The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 3, 1925, Page 1

J The DAILY WORKER Raises the Standard for a Workers’ and Farmers’ Government Vol. Il. No. 201. RITIL. Subscription Rates: THE | In Chicage, by mail, $8.00 per year: Outside Chicago, by mail, $6.00 per year. : sfe'yt,0 (: fot f iH Strikebreaker Berry HYMAN EXPOSES FAKE “PEACE” PROPOSALS OF SIGMAN AS BUT ANOTHER WAY (Special to The NEW YORK CITY, Sept. 1.—In reply to President Sigman’s pesca proposal, the Joint Committee o: . L. G. W. locals have issued the following statement: UNION REFUSED TO STAND FOR : SCAB POLICY Pressmen Plan to Wage War on “Majah” TO SAVE HIMSELF Daily Worker) Action of the suspended Ly Entered as Second-class matter September 21,1928, THURS IELD TO: “Mr. Sigman’s peace manifesto purporting to pegs peace and harmony in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union is not intended to create peace in the union, but will only tend to sharpen the internal conflict now existing in our union. “Since the suspension of the 77 officers of the three locals, the large mass of the membership backing these three locals have put forth three demands on the basis of which peace could be established in the union, viz.: 1) The resignation of Sigman, paddies asc ae to teates ccm bems © Feinberg and Perlstein; 2) The AS WE SEE IT officers of the Locals 2,9 and 22; The Board of Directors of the In- ternational Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, under the instruc- tlone of atrikebreaker George L. Berry, yesterday lifted the charter of Chicago Printing Pressmen No. 3, for Ite refusal to sanction the introduction of the open shop in the Cuneo-Sears Roebuck printing plants, Since the union’s dispute with the Cuneo-Sears people, Berry has .been supplying strikebreakers to take the places of the men that walked out. reinstatement of the suspended By T. J, O'FLAHERTY HE reactionary labor leaders are always trying to put the rule of the workers and peasants in Russia in a false light by. catering to the popular prejudice against dictatorship, ignor- ing the fact that all capitalist democ- racies are dictatorships in actual prac- tiee, Any system,that places the eco- nomic life of the individual at the mercy of somebody else has little to recommend it, except to those who own the means whereby others can live, see HE Communists don’t believe in democracy” bleat the reaction- “aries, “they. believe in a dictatorship.” And then they go on to picture .the ae ¢ Prec who have to OP tear of the czarist parasites who had to work or starve when the workers and peasants seized power. Yet those very labor skates have no hesitation in de- ‘priving members of their own unions of a livelihood for merely disagreeing with them on political questions. ee LL the international unions, with hardly an exception are now join- ing hands with the employers in perse- enting the radicals. The one I am concerned with just now is the Jour- neymen Barbers’ International Union of America. The president of this or- ganiation is a gentleman by the name of Shaunessy. The secretary-treasur- er’s name is Fisher. Not so long ago these capitalist tools expelled “Con” Foley of Pottsville, Pa., because “Con” stood for progressive policies and made common cause with the radicals. Even tho Foley was an old timer in the organization and had done much to build it up he was expelled for his political convictions. see ERE in Chicago a group of barbers were expelled from the union by order of the International even tho the local refused to take such action. Not only were they expelled from the union, but the ‘business agent refuses them permission to work at their trade, tho their unionism is without taint which is»more than can be said for the per capita sharks who had them expelled, #716. Ss HOSE labor fakers care véry little how those barbers are going to get money to buy the necessaries of life for their dependents. They worry over the condition of the Russian grand dukes and duchesses but mem- bers of their own unions are subject to persecution, provided they refuse to dig out their brains or do their think- ing according to the faker’s code. But the progressive barbers are not laying own, The current issue of The ‘ogressive Barber tells the story of ‘he struggle in the barbers’ union and aoes it ina bie { Rercisatle, manner. . HERE is a one way to handle the reactionaries and that is by conducting an organized fight against them, based on progressive principles _ a8 well as dealing with the personali- ties of the crooks. The Progressive Barber sets a standard which other left wing papers should do well to emulate and surpass. This is not an easy job. The little paper is well got- ten up and the material is mostly all