The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 8, 1925, Page 2

j la Page Two THE DAILY WORKER COMMUNIST DELEGATE SEATED AT LL.G.W.U. CONVENTION BY 115 TO 4 AFTER MACHINE SCHEME FAILS By WILLIAM F, DUNNE (Special to Tne Dally Worker) PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Dec. 6—The Sigman machine got such a trimming in the Marks case that it dropped the case against Sheck, also a member of the Workers (Communist) Par- ty, in which the charges were intended to give opportunity for another drive on Communists. Long before the debate on the Marks case was over the administration was wishing that it had never made it an issue. In one way the Marks case is an historic one. It is the first time that a trade union officialdom has made the loyalty of a Communist to his party an issue and it is now a matter of record that the delegate involved won_a triumphant vindication simply by proving that he was a good Communist, loyal to his party and a fighter for the workers. - Communist Supported by Left Wing Marks faced a most difficult situa- tion in the manner in which the char- ges had been brought and the inter- pretation placed upon them by the machine. He must bée given credit for a brilliant speech in his own defense, in exposing the real motive of the and it must be said moreover that he got splendid support from the whole left wing. Seldom have a group of progressives built up such a strong case against the opposition and made their own principles and motives so clear, Antonini was probably the chief suf- ferer in the debate and with his friend Ninfo in the chair, neutral to the ex- tent that he did not care who licked Antonini the usually debonair Luigi had a very bad morning. As John Fitz- patrick is so fond of saying, “it was a most unhappy situation’—for all except the left wing. Expelled—So He “Resigned” During the course of the debate Antonini had boasted that he had re- signed from the Communist Party. It happened that Zimmerman had been a member of the District Executive Committee of the party which had ex- pelled Antonini, and after he had in- formed the convention of the fact of Antonini’s expulsion the latter so far forgot his previous denunciation of the party as to spend considerable timg claiming that he had not been expell- ed. It appears that even Antonini re- cognizes that expulsion from a Com- munist Party is no light matter. It is hardly necessary to state that during this. interesting incident the face of Ninfo was adorned with what passes for a smile among the Sicilians. Zimmerman pointed out that the left wing did not consider the seating of Marks as a favor or a gesture for unity. He said: “We want unity only on the basis of principles and struggle, not on of seating a few delegates. unity in the fight for the interests of the workers and the union and on no other basis.” He pointed out that the accusers of Marks had betrayed the interests of the workers. “Where do you get the audacity to accuse Marks,” he said, “when the membership have already tried and convicted you?” Rubin said “Marks lied to a capital- ist judge and that was an honorable act,” quoting a well-known anarchist writer to the ex-anarchists who were among the most bitter of the oppon- ents. Greatly to the amusement of the convention, Rubin’s speech in Yiddish was translated by Ninfo, charges Borokovich said: “I call your atten- tion to the fact that those who accuse Marks are not fterested in Marks but in slandering the party to which he belongs. But they are too weak and discredited to harm his party—now or ever.” The opening sentences of Marks’ speech gave plenty of proof that he would not back up an inch, He ex- plained that he had been fired from a shop where he had worked for 2 years thru the influence of one of his prominent accusers. He had also been charged with not working at the trade, he said, but “I never sold insurance to the bosses, or testified against the workers as an ‘impartial’ chairman while I was out of a job. I could not get a job at my trade; neither could 800 other members of my union as the unemployment records show.” Then came the remark which brot the greatest ovation of the conven- tion: “1 worked for the Freiheit—the only Jewish labor paper in Amer- ica.” The chairman tried in vain to still the shouting an applause but it con- tinued, rising and falling, for almost ten minutes, Marks read the story of his trial from a New York newspaper of 1921, and read the decision of the Commun- ist Party clearing him of all charges | in connection with the case.’ ‘The story, by the way, contained a state- ment by the presiding judge to the effect that the socialist party was no menace to American capitalist goy- ernment, He showed that he had been elected repeatedly by the membership of the union to responsible positions while his accusers had been repu- diated. He asked only for the sup- port of those delegates who wanted to fight in thé interest of the member- ship instead of officials. He said in corclusion: “If Feinberg had spoken for me I would not be satisfied. If my accuser of the joint board, now a delegate from St. Louis, had spoken for me I would have asked myself if something was not wrong with me. I want to be seated by those who are for unity for the best interests of the membership because I am a worker and a Com- munist.” He was seated by a vote of 115 to 4, machine delegates abstained on the novel theory that they would take no responsibility in the matter. Discovers an Armistice in Class War. At the opening of the afternoon ses- sion Roberto Haberman, the well- COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL GREETS CZECHO-SLOVAK PARTY ON ITS SUCCESS IN RECENT ELECTIONS MOSCOW, U. 8. S. R., Dec. 6—The Executive Committee of the Com- munist International sends its congratulations to the Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Czecho-Slovakia on the success of the Commun- ists in the recent parliamentary elections. In the elections the Communist Party was able to poll over 1,100,000 votes, according to the latest advices. The Comintern hails this as a victory for the entire Communist Interna- tional and in the following telegram of greeting urges the Czecho-Slovak party to do all that it can to remove ¢—————__——————————— | newer sections of the working-class make no concessions neither to sec- from the politically bankrupt social- tarianism nor to opportunism. democracy: “The Executive Committee of the Communist International has learned with the greatest pleasure of your first election success. The parlia- mentary elections are certainly mot the most favorable circumstances for the Communists on account of the persecutions and calumnies against the Communists, but if you have suc- ceeded in obtaining a million votes and have proved yourselves to be the strongest numerically working class party, then you have achieved a great victory. The lessons of the crisis thru which your party has recently passed and which, is now certainly completely liquidated, are of the greatest im- portance for the working class parties of the whole world. Bubnik Repudiated. “The ‘independent’ group with Bubnik at the head which has betrayed our flag and sought to bring confusion into our ranks, has earned a well merited defeat, the contempt of the workers has literally exterminated it. The lackeys of the bourgeoisie in Czecho-Slovakia have received their answer from the masses, That will be the fate of all those who may attempt to strike the Communist Par- ty a blow in the back. “The main task of the epoch thru which we are living is to remain a revolutionary proletarian m: party despite certain losses, despite the Partial stabilization of capitalism, to it “The Communist Party of Czecho- Slovakia is without any doubt upon the correct path to the achievement of this aim, Enemies Hopes Blasted. “The hopes of our enemies for splits and quarrels in our ranks have been brought to nothing. The Com- intern has recently achieved excellent, election successes in Germany, Bel- gium and now CzechoSlovakia, Our parties are learning with ever grow- ing succéss to lead the masses despite the present period of comparative slump. Even in this period, it we pursue the correct tactic, if we ear- nestly seek to carry thru the Bolshe- vization, we can remove ever newer sections of the working class from the influence of the social democracy and win finally the majority of the work- ing class over to our side. In the near future the enlarged executive of the Executive Committee of the Com- munist International will turn its at- tention to the concrete problems of the present period, Hails Victory, “The Executive Committee of the Communist International sends the working class of Czecho-Slovakia, and in particular, its advance guard the Communist Party, its warmest prole- tarian. greetings, “The chairman of the Executive Committee of the Communist Interna- tional, Zinoviey.” | COOLIDGE’S REPLY 10 LEWIS IS CONCEALED FROM PUBLICATION WASHINGTON, Gece, 6.