The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 22, 1925, Page 6

THE DAILY WORKER Concentration of Capital in Coal Industry Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 2118 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, Mm. Phone Monroe 4713 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mali (in Chicago only): By mail (outside of Chicago): ber year $4.50 six monthe | $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 Bivd., Chicago, Illinole ————$$ J, LOUIS ENGDAHL evn sormmcemarrcseree EMI} WILLIAM F, DUNNE per . MORITZ J. LOEB.. Business Manager OS alist asteersca t m aabaateecsneeceanmtsisahi eT ite asset. sea UN MASS Watered as second-class mail September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chi- cago, Iil., under the act of March 8, 1879. Advertising rates on application. <> 100 Henry Ford in a New Role Henry Ford, whose methods of piling up millions by turning his wage slaves into automatons are: being exposed in Tun Darty Worker, essays into the field of sociology and economics in the.eur: rent issue of his personal magazine, T'he Dearborn Independent. “His erudition is revealed in the assertion that: . “The actual situation anywhere, at any time, corresponds exactly to the moral and mental status of the people.” Paraphrasing the man whose most famous saying is: “History is bunk!” we will add “Henry Ford’s sociology is bunk.” While Ford, thru most inhuman exploitation of labor can con- vert piles of iron and tin into flivvers and tractors, this quotation proves that his education has been sadly neglected in other fields. For it is an established fact, known to all intelligent people since the publictaion of the works of Marx, that the morals and mental status of the people do not determine material conditions, but that material conditions determine all the customs and ideas of a given period. This is on a par with the thought processes of Ford’s chief pub- licity agent, Mr. Allen L. Benson, who while he was candidate for president, of the United States on the socialist party ticket in 1916, devoted most of his time to eulogizing Ford because of the establish- ment of the S-hour day and five dollar a day wage in the Ford plants. Benson was at that time severely assailed by the Marxists in the so- cialist party, most of whom are now in Workers Party. We, at that time, pointed out precisely what is being proved today, that in the development of capitalism hours of labor frequently have been volun- tarily reduced by the employer because with highly intensified ap- plication of labor to industry it is possible to extract more surplus value out of workers in a short period of time, than over a longer period. Ford did not inaugurate the 8-hour day as a philanthropic move, but because experience had taught him that he could just as easily extract all the vitality out of a worker in eight hours of intensified labor as he could by ten hours of labor under the old conditions. Tearing the hypocritical mask from this unscrupulous apostle of the open (scab) shop and revealing his new projects for exploiting more thousands of workers ought to be an ineentive to the Ford slaves to strive to organize and revolt against the despotism of the Detroit exploiter. ‘The Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan His Eminence Mr. D. C. Stephenson, former grand dragon of the Tndiana ku klux klan, that militant exponent of white, protestant, native-born-100 per cent Americanism, and defender of American womanhood, is on trial at Noblesville, Indiana, charged with murder- ing Madge Oberholtzer, after he and two other patriotic members of the hooded order had ravaged her. Two weeks have passed since the opening of the trial and the jury is not yet selected, the second venire of 10 prospective jurors oe = is nearing exhaustion and a third gang of his peers must be sum-]: moned to, try Stephenson and his associates. The delectable nature of the klan is brought out in bold relief as the selection of jurors proceeds. From the questioning of jurors by the defense it develops that no effort will be made to conceal the fact that Stephenson and other klansmen held frequent debauches with the co-eds of Butler college, one of those institutions where the daughters of the petty bourgeoisie go to attain culture. Difficulties encountered in selecting a jury for this case are in- dicative of the widespread political influence of the klan in Indiana. it has become an important factor in the political movement of the small capitalist class, deriving its principal support from that ele- ment beset by the ever-growing power of the big capitalists. Former supporters of the socialist party contribute a large portion of the membership of the klan in Indiana. The mummery of the klan strongly appeals to these ex-socialist elements, most of whom were spiritualiste, theosephists, christian scientists, and other queer individuals. When the socialist party became so aneamic that they could no longer break the dull monotony of their pretty bour- geois existence they flocked to the klan striving to become dragons, imperial kleagles, most of whom, if the facts were known, are, in reality buzzards of the calibre of Mr, Stephenson. 