The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 1, 1925, Page 6

il Page Six THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 3113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, It. Phone Monroe 4712 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): 1 By mail (outside ef 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, 1118 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Minote. J. LOUIS ENGDAHL Ri WILLIAM F. DUNNE MORITZ J. LOEB.......cscssssssssesssees ———____—_— Entered aw second-class mail September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chi- cago, Ii, under the act,of March 3, 1879. fee IY OFE Business Manager Advertising rates on application. oy Arrests in the Anthracite Strike The arrest of Alex Reid, Patrick Toohey, August Valentine and Vareck, all members of the United Mine Workers of America, three of them striking anthracite miners, for putting forward the program of the progressive miners at mass meetings in the strike district shows that the local authorities, in accord with the wishés of the ¢oal barons and the Lewis machine intend to squelch any, attempt to inform the strikers of the basic class issues underlying the strike, <a> 290 . FHE DAICY ‘WORKER The U- S. State Department Is “Conscience Stricken” hands of the American government. In harmony with the former atti- tude of the state department the American “press” acclaimed the vol- unteer aviators as heroes. It printed, without a word of protest, or even re- Proach, the eulogies of the French general, Noulin, in which:he said that these murderers (in our conception) typify the noble spirit of the American nation, that they are fighting the cause of humanity and defending France against the “barbarous” on- slaught of the Riffians. Now, how- ever, there is a. sudden change of front. The state department sudden- ly recollects that the action of the aviators, in waging war against the Riffians is in violation’ of"the Ameri- can law. (Did the state department forget the law, when it issued a visa to Lieutenant Pennington?) HE “press” too sings ;now a dif- ferent tone. The Mankers’ control- led Daily News, in its jgsue.of Septem- ber 25, 1925, comments upon the re- By B. BORISOFF. HE American aviators in Morocco are perplexed, aroused, enraged. After they had been engaged for al- most two months in bombing Rifflan villages forthe purpose of terrorizing the Riffians into submission to French imperialism, the U, S. state depart- ment at Washington suddenly re- quests them to abandon their “civil- izing” mission, or be called to court and deprived of their American citi- zenship, The Yank aviators refuse to understand this order and refuse to comply with it. In the cables which their chief, Charles Sweeney sends to the Chicago Daily News they vigor- ously protest agafhst the interference of the state department and point out its inconsistency. They explain that they are engag- ed in the task of defending the “civil- ization” of the white man (read the imperialist exploitation of the oppress- €d colonial peoples) ‘against the dan- ger of its overthrow by the revolt of fusal of the aviators tq: comply with colored races of-‘CHina, India, and| the request of the state department, The Progressive Miners’ Committee has had as the keynote of its program such vitally necessary demands as “no government inter- ference,” “standardization of work and wages,” “a 100 per *cent strike,” that is calling out the maintenance men who are keeping the coal barons’ properties from suffering any depreciation during the period of idleness, and the calling out of the bituminous miners. A basic wage of $9 to $10 per day is another demand. In a labor dispute in which every effort is being made by. both the coal owners and the officials of. the union to limit the issues to a discussion of profits and a ten per cent increase in wages accom- panied by the check-off and which has resulted so far only in giving the miners a vacation and allowing the coal owners to dispose of surplus stocks of low grade coal at fancy prices, it is obvious that any effort to make it a real struggle will be bitterly resented and punished by both of these friendly enemies. Let po one be deceived by the peaceful character of the anthra- cite strike up to date. The Coolidge administration as the in- strument of the capitalist class is fully informed of the strike and if the coal barons were in any danger it would not hesitate to resort to injunctions accompanied by a display of military force. The Lewis machine has undoubtedly given the Coolidge government assur- ances that nothing smacking of the class struggle beyond a cessation of work will be