The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 3, 1925, Page 2

y L Page rwo THE DAILY WORKER AMERICAN NEGRO LABOR CONGRESS OUT TO ORGANIZE A.N.L.C. Lays Basis for Future Work (Continued from page one) power “to call or to join with any other appropriate organization in is- suing a joint call for world congresses of such a kind as would in its opinion serve the interests of the Negro mass- es. It shall have authority to nego- tiate and to make friendly arrange- ments for co-operation with other Ne- gro organizations of economic or poli- tical character, but not with any or- ganization or persons antagonistic to the Negro race or to the working peo- ple as a whole, nor shall any nego- tiation or arrangement or co-opera- tion be made with any political or- ~- | War Commissar Frunze Die ganization of any person for political ‘purposes, except with a political or- ganization of the, working class or farming class.” In another pa®sage, the congress ex- presses itee@ttitude of friendliness to- words other organizations working in good faith for the interests of the Ne- gro race: “The American Negro La- bor Congress is not a rival organiza- tion as against any other existing or- ganization wishing to serve the Ne- gro people, nor a rival to any labor or- ganization. On the contrary, the con- gress wishes to give co-operation and brotherly help to all bona fide organ- izations having the interest of our peo- ple at heart. The congress invites the affiliation of all such organizations. Especially the American Negro Labor Congress will not be a rival to any trade union or labor union, but will do all in its power to build up and strengthen all bona fide organizations of the working people. “Our attitude toward any bona fide labor union is—we want our people to join it; we want our people to strength it; if any labor union ex- eludes persons of our color we demand that it shall let them in for the mutu- al benefit; if it will not let our people in, we will encourage the formation of unions of our people, not as rival unions, but as unions demanding to be joined together with the former union in a single organization for all races without discrimination. We fav- or that all labor unions shall affiliate with the American Federation of La- bor wherever this is reasonably prac- ticable and create a larger unity of la- “por. Otherwise—that is, where» the general labor organization in a given field is not affiliated to the American Federation of Labor—such independ- ent union will receive our support, al- tho our influence will be used in gen- eral to bring all labor organizations into the American Federation of La- bor.” Attitude on Company Unions. The attitude of the congress is stat- ed as follows: “In all cases where the word ‘union’ is used, it is under- stood and specified that the many ex- isting so-called company unions (or- ganized or controlled by employers), are not considered as unions. How- ever, any minority within such a ‘com- pany union’ may, upon organizing as a minority and declaring its purpose to attain the quality of a real labor union, be entitled to representation in the local council and also to the na- tional congresses.” The congress has provided for a number of local bodies, to be com- posed of Negro labor unions, mixed labor unions not having any rules or customs discriminating against Ne- groes, groups of Negro industrial workers organized for the purpose of obtaining admission into existing unions, organizations of Negro agricul- tural workers, delegates’ elected by groups of three or more Negro work- ers (or mixed Negro and white work- ers) who work together in a work- hop, factory or farm. For Inter-Racial Committee. Plans for the formation of inter-rac- ial committees to unify the workers of all races and show the similarity of interest between them are laid down in the constitution, The congress charges the local cotincils with the duty of negotiating with trade unions and race organizations, “in the en- deavor to establish jn each locality an inter-racial labor committee to be formed of delegates trom Negro work- ers’ organizations and white workers’ @rganizations. These inter-racial labor committees are to have the purpose of organized co-operation of the working people of both races to establish be- tween them harmony, understanding, and good will; to bring all Negro workers into the trade unions on equal footing, with equal conditions, equal pay, equal rights to all kinds of em- ployment, so that there will be no more conflicts between the working people of the two races, but that all can strive together to improve their condition.” The character of the national com- mittee elected to direct the work of the congress during the coming year is in keeping with the working, class character of the organization, The small committee of nine includes Roy Mahoney and William Scarville, both workers in steel mills; C. W. Fulp, a miner and head of a miners’ union; Edward L. Doty, a plumber; Douglas, a street sweeper and ©. Bills, a