704 Get a member for the Workers Party and a new subscrip fon for the DAILY WORKER. ' Birds of a Feather nati Tammany Hail, in its far- dose ramifications, has many adjuncts. « One of,its main supports is from the underworld and the slum prole- takiat of New York. Its connections there are so well known that comment here is superfluous. But it-has other supporters among the super-respectable element of New York life. /It unites the uppers nd ~ lower strata in one reactionary mass against labor. swine The maurading bands of gangsters, pickpockets, thugs and gun- men infesting Cherry Hill and Hell’s Kitchen, enjoying the favor of Tammany, have their counterpart in eminently respectable organiza- tions among the upper strata. One of these is the Citizen’s Union. This aggregation recently endorsed the socialist, 8. John Block, as candidate for justice of the supreme court. This organization, professing to be non-partisan, really serves Tammany by endorsing its regular candidates and waging’ punitive expeditions against those democrats that do not hew strictly to the Tammany line. It sometimes endorses republicans. Sometimes so- cialists: Tljs proves that, im the eyes of Tammany, both these parties can_be relied upon to defend ‘the capitalist system. Tt also emphasizes the fact that the same outfit that rnled-Gitlow off the election ballot endorses a socialist, which eloquently proves that only the Workers Party candidates defend the interests of the -owerking class. _. Make every day an Ati {Imperialist Day. THE DAILY Sone k eee is probably no taltustey in the United States in which more deep-going changes are occurring at present than the coal-mining indus- try, And in response to the laws of development of capitalist economy, one of the outstanding features is the growing concentration of capital. Figures are available now which give a picture of the situation as a whole.* Concentration has proceeded the furthest in the anthracite branch of the industry. This is largely because the anthracite fields are concentrated geographically in a few counties in Eastern Pennsylvania and offer all the physical prerequisites for mon- opoly. The extent to which this has developed can be seen from a few facts. UR operators produce over 5 million tons per annum, a total of 48.8 per cent of all anthracite pro- duced. Nine other operators,. produc- ing 1 to 5 million tons annually, con- tribute 30.2 per cent of total produc- tion. The so-called railroad companies (owned or controlled by railroads) produce 74 per cent of the total out- put and control 90 per cent of under- ground reserves. The combination controlled jointly by the Reading and Central Railroad of New Jersey, produced 20 per cent “This article is based upon figures from the book, “What the Coal Com- mission Found,” edited by Edward Eyre Hunt; Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1925., from Moody's Indus- trial Ratings, 1923, and from U. 8. Geological Survey. of the total annual*éufput, and con- trolled more than half of the unmined reserves, “4 © Production of s¢-cilled independent operators, which in 1895) amounted to 45 per cent of the wholej;in 1905, drop- ped to 25 per cent; .whitle by 1921, it had further decreased to 19 per cent. Thus, in the important anthracite branch of the coal industry, concen- tration of capital has long been at the stage of relative monopoly, which igs rapidly approaching an absolute monopoly, N anthracite this concentration of capital is closely and intimately bound up with the general process of concentration, and ,paxticularly with that in the railroad,industry. Thru- out the coal industry this has been and is today, the case; ,that the most important steps in concentration of capital and centralization of produc- tion is carried out under the control ! and initiative of the railroad, steel, oil, and banking combinations. The railroad coal. companies con- trolling the anthracite industry, with the value of assets carried on thétr books at the end of 1922, are shown in the following table. This gives some measure of thé stage of mon- opoly reached. While a very large part of these “assets” represent capi- talization of prospective future earn- ings, this fact only emphasizes the monopolist nature of the present stage of development. Company 1 Assets Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Co.....0:....$115,064,815 Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company .... 