permitted to mar the process of arriving at an agree- ment with the anthracite barons. The Lewis strategy is to secure the check-off in the anthracite, tie up the miners there with an ironclad agreement and then let the miners in the bituminous fields, now being cut to pieces by the mine owners following a long period of idleness and semi-starvation, shift for themselves. All of this fits in with the plans of the coal barons. To expose this continuation of the policy of surrender to the coal owners followed consistently by Lewis, is the duty of every militant member of the miners’ union. It must be carried out in spite of the arrests of the militants in the anthracite fields and the policy of terrorization in co-operation with the authorities announced by Rinaldo Cappellini. the Lewis to "Houis Wein, the rty Wer buat — a ce Chinese textile workers will get paid by the bosses for the four months they were on strike, We refer this news item to the an- thracite miners for their serious consideration. Groups of foreign teachers are at present visiting Soviet Russia studying viet school system, From left to right: batt Want Secretary of the Belgian group; Auslender, secretary of the German group; Emile Dufur, Africa, They ‘expose the state de-|/28 follows: a partment, showing that the state de- So far as their (the*aviators— B. partment knew witli what intentions} B.) consciences are concérned they they went to Morocco and gave its| justify themselves by, the considera- tacit approval to their mission. In} tion that French administration of the words of Col) Thomas Sweeney,| Morocco hag been efficient. progres- the chief of the American esquadrille: | sive and benevolent, ‘and that the “Rather interesting in view of the rebellion led by Abé-el-Krim ‘is a present attitude of Washington, was Moslem revolt against!wéstern cul- the experience of Lieut. Pennington ture. Consequently,‘ as Colonel before he left New York.’ When he } Sweeney cables The'’Dailly News, asked for a passport he gave as his | the American avaitors after a con- reason for wishing to travel his de- | ference have decided*td g6 on fight- sire to join the French foreign le- ing. gion to fight the Rifflans, When his Still, as law-abiding “Americans passport was forwarded to him from they cannot disregard’ indefinitely Washington it was shown to have | the explicit declaration of the state been granted for the purpose of department that they have laid permitting him to ‘travel for +| themselves open”to prosecution and pleasure.’ punishment. It seems clear that they have violated t utes of the United States governing the en- listment of American citizens in foreign armies engaged in hostili- ties. (Emphasis ours, B. B.) His is an interesting and important revelation. It shows that the blood of the Rifflans slain by the American aviators in Morocco is also on the big meetings, but in thé tirele of in- timate friends. We attended all kinds of election meetings in Paris. We were better acquainted with the cus- toms and life of the workers of the country in which we st#yed, than emigres generally are. ~ I remember the time in “Paris when we had a passion for Fréhch revolu- tionary chansonettes. V. J, made the acquaintance of Montéguste, the very talented author and ‘profesor of re- volutionary chansonettes. “The son of a communard, Monteguste, was the favorite of the working class quaft- ers. At one time,’ Ily oh liked to hum his song: “We greet You, soldiers of the 17th regiment”—this song was addressed to the French soldiers who had refused to shoot on’strikers. llyitch was also very fond of Monte. guste’s song which rididifed the so- cialist deputies elected bY the back- ward peasantry, who for '?5,000 francs (the salary of a deputy), Were selling the people’s freedom in‘ parliament. We began to visit theatfes. Iyitch hunted up advertisements about thea- Much is written’ about Vladimir llyitch: In these reminiscences, V. I. is frequently represented as an as- cetic, a virtuous philistine, a pater familias, This is.a distortion. He was not like that, He was a human being who understood everything that was human. He loved life in all its aspects and drank deeply of the cup of life, Our. life is being described as full of privations. This.is not true. We never knew what it is not to be able to buy bread. Isithat how many. of out, ,emigre comrades lived? Some of*them were two years at a stretch without any earnings,.neither did they receive money. from *Russia, they starved in the. literai sense of the word. We never went thru anything of the kind. Lenin 'Lived Simply. We lived very ‘simply, it is true. But does happiness really vonsist in eating well