—Pres- ident Coolidge has replied to the recent letter of John L. Lewis, pres- ident of the United Mine Workers, in which the miners’ head hinted at a bituminous coal strike unless the government intervened to compel the operators to live up to the Jack- sonville agreement. The White House declined to make the president’s reply public on the excuse that President Cool- idge felt that it might interfere or embarrass the efforts now being made by Gov. Pinchot of Pennsyl- vania, to settle the anthracite strike. Lewis says he has not yet received the Coolidge letter. He is now at his home in Springfield, II. known Greenwich Village Mexican, spoke for the Mexican labor move- ment, the C. R. O. M., which Morones has succeeded, with the aid of the A. F, of L, officialdom, in making a tail to the kite of Mexico's Wall Street exploiters. Haberman declared that there was an armistice in the class struggle in Mexico but accused The DAILY WORKER of lying about Mex- ico because it tells the truth and says that the labor and socialist official dom preach peace to the Mexican workers while the bosses’ continue to make war. Zimmerman tried to get the floor to ask a question of Haberman but for once Sigman was firm and allowed no one to further embarrass Haberman who, during all of his rambling speech, was as nervous as a scared rabbit every time he glanced to the left, Matthew Woll, the heir-apparent to the Gompers’ throne who failed to heir, was the next speaker. He del- ivered his usual “evolutionary versus revolutionary” speech and got some applause from the machine delegates until he announced his purpose in coming to the convention—to sell it some “labor” life insurance. If there is anyone in the world that has been equipped by nature for a life insurance agent it is Matthew Woll. He looks enough like a poet to get by unwary office boys but one could feel the chill settling over the convention as he unfolded the latest class colla- boration scheme of the labor bureau- lcrats. Sigman is one of the original incorporators of this new capitalistic venture, he said, but if I am any judge this is about the poorest selling point he could have picked for the member- ship of the L. L. G..W. Woll did -not attack the radicals ex- cept in a roundabout way. He was there as a salesman and this is not a good convention to sell things to if one goes out of one’s way to denourice the “reds.” There are too many left wing delegates here to make it profit- able. On Monday the convention will take up the officers’ reports—questions which will precipitate the biggest fight of the convention as it involves the New York situation. (Continued from page 1) life Green used the term “right” and “left” in speaking of the factions in the union and there was little if any- thing said by him that could even be interpreted as an attack on the Com- munists. When he entered the convention hall, Sigmanites tried to get the dele- gates on their feet but large numbers of right wingers failed to respond to instructions of their delegation chair- man, Telegrams of thanks from C. KE. Ruthenberg for the support of Ben Gitlow and from James P. Cannon, secretary of the International Labor Defense, for the support given the Zeigler miners ‘whose cases the I. L. ), {8 defending, aroused tremendous pplause in the convention this morn- ing. } Machine Rules Committee Appoint- ments. The appointment of committees by Sigman showed that the unity speeches of the machine delegates, made with such profuseness since the opening of the convention, have been of a hypocritical nature. The machine has followed the plan of appointing to the most important committees only nexperienced rank and file delegate (Continued from page 1) “6, Arbitration of all disputed points without reservation of The above list represents, course, Major Inglis’ idea of what the miners want and what the op erators intend to give them, but the Progressive Miners’ Committee, which has an increasingly strong influence on the rank and file of the miners have worked out their de- mands which they feel correspond to the needs of the mine workers, These may be summarized as fol- lows: Progressive Miners’ Plan, 1. No compromise by arbitration or otherwise on the demands of the Tri-Distriet convention. One agree- ment to cover the waplagcam min Green in New Expulsion Stand Life of Mine Union in Balance SIXTY-NINTH CONGRESS T0 OPEN TODAY Lobbyists ‘and Bootleg- gers Are Busy (Continued from page 1). Portant questions to come up. On the world court the administration will be supported by the democrats and on the taxation proposals of Mel- lon they will be opposed. The opposi- tion within the republican party will stand alone against the combination of democrats and the administration; on the taxation question most of the democrats will unite with the insur- gent republicans’ against the admin- istration, unl committees modify the taxation proposals to overcome the republican opposition, in which case the democrats will be a minority opposition in both houses, Coolidge Message