77,018,864 Glen Alden Coal C 72,240,000 ‘anthracite, 68,245,151 56,000,000 43,000,000 42,100,782 Lehigh Valley Coal Co. “Pennsylvania Coal Co. *Hillside Coal & Iron Co., Hudson Coal Co, interests Lehigh & Wilkes Barre Coal Company .. Coxe Bros, & Co., 8,154,085 Scranton Coal Co.. 4,697,333 The vast sum of more than a half- billion dollars here represented is an integral part of a still more over- whelming combination of railroad capital. ITUMINOUS coal does not present such favorable physical precondi- tions for monopoly and concentration. Instead of being geographically con- centrated, as anthracite, in a corner of a single state, bituminous coal is scattered over 80 fields in 26 states and represents numerous grades of fuel. But altho representing a lower degree.of concentration, bituminous coal is also going thru the same pro- cess toward monopoly organization and large scale production in the hands of a few great corporations. While there seems to be a tremend- ous contrast between the number of separate producers in bituminous and this is not an accurate gauge of the different degree of con- centration. According to data of the United States Geological Survey, there are 12,122 bituminous coal pro- ducers, as against only 174 anthracite producers. Of this large number, however, 8,194 produce less than 10,- 000 tons per year, and only 2.4 per cent of the total output. It is clear, therefore, that only 3,928 producers 39,127/208 “Including memorandum reserves for depreciation and depletion. i x : em ACR NE require serious attention. Even this, of course, shows that concentration in bituminous mining is) far behind anthracite. ee are, 80 bituminous produc- ers with a production of more than one million tons per annum. They produce 34,2 per cent of the total out- put of the industry. This compares with 13 producers and 79 per cent in anthracite. Producers of one-half up to one mil- lion tons per annum, number 109, and 13.2 per cent of total output. Those producing 100,000 to 500,000 tons per annum, number 891, with 31.8 per cent of the total tonnage. These figures show that bituminous coal is also well Started on the road of concentration and monopoly, Here also concentration is lead by forces from’ otltside the coal industry itself, "These forces are the United States Steel’ corporation; the rail- roads, ‘#nd /eombinations of banking and ‘industrial interests such as the Consolidation Coal Co. with $181,718,- 324 assets ;340,000 acres of coal lands, producing in 1920 about eight million tons; and the Pittsburgh Coal Co. with $160,120,347 assets, 165,000 acres of coal ‘ands, which in 1920, produced more than 12 million tons. N certain fields, concentration has gone far ahead of the bitumin- ous industry as a whole. There is, for example, the Pocahontas field in West Virginia. This field, opened up over 50 years ago, produced about 20 million tons in 1916, its peak year. There were'50 operators in this field, but almost all of them operate un: der lease from the Pocahontas Coal & Coke Co. and the Crozer Land Co. By Earl R. Browder which own 95 per cent of the produc- ing land in this field. The first men- tioned of these companies is by far the largest, and is entirely owned by the Norfolk and Western Railway Co. It has about ‘300,000 acres of coal land, of which 178,000 are under lease to operators. The U, S. Steel corporation owns or controls thru subsidiary corporations about 750,000 acres of coal lands. These lands are distributed thru the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana and Illinois. The output of these properties in 1920 was about 31 million tons. S the total coal production for the United States in 1920 was 568 million tons, it will be seen that these four interests produce 12.5 per cent of the bituminous coal in this coun- try, and aout 5.5 per cent of the whole world’s :production of 1,300 mil- lion tons. se Asan accompaniment of the ‘pres- ent crisis in the coal industry (mark- ed- by “overdevelopment” to the ex- tent of productive capacity of 850 mil- lion tons as against a market of 500 million tons per annum; with 200,000 “surplus” miners in the industry; with production being shifted sys- tematically from the unionized fields to the’ non-union fields) there is go- ing on a tremendously accelerated process of concentration of capital. Rumors are rife in Wall Street pub- lications of a coming 500,million dol- lar corporation which is to shift the center of bituminous coal production to the non-union fields, stabilize it there and smash the United Mine Workers’ Union. Anderson Fights Expulsion by “B. & O.” Bill (Continued from page 1) actionary, and with denying their members the freedom of expression we accord ours. We have boastfully held ourselves up as leaders in demo- cratic prineiples in labor union admin- istration, Disillusioned. The facts revealed concerning the last three elections in our organiza- tion, however, has disillusioned that part of our membership who have been pérmitted to hear the truth. They hav¥e learned that the membership no longer rules, but that instead a select few’ have usurped the power to say what shall be our laws and who shall be our Officers. Exercising the rights any member should have, I have endeavored from time to time