banks be reor- ganized on co-operative lines, that they break with Wall Street and re- frain from locking up strike funds in various investments. 3. Organization of the Unorganized, | id every labor union the party must raise the question of the organiza- tion of the unorganized. The party should also utilize its shop nuclei for the organization of the unorganized and to obtain the leadership in all their sruggles. Where labor unions exist the policy of the party must be to strengthen them. Where there are no unions the party must take the initiative and form unions, ganizations must be vigorously prose- They wet wncritical, usually adopting | were in the majority in the partyeBut| interested in any organizational im- provement of the existing craft unions. Our vigorous campaign for amalgama- tion was in place for the period of prosperity and it helped to stir up great sections of organized labor.” To this.mistaken proposal of drop- ping the campaign to consolidate the unions, the minority added the equal- ly serious error of proposing to dis- continue..oyr active work for the or- ganization of.the unorganized. They declared that our slogan, “Organize the Unorganized”, “was a proper slo- gan during a period of complete em- ployment, increase in wages, and de- \'crease in hours.” As a substitute for these two basic campaigns the minor- ity proposed to center the industrial work around the organization of the unemployed, altho unemployment had _ manifestly not taken on a’ sufficiently mass character to make this program practicable. Since the party conven- tion the efforts of the minority to de- velop a trade union program have been marked by the most serious op- portunistic deviations, which will be discussed in a later article. | AFTER the factional situation de-| veloped the minority’s. minimizing of trade union work showed itself in a tendency to attack and belittle the | comrades and organizations engaged | in activities in the trade unions. The August Thesis of 1923 made a long attack upon the party members who | were active in the trade union move- ment. This lead has since been fol-| lowed, with the result that in large sections of the party the feeling has been developed that in some way or other work in the trade unions. is not Vital and that party members. who carried on against it by responsible party workers. In view of the difficulg situation that the league has been working under, with the right-wing bureaucracy shooting into it from all sides, such opposition from within our ranks has been particularly. disastrous, Instead of correcting the glaring weak- ness'of our Party’s work in’ the trade unions, the policy of the minority tends only to increase it and to make the situation worse. Inthe long dispute that has con- tinued in the party since 1923, the question of the character of our trade union work and the emphasis to be placed on this branch of our activity, has been an underlying issue of basie character, even tho the discussion hag ot turned so directly on this pointes the Parity Commission the two groups came to theoretical agreement regarding our tasks in the trade un- fons. When they accomplish this in the execution of the practical work in these organizations, then the party will be far along on the way to unity. UT how can this understanding be brought about? Certainly not by the majority group adopting the min- ority attitude towards work in the trade unions. There is only one solu- tion to the problem. This is by tha minority’s fully and freely accepting the Comintern’s position that the work in the trade unions is a vital and, fundamental task of the party, and then by giving their active co- operation and participation in this work. With this accomplighed, the Bol- shevization of our party will Proceed apace in all its aspects, and the party will rapidly assume a position of far greater power and influence in the take the lead in that work are not labor movement as a whole. A Letter from the Comintern | Not fail to utilize it. 7. The Work Among the Negroes. peese workers are becoming an ever more important factor in in- dustry. The employers are doing everything possible to utilize them in the struggle against the whites, thus exploiting both the whites and the ne- groes, The labor bureaucracy falls into this trap set by the employers and sets up all sorts of barriers to Prevent the Negroes joining the unions, This tendency must be re- lentlessly fought against. The Work- ers Party must demand the admission of the Negroes to the respective unions, and see to it that they receive equal protection with the whites. Where the leaders refuse to admit Negroes into the unions, special Ne-| gro labor unions should be formed in that particular industry. 8, Connections with the Workers of! The Colonies. HE party, thru the league, should | set up close and permanent con- nections with the labor unions in the Philippines, Haiti, Cuba and the other countries under the economic and po- litical subjection of United States im- perialism, The purpose of these con- nections should be to render the ut- most support to the workers in the colonies and semi-colonies in their po- litical and economic struggle or the invaders. and the Profintern. 