Tuesday. Coolidge is on his way to Chicago where he will deliver a public har-| rangue to grafters supposed to repre- sent fatmers, but’who in reality only represent the beasts of. prey who live off the farmers, dnd will not be back until Tuesday morning. However, his presence is not required as the mes- sage alleged to havé been written by him has been completed for more than a week and will be read to a joint session of the two houses of con- gress. Previous utterances indicate the character of the message, which is expected to deal with the world court, taxation and to contain nothing! for the working class but sophistry and threats, as is usually the case with such documents, Organize House Monday, This is the first session of the lower house of the sixty-ninth congress and the thing will be organized with Nicholas Longworth scion of a Cin- cinnati family that) made a fortune off Property in the redlight district, and husband of Alice: Roosevelt, as the speaker. The senate was organized during a short session last spring, Nothing of importance will be taken up until after Teading of Coolidge’s message on Tuesday, The plan of Views resident Dawes to shut off debate in thd senate will.come up before that rude jolt as few talk as long as tie subject in case of a filibuster, Dawes is consi here, and the sena’ even of his own Party hold him in mpt because of his jackass proclivities. His waning popularity is evidenvéd by the attitude of the kept press which used to give him big headlines aiid now relegates him small space nea@?‘the want-ad sec- tions, alc 10 a huge joke ry) from the left wing and eliminating the leaders and of:placing active and experienced workers: like Hyman on the union label committee. The progressive “Welegates laughed loud and long while the list of ap- pointments were being read, “*e Chicago |. L. G. Greets Convention. Three hundred. members of the In- ternational Ladies’ Garment Workers of Chicago have dispatched the fol- lowing telegram to the special conven- tion meeting at Philadelphia. “Chicago members of the Interna- tional Ladies’ Garthent Workers greet the special convention with enthus- jasm as an expresgion of long sought progressive demands of the rank and file, fe “We are certain that this conven- tion will adopt all the demands put forward by the New York Joint Ac tion Committee. We support those Soviet Facts at Least Manage to Silence the Kept Press in Chicago By J. LOUIS ENGDAHL. ‘ODAY, the International Live Stock Exposition, held in the vast Dexttr Pavilion in the stockyards, closes its doors, and the capitalist press votes it a record breaker. The blue-blooded aristocracy turned out on the last night, at an exclusive horse show, and got its choicest list of names into the public prints. There was also a polo game, the sport of the idle rich. That was the way it ended in the midst of the great slaughter pens of Armour, Morris, Swift, Cudahy and the rest, who take the products of the farm and turn them into great profits for the “food trust.” The attendance was announced as the biggest ever. In order to pad it, thousands of Chicago school children were herded out to “the yards” and rushed thru the exposition. Probably the first time that most of them had ever seen a cow, a sheep or a hog. They were not good substitutes for the children of the farms, whose parents were unable to pay the price of a short holiday in Chicago, “The Hog Butcher of the World”, as Carl Sandburg, the poet, calls it. * ° ° It is well to point out the difference in the Union of Soviet Republics, There the real dirt farmers, the peasant masses who stand with the city workers in improving the fruits of the triumphant Bolshevik revolution, come in great throngs to the agricultural and live stock expositions in which they are interested, most of their expenses met by their own Soviet government. These Russian gatherings are centers of real education and not show-off places for the parasites; an impossible thing in Russia today, of course, be- cause there the parasitic landlord, banker, food profiteer class has been downed forever. In Chicago, however, these leaches upon the masses still dominate. * * 7. * One of the incidents that proved to the full the nature of the gathering was the absolute silence maintained by the whole capitalist press concerning the visit to the expos of three representatives of the Union of Soviet Republics, J. G. Ohsol, of the Amtorg Trading Co., D. N. Borodin, of the Russian Agricultural Agency in America, and Boris Skvirsky, of the Russian Information Bureau in Washington. The Russians came to Chicago as the guests of the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders’ Association