original and pertains chiefly to the barbers’ problem, with enuf outside matter to link up the struggle in the barbers’ union with the whole wing fight in the labor movement, The paper is issued monthly. The subscription is $1 a year and it is pub- (Continued on page 2) t woah left } worst ‘waterfront fire im his forty jocomenae 3) The reorganization of the Joint Board on a basis of pro- portional representation. Sigman's Terrorism. “In answer to these demands Mr. Sigman instituted a campaign of ter- rorism in order to force the insurgent members into submission., In spite of his assertion that the entire member- ship was backing him, he has. repeat- edly refused to submit the entire con- troversy to a referendum of the mem- bership under the supervision. of an intpartial committee. “The peace proposals of the Inter- national and the Joint. Board do not in any way offer reforms that. will help to alleviate the present situation. Mr. Sigman proposes a new election of all locals affiliated with the New York He has transported them from. all over the country just as he did in the New York strikes of 1919 and 1923, As was told in recent articles in The DAILY WORKER, Berry planned to life No. 3’s charter for a long time. He never forgave the Chicago press- men for showing him up as Jabor crook, when a court found him guilty of mésappropriating $165,000 of the union funds.. When the union finally agreed for the sake of peace to let bygones be bygones, Berry reward this action by calling a meeting of his lackeys in the notorious bawdy house in the red light district at 22nd and State streets and laying the wires to lift the union’s charter. The Conspiracy. The tors was t6 unite with the | 0 sik under riba conditions, to litt their charter. This is just what happened in the proposal is neither just coats th os tional. One can readil: tand why Mr. Sigman would leny, the sus-|Cuneo walkout. Berry agreed with pended officers the right” tum. in the |the Cuneo bosses to reduce the num- future election. We xn | ber of men on the machines. The ously fought his policiés in union |men refused to do this and walked and are regarded as his ibsiee But |out. Berry imported strikebreakers why deny this right to the recently.|@nd finally when the union refused elected officers? Mr. Sigman is in er-|to obey his order to partictpate in his vor when he believes that th suspend- | 8trikebreaking activities, he lifted the ed officers and the cloak and dress- | Charter. makers are appeased’ when.others are| Many members of both the press- also denied their democratic privi-|™°2 and feeders’ unions, believe the leges. ee (Continued on page 6.) STRIKERS SEEK ACTION AGAINST Funny Proposal, “Mr. Sigman’s second proposal per- mits the suspended members to ap- peal to the General Executive Board of the International against the Joint Board’s decision in suspending them. This proposal is preposterous. Imag- ine appealing against the decisions of a lower court when the judges of the higher court are the same as of the lower court, as is the case in this in- Vuhsduiy-Tctel-in Shak. stance. Even Mr, Sigman realizes how ridiculous this proposal is, and field Court therefore he invites representatives of the labor movement to look on while| The five striking members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers’ Union who were arrested im the picket line in front of the International Tailoring company building, demand- ed a jury trial yesterday in the Shef- field Ave. police court, The strikers were kept in jail a day and a night, and Sam Zimmer, one of them, was roughly handled by the police, Attorneys for the Amalgamat- ed, -R, P. Poulton and J, A. Ryan de- manded that the judge take action against the police officers who are charged with assaulting the strikers. The judge on the Sheffield avenue Police court bench refused to take action, declaring the union would have to take the matter to the police trial board. The date for the trial of the pickets will be set later. he dispenses justice. Our suggestion for an impartial committee has been entirely ignored by him. The sus- pended members are to have no say in the choice of this ‘inipartial commit tee, Communists Entirely Barred. “Only such members who are not Communists may appeal their case. Communists ate even denied that right. Accordtng’'to’ Mr. Sigman’s present interpretation of the consti- tution, they are barred from holding any office in the union. If the con- stitution has any.ysuch clause, why Waterfront Blaze Puts 125 Firemen on Sick List in N. Y. NEW YORK, Sept. 1.