9, International Trade Union Unity, 5 sige party must launch an active campaign in favor of international trade union unity. It must fight in every trade union for the endorsc- ment of the demand for a world unity congress and for the participation of the American Federation of Labor in it, on the basis of the R. I. L. U. pro- posal. It must also fight for the sup- Port of the Anglo-Russian committee as the first step towards trade union unity and for the affiliation of the vai- ious national unions to the respective industrial secretariats. e labor union work is of extreme importance to the consolidation of the Workers: Party. Everything possible must be done to insure the success of this work. The various points of this letter must be closely studied and ac- tively applied. If this is done, the party will widely extend its influence over the masses and be placed on a more solid basis. We call upon the entire party membership to put into effect the. policies laid down in this letter. Ss With Communist greetings, (Signed) A. W. KUUSINEN, Secre- tary Executive Commitee Communist International. (Signed) A. LOZOVSKy, General Secretary of the Red Inter- national of Labor Unions, organization. This attack on the Amalgamated is by no means a| and to wage a relentless fight against | ‘™®4¢s councils and in the internation- 4° Amalgamation. h dershi d th lick al unions, the Communists, where TT novelty. the "i ership and the policies of the they are not sufficiently stroig to se. Y bse campaign for amalgamation of Th k M hl A R . The DAILY WORKER calls on the entire trade union move- Prevesti Fam cure the election of their own candi- the craft unions into industrial or- e Wor. ers ont, y Sete eview ment of Chicago to give its united support to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in this crisis. Organized labor must accept the challenge of the chamber of commerce, and show the combined forces of the enemy that labor realizes the meaning of solidarity. One of the Chicago Tribune’s paid liars who is stationed in Riga says that Russia is vodkaizing working class visitors into the belief that the Soviet Union is progressing. We wonder if they have also vodkaized France into officially repudiating the efforts of Britain to sent a joint note to Moscow asking for an official statement on the alleged relations between the Soviet government and the Communist i » the. initia. tive” ‘ize unions, We.must lot sit wi ir hands’folded and wait “the labor Bir ey finds it 2 an necess. le organ- iza @ masses into labor unions is the historical task of the Commun- ist movement in America, i ade party must use disciplinary measures to compel its members to join the labor unions and become active in them. It must be firmly fixed dates, must unite with’ the progres- sives and support joint candidates on the basis of the united front. It should be remembered that the officialdom of the American Federation of Labor and of the international unions does not represent a single reactionary mass. The closer the labor union official is to the shop and the dues-payer, *the more subject is he to the direct influ- ence of the masses of the workers. Among these elements there are many cuted. The amalgamation movement must be put on a more concrete basis in view of the desperate resistance which the labor bureaucracy is put- ting up against it. This movement must be linked up with the everyday ; Struggle of the workers and their everyday demands. In order to widen and extend the amalgamation move- ment, plans should be elaborated for closer co-operation among the unions 0 little is said, too little is writ- ten and much too little is done about so good a magazine as the Work- ers Monthly, Perhaps one article deserves speciat mention, “Twenty Years After” by Harrison George is surely one that would stand out in any issue of even This is written without qualification, |@8 800d a magazine as'tne Workers And no worker, Communist or other- | Monthly. Here is-the history of the I, wise, would fail to agree after a close |W. W. for twenty years in a nut-shell reading of the current August issue, }—the history of struggle in this coun- It isn’t simply because of the at-|'TY and a spectacle of a withering or- tractiveness of the magazine, because | 8@ization that once personified strug- gle to American ‘workers. who are disgusted with the policies of in the various industries and locali- it’s “so easy on the eyes” from its o | 4 f International in the mind ot every party member | the heads, This discontent, tho not|(le% At the same time a drive should | decorative cover to the last page in it.|., Another really unusual feature ap- ‘Tie Tilinois committee that essayed to elect LaFolette have a debt of $10,000 hanging around their necks. They held a picnic in Riverview to wipe it out. 200 women and children attended. We will leave the rest to your imagination. But Green is too busy on his knees fawning on the master class and barking at the Communists. He may get something in his pockets from the bosses by going on his knees to them, but he will only get the boot in the posterior from the working class. When a bridge worker who had been unemployed for several weeks got a job he was so weak with hunger that he missed his foot-| ing and fell to his death. This did not happen in Bolshevik Russia, but in capitalist Philadelphia. An official of the Carnegie Trust company in Pittsburgh, Pa., lost ten millions. No, no, the money did not belong to himself. He is a banker. Hylan and Hearst