and living luxuriously? V. I. knew. how to make the most of life and its joys. He loved nature. | trical performances in the suburbs Not to mention Siberia, even in the] of Paris where Monteguste figured on countries’ where we lived as emigres|the program. With t help Of a we always went out of town to fill our lungs with pure country air. We generally covered great distances, and returned home intoxicated with , air, exercise, and impressions, \ Our mode of life was very different from that of the other emigres. These people loved endless talks, gossiping at the tea-table, surrounded by clouds of tobacco smoke. V. I. got very soon tired of such gossiping, and always managéd to slip away and go for a walk. I well remember the first year of our life in exile. Once in Munich, we invited Martov and Anna Ilyin- /ishna to accompany us on our walk, | as we wanted to»show them a very | favorite spot of ours-—the wild banks of the Isar which could only’ be reached thru a thicket of shrubs. The two were so’tired after half an your's walk, ‘that. they began to grumble. We therefore took them post haste across the water in a boat into the cultured’ part of the town, atid proceeded” jist ‘We two, alone to “our” spot. Evert in London we man- aged to take refuge with nature, and it is not an easy matter to gét away from this smoky’ ‘dnd’ foggy monster, especially if omé' does not want to spend more than _ three-halfpence in emnibus fares, Later on, in Switzerland, when we became the lucky possessors of bi- cycles, we were able to extend our outings considerably. I well remem- ber how once if’ Londow Vera Ivan- ovna Zasulitch said indignantly to a comrade, who, taking it for granted that Hyitch does nothing but sit and read inthe British Museum, was sur- prised at seeing him making prepara- tion to go for a walk: “But he is pas- sionately fond of nature.” And I also remember that I thought at the time: “How true this is.” Studied Workers’ Lives. Ilyitch also loved to study customs and conditions of,life. Wherever we two would take up our abode, be it in Munich, London, or, Paris, he loved to study the notices as to various social- ist meetings in the suburbs, in small cafes, in English churches, He wanted to see how Ge British and French Workers lived. plan of Paris we found our way to the outlying suburbs. We watched, together with the working class au- dience the piece which was generally’ some sentimental and rather impro- per nonsense, withg which the French bourgeoisie is wont to amuse the workers. ‘ * After the play it was the turn of Monteguste. The workers greeted his vppearance with frantic applause, and he, dressed in the jacket of a work- ing man with a kerchief tied around his neck, quite in the French working- man’s style, sang to them topical songs, ridiculed the béurgeoise, sang about the hard lot of: he workers and about working Cla## solidarity, The working class crowds"in the Paris suburbs react very qiticKly to every- thing; the sight of a ladyMn a fashion- able .tall hat was enough to set the whole theatre agog. °!?! Socialist Out For, Votes ° They get, easily éxcite#by the sub- ject of the piece “Yott‘scoundrel”, shouted a working man to the actor who played the role ofpthe landlord, who made indecent advances to a young and pretty lodgera 1Myitch liked to feel himself one withsthis working class crowd. Monteguete appeared once at one of our Russian social evenings, and he and Ilyiteh gat and: talked until the mr urs of the morning about the comihy world re- volution. The ion of ‘4 “Communard and the Russian Bolstie’ ik had each of them his own aise about this revolution. During the war Monte- guste began to write patriotic songs. There was also a time when he had the passion for election meetings to which the workers brought their children, for there was no one to look after them at home. We listened to the speakers trying to find out what it was which electrified the audience and watched with pleasure the athle- tic figure, of a blacksmjth who could not take his eyes off the face of the speaker, and his littlesgon was just 8 interested as his father. We listened to a sogjalist deputy of, the chamber when «he addressed a working class audi » and then ‘we went to hear him*gt a meeting ‘the intelligentsia, and we saw how ry of the French group; Fritz Schmidt, German teacher; Nushele, jan teacher, and Professor Kruger, ae) wanted to hear m § Mi thoughts, and al their life, not ifferent was this orator's tame and u ie in ‘Citizens may énlist in robot! ‘military service, but ‘they are forbidden to make war’ on any foreign powér with which the Unit- ed States is'at peace, or “in the service of one portion of