—One hundred and twenty- firemen were on the sick list today as the clouds of smoke from New York’s worst riverfront fire cleared away, The blaze partially des+ troyed Pier No. 95 at Fifty-fifth Street and the Hudson River, imperilied two Passenger liners and seht gusts of smoke across the heart of the cil Scores of the disabled fire fighters are suffering from temporaty blind-| ness, others are in bed from smoke poisoning While several are under treatment for submersion after being rescued from the river where they were tossed by wriggling hose, Can't Lose Weeks. SWAMPSCOTT, Mass, Sept. 1— President Coolidge does not expect John W. Weeks to resign as secre- tary of war, it was stated here today. Despite the fact that Weeks has failed to return to his desk by Sept. 1, as he originally intended, Coolidge expects him back in Washington before long. CHICAGO CITY CENTRAL MEETS TONIGHT; ALL DELEGATES MUST ATTEND “smoky Joe” Martin, veteran fire The City Central Committee, chief, was treated three times for] Workers Local Chicago, smoke poisoning. He said it was the| meets tonight, Sept. 2, at 722 Blue Island Ave, All dele; 8, please SLUGGING COPS in one ye sacrifice per cent increase of ON, WATT TREASON | to The Dally Worker) UL, Sept. 1— Freeman ind John Watt, deposed ithe Springfield sub-district ners’ union, addressed a necting in Zeigler called inst the prosecution of iners charged with ‘murder. The meeting of the organized in*Franklin county to de- fend the arrested Zeigier miners. Thompson and Watt scored the trea- son of the officials of Sub-district 9, Franklin » county, who were respon- sible for the arrests. A fight in the union hall'in Zeigler, after the officers of Local 992, President Henry Corbish- ley and others, had been deposed by the sub-district officials, resulted in the murder of a miner, Mike Sara- vich, @ Corbishley supporter, and the injury of a number of others among whom was sub-district ‘Vice-President D. B, Cobb. It was Cobb who swore out the warrants charging Corbishley and the leading miners of Local 992 with conspiracy to assassinate him. Officials Desperate. Thompson and Watt pointed out that the real reason for the criminal charges {s a desperate effort on the part of the sub-district to remove the progressive leaders of Local 992 from the picture. These men have constantly challenged the leadership of the sub-district officers and accused them of corruption, class-collaboration and election fraud. Practically every local union in the county is in sympathy with the Zeig- ler miners and in each of them de- fense committees have been set up to prevent) the railroading of Cor- bishley and the others to the peniten- | tiary. In addition to this a demand | is being made that will doubtless re- sult in the calling of a sub-district convention. tearing Today. The preliminary hearing is to be heard on Wednesday at Benton, the county seat. The International Labor Defense jointly with the local min- ers’ defense committee have retained attorneys E, H. Morgan of Christo- pher and Judge White of Marion. 000 YEARLY ANTHRACITE § TO IDLERS WHILE MINE RS TOIL IN HELL OF PITS By ALEX REID Secretary of the Progressive Miners’ Committee.) in million dollars dividends, and twelve million dol- ties wrung out of the sweat of the hard coal miners "are the net returns to come of those who live on the [the miners in the Tri-District coal region of Penn- orkers examine the conditions under which the min- wages to the miners, it is well ers work, and the dangers at- tending their employment. his Working Conditions Bad Many of the anthracite mines are old properties, and the working places have extended a long way from the bottom of the shaft. The coal seam in many of these mines is very low and running on a very stiff pitch. Many places at the face are wet and the disagreableness and handicap of the miners under those circumstances can be readily imagined. ‘The miners cannot work standing up im those low mines but have to crawl on their hands and knees and some- times lay flat on their belly. In this cramped position, they have to shovel coal for eight hours, with the water continuously dripping on them, At the end of their eight hour shift the miners find themselves totally. .ex- hausted. 