The Daily Worker Newspaper, January 27, 1926, Page 3

te IS PAGE Is Devoted to the Activity and Interests of the Trade UnionEd (7. 0. ucational League @. L.) North American Section of the RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS (R. I. THE T Represents the Left Wing Purpose ts to Strengthen the Labor Unions by Amalgamation of Existing Unions, Organization of the Unorganized, and by Replacing Reactionary and Cl. L. U.) OEE of the Labor Movement. its lass Collaboration Policies with a Unified Program for the Transformation of the Unions Into Organs of Revolutionary Class Struggle for the Overthrowal of Capitalism and the Establishment of a Workers’ and Farm ers’ Government, COMPANY-OWNED EMPLOYE PAPERS CHLOROFORM WORKERS TO ACCEPT SPEED-UP; LOW WAGES; LONG HOURS By ROBERT DUNN, Federated Press, NEW YORK, Jan, 25.—Some 490 in the United States, according to th euployer-edited magazines are issued ie National industrial conference’ board COMPANY UNION | RAISES PROFIT FOR PACKERS Swift Boasts Slaves’ Loyalty to Bosses Employe representation helps pro- duce big profits, boasts Pres, Louis F, Swift of the giant meat trust in an- nouncing that 1925 profits exceed those of any postwar year. The com- pany union, introduced in 1921 to low- er wages and lengthen hours, is praised as partly responsible for the $15,379,152 profits which mean ap- proximately 18% on the real invest- ment of the owners, “What success Swift & Co, has at- tained during the past year and pre- viously,” says Swift, “has been due to the faithful work of the employes. One of the strongest assets Swift & Co, has is the splendid spirit of devo- tion to the company’s interests shown by its employes. It is our aim to make the employes feel that they have @ real interest in the company’s wel- fare. Since we established employe representation in 1921, much progress has been made toward removing pos- sible causes of misunderstanding. We have found that in most cases frank THE DAILY WORKER Pages Three FEAR LEFT WING DEMANDS ‘BRITISH LEFT WING SEAMEN FORM SECTION Issue Program to All British Seafarers LONDON, Jan. 25—The Interna- |tional Seafarer, organ of the seamen’s section of the international propa- ganda committee of revolutionary | Transport Workers, announces that {the seamen of Great Britain, whe |went thru a bitter battle against both |the shipping companies and the reae | tionary union leaders of the N. 8 and |F. U., headed by Havelock Wilson, |have formed a section of the National | Minority Movement, which is muoh like the Trade Union Educational | League in the United States, with the following program and demands of and for the British seamen: | Seafarers of all grades: It should be needless to inform wou that the conditions under which you work are appalling: the hours are far too long, the wages at a starvation level, the food of the worst quality and often and open discussion of problems leads to better appreciation on both sides. Where there is between men a realiza- tion of each other's difficulties, there is usually a deeper sympathy an not enuf of that. You are also aware of the chaotic state of affairs that exist in halfe- dozen different unions that are sup posed to be fighting on your behalf— report on employe magazines in the United States. The conference board is the national research and propaganda agency for a score of state and national 1) For call- ing out the maintenance men and a 100 per cent strike; 2) For no arbitration of tri-district demands; 3) A national general strike of all coal miners; are unanimously approved at all meetings of rank and file miners. The Progressive Miners’ Committee finds that the demands of the left wing: employers’ associations, Chloroform Workers, Aims of employe magazines, accord- ing to the report, are chiefly to “in- crease good will between employes and management,” “to develop loyalty to the plant” and “to bring the in- dustrial relations program to the at- tention of the employes,” which means putting over the chloroform bonus schemes, company unions, stock ownership plans, pensions or insur- ance schemes and other welfare de- vices. The employe magazine is sup- posed to be effective in spreading Americanization and super-patriotism of American Defense Society and United States Flag Association brand —“offsetting disloyalty,” is the phrase. The spread of “sound econ- omics”—or the employers’ point of view—is held a major advantage of these periodicals, An extended examination of com- pany-controlled employe journals fails to reveal any reference to wages, hours, trade unions, methods of col- lective bargaining—other than com- pany unions—or workers’ living condi- tions. The only reference to hours discovered by one investigator ap- peared in the General Chemical Co. Bulletin congratulating the chemical industry on maintaining the 54-hour week as compared with the 48-hour week in certain other industries! Antl-Union Propaganda. The conference board report con- firms findings of other students that the chief function of these employe magazines is company boosting and the immunizing of workers to trade union agitation. It substantiates the " National personnel Association report that during widespread wage disturb- ances a survey of 300 employe house organs showed only one that had thrown its columns open to a discus- sion of wages. It is estimated that American