mem- her of the Longshoremen’s Union. The (Continued from page 1) made at one p. m. Saturday, and immediately the entire city went into official mourning and the black-bord- ered red flags were raised at half mast over public buildings, and in thousands of private houses the blaz- ing emblem of the revolution, bordered in black was raised. An impressive state funeral is being planned by the government. tg | Son of a Peasant. | Mikhail Vassilievitch Frunze was | born in 1885, at Pischpek, the chief | town of the district of Semirechinsk | (Republic of Turkestan). His father, | a Russian Moldov, was a peasant from | the district of Zakharievsk, in the gov- | ernment of Odessa; his mother was a} peasant from Voronesh, After his | father finished his term of military | service in Turkestan, he became aj hospital attendant in the municipal service, Frunze began his studies in a pri- mary school, subsequently entering the college of Vierny (now Almata), where he proved an excellent student. His father having died, leaving the family in poor circumstances, the young Mikhail at the age of twelve took to giving private lessons as a means of livelihood. Expelled from Capital. Entering the Polytechnic Institute of St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) in 1904, Frunze began to take part in the revolutionary movement, working first in the student circules, then in front until the revolution of 1917, During his sojourn at the front he spent his time principally working to create ‘revolutionary organizations in the szarist army. After the revolution of February, 1917, Comrade Frunze became a mem- ber of the Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies of Minsk, a member of the army committee of the western front, chief organizer and president of the Soviet of Peasant Deputies of White Russia. During the Kornilov mutiny, he was elected commander of the rev- olutionary troops in the sector of Minsk. Soon afterwards he returned to Ivanovo-Voznessensk, where he was elected president of the Zemstvo in the district of Chovia, president of the municipal council, and of the Soviet of the district, Defending the Revolution, After the October revolution, Frunze became president of the executive committee of the Russian Communist Party in the government of Ivanovo- Voznessensk. It was at this time that he began his military career as mili- tary commissioner for the govern- ment of Ivanovo-Voznessensk. Follow- ing the insurrection of Jaroslay, he was named commissar for the military district of Jaroslav, a post which he occupied until the end of 1918. In De- cember, 1918, he was sent to the front as commander of the fourth army, which operated in the Urals. Defeats Koltchak; Wounded. At the height of the Koltchak of- the workers’ circles, as a social-demo- crat. He took part in the November demonstrations in St. Petersburg, which led to his arrest and subsequent expulsion from the capital. At the beginning of 1905, Frunze worked in Moscow, then in the Ivan- ovo-Voznessensk factory in Vladimir. During the party split into men- sheviks and Bolsheviks, Comrade Frunze deliberately took the side of the Leninists. In December, 1905, he took part in the insurrection at Mos- cow. In 1906, as a delegate from the party committee of Voznessensk, he participated in the Third and Fourth Congresses of the party at Stockholm. .Faces Death; Prison; Escapes. /In 1907, he was arrested at Chovia, where he had been working under the name of Arsene, and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. Brot be- fore the magistrates for belonging to the social-democratic party, he was accused of having offered armed re- sistance to the police, and sentenced to four years hard labor. After being tried five times in con- nection with this affair, during which two verdicts declared for the death penalty, Frunze was finally condemn- ed to an additional six years’ hard labor. He served five and a ha}f years in the central prison of Vladimir, then for two years in the prison of Nikolaev, and finally in the Alexan- drovsk prison. Goes Into Army. Liberated in 1915, but sent to the district of Verkholensk in Irkutsk, Frunze was soon arrested again for creating an organization of the de- portees. He succeeded, however, in escaping, and towards the end of 1915, turned up at Chita under the illegal name of Vassilenko. Here he collab- orated on the editorial staff of the Bolshevik weekly, The Oriental Re- view. Discovered by the police, he escaped into European Russia, where, under the name of Mikhailov, he en- tered the Pan-Russian Union of Zem- stvos, and worked on the western fensive, Frunze assumed command of the four armies of the southern group of the eastern front, and inflicted on Koltchak’s troops the first defeat, which led to a decisive revival in our position upon the oriental front. Dur- ing the advance he was wounded by an anti-aircraft bomb. At the end of June, 1919, Comrade Frunze was ap- pointed to be commander of the whole eastern front. With the advance of the Red Army