to give my views on laws needed and to acquaint our’ members with existing evils, particularly and most recently the outrageous manipu- lation of our last election. For doing these things I have long been marked undesirable as an officer and finally suspended from a membership which I have held without a.mark of discredit as a union mah for over .25 years, Accusers Cannot, Be Judges. I am not here to he tried. This body is not competent to,sit as judges in my case because you have pledged yourselves without reservation to sup- port the president. «Most, if not all of you have expressed yiews prejudic- ial against me, and for other reasons you can not pass oe on the case. You are my accusers: and in no courts are accusers allowed to try, or pass sentence on an accused. If a trial is reyaired to pass judg- ment on" my eoimtiuct I demand the simple, but ordinary justice of being tried by a body of my peers in my own lodge, and full compliance with all the provisions contained in Article 22, pages 48 and 49, Grand Lodge con- stitution, Wants Trial by Lodge. The order of procedure is clearly outlined in Section 4 and 5 of Article 22 both for filing information and lo- cation of responsibility. The local lodge is not deprived of its original and legitimate authority. Only in the event that a local lodge fails to act is the International president permit- ted to intervene and then only as, (1) as complainant, or (2) a messenger, or (3) a responsible official, or (4) as a.member of the Executive Council he can praticipate in a trial of an ac- cused member. ‘The injection of the implied powers contained in Section 5 of Article 3) which may be assumed by the Inter- national president in certain cases of alleged delinquencies by a member has nothing whatever to do with a case like mine, Suspended Without Trial. In its most complete analysis my alleged offense is nothing more than asking the simple question as to whether men could be trusted with certain responsibilities when they had beeti proven faithless in others and for that my suspension is ordered to take effect immediately, without a hearjng, without-a trial, without any regard to the constitutional require- ments ac@®rde@ and guaranteed to the..vilest traitor and scab during a strike.” Insult is added to injury when the International president commands: “You are suspended until such time as you will file a satisfactory apology and retraction with the General Execu- tive Council, etc.” Still no hearing, no trial by my peers in my own lodge as specifically and imnutely laid down in Article 22. Will Not Be Sifent. I have always valued my member- ship in the I. A, of M. very highly. I have tried to conduct myself as a union man should and be worthy of this membership. I want my membership restored to me but I refused to be bribed, bullied, coerced, or intimidated. I will not be silent, either with voice or pen. I pledge myself to resist and denounce evil, wherever it exists, in the I, A. of M. or out of it. As to the offensive suggestion of amt apology for doing what is right, that which the I, A. of M. has schooled me to do, I spurn the offer with the contempt it so richly deserves, Workers of Detroit! Support Communist Against Plute Agetns of Capital (Continued from page 1) reason. The most important reason for repudiating Smith and Bowles is because both represent the capitalists ‘who are robbing and exploitng the workers of Detroit. The attempt to make the workers of Detroit decide the ,muncipal elec- tions on the basis of religious pre- judices, is part of a game of the capi- talists to prevent the workers from using their political power in order to fight in their own interests. Both Smith and Bowles are playing this game of the capitalists. Both prefer to have the workers vote catholic or anti-catholic rather than have them them vote on the basis of relief for unemployed workers, no use of police in strikes, for better housing and sanitary conditions in the working class sections of Detroit and other issues of interest to the workers and affecting the lives of the workers. Smith makes claim for the support of the workers of Detroit on the basis of his record. But what did Smith do in 1924, when 50,000 workers were without jobs and unable to earn a liv- ing? Did he demand that the capi- alist bosses must either give the workers the opportunity to work and earn a living or pay them wages? Did he demand that the city of | Detroit should tax the capitalist employers in order to furnish money for relief of ‘|the unemployed workers? Every worker of Detroit knows that Smith did none of these things. They know that he stands for the capitalist system and the capitalist method of making profit out of the workers and that he would not move one inch in support of workers without jobs. Bowles is no better than Smith in this respect. He also supports the capitalist system of exploiting the workers which throws tens of thou- sands of workers on the streets when- ever the