in- dustry is investing over $4,000,000 yearly in these plant publications. Print Shop Gossip. Of the 490 magazines analyzed by the conference board, 252 are pub- lished by manufacturers, 85 by com- mercial concerns, 36 by railroads, 90 by public utility concerns, 22 by finan- cial concerns and 5 by mining con- cerns—all active open shop advocates, “Worker correspondents” are cul- tivated. Departmental correspondents ere appointed to gather personal news items and so-called representatives under company union plans are en- couraged to write. The editor is usually a salaried official skilled in writing “inspirational articles.” For “home stimulation” it is stated that “baby pictures of employes’ children” are most effective, seconded by ple- tures of “the bride and groom stand- ing by the new home.” Plumbers’ Union Local Aids Striking Miners CARBONDALE, Pa,, January 25. — Plumbers’ Local Union 443 is giving $160 to help needy families of striking anthracite miners of this district, ‘GERMAN SEAMEN UNITE IN ONE GREAT UNION Red Unioni/Amalgamates with Verkehrsbund That the Red International of Labor Unions cares more about the unity of the workers than any formal strength- ening of itself at the expense of unity, may be seen by the following an- nouncement of the unity achieved be- tween the two German seamen’s unions, the Schiffahrtsbund and the Verkehrsbund. That, for which the best of you have strived thru the years—unity amongst seamen—has at last become a fact! The seamen’s section of the Deutsche Verkersbund—German Traffic Union (affiliated to the Red International of Labor Unions) have now amalgama- ted. From the commencement of the year 1926, there will be one organiza- tion of united German seamen within the Deutsche Verkersbund. All members of the Deutsche Schif- fahrtsbund are being transferred with full membership rights; and all dues paid to the Deutsche Schiffartsbund will be accounted for in the united or- ganization. The amalgamation and transfer of the membership will be completed by April, 1st, 1926, The undersigned organizations ex- pect all German seamen to line up in the Deutsche Verkerssbund and help to build up a powerful organization capable of resisting the onslaught of the united shipping trust. Unity Will Wint Seamen! Hitherto dual organiza- tions have been the cause of your weakness. Instead of fighting the common enemy unitedly, you wasted your strength in inter-organization squabbles. Low wages and bad social conditions are simply manifestations of this weakness in your ranks. This must be changed. It can be changed if you want it changed. The first step has been taken—Unity is estab- lished. Seamen, it is your duty to become active—do not wait any longer, let your revolutionary watchword be “thru unity we will win!” Build up your organization, the Deutsche Verkerhsbund and thus forge for yourselves. that weapon which you will need for the coming battle. Only thru your united activities and deter- mination will it be possible for you to achieve better wages and social conditions, Therefore, strengthen your organization—join the Deutsche ver- kersbund, (Signed) Deuthsche Sehifferalirts- bund, Deutsche Verkersbund, After that talk with your shop- mate—hand him a copy of The DAILY WORKDR. It will help convince him, FORMATION OF A LEFT WING IN THE BRITISH LABOR PARTY NOT WELCOMED BY THE RIGHT WING LONDON—(By Mail.)—Considerable hubbub has been raised by the proposal made by the Sunday Worker that the left wingers inside the labor party should come together for a more definite understanding of the object- ives of the left wing and to accomplish those objectives within the labor party, It proposed these left wingers World trade union unity. 2) National against fascism, should be united on the basis of: 1) trade union unity, 3) Solidarity with Oppressed colonials, 4) More militancy in the labor party, 5) Self-defense —— Lansbury’s Labor Weekly launches| the labor party, changed, a long and bitter, and rather uncalled- for attack upon the Sunday Worker proposal, dwelling with evident ‘vin- dictiveness upon the part played by the Communists in the labor party.» It ex. presses fear and anger at the Com- munist “nucleus” and the Communist attempt to get the reactionary Liver- ‘pool decisions excluding them from & r R ” Since these decisions are being openly disobeyed by local labor party sections, it would seem good reason to have the decisions changed to con- form to facts instead of facts to the stupid rules of the Ramsay MacDonald crowd, who ignored the labor party rank and file in. the making ef the Liverpool decisions, greater respect.” . Here is a clear statement as to the purpose of the company union. It makes the employe an asset to the stockholder. But how about the em- ploye’s real interest in the company’s welfare? According to department of labor figures packinghouse wages are considerably below the average for industry as a whole. The average male worker in the packinghouses of Illinois gets $27.37 a week compared with an average of $31.25 a week paid his fellows in other Illinois fac tories. So much for what Swift em ployes get for their “devotion to the company’s interests.” Significant figures in the Swift re- port for 1925 and 1924 are: Swift & Co. 1926 1924 Total sales — $875,000,000 $775,000,000 Net profits 15,379,058 14,125,987 Dividends 12,000,000 — 12,000,000 Added