are in alliance against Tammany Hall. This will provide some excitement, but in the end the workers will find that whichever side wins they lose. lansing | New England textile industries are combining. What about the | ion taking a hint? . % im iba 2 ol ose £0358 ORO that no worker in an industrial coun- try like America can be a real Com- munist unless he is an active labor unionist. The party must take a de- termined stand against any sign of slackness in labor union activity. The work in the labor unions must be re- garded as the basis which will deter- mine the success of the party in most other spheres of work. The Workers Party must render the utmost assistance to the Trade Union Educational League. Wherever the party has branches the latter must regard it as their duty to set up and maintain local branches of the Leagu Party members who are trade union- ists must actively engage in the work of the League. In the Lei |iwhole and in. eai arate nion organization the party members ust be united into a Communist fac- jon and on all questions ,act unani- ously and as one body, THE Workers Party must ‘Also do aAcverything within its power to pre- vent itself becoming isolated trom the masses, It ae Pe Eg cles to rf ‘ac @ to the position of an Sm a: BUONO eS aa , f yet organized, nevertheless represents opposition to the old course. The party must give every” possible assis- tance to the progressive elements in their struggle against the reactionary bureaucracy, The league must strive to establish a united frént with these elements on the bas’ te program of action, The league should be: actively sup- ported by the party im prosecution of the league program endorsed at the Third Congress of the) R. I. L. Particular attention should be giv: to the folowing points: Fs 1, Strikes be Movements. 4 Ips party must actively engage i every strike and wage movement. It must also rouse the masses to take up such movements. It must skillful- ly utilize these movements for politi- cal ends, Tt must have a program of demands for each J this kind and the unists must fight for the lead in the strug- sle. The wage cutting campaign car- jed out by the capitalists must be op- yosed by a counter-campaign of strikes, ime ws be launched for amalgamation of the | True/such artists as Fred Ellis, G, Pic- Pears in this issue of the Workers § movement of |" unions on a national scale, 5. Canadian Autonomy, AT active campaign should be con- ducted for the affiliation of all the independent unions to the American Federation of Labor, including the railway brotherhoods, the Amalgamat- ed Clothing Workers, the revolutionary inions, etc, Where affilaitions to the merican Federation of Labor re- quires the development of the Amalga- mation movement, such a movement should be actively supported. The demand should also be raised among the American unions for giving auton- omy to their Canadian sections, in ac- cordance with the principles laid down in the program of the league, 6. The Shop Commitee Movement. M brat party Should vigorously push forward the movement directed to- wards the development of shop com- mittees, not only in the organized, but in the unorganized industries as well. The shop committee movement repre- sents a pow itrument for the or- ganization of the unorganized working masses and Workers’ Party should coli, Maurice Becker, Don Brown and ve done much to make it at- indeed—and the myriad ot photographs add to the magazine's beauty and worth. But because of the valuable contributions primarily, this issue, (and this magazine in every is- sue) deserves a good deal more of at- tention... ‘ Articles: by Arne Swabeck on the Steel Industry, by William Z. Foster and Earl R. Browder on the needl nd one by Alex Reid on the miners give the keynote to this issue. In these are the life of the working class and in these are struggle—(with bosses and labor ‘ ) and here is also the Communist presentation of not facts alone—but also principles and program as guidance for future leadership. =~ 4 To the articles on industrial strug- gles and working class political action | Monthly. ‘Like in the publication of the original draft. of the Communist | Manifesto, which appeared for the \}first time recently in the. Little Red Library series, tho written as long as ‘seventy five years ago, an article “The Organic Composition of Capital” writ- ‘ten by Karl Marx, is the first appear- ‘|ance in this country. of a letter in - which Marx analyzes the roots of the ‘difference with Ricardo and other bour- geois economists, ‘The appearance ot such treasures make the ‘ Workers Monthly doubly valuable to every worker, \ Many other features are In the Aug- ust issue of the Workers Monthly—~ many other good ones...many other things deserving much to be said about. them. Without question, about every issue of the Workers Monthly (read | it yourself if you doubt our word) too little is said, too little , Js written and are added a number of other most in- : teresting feuttires. Molssaye ‘Olgin's much too little is done, if article on Russia, is a personal account | * Aa) ae ot inte i sie Se isn abn -| If you want to thoroughly un- ment ive you of an- 4 ‘i ¥ other world. And the article on Ameri- derstand Communism—study it. can 6 in Russia will bring | Send for a catalogue of all Com. this closer home to you. |munist literature, = . he nai li