that co- » operated with the Soviet Mission that visited the United States late in the summer and purchased 3,500 head of this breed to help improve the growing Russian flocks. Prac- tically every Chicago profit sheet had representatives at the dinner that was given for the Soviet spokesmen at St. Hu- bert’s Inn. These writers took down copious notes of all that was said, especially the speeches made by OhSol, Borodin and Skvirsky, relating exact conditions. .But not a word thruout the whole broad expanse of the’ kept press. Here was the truth about Soviet rule put’ down under the noses of these subsidized organs of capitalism, that. pride them- selves on their “nose for news.” "But, like The Tribune, that has withdrawn its correspondent from Soviet soil, they would rather get their news from the propaganda liars stationed: at Riga, Latvia, Helsingfors, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, or other centers for the dissemination of anti-Soviet false- hoods. y * * ee But in this instance, at least,°the hireling press was silenced. It dared not lie about the reception given the Soviet representatives in Chicago. To do so would arouse the wrath of American interests that not only hope, but even now are doing considerable “business” with the Soviet gov- ernment. It was, thersfore, caught between two pincers. 2 w * The day approaches when the American farmers, in place of the food profiteers, will have their own Inter- national Live Stock Exposition in Chicago. But that day will not arrive until the profit press, one of the last citadels of the capitalist enemy, has been completley silenced, thru the abo- lition of capitalism; the capitalist press that will today hail Cal Coolidge’s quack nostrums for the solution of the many ills that beset America’s farming population. RETAIL GLERKS — |Ptsiadetohia Workers WANT TO FIGHT Plays Against War PHILADELPHIA, Pa—The Work- ON INJUNCTION At the Sunday meeting of the Chi- cago Federation of Labor Retail Clerks’ Union No. 195 introduced & re- solution against the recent ruling of he labor hating judge, Dennis Sulli- van, who held the recently passed ers’ Theater Alliance of Philadelphia, composed of working class artists, is putting on a series of one-act plays written by John Lassen and Simon oem MINERS DIE IN COLORADO MINE BLAST T. Boa nd Explosion Raced for One Man (Special to The Daily Worker) NEDERLAND, Colo., Dec. 6.—A ter rifying fourteen-hour ordeal was end- ed early Saturday when the words, “all safe” came out of the emergency shaft to the Cardinal gold and s! mine, where twenty miners had been trap- ped in the flame-swept, smoke-filled tunnel, where fire blocked the en- trance and bottled them in inky black- ness, at eight o’clock Friday morning. Charles Hjurquist, 50 years old, a veteran miner, one of the rescuers, lost his life when he went one time too many into the vapor-filled tunnel. Charles Stevens a miner, one of the entombed men, was found dead. His death however, is alleged to be not the result of gas or smoke, but miners’ consumption, and his companions are claimed to have said that death from this disease was but & few days off at the most the morning he entered the mine. Twelve men comprising the rescue squad entered an improvised shaft at nine o’clock, braving the poisonous gases which swept up thru the open- ing in their first attempt to bring to the surface those that still ved or their dead bodies. Seven of these were overcome and were missing for a time, but were brought dut early yestreday morning. Pulmotors were applied to the rescuers and miners who had been overcome, as fast as they reached the surface. Many of the men collapsed on reaching the open air. ROCHESTER, N. Y., A, C, W. MEMBERS WHIP MACHINE Hillman’s Terrorism Fails to Work (Special to The Daily Worker) ROCHESTER, N, Y., Dec. 6—The members of the Amalgamated Cloth- ing Workers of Rochester have shown that the tailors are not afraid of the union officials who tried to intimidate the rank and file of the union. At a meeting of the members the first hall proved too small to hold the crowd and a larger hall was used. Hillman Came With Gangsters. President Hillman of the A. C. W. came to Rochester with orders that the meeting be broken up, and well known thugs were imported from Chi- cago to do the job. Alex Cohen or- ganized the wrecking crew, but it did them little good. Manager Chatman introduced the president of the joint board, MacMa- hon, an Elk and a known republican. Strebel, a national organizer asked the tailors to elect MacMahon as chair- man. But he got only 24 votes while Peter Teem, progressive, got all the rest. Machine Whipped. A demonstration for Teem resulted, and