troops of the oriental division towards the Siberian and Turkestan fronts, he was then ap- pointed commander of the Turkestan fronts and rapidly cleared the coun- try of white troops, annihilating Kolt- chak’s southern army. Smashes Wrangel Forces. In August, 1920, during the Wrangel offensive in the south of Russia, and the Ukraine, Frunze was appointed commander on the southern.front, and directed with energy the operations which resulted in dislodging the whites from their last refuge in the Ukraine and in the Crimea. For his military services, our comrade receiy- ed several decorations, two of these being the order of the Red Flag, and a Sword of Honor. | After the liquidation of Wrangel, Fringe became ‘commander ‘df he troops in the Ukraine and Crimea, and plenipotentiary delegate of the revolu- tionary military council of the U. S. S. R. to which is attached the Soviet Republic of the Ukraine. In April, 1921, he was nominated vice-president of the revolutionary military council of the U.S. S. R. Frunze was a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of Russia, of the central committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and of the presidium of the Central Ex- ecutive Committee of the U. 8. S. R. When Comrade Trotsky fell ill, Com- rade Frunze became commander of the Red Army, and, on January 26, 1925, he was formally nominated chairman of the Revolutionary Mili- tary Council. eee head of the students’ organization of Howard University, H. V. Phillips and Lovett Fort-Whiteman. The following excerpts are from a resolution presented by the Young Workers League delegate, Corienne Robinson, to the congress as the de- mands of the young Negro workers in America: Miltarism and Young Negroes. “The militarists of the country, at the same time that they discriminate against the Negroes in the army, bend all efforts towards using the masses of young Negroes as a reserve for their struggle against the labor move- ment of the country. Special colored units of the national guards are built and sometimes only colored troops are used by the government for strike- breaking purposes. Experiences in France during the war, when Negro troops were used as cannon fodder in the most dangerous situations and treatment received by Negro troops on returning to the United States, as in the Houston riots, have helped to convince many young Negroes that they have no place to serve in any of the militaristic adventures of the whte bosses. “Especially, today when American militarism is being developed for the purpose of maintainng the American empire, young Negroes have no place participating in such an organization which will be used to keep their col- ored brothers in the colonies in op- pression. “The firm stand taken against com- pulsory training in the schools by the students at Howgrd University is a fine example of the position that our race should take towards militarism, which is the armed force of the U. 8. imperialists by which they maintain thetr rule over the colonies and which is used to keep down the work- ers at home, The Ku Klux Klan. . . « thra the state legislature and the schools, the ku klux klan carries on a campaign to control the educational policies of the public schools and to force a certain kind on all students. ‘Thru this control of the educational apparatus, the klan hopes to instill its religious and racial Prejudices into the minds of the youngest children.” The resolution made the following demands: “Equal pay for equal work for young Negro workers and other work- ers. “A minimum wage. “Complete abolition of child labor. “A six-hour day and a five-day week for workers under 18. “No discrimination against young Negroes in the schools. No segrega- tion. Equal educational opportunities for Negro and white children. “Against the use of Negro troops in strikes or imperialist expeditions. Against segregation in the army. “Abolition of corporal punishment of young Negro workers on the farms, plantations, and in the mills, “For admission of young Negroes into unions at lower initiation fees. “A week-end rest of 44 hours for all young workers.” Negro Housing. In a resolution from which the fol lowing excerpts are taken, adopted by the American Negro Labor Congress, the congress declares itself opposed to all forms of race segregation and calls upon all Negro workers to fight all attempts made to segregate the Negro: “The American Negro Labor Con- gress declares, itself unalterably op- posed to the segregation of our peo- ple in separate residence districts, We declare the discrimination against Negroes in regard to which part of the city they may live in and which part they may not live in, is a poli- tical question and must be dealt with just as we deal with discrimination in voting. The time has come when the living accommodations of the public cannot be left to the private control of a few wealthy. parasites who decide where the colored man live and where he may not live, or whether he can |Miive a house to live in at all.” The