The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 10, 1926, Page 3

‘ fig-leaves. It may be truly said that » German revolution, when power was THIS (T. U. North American THE T. Represents the Left Wing Purpose Organs “of Revolutionary Class ers’ Government. to Strengthen the Labor Unions by Amalgamation of Existing Unions, Organization of the Unorganized, and by Replacing Reactionary and Class Collaboration Policies with a Unified Program for the Transformation of the Unions Into of Capitalism and the Establishment * a Workers’ and Farm: PAGE fs Devoted to the Activity and Interests of the Trade Union Educational League @. L.) Section of the RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS (R. I. L, U.) U.E.L. of the Labor Movement. its Struggle for the Overthrowal AMERICAN MINERS PRODUCE MORE COAL PER MAN THAN EUROPEAN WORKERS; UNEMPLOYMENT GROWS By LELAND OLDS, The tremendous productivity of American coal miners compared with | Federated Press. those of any other country in the world is emphasized by figures reported in the monthly labor review of the United States bureau of labor statistics. Such per capita output affords ample support for the wage standards main- tained by the United Mine Workers. The bureau’s figures show the average production of soft coal in Amer- ican mines at 4.56 tons per worker per shift. This is 4% times the daily productivity of British miners, 4.6 times the per capita production in the Ruhr, Germany, 7.4 times that in French mines and nearly 9 times that, in Belgium. The bureau's figures showing number employed, hours per day and per capita daily output in the mines of various countries in 1924-25 are: Miner’s Productivity Germany (Upper Silesia). Germany (Ruhr) Great Britain France Belgium ... Czechoslovakia Poland United States Miners Hours Output 44,738 8% 1.16 tons 447,923 8 99 1,074,079 T% 1.01 281,715 8 62 172,365 8 52 69,001 8 48 95,638 - 1.01 619,604 8 4.56 Translated into totals this means¢——————______ that 619,604 American miners in a single shift would produce — nearly half again as much coal as 2,185,459 miners in the other 7 regions shown in the table. If we take all regions in Europe for which figures are avail- able we get 2,328,897 miners with a daily capacity of 2,095,180 tons. Com- pare this with 619,604 American min- ers having a daily capacity of 2,823,- 000 tons. Forced to Produce More. The productivity of the American miner has increased from 3.61 tons per shift in 1913 to°4.56 tons per shift in 1924, an increase of more than 25%. This increase has come in spite of some reduction in the average length of the working shift. Reasons assigned by the bureau for this decline in the productivity of the European miner include “the diffi- culty of resuming systematic, well- regulated work after years of military service; exhaustion of nervous energy, irritation over nonfullfilment of too liberal promises made to ex-soldiers; resentment against the war profiteers with their ill-gotten riches; and gen- eral labor unrest.” Regular working shifts were reduc- ed thruout Europe during the war years, from 8% to 7 hours in Ger- many, from 8% to 7% hours in Eng- land and from 9 to 8 hours in most workers’ wages, which form the larg- est item in the costs of production, are already very low and the miners’ organizations have so far successfully opposed all wage cuts. The mine owners therefore demand that . the duration of the shift be incerased, But it is very hard to make an increase in the hours of labor plausible to miners when they know that there is an overproduction of coal and that thousands of miners are out ‘of work.” ) NEW YORK FUR WORKERS TAKE STRIKE VOTE Prepare for Struggle Against Bosses NEW YORK, Feb. 8.—(FP)—By a 10 to one vote union of fur workers of New York are ready to strike when the joint board sets the hour. The referendum recorded the largest num- ber of votes known in the union for years: 7,366 total, 6,702 for strike, 629 against, 35 void- A strike com- mittee has been chosen and will as- sume full charge as soon as the strike is called. Greek fur manufacturers are con- ferring with the union on the same demands presented other employers. Whether the Greek employers will take the stand of the other employers against the union and force the strike to be general in the New York market remains to be seen. A’ special pamphlet issued by the joint board gives union demands with explanations. Chief demands are: 40- hour week, 32-hour week in slow sea- son, equal division of work all year instead of the three months now pro- vided, unemployment insurance to which every manufacturer contributes 3% of total wages paid, punishment of employers breaking agreement, 25% increase over minimum wages, no sec- tion contracting, no corporation shops or retailers to be given contracting, no foreman to work at the trade, manufacturers must use only skins prepared in union shops with union labels, first of May holiday, and shop inspection by business agents. The union offered to compromise on equal devision of work, extending the three months’ period but not necessarily for the full two years. Manufacturers publicly denied that such a proposal was made and are virtually forcing the strike, The de- mand limits freedom of employers to hire and fire. Manufacturers have discriminated against active unionists by discharging them under the ex- cuse “business requirement” allowed by the old agreement, of the union contract was made very who complained of abuses. DAILY WORKER. SANTA BARBARA CARPENTERS’ UNION ‘FILE’ HUTCHESON’S DRIVEL ON REDS SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Feb. 8—The lengthy communication recently sent out by Hutcheson, general president, and