to surplus 3,379,152 2,125,987 Total surplus 69,478,967 66,099,815 Capital stock 150,000,000 150,000,000 Percent profit 10.25% 9.41% The real amount put into the in- dustry by stockholders, according to a report of the federal trade commis- sion, figures at about $86,000,000 in- Stead of the $150,000,000 indicated by the par value of the stock. So the 10.25% return on capital really means about 18% on the owners’ investment, produced by the employes’ “splendid spirit of devotion to the company’s interests.” Miners’ Union in Danger (Continued trom page 1) es for fear of offending them. The very life necessity of the strike is to pull out the maintenance men and make the strike 100 per cent. But Lewis’ treachery goes farther than merely keeping the maintenance men at work. He has also arranged things so that all the bituminous min- ers in the union, some 300,000 remain at work busily digging coal to break the strike of the anthracite strike. To strike the bituminous miners is also a life necessity for the struggle of the anthracite miners, but Lewis stubbornly refuses to organize such a strike, altho the lett wing in the Pro- gressive Miners’ Committee have long demanded it, and the overwhelming mass of the rank and file are for it. B" what other action can be ex- pected from Lewis? He is organ- ized together with the coal and steel barons in the republican party, the party of Coolidge. Is it likely that in the industry he will fight against the very men that he is aligned with politically? We leave to Oudegeest the whole job of defending such a traitor to the working class as Lewis. Difficult as the situation is for the anthracite miners in their struggle, that is not the worst. The real danger is that the whole union is in jeopardy In my previous article I pointed ou: that because of the criminally stupic policies similar to those that are being followed in this strike, the unio: among the bituminous miners, whici is the backbone of the whole organ ization, has been destroyed in many districts, Only about half of the bituminous miners are organized. In the non- union districts the employers are al ready is a position to produce enut to satisfy the basic needs of the mark. et for bituminous coal, And the situa- tion ts steadily growing worse. The union is fairly melting away’ in many districts, 'N this grave crisis the indispensible thing to do is to join the forces of the bituminous and anthracite miners in a national general strike, Such a strike would be large! Pported by the unorganized miners, It would bring real pressure to bear against the employers and would put the union in a good fighting position. The bituminous employers have given Lewis every justification for the cal- ling of such a strike, They are fia- World Labor Market Subject of Comment by Labor Department WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 25—The department of labor gives out the news of international labor affairs among which we find the rather sur- prising notation that the provincial zentral labor office in Czecho-Slovakia ‘has been permitted to send Czecho- Slovak miners to France, along with sugar workers and metal hands, an appreciable’ number of whom are al- ready at work in French industries.” This seems Jike.an effort to over-sup- ply French industry with workers, since we have heard of no shortage there. ‘ Other notes. state that the strike of the Belgian iron and steel workers, on since June, 16, last year, still is un- settled. Norway, hag increasing unemploy- ment, there haying been, for Norway, the unusual ‘ition of 6,000 to the al- ready large army of unemployed dur- ing the precedéng month. advantage of its control in Sumptra by importing con- tract labor the straits’ settle- ments, India, China and Java, for work on the ,great plantations and estates, ting wages and reducing their minés to an “open shop” basis, And all that ‘Lewis does about it is to give out News items to the press denouncing the® employers for their perfidity. The bituminous miners’ sec- tion of the union has been so badly weakened that it is more than doubt- ful if could survive a strike by itself. The way to save their organization is to bring them into the struggle joint- ly with the anthracite miners, HE anthracite employers are mak- ing a bitter resistance to the strikers, They say they are willing to spend a billion dollars in order to break the strike, But so far they have not had to spend much, they having sold their enormous reserve supplies of coal at fabulous prices. The chances for a favorable settlement for even the anthracite miners become more remote, And éven if such a settle- ment were made it would not relieve appreciably the deadly crisis in which the union finds itself, The great outstanding fact in the industry is that the bituminous miners have been so, badly weakened that they cannot win a strike by them- selves. A settlement for the anthracite ; miners would mean to abandon the »ituminous miners to their fate. That chey can, in the few months that inter- rene before they, too, will be confront- d with a strike, so rebuild their lines 1s to make a successful struggle pos- ible is highly improbable. ’ EWIS is now acting as though he ‘4 believes the union doomed, or as * he were working in concert with the mployers to break it up, He makes © real effort to win the anthracite trike. On the contrary, he