following resolution was adopt- encouraging Haitians in their fight “&gainst imper- jalist invasions: awe Against Imperial! emination. “The peoples of Hfatij,San Domingo, the Virgin Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Porto Rico and the Philippines, are now by violence and dppression be- ing denied their right of self-deter- mination by the Uriited States gov- ernment; therefore * * “Be It Resolyed, That the American Negro Labor Congress sends its frat- ernal greetings and encouragement to the peoples of the insular possessions of the United States who are strugel- ing for their independence; and that we endorse their brave fight and promise them all possible aid; and “Be It Further Resolved, That any permanent directing pee that may be chosen by this congress stands in- structed to enter into’ communications and to establish relations with all representatives of thos® struggling peoples so as to make’ our help to them a vital reality, and to invite them all to send thir delegates to our next congress.” The Friday ev mass meeting which wound up series of mass meetings the Ameri¢an'Negro Labor Congress has been Holding, sent the following cablegram’ ‘to ‘ Abd-el-Krim, congratulating him in‘his fight against French imperialism and calling upon Krim to attend the world race con- gress to be held in thé near future: “American Negroes greet you as hero commending your gallant strug- gle. Invite you to attend world Negro congress next year.—American Negro Juabor Congress.” “In another telegram the congress called upon the Senegalese troops, ow fighting on the side of French im- perialism to join the’ Riffans to achieve their independence. The cablegram appears in full: “To the Senegalese Negro Troops in the French Army in Africa: “American Negroes appeal to all our brothers in Africa torefuse to fight against the heroic people of the Riff, but to join with Abd-el-Krim to free African soil from imperialist invad- ers.” The congress also sends the follow- ing cablegram to the. Chinese strikers in Shanghai: “We greet you as brothers fighting for a common cause and urge you to drive imperialists from your soil.” The congress is also sending a pro- test to President Coolidge in behalf of the members of the 24th Infantry who are at present in Leavenworth prison for their participation in the Houston race riots, when . Negro soldiers showed their resentment,'to the crim- inal assault of a white |policeman on a Negro woman. In the following pro- test the con; demands that the president of the States imme- diately release the: prisoned Ni groes as honorable and heroic men. oa meme: “Washington, 1 rs ea i “Delegates in first annual convention of the Am Negro La- bor Congress voted today unanimously to protest against continued imprison- ment of former members of the 24th Infantry now confined in Leavenworth penitentiary. The i ment and summary and unfair hanging of mem- bers of the 24th Infantry represent a shameful stain upon the history of this country, The trouble,arose out of effort to protect a woman of our race from cruel assault by:.a white police- man and these Negro.soldiers should have been honored for, their motive and courage. The sale red soldiers were absolutely blameless for blood- shed which resulted from attack by white mob. All thiniing Negroes de- mand that the remaining prisoners be immediately released as honorable and heroic men and not Merely pardoned as criminals eiving leniency.” The congress also sent the impris- oned soldiers the following telegram Baldwin’s. Tory Cabinet, Ordered the Attack On British Labor’s Left Wing By J. LOUIS ENGDAHL. it gran detailed news arrives by mail of the British gov- ernment’s attack on revolutionary workers in that coun- try. So-called liberals in the United States, who believe that “free speech” and the other alleged guarantees of the con- stitution are possible for militant labor under capitalism, often refer to Great Britain as their ideal land of “democ- telling of the action taken by the con- gress in protesting to President Cool- idge against their imprisonment: “American Negro Labor Congress in session here by unanimous vote pro- tests against your {i isonment. We have sent a tele to President Coolidge to this effe The imprison- ment of members your regiment and the summary and unfair and brut- al execution of others represents a shameful stain upom the history of this country. The trouble arose out of your effort to @ woman of our race from cruel ; ult by a white policeman and we you for your motives and your » We hold you absolutely b! for the blood that was spilled as.