bosses cannot make big pro- fits out of their labor. It is on the basis of such issues as unemployment and the attitude of the \candidates asking their support on this question that the workers should take their stand in the muni- cipal elections, but not on the basis of racial and religious issues. The capitalist bésses ‘want the workers to divide on the basis of racial and religious issues because they know that workers who are in- fifienced by these prejudices will not make a fight for their own economic’ interests. The workers of Detroit’ have noth- ing to gain and everything to lose by supporting either ‘Smith or Bowles, or any of the capftalist Wandidates in the municipal electiona. ‘The worke must organize as a class to fight their ee ‘ak political” battles “against the capital- ist bosses. They must use their po- litical power in geil of their eco- nomic interests. That is what the! wapitalists do. They want to elect ‘either Smith or Bowles in order that they may have the power of the office of mayor in their hands for use im support of the capitalist system of, exploitation. Workers of Detroit must organize to fight for that power:so, that they can use it to support ,their struggles against the capitalist exploiters. Some workers beligve that Smith is the candidate of lakgr. But, every- one who examines his. record closely knows that he is the-candidate of the capitalist bosses. The workers can- not expect that any candidate whc supports the capitalist system agains’ the workers ‘vill gepresent their in-/ Party was not accepted, terests. Some candidates may play the game which Smith has been play- ing of sometimes throwing something in the direction of the workers in order to fool them into supporting him: No worker who understands the conflict of interests between the capi- talist bosses who are in business for profit, and the workers who produce wealth and must constantly fight for decent wages, will be fooled by this game of a smart politician. The Workers (Communist) Party proposed to the Detroit Federation of Labor early this year that it take the initiative in organjzing a party of workers—a labor party—which would support labor candidates in the muni- sipal and other elections. The pro- posal of the Workers (Communist) therefore, there is no labor candidate on the ballot in the municipal election, The formation of such a party is the only way, in which the workers can fight their own political battles. It is the only way in which they can use the bower they have as an organized group in support of their “economic struggles. The workers of Detroit must de- mand the formation of a labor party and that labor drop forever the out- worn policy of “rewarding friends and punishing the enemies of labor” which means in every instance, elect- ing’ the representatives of the capi- talist bosses to public office. The Workers (Communist) Party calls upon the workers of Detroit to ex- press themselves in the interests of Ford--Pacifist Turned Imperialist (Continued from page 1) air,” Col, Mitchell continued. “We must look to the Fords now for progress because governmental ac- tivity is practically at a stand-still. I am thankful the Fords are in the game now.’.It makes everything a littlebrighter.”— - oy) ON’T be misled either by the fact that Col. Mitchell is no longer as- sistant army air chief. He is some- thing of a political exile from Wash- ington. because of his’ exposure of the inefficiency of the gdvernment’s pres- ent air organization! ‘Tho reduced in rank and fant th Sam Hous- tion, in Texas, hi ; the country’s leading proponent % larger military air service independént of the army the friendliness that now exists be- tween the Fords and the navy. Such an authorization was never given before in the case of the Shenan- doah, O you remember also the time when Edsel Ford was branded as a “slacker” by the patriots for claim- ing and obtaining exemption from the draft? Reactionary patriotic newspa- pers attacked him. Patriots looked upon him as bad company. It was thumbs down for him. But he was among the “distinguished guests” in- vited to be present on visitors’ day at the citizens’ military training camp at Camp Custer, Mich. Aug. 14 A member of the Young Workers’ League was evicted from this camp in violation even of the army policy, and navy and is nized the most. brilliant and aggressive among this country’s mil ; aviators. The pee ‘in two in ir in a wind er south- eastern’ Ohio and ed to earth with the loss of several lives Sept. 3. It, was starti naval dem- onstration flight over eleven states and on its returnswas to have tied up at the Ford airport mast. After the crash it became known that Henry Ford and the chief engineer of the Ford Motor company, William B, Mayo, had been authorized to ride in the Shenandoah either to City, Mich., fr return or to Lakehurst. It have been Ford's first trip “ithe air, The ‘Shenandoah was ment's ‘only military Sinise! ts flight was a strictly nollitary