the ‘people against any other portion’ of the same people.” The United’ States has fot recognized the Riffan’ re- bels, and they are not a “foreign power” within the meaning of the statutes; but they are “one portion of the people” of Morocco engaged in fighting another portion. It is under this provision that the flyers are liable to prosecution if they re- turn to the United States, They will argue, of course, that an unwarranted and reactionary re- bellion like that of Abd-el-Kiim’ was not within the contemplation-of the provision in question. That, how- ever, is an issue for the’ ‘courts. Apparently the state department in- tends to give the courts ati°qppor- tunity of determining that ‘issue— an important one in this ‘agé’’of “self-determination” and émbattled nationalism. aie ‘HAT happened to cause this ‘sud- den change in the attitude of the state department and of the ,“‘press’’? Have Messrs. Coolidge and. Kellogg suddenly felt the pangs of coyeginnce calloused by the visions of helpless women and children killed by the bombs of the American flyers? Or were they stirred to their action by the protests of the liberal-pacifists, or of the revolutionists? There. is hardly a basis to suspect this. The oligarchy of Morgan would not put at the helm of the state sen- timentalists who would weaken at the thought of women and children deliberately murdered by bombs drop- ped from the skies in a fight for “ci- vilization,” and the oligarchy feels it- self too strong to pay heed to pro- tests against its actions. T is quite safe-to say that the in- terest of the “banking oligarchy alone dictatéd the changed course of colourless address to the bourgéois audience from his impassionate’ expo- sition of great ideas which had elec- trified the working class audiénce. You see, he was out for votes.” On our way home Ilyitch humed Monte- guste’s chansonnette about | ‘the 50 elalist deputy. Studied All Phases Of Lite. In London, we went to Hyde Park to listen to the open-air speakers. One would speak of God, another‘/about garden cities. We visited “White- chapel, the Jewish quarter of London, and got there into touch with °the Russian sailors and poor Jews, and, we listened to their songs whith were full of sorrow and despair. -.. We went to a circle where a young socialist was speaking abouts munici- pal socialism and an old member of the party, who on the previous’ day had officiated in the capacity of a so- cialist clergyman, at a service “in ‘the “Seven Sisters” Socialist church, ‘was- explaining to the audience that’ the exodus of the Jews from Egypt is to be considered as the prototype of the exodus of the workers from imperial- ist capitalism into the realm of so- cialism, and was accusing the young lecturer of opportunism. To be able to observe life and human existence ém all its shapes and forms, to find in it something which responds to one’s own feeling and experiences,—is not this equivalent to enjoying life, and is an ascetic capable of this? Relation To Plekhanov. Viadimir Ilyitch was fond of child- ren. He did not have on his table an array of photographs of those whom he loved, as someone wrote not so long ago. But he loved people pas- sionately, for instance Plekhanov, The latter played an important role in the development of V, L., he helped him to get on to the right revolutionary path, and therefore, for a long time for him Plekhanov had a halo round his head. The smallest dlasergemént with Plekhanv was extremely painful to him. Even after the split be. fol- lowed very carefully everything Plek-’ hanov said. With what joy he repeated Plekha- nov's wo! “I do not want to die an opportunist.” Even in 1914 when war broke out Vladimir Uyitehiwas very excited when he was préparing to speak against the war at the’meet- ing in Lausanne where Plekhanov-was also to speak: “Can it be th@t’ he will fail to understand”,—V! ir Myitch said, In P, N, Lepeshinsky’s rémini- scences there is one very ih¢ongruous statement. Lepeshinsky“sitys” that Vladimir Tlyitch said to Witt once: “Plekhanov is dead, but [ ‘ath alive.” He could not have said such a thin There must have been some inton: tion, some meaning which P. N. failed to catch. Never did Vladimir Iyitch compare himself to Plekhanov in this way. Young comrades who study the his- tory of the party do not probably actually realize what the @plit with the mensheviks really m re Viadimir Hyitch was not devo- ted to Plekhanov, he also iA fae litch arid Axelrod, “Well yoti ing t6 ti Vera Ivanovna, pers “crystalline purity” Viadimi¥’ Hyitch. to me Poutcend first. evenifi®’ ft my arrtval to Mihich, For a lo) 00 he regi elrod t olored spec wate before hie eath he thro A