is ready o make the most disastrous com- yromises. When the governor of *ennsylvania, Pinchot, proposed that he miners agree to a five year peace, vith an arbitration board to settle all wage questions and the men to go »ack to work immediately pending its ,ction, Lewis at once accepted this sroposal, which would have meant not only to give up the demands of the anthracite miners and surrender these workers, but it would have so tied up the anthracite miners that they could not support the bituminous miners when they go into their life and death struggle in the coming spring. Even this proposed conditional sur- render was rejected by the employers, who feel that with the assistance of the, union pumpmen at work keeping thelr mines safe, with the bituminous miners producing enough coal to satis- grantly and openly violating their | agreement, ‘They are arbitrarily out- ‘ ay IDAHO STATE FEDERATION MEET REFUSES TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS; three-day convention Jan, 13, and its nothing. The official A. F. of L. steam roll L. or the Workers Party except in certain instances where some of the official watch dogs professed such blessed ignorance as to not be able to grasp the meaning of certain re- solutions presented to the convention. Insist on Being Narrow. Such was the case on a resolution on World Trade Union Unity, where the committee on organization report- ed to the convention that this reso- lution was “too deep” for the commit- tee to understand and recommended no action to be taken. The chair even went so far as to reprimand the lone delegate who dar- ed to oppose the machine, that this was not the place to drag in questions of world wide interest to the workers. The Itaho State Federation of La- bor convention was, according to this fy the market, and with union rail- road men hauling it, that they are in By An Observer. BOISE, Idaho, Jan. 25—The Idaho State Federation of Labor closed its ness as far as progressive measures were concerned, amounts to pradtically convention at every move where anything introduced had a taint of being | in some Way related to the T. U. E+— LONE PROGRESSIVE FIGHTS WELL accomplishments, beside routine bus!- er tactics were employed thruout the worthy, confined to debate questions | relating to the betterment of organ- ized labor within the rocky borders of the state of Idaho, and no farther. The “Right Person” Still Missing. | was necessary for the workers, only | ist or, in other words, the stale and/ stagnant political formula of the late Sam Gompers was the workers’ only salvation for any and all of our pres- ent difficulties. “We don't want the whole world” shouted the chairman in a speech where outsiders were invited—“All we want is fair wages for fair days’ work and enough to educate our chil- dren.” Idaho Labor Has nb Problems. No mention was made of the un- employed, the class war prisoners, the open shop drive, and other press-/ ing problems for the workers, but ap-| taken care of by the “right persons” a very good position to deal the union a crushing blow. 'N this crisis of the American miners’ union, which is affiliated to the International Mine Workers’ Federa- tion, what does the Amsterdam Inter- national do to help win the strike? Just nothing. Its miners dig coal for America, and its transport workers haul it there to break the strike. But this is what always happens when a section of the Amsterdam Internation- al is on strike. All Oudegeest can find occasion to do is to defend the black and corrupt reactionary Lewis, and to attack the men who are pointing out the only way the miners of America can be saved from a big defeat. I repeat, the United Mine Workers of America is in gravest peril, which requires a radical change on the part of the leadership in order to avert a real disaster to the whole American labor movement. The situation of the miners is somewhat analogous to that of the railroad workers in 1922, They were then attacked by the gigantic railroad combinations. To oppose these rich and highly organized com- panies, the railroad workers were Scattered in 16 squabbling, autono- mous unions. At that time the left wing raised the slogan, “Amalgamation or Anni- hilation,” and pointed out that in their divided state the unions could not stand before the united employers, For this we were scoffed at and ter- rorized by all the reactionaries in the labor movement, But the great strike of 1922-23 showed that our warnings were well-founded. The unions were crushingly defeated. Altogether they lost 600,000 members in this historic struggle. The backbone of railroad unionism was broken, Bia coal miners are now in a simi- lar crisis, They simply cannot survive as an organized body follow- ing their present antiquated policies. The American capitalists are too strong for that. Once again, as in 1922, the left wing, in the Progressive Miners’ Committee, is pointing out the way to save the organization, which is by united action of the anthracite and bituminous miners, supported by the railroad workers, against the mine operators, The fate of the miners’ union depends upon sufficient pros- sure being developed in the union to force the leadership into action to bring about a united movement of all lor te this Aten woman, on behalf | h j ot people: story in it, sgotions of the miners’ union, (republican and democratic) to be