the progressives Nelson and Lip- tzin spoke, telling the tailors in detail about the conditions in the industry and the measures the A. C. W. mem- bership must adopt to meet these con- ditions. The A. C, W. members hooted down the machine officials who tried to in- terrupt and demonstrated enthusiast- ically for the action committee of the union rank and file. They warned the Felshin. The first of the series, Vic- machine officials that an action com- tory, deals with the next war and is said to be a graphic portrayal of the new horrors a parasitically controlled science has in store for the workers in the next imperialist struggle. anti-injunction law of Illinois uncon- demands and in“®¥iy case will con-| Stitutional, tinue to fight until they are made a reality. “We confidently believe this con- vention will take a great step forward in building the pOwer of our union.” The committee on resolutions re- ported favorably on the resolution and it would have unquestionably passed had not Oscar Nelson made a motion that it be referred to the executive board with power to act. Signed—by Thee Hundred Mem- Others advocated that the Chicago 8 of Chicago Is. Federation also call on the Ilinois State Federation of Labor to act on the resolution, Wants Joint Fight. Delegate Swabeck advocated a joint fight of the Chicago Federation and State Federation on the decision of Sullivan and also discussed some of the history of injunctions, He said that any legislative bill passed ag the result of lobbying means nothing, as the legislators pass such laws know- ing full well that the courts will de- clare them unconstitutional, He also advocated a drive in the unions to work up mass sentiment against judi- cial tyranny. ing industry. No government aid to operators. 2. Full recognition of the union, the wage increase demanded and better working conditions, A min- imtum wage not less than full union scale. i 3, The six-hour day and the five- day week, with unemployment re- lief furnished by the state or fe- deral government, disbursement to be made through the union machin- ery. y The decision of Sullivan directly at- 4. Abolition of the Conciliation | fected the retail clerks who were on Board. . strike against Ossey Brothers depart- ment store, corner Maxwell and Hal- sted street, To prevent picketing the attorneys for the store took the before Sullivan, and true to his odious record, he declared the law unconsti- tutional and issued an injunction against the picketing of the premises. 5. Nationalization of the mines with workers’ control. 6. A 100 per cent strike by with- drawal of the maintenance men, a national genera} strike of all coal miners and gn alliance with the railroad Workers to block scab coal. a ee SES SORES TR EEE ort a A special appeal is being made to the delegates to the convention of the international Ladies’ Garment Work- ers’ Union which is meeting in Lu Lu temple directly across from the Eagles temple at Broad and Spring Garden streets where the plays will be staged Wednesday evening, Dec. 9, at 8:15 sharp. All the proceeds of the enterprise go to the class war prisoners, who are being taken care of by the Inter- national Labor Defense. The Work- ers’ Theater Alliance {s co-operating for the occasion with the Philadelphia branch of the I, L. D, The admission to the performances is 50 cents, Workers interested in proletarian drama are asked to communicate! with Clara A. Thomas, 509 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia, voting against it. mittee in Rochester will be their answer to the attempt to terrorize the membership. x The hall was filled and the member- ship gave a wonderful demonstration of militant left wing spirit and action, and im addition gave liberally towards defraying the expenses of the meeting, EG6S FAST BECOMING LUXURY FOR WORKERS AS PRIGE INGREASES | Eggs are fast becoming a luxury in Chicago, With an increase of 4 cents per dozen in the past three days bringing the price of firsts to 73 cents per dozen, they will be out of the reach of many workers whose weekly earnings average $20 to $25, In Cleveland eggs were selling at 65 cents per dozen and Ohio whole- salers were quoting eggs at 56 cents per dozen, HUNGARIAN FEDERATION CONVENTION VOTES IN FAVOR OF C. E. C. UNITY RESOLU TION WITH TWO OPPOSING (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, Dec, 6.—The convention of the Hungarian Federation of the Workers (Communist) Party adopted the unity resolution of the Central Executive Committee today with only e two out of the twenty-six delegates All the editors and bureau members were present with a obnauisative vote only, voted unanimously in favor of the unity reso! N