500 Killed, 20,000 Injured Last Year Many are the dangers encountered in the anthracite mines, as the offi- cial records show many fatal and | serious accidents. Last year alone five hundred men were killed, and over twenty thousand were tinjured, many of them toa major degree. Thé state labor department figures show that the major accidents include Broken backs, and internal injures that leave the victims worse off than if they had been killed outright in the first Place. They are continuously beset by un- seen dangers. One of the worst ‘dan- gers being the treacherous roof, which is full of slips. The water on thése slips gradually lossen the roof, and finally without warning a large piece of roof slips out, sometimes weighing many tons, and falls on to the road- (Continued on page 6) HEBREW MEAT CUTTERS WIN SHORT STRIKE Wage Inevetien and Short Hours Won * The strike begun recently by Local 596 (Hebrew) of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen for increases in pay and decreases in hours by chopping off Sunday work— as told of in the DAILY WORKER, is won. In an agreement containing twelve articles, the fight of these workers is crystallized in victory. Closed shop and union control is assured. The demand from a minimum wage of $46 to one of $51 a week was won, with a similar demand won for minimum wage for apprentices from $35.50 to House to house collections are be- ing carried om by the local commit- tees for the raising of a big defense fund and International Labor Defense is conducting\a national campaign for the same purpose. It is known that Frank Farrington, president of Dis- trict 12, has put himself on record as behind the prosecution of the Zeigler men, This means that Cobb will have the support of the large resourc- es of the district organization in push- ing the prosceution. Klan With Officials. No secret is made of the fact that an outright frame-up case is expected. It is known that the sub-district offi- clals have the support of the klan element in their action against Local 922. It is known also that any num- ber of persons in Zeigler can be found to testify to anything on the witness stand, The sub-district officials are desperate enough to go the limit in a frame-up proceeding. Another defense meeting will be held in West Frankfort next Sunday. Duncan McDonald of Springfield, will be the principle speaker, $40 a week. There was extreme discontent over the previous hours, when these work- ers had to report for duty every day of the’ week. Now their demand for the abolition of Sunday work is granted and they can have that day free to enjoy a respite from slavery. The contract operates for one year, beginning Sept. 1. SYRACUSE ALREADY ON EMERGENCY RATIONS, AS GOAL STRIKE BEGINS (Special to The Daily Worker) SYRACUSE, N. Y., Sept. 1.—With Syracuse on emergency coal ra- tions it became known today that coal has been rushed into Canada by way of Bitighamton, Syracuse and Oswego at’ a tremendous rate for the past eight weeks since rumblings of an impending strike were first heard, Published Dally except Sunday by THE DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO., 1118 W..Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill. 1 TENTENTE MEETS IN LONDON TO HATCH ANTI-SOVIET PLOT LONDON, England, Sept, 1—The representatives of France, Belgium, England id Germany have gun their meetings hene to discuss t drafting of the proposed “security” pact which fp in reailty an attempt at an alliance against Soviet Ru \. At the last minute the Italian government declared its Intention of taking part In the negotiations, Sig. Piiotti ls now In Lendon representing Muesolini, The possibility of an Austrian- German alliance and the question of the eastern frontier of Germany will aleo be disckesed. MINERS PREPARE FOR LONG FIGHT, 828 PITS CLOSE Country Flooded with Refuse by Bosses PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Sept. 1.— Anthracite mining in the mines of Pennsylvania was at a complete standatill today. Reports reaching the minere’ headquarters at the Hevue- Stratford Hotel here indicate that 148,000 miners answered the strike call, issued by the United Mine Work- ers of America last week when the miners’ representatives and owners falled to come to an agreement on the new wage contract. The old wage contract between the miners and oper- ators expired at midnight Sunday. Mine leaders say that the hacggabee sion was 100 per cent effective. A of 10,000. miners re: at ap-maintenance men, aa agreed. Statement of Lewis John L. Lewis, head of. tie U. W. of A. just before the hour for the’ miners to cease work, issued a state- ment in which he assailed the stand taken by the operators. After reiterating, the demands of the miners, Lewis blamed the oper- ators for the strike, asserting that “they have consistently refrained from any good faith attempt to negotiate an agreement.” He accused the mine owners of taking advantage of the public fear of a strike “to unload at enhanced prices a greatly augmented tonnage of coal of-inferilor quality.” Lewis added that the present policy of the operators is “considerate only of commercial profit; utterly ignoring the right of the anthracite mine workers to fair treatment and entirely devoid of any concern for the public interest.” The miners, Lewis continued, are prepared to wait until their demands will be given consideration. Operators Are Silent No statement was forthcoming from the headquarters of the hard coal operators. Edward W. Parker, head of the anthracite bureau of information, to.whom. all inquiries were referred, said there was nothing to say, and that there was no likelihood of any (Continued on Page 2) Wobbly Jungles Are Stuck Up by Hijacks in “No Man’s Land: BAINVILLE, Mont., Sept, 1.