voted into the legislative bodies some time in a hazy future. The A. F. of L. had no represent- ative at the convention but it was ob- vious the “gang” had its instructions from the higher ups and, needless to say, obeyed that command at every opportunity. One Progressive Delegate. The only bright spot was a lone delegate from the Pocatello C. L. U. Allen Blomkvist, who, single handed, fought for a number of progressive resolutions but was unable to muster enuf assistance to carry any of the more important resolutions thru, In the closing hours of the conven- tion the floor was given to an old worker who is a living example of what we'll come to a present condi- tions are to continue in the labor movement, The Second Intelligent Voice. Physically broken and old, unable jof the Transport Workers’ apparently they are more concerned about fighting each other, All these things you know well enuf; what you do want to know is how to get out of this mei The late unofficial seamen’s strike, altho unable to stop the infamous re duction agreed to by Havelock Wik son, taught the seamen two lessons: these are: (1) The need for one union for all seafarers, (2) The contro! of this uniom by the rank and file, With these facts in view @ large number of seamen lately on strike have formulated the following pro- gram and formed a seamen’s section Minority These proposals are Movement. | submitted to all seamen and an appeal is made for support by making them In politics no united party action |g reality, In view of the fact that the ship- to vote on the “right person” whether | owners are in one organization known it be a republican, democrat or social-!as the Shipping Federation and that this organization is linked up with the Federation of British Industries, in other words the one big union of all the bosses, it is claimed that the only successful way of fighting the ship owners is*by one union of all seafarers” linked up with other transport work- ers. With this end in view seamen are invited to carry on a continual agite- tion among seamen on board ship and ashore for the amalgamation of all existing seamen’s unions. The ulti- mate objective being one union for all transport workers with sections as ly th ident of the 1. 8.| mov" parently ie president oj e i, 5. (1) Seamen. F. of L. left such small things to be (9) Dockers. (3) Railway Workers, (4) Road Transport. Our immediate demands are as follows: (1) Forty-eight hour week at sea and 44-hour week in port. (2) Overtime at time and a half week days: double time Sundays and holidays, whether at sea or in port, (3) Minimum rate of pay: firemen, 14 pounds; sailors, 12 pounds; stew- ards, 10 pounds; per 28-day month, (4) Weekly allotment notes to be allowed to dependents up to 75 per cent of wages paid; seamen also to have the option of drawing balance of 25 per cent in any port up to any amount. (5) Flock beds and bedding to be supplied by shipowners; also clean sheets, pillows, towels, together with eating utensils. Bathhouses and mess rooms to be fitted up apart from sleeping accommodation, (6) The right to form ship com- to work and living in extreme poverty | mittees representative of all depart- this old man gave a brief history of the organized labor movement thru- out the world, pointing out how futile the A. F. of L, present form of organ- tzation is to fight capitalism and stres- sed the need for political action and in clésing pointed out the accomplish- ments of Soviet Russia, Put a copy of the DAILY WORKER in your pocket when you go to your union meeting. German Class Justice Imposes Heavy Jail Sentences on Workers BERLIN, Jan. 26 — Atypical case of German class justice is reported from Weimar, Thuringia, A worker named Pfannstiel had been sentenced to four weeks imprisonment for in- sulting the reichswehr. In place of serving his sentence he was permit-| tional Minority Movement. ted to pay a fine of 200 marks. The worker died before he could pay the fine. The money was then demanded from his wife who had no income and whose only possession was furniture the huband had left. The police de- manded this, The wife tried to save her last bit of property by asking to serve the sentence in prison, The court, however, refused to allow that and the property was taken away ments and a recognition of duly- elected representatives by unton offiel- als and ships’ officers. No victimisa: tion, (7) Abolition of the P, ©. 5. (8) Free passage to home ports for all seamen left in foreign ports due to sickness. Wages to be paid in full up to the arrival in home ports. (9) Shipowners to subscribe toa central fund from which all seamen can claim a pension on showing 25 years’ discharges, (10) Wages to commence and fin- ish from day of signing to day of pay- ing-off. (11) Tobacco and cigarettes to be Supplied to crew at cost price out of bond, plus insurance, (12) Abolition of the present Board of Trade scale of provisions, The above program has been agreed to by the rank and file of British Seamen’s unions and the recently formed seamen’s section of the Na+ The sea men in all British vessels are re- quested to communicate with the sec retary at the national headquarters of the Minority Movement if they are in agreement with a forward move bei made to secure its adoption, i —_————. .You do the job twice as well— when you distribute a bundle of The DAILY WORKUR with your