maneuver. All on board wereynaval officers or enlisted men. THe) authorization to Ford and his chief engineer to ride as defined in a statement given to the Federated Press by Maj. Gen. William S. Graves, commander of the army sixth corps area, And the speaker ot the day was Charles G. Dawes. The tide has turned indeed when Edsel Ford is invited to be a “distinguished guest” in such company. There’ is a recent instance also in which the Fords carried to conclus- jon,a large scale business deal with the governmemt, an agency which class conscious workers recognize a: the agency thru which the capitalis: class functions politically. When the United States shipping board decided to sell a fleet of ships as scrap steel the Ford Motor company was among the bidders. The Fords turned out to be the successful bidders, with an of- fer of $1,697,470 for 199 steel ships} q, and $297,500 for seven tugs. Three at a time the ships are now on the way to River Rouge to be cut up. fas Ford ‘Motor company has not only its meghanical equipment and trained industrial army of 165,000 sorkers but around its holdings 2verywhere an atmosphere of sinis- ‘er power, corresponding psycholog- cally to the divine right power ofa monarch.; Such an atmosphere makes military conscription easier for a cap- italist* government, Ii cotitrast to the doubt that once popiilarly existed as fo the direction n ‘which the Fords were developing, the Ford’ Motor company and its vast roldiigs Ate henceforth ready in time of Heed as an adjunct to the arsenals, bartacks; hangars and navy yards “of the capt list government at Wash- mel 48 ‘a result of the Fords’ con}- ly swift, generally unexpected but, ae ‘inevitable “reformation,” FT emdtonin will cut prices again com~ petitively if to do so will enlarge theirinvome. And the company may not pay! interest, or tribute to Wall reserve'to finance their own industry. It is Worth “Weting incidentally that the Ford M@to¥°company is the only large titerprise under capitalism in this country that'‘has not passed into ‘he hands of the bankers, or finance- capitalists, But in the Fords the cap- talist rulers of the United States ‘ave staunch new allies who once had he appearance of being cot scabs, In fitting conclusion jet us add that several members of the Workers’ Party were arrested and one was beaten near the Ford gates in High- land Park and River Rouge last May day while, distributing the DAILY WORKER, Communists know that the Ford myth is like any other myth for the working cla Tt is a hoax and at its best a good, story, Street,“sfee the Fords carry a cash’ their own class at the ballot box at this election in spite of the fact that there is no labor candidate on the ballot. It calls upon them to repu- diate both Smith and Bowles, to re- pudiate the efforts to blind the work- ers by making the issue the religious question and to take a stand on a political platform in the interests of the workers. The Workers (Communist) Party calls upon every worker to write in on the Ballot on election day the name of the Workers Party candidate for mayor, Edgar Owens, and thus take the stand for the working class against the capitalist class. It asks the workers of Detroit to support the Workers Party candidate for mayor, Edgar Owens, by/ writ- ing his name on the ballot on the following platform: 1. The organization of a labor party based upon the trade union movement of Detroit to include rep- resentatives of all trade unions, labor political parties, co-operatives and fraternal organizations, to fight for labor in its political struggles. 2. Use of the power of the govern- ment of Detroit to compel the relief of the unemployed when the work- ers are thrown out of jobs. City ap- propriations thru special taxes on capitalist bosses to create an unem- ployment fund to be distributed by the trade unions. “3. No use of police in labor dis- putes. No use of police to arrest strikers. Against the use of strike breakers paid by capitalist bosses. 4, Against the use of injunctions |.in labor disputes. 5, Full support of the workers of ‘| Detroit in organizing the unorganized workers for the fight against their bosses. 6. The establishment of Workers’ control in every institution of the city of Detroit employing workers, thru the election of shop committees which shall have full access to everything goncerning the management and to be represented in the management. ! 7. Support of the extension of this principle to all the industries of De- troit. 8. The control of housing condi- tions by the city and action to ereate better housing conditions for the workers by the city government, 9. A workers’ and farmers’ Bov- ernment for the United States. Workers of Detroit! Repudiate the ndidates of the capitalist bosses. Repudiate their attempt to blind you ‘by racial and religious yPreju- dices! » Take your stand for a workers’ struggle against the capitalist boss- es by writing in the name—Kdgar Owens, for mayor—on election day, 1} }