its puppets in Washington, and of its kept press. What , is that interest? It is the interest in the rich mineral resources of the Riff. Only recently the press* informed us that a huge syndicate headed by American pluto- crats;was about to take over the con- cessions of the German firm of Bros Ménnersman*in the country of Riff. Is it not plausible to presume that the deal is now closed and that the imperialist exploiters are impatient to begin the exploitation? Is it not also plausible to presume that the American imperialists are not satis- fied with the results: of the military measures of their French allies with their slow, progress against the in- domitable Riffians? Could it not ‘be that the House of Morgan camé to the conclusion “that” the ‘methods ~ of “peacefill. penetration” are more ef- ficient at this’ time, when it is lear that only a Tong drawn out ‘arid -ex- hausting. Canipaign coutd subdue ‘the Riffian: If thesé’ suppositions’ate true: to fact, then fire reason for tte’ sudden change of ‘héart* by’ the’ state depart- ment and’the “press,” which’ puzzles so much ‘the’ ‘American aviators in Morocco’ ‘and: "also;“-perhaps, a great many ‘citizens’ of the Suited: States, becomes quite clear. + HE activity: of the Pete avia- tors became embarrassing to the House of*Morgan seeking “‘peace”’ in Morocco and, ‘consequently, to its state department in Washington. As “good American citizens” the aviators should not-grumble. «The “interests of their nation” demand: that they cease their activity, and they must submit, even if their prestige is to suffer. The state department should have whis- pefed this beforehand into their ears. If our judgment of the situation is correct, and, indeed, there is some good. basis for. it, then we may ex- pect that “peace” will. soon come to the troubled Morocco. The House of Morgan needs only to wink. This is a favorable moment. The French dele- gation is here to settle the question How Lenin Lived Abroad asked me about Axelrod. He pointed to his name in the newspaper and said:—“What?” He begged nie to ask Kamenev about him on the telephone and listened “very attentively to the account givén. When I told him about A, M. Kalmykova and he asked me again—“What”, I understood that he “| was asking about ‘Portressoy. I told him what I knew and asked: “Could I find out -more about him?” He shook his head to say no. “There is a@ rumor that Markoff is also dying,” said Viadimit Hyitck “a little while before he lost the power of ‘speech, and there was something ‘tender and soft in his words.’ *' Lenin’s Political Honesty But even the greatest’ attachment to people never influenced the politi- cal attitude of Vladimir Ilytich. In spite of his great love for Plekhanov and Markoff, he broke with them Politically, (if one breaks with a per- son politically, one breaks with his or her also personally, and it could not be otherwise when one’s whole life is bound up with the political Struggle,) as*soon ‘as the cause de- manded it. But personal attachment to people caused Vladimir Ilyitch great suffer- ing whenever such splits were neces- sary. I well remember how miserable Vladimir. Ilyitch felt, when it. became evident at the 2nd Congress that sev- erance from Axelrod, Zasulitch, Mar- toff and others was inevtible. If he had not been so passionately attached to people, he would not have broken down so soon, Political honesty, in the true and deep sense of this word, when it is a question of political judg- ment and actions. Not everyone has this capacity, and those who have fre- quently pay a high price for-it, Interest in Arrivals from Russia. Vladimir Nyitch was slWFYs. inter- estted in people and was even enthu- siastic about them, :.As Boon as he espied something interesting in. some- one, he would, so to’speak, take pos- session of that person;. I'well remem- ber his two weeks’: “romance” with Natanson; ‘who struck him as a re- markable ‘organizer. His whole talk. was abouf Natanson.’ 'V. I. was -par- ticularly interested in‘all new arrivals trom Russia! -Amd*it generally hap- pened that’ tiider the influence of his The fate of France is in the hands pf the House of Mor- gan. Without its support the franc would tumble, and state bankruptcy would follow. A little pressure—and the Moroccoan war will end. The ac- tion of the state department would indicate that this is the policy of the ‘American imperialism, ahd events will show whether this is the case. UT were it so, what carries this “peace” in store for the Morroco- ans? Instead of the “efficient, pro- gressive and benevolent”—(benevo- lent indeed!) French administration, there appears upon the scene a more “efficient,” a more “progressive” and a great deal more “benevolent” fac- tor—the American imperialism, taking hold of the precious resources of <the land of Riff.. American imperialism of French loans. es-of Morocco, its zinc, and. copper, ang iron. It, will: fight for their. pos- session just as Germany. fought; With the. coming. of the British-American. syndicate into Morocco, the Morocco. ans face a new and more. powerful enemy than the French imperialism. They face the American imperialism, with its all-powerful industry, its un- limited supply. of gold, its. dread- naughts and air fleets, and its enorm- ous man power. In the future Ameri- can marines and soldiers will, un- doubtedly, try to accomplish the task which baffles now the French wer machine. For the Moroccoans, as for all other oppressed peoples in their fight for freedom, there is only one way of successfully opposing the:ar tay of imperialist forces—to join hands with the revolutionary move- questions, aiid spellbound by’ his char- acter, thése people unknown to them- selves showed him the best side of their | tirehis Own’ self,’ °which, found ~ Tefler in ‘their ‘attitude’ to york and the mater in which a aking about it to Vena? itch. ah rm could be quite carried away by. people and also by his work. Both these things were intertwined, and this made his life very full, very intensive and rich in impressions. He became imbued with the life around him, with all its com- ment of the workers thruout the world. Just as now they find their best allies in the French Communists, at the time when French imperialism attacks them, so in the future it will find their best allies in the Ameri- can Communist Party when the Amer- ican imperialism will attact them. . “Long live the union of oppressed peoples with the revolutionary work- ers of the world. By N. Krupskaya plications and many-sidedness. Of such stuff ascetics are not made. With his views on life and people and his keen, almost passionate inter- est in everything, Ilyitch could still less be the virtuous ‘lower-middle class person, depicted by some of his biog- raphers: the exemplary pater familias surrounded by wife and children, an array of family portraits on his table, wrapped in a quilted dressing gown with a book in his hand, a purring kitten on his lap and around him luxu- rious furniture and comfort in which he rests from his public activity. Vla dimir Hyitch’s every step and every move is subjected, so to speak, thru @ lens of some sort of philistine sentimentality. It would be as well to write a little less on this subject. "Refused to Pry Into Private Lives. V. I. had the greatest contempt for all gossip and interference with the private life of others. We considered such interference inadmissible. When we lived in exile Vladimir Tlyiteh spoke frequently on this subject. He spoke of thé necessity to steer clear of all kind of “exile scandal’ which generally results from gossiping, idle inquisitiveness and prying into other people’s hearts and minds. This kind of thing is the essence of everything that is mean and petty-bourgeois. In 1902 in London Vladimir Ilyitch had a serious disagreement with some members of the editorial board of the “Iskra,” who wanted to pass judgment on a comrade for his alleged misde- meanor whilst in exile. The investiga- tion of the affair implied naturally the coarsest interference with the private life of this comrade. Vladimir Ilyitch protested against this most energetic- ally, He refused to take any part in this abomination, as he called it. He was subsequently accused of lack: of delicacy. It seems to me that the refusal-to pry into the mind and heart of another person is'a proof of real delicacy, ” Need New Building Trades Head. WASHINGTON, Sept, 29.—“My elee- tion as president of the Brotherhood of Painters,means that the building trades department of the American Federation of Labor must. select an- other, man as_its, president,” Geo. F. Hedrick, head of the department, told The Federated Press on the eve of his departure for Atlantic City to open the convention of tex -depart- ment. «He offered no suggeationsas to ‘who would probably: take.the vacant post. | The delegates: will make: Gar fen cg October 2 or. That worker next sdoor to you may not have anything to do. to- night. Hand him this copy of the DALY WORKER. i eee: Meeting, ij ednesday, October. 7th leago hnaiiibereniy meeting of the Woekave (Communist) i) a Chicago, called to discuss the reorganization of the. of shop ni ei, will be held WEDNESDAY, OcTO- |: m. at NORTHWEST HALL, North and Western | Aves. All party members must attend. - “Speakers: C, gE, Ruthenberg needs and covets the mineral regoure-, eee