—The I, W.'W. Jungles were raided here yesterday by’ two armed bandits, who held up several harvest workers. This is the second time this season that this jungle was held up by hi- jackers, This territory is the chosen terrain of both the “EB. P.” and the administra- tion forces, who have been in violent conflict all summer, over the ques- tion of jurisdiction, One Survivor in Flight to Promote Hawaii War Plans SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1.—Plane number 1, sole survivor of the navy's two-plane, 2,100 mile non-stop flight to Hawaii for the purpose of working up sentiment for the further fortifica- tion and militarfation of that island Possession, was expected to reach its destination today. Destroyers were stretched along the course of the flight to guide and aid the filers. , The PN-3 was forced to leave the air because of broken oll pressufe Mnes, The ship was taken in tow by & = pent itien tk 2 re BL NEW YORK EDITION Price 3 Cents ‘BRITISH YIELD TO SHANGHAI LABOR UNIONS Native Rekses Under Fire of Labor (Special to The Dalty Worker) SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 1—faolat- ed by the shrewdness of Chinese dl- plomacy which h played one im perlalist power against another, first Separating America from Japan and British interests, then forcing Japan to settle her end of the Shanghal strike and leave Great Britain to fight alone, the British In Shanghal have finally been forced to surrender, fore- go thelr arrogance and yield at least partially to the demands of the Chi- nese. At a mass meeting of the Shanghai British chamber of commerce and the China Association (alien in composti- tion) the British voted unanimously to abandon their former stiffmecked attitude, to favor the full terms of the Washington conference «(which is a wily trick of American imperialiam rather than any help to China, ft must be said), yielding the mixed court to Chinese control and Chinese repres- entation in the Shanghai municipal counell. It is to be noted that the Chinese unions are taking up the strike wea- pon they have learned to nse against the Japanese and British, and are now demanding and forcing the Chinese owned industries and establishment to grant wage increases similar to those the foreign imperialists were compel- Jed to grant. The strike against the British mills and ‘shipping still continues. and the capitualtion of the British has yet to be put into effect there, but even this. is. overshadowed by the persistent M. | effort of the unions to force the native mil Owners to grant the wage raises the unions have already forced out of the alien owners. SOMETHING BIG TO BE PULLED OFF LABOR DAY Juniors, T. U. E. L. and Freiheit in Fun Fest Chicago workers are to be treated to something in the line of pienics this Labor Day, which they have never before experienced. The Trade Union Educational League has com- bined its fourth annual Labor Day Picnic with the Freiheit, and both have mobilized an unusual entertain. ment’ program for the affair which will take place Labor Day, September 7,—Monday—at’ Stickney Park, Lyons, Mlinois, a suburb of Chicago, “Always Ready!” A unique feature of the picnic will be the entrance of numerous athletics into the fun. In this, the Junior Sec- tion of the Young Workers is going to show the old folks it real entertainment is like. There ave to be baseball games between boy and girl Junior teams, races between Juniors, recitations by Juniors, and speeches by Juniors in which it is expected that the fight against right wing de- viations will be accented. “Always Teady!”—We’ll tell the world! Games of all kinds, with baseballs to throw at your favorite enemy, darts to shoot from Quackenbush “rifes,” dancing, eats, speeches and beaming comradeship for all who come will be the order of the day. All language groups are asked to mobilize their forces to make the picnic a success, How to Get There To get to the picnic grounds, take the 22nd street car to end of line, transfer to Berwyn-Lyons car, get off at Harlem and Ogden avenues and walk six blocks south. Admission is fifty cents and you'll get ten dollars worth of frolic out of it. WHAMPOA CADETS IN CHARGE OF CANTON, EVERYTHING QUIET WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept, 1.— The Whampoa cadets are in com- plete control fo Canton, the state department here learns. Conditione are now quiet, ee