@ result of the ac- tions of the mob which attacked you. Therefore you are entitled not to leniency as pardone@:criminals, but to immediate honorable release as hero- ‘and innocent men,” The gathering also sent a telegram to Marcus Garvey, imprisoned leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association: jay sends its deepest sympathy for your, sufferings in pris- on. Your imprisonment is an act of persecution and an attack against all ot our people. We demand your un- conditional and immediate release and urge you fight against deportation from this country only by a united ac- tion of all organizations of Negro peo- ple and farmers can such persecution be brought to an end.” —_— Steal Feather Beds. EVANSVILLE, Ind., Nov. 1—Police here were trying to curb an outbreak of feather bed thefts that came in the wake of the first cold wave of the sedson. Four feather beds were racy” where speech is untrammeled, in Hyde Park for in- stance, and where a Karolyi would not be gagged. It is not expected that the present development will change their mind in the least. But millions of British workers are real- izing, gradually but surely, that they are living under an exploiters’ fist just as brutal as any in the world. ° * e ° + It is important to know that the attack on British labor’s left wing was decided on at a cabinet meeting of the Baldwin tory government, at which Sir William Joynson-Hicks, the home secretary, received “fullest support in any action he might deem necessary.” The result was not only a raid on the Communist Party headquarters, with the arrest of six of the party’s leading officials, but also an attack against the Young Communist League and the Minority Movement in the trade unions, that developed great strength and scored brilliant victories in the recent Scarborough conference of the British Trade Union Congress. The viciousness with which the raids were carried out is seen in the report appearing in the London Herald (Labor) in part as follows: Every room was invaded and every scrap of paper and all the files, including the cabinets, were removed in two lorries, which returned several times. “The office was absolutely cleaned out, even the pictures being taken off the walls. The whole of the books, periodicals and other publica- tions were removed in 20 vans to Scotland Yard. Ail the back numbers of the Workers’ Weekly, as well as those for publication today (a whole issue), and other Communist publications were also confiscated.” Bee 7,8 In the words of a declaration issued by the British Com- munist Party’s political bureau, “the raids and the arrests had not come as a surprise.” The success of the Minority Movement among Great Britain's organized workers was but the forerunner of new attacks on labor’s most militant section, just as the American department of justice, during the widespread militant strikes of 1922, opened its war on the struggling workers by first attacking the gathering of the Communist Party being held at Bridgeman, Mich. Yet these attacks were, nevertheless, assaults on the whole working class. i : Oe Pe In Great Britain the last ‘attack on the Communist Party, was on May 8, 1921. But that attack did not destroy the party, as the government had predicted and hoped. So now, in the words of the ly to Baldwin’s government, . “The party cannot be sm A / It cannot be smash cause its increasing strength grows out of the present industrial crisis that demands greater and more intensive struggles by the workers, that find their hope of success in its leadership. This govern- mental onslaught against the British Communists is an- other confession by Baldwin's tory: rule of the seriousness of the present dark outlook for the empire. The British im- perialist lion roars in agony, but the workers press on to ehd his career forever. Crimes by Defenders of the Home, State and Profit Morality (Continued from page 1) The Sullivan girl said Johnson made his first advances to her on April 15. NOW IS THE TIME The series of articles on the A, F. of L. by Wm. F. Dunne, now appearing in The DAILY WORKER, keenly analyzing and ex- Plaining in detail all the policies of the leading body of American labor— Are the kind to bring to your trade union. se « “Too Free With Hands.” THOMASTON, Maine, Nov. 1.— Charges that Rev. Percy J. Clifford, former chaplain of the state prison and one of those to bring complaints of moral laxity, was “too free with his speech and his hands” when talk- ing privately with women prisoners were made by three women who have been in solitary confinement, in a let- ter to Warden Lester D, Eaton, The women demanded to be allow- cal union to ed to appear before Governor Ralph O. Brewster, his council and the state SUBSCRIBE! prison board at hearings into alleged conditions at the prison were re- If you can’t order a bundle (and you should!) riow is the time to urge the bro- ther or sister in your lo- sumed. . *_ 2 Evangelist Put in Jail, © A warrant charging non-support of his wife put Charles Sturtevant, tra- veling evangelist, in a cell and sent Elmer McKee, wealthy farmer from Valley City, S. D., to federal authori- ties with a request that Sturtevant’s alleged relations with Ethel McKee,, his 22-year-old daughter, be investi- gated. Sturtevant was arrested in Lans- ing, Mich., and Miss McKee, ill in a hospital, arose from her sickbed and came back to Chicago with him and two detectives. He Hires “Secretary,” The detectives found in the minis- ter’s belongings a card in which he and Miss McKee pledged each other undying love and a diary purporting to be a record of their travels to- gether for the last two and one-half years, They met, according to the diary, when Sturtevant addressed students at the Valley City normal) school, Miss McKee left her studies to become his “secretary.” eastern states. held in Chicago beginning Novembe: Here are the dates of Comrade Detroit, Mich., Nov. 4. Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 5. ont, Ohio, Nov. 6. Conneaut, Ohio, Nov, 7. Warren, Ohio, Nov, 8—9. Pittsburgh, Pa., Nov. 10. Buffalo, N. Y., Nov. 11, If you want to thoroughly un- derstand Communism—study it. Studebaker Declares Dividends. SOUTH BEND, Ind. Noy. ; forced me to take a drink, REORGANIZATION TOUR Comrade Henry Puro, editor of the Eteenpain and reorganization director of the Finnish section, will start an extensive tour thru the After directing the reorganization work from the national office , by writing special articles which have been published in all the Fins nish dailies and after mobilizing many speakers with the assistance branches now and the Finnish Federation convention, which will be of Finnish district organizers, Comrade Puro will address fourteen branches now and the Finnish Federation convention, which will be . Comrade Puro will also attend the Finnish district conventions in Massachusetts and New York, November 14 and 15, and Nov. 21 and 22 ra ¥ “ s RM ALUXER BOASTS HE IS LAW AT MURDER TRIAL Revolting ~ Details of Girl’s Slaying (Continued from page one) for a date several times, but I gave him no definite answer. “On Sunday, March 15, 1925, when returning to my home about 10 o'clock in the evening, I was informed by my mother that there had been parties calling for me. “Soon a Mr. Gentry, whom I hed never seen before, came for me, and said he was from Stephenson's. I walked with Gentry to Stephenson’s home. I saw Stephenson had been drinking. His’ chauffeur, whom he called Shorty, was there also. Later a man whom he called Klinck came in. Forced to Drink, “Immediately they took me into the kitchen and some kind of drinks were produced. , Stephenson and the others I was afraid not to do so, and I drank three small glasses of the drink. This made me very ill and dazed. “Stephenson said to me about this time, ‘I want you to go with me to Chicago.’ I remember saying I could not and would not. I was very much terrified and did not know what to do. ‘O, yes, you are going with me to Chicago. I love you more than any other woman I have known,’ Armed to Teeth. “These men took me up to Stephén- son’s room and he opened a dresser drawer filled with revolvers, He told ach of the men to take one, “Later, Gentry called the Washing- ton hotel at Stephenson's order and secured reservations, in a drawing room for two persons. They all took me to the automobile at the rear of the house and we drove to the Union station. “| Am the Law.” “I was dazed and terrified that my life would be taken. Stephenson said he was the law in Indiana, We got onto the train and altho I cannot dis- tinetly remember, I think only the colored porter saw us. They took me at once into the compartment. I can- not remember clearly everything that happened after that. I know Gentry » got into the top berth of the com-_ partment.” Here Miss Oberholtzer related in ac 4 tail the fiendish assults of Stephen- son. She said her body was badly lacerated. The statement continued. . “I remember I heard a buzz early in the morning and the porter called us to get up for Hammond. Stephenson flourished his revolver. I said to him to shoot me, but he put the gun in his grip. I heard no sound from Gen- try during the night. Afterwards Gen- try and Stephenson helped me to dress and I was able to walk to the Indiana hotel, where he registered for himself and wife. “Stephenson laid down on the bed and slept. Gentry put hot towels and witch hazel on my head and bathed my body to relieve my suffering. We were in room 416. Breakfast was served in the room.” Miss Oberholtzer’s statement then told of her asking Stephenson for money to buy a hat; how she pur- chased poison tablets, returned to the hotel room, and swallowed six of them; how the men then hurried her ‘back to Indianapolis in their car, how she was held in the garage all night, and then permitted to go home, where she died later. Conviction Not Expected. Stephenson sits and smirks at ku kluxers who flock to the court room. and when the part concerning his boast that he is the law in Indiana, were read, he laughed out loud. Street talk is to the effect that at least three of the jurymen are members of the moron gang constituting the hood- ed order and that a conviction is ut- terly impossible in Indiana. ON r 29, s Puro’s tour: Worcester, Mass., Nov, 12. Fitchburg, Mass., Noov, 13. Maynard, Mass., Nov, 14. Chester, Mass., Nov. 17. Jamaica, N. Y., Nov. 18, Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov, 19. New York, N Y,, Nov, 20, {I 4 4 | i : ] i |