Duffy, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, dealing with the activities of the Workers (Communist) Party, Trade Union Educational League and The DAILY WORKER has been received, read and filed by the Santa Barbara carpenters’ local union, REEFS APR ALINE EH ELS ER oS a It would seem that men, listening | to the long, traitorous letter being read, who, on taking the obligation requsite to becoming members, have been assured that “this will in no way interfere with your religious be- liefs, political opinions,” etc., could not help but feel a deep resentment towards Hutcheson and his machine, regardless of their opinions of the or- other regions. The shorter hours are still in effect except in Germany where pressure to meet reparations payments has forced an increase to 8 hours a day. The chief effort in tne industry thruout Europe, according to the bu- reau, is to lower production costs in order to cut the price of coal. It says: “The measures taken so far have, however, not been successful. Mine ganizations attacked. Whatever The DAILY WORKER may have said of Hutcheson and his lackeys is mild compared to what members of his organization are think- ing and expressing privately. Certain- ly if any carpenter ever doubted that Hutcheson and his gang are hirelings of the “powers that be” this latest crack ought to remove the last vestige of doubt from their minds. western Pennsylvania shows healthy s' union delegation to Soviet Russia. Enforcement difficult with this loop-hole allowing employers to discharge any worker That worker next door to you may not have anything to do to- night. Hand him this copy of the general secretary of THE DAILY WORKER Machines Clean New York’s Streets; Many Worker's’Are Displaced NEW YORK,.Feb, 8.—(FP)—Altho 25,000 men are busy shovelling snow from New York streets now, next year’s storms will see more machines and fewer men on the job. » The snowloading machines which fill a five ton truck in three minutes by endless chain is proving such a success in its first tryout that the present 22 used will be increased to 100 or more by next season. Crosswalk cleaners and snow plows are other mechanical devices which take more hand shovelling jobs from the many unemployed workers. TEXTILE BARONS OPEN FACTORIES INTHE SOUTH Bosses Shut Down Mills in North By @RT SHIELD (Federated Press) NEW YORK, Feb. 8—While New England mills limp along the South- ern textile industry expanded last year by anothér $50,000,000 capital in- yestment. The new plant capacity, built or contracted for, in 1925, will mean anothér’ 376,352 spindles. This information is conveyed in a survey report by G. L. Miller and company, investment bankers. It is ‘intended for business eyes only but it has a meaning for the labor unions. Power in the industry depends on con- trol of the South. Northern Capital Goes South. Northern capital is behind this southern expansion. The bankers re- port lists some of the big northern companies who put up new mills in the south last year. We see the Pep- perell Mills, ‘whose 3,500 employes at Biddeford, Maine, are on strike, be- ginning a $1;000,000 plant in Opelika, Alabama, wither they announce they will move 25,000 spindles and 608 looms.. ‘Thé Borden Mills, of Fall River, Massj have moved their ma- chinery toa new plant at Kingsport, Tenn., where 88,000 spindles . will soon be busy. The West Boyleston Manufacturing company of Easthamp- ton, Mags:'has purchased the Crown Mills of Dalton, Ga., where it is also erecting a®tew $1,000,000 mill. The Appleton €vmpany of Lowell, Mass., purchased “the Brogan Mills of Ander- son, 8. ©. and is planning a $1,000,000 extension/ >Other cases are given and the bafikers “add that the list can be expanded “Hidefinitely. 3 Qpen Rayon Mills. Highteem millions of the fifty mil- lion dollar expansion went into the Rayon artificial plants of du Pont, Viscose and, American Bemberg inter- ests and later additions will bring the sum to $40,000,000, LEFFT WING IS SHOWING RENEWED ACTIVITY IN PENNSYLVANIA PITTSBURGH, Pa. Feb. 8—The left wing of the labor movement in igns of renewed life and activity. There are many signs pointing to the fact that in “darkest Pennsylvania” the work- ers are not willing to lay down and let the bosses have things their own way. A left winger was recently elected to the Central Labor Union at West Brownsville, and that body endorsed the plan to send an American trade The Canonsburg lodge of the steel workers’ union also endorsed the plan to send an American trade union delegation to the Soviet Union, The Canons- burg Central Labor Union also endorsed this plan and is represented on the local committee for sending such a delegation in Pittsburgh. ‘The Central Labor Union of Pittsburgh has formed a miners’ relief com- mittee and is visiting the local unions of that city for purposes of raising funds to aid the striking anthracite mine workers. BILLY SUNDAY edition of Henry Ford, minus that evangelist’s cuss words and wildly-waving ‘arms, this is the celebrated Arthur Nash, of the “Golden Rule” clothing company of Cincinnati, alias the Nash Clothing company, as he appeared last Sunday afternoon at the open forum ‘at the Apollo Theater. Smooth in’method of speech as the white locks of hair which adorn his brow, this mild-man- nered old hypocrite consumed a ‘whole hour in telling how he and God had conceived the idea of a clothing fac- tory conducted on the principles of brotherly _ love, and how, ‘with the Diety'’s assistance, he had harangued chambers of commerce and, manufac- turers’ associations all over America trying to convert these hard-boiled businessmen to a similar godly alli- ance. It seems that Nash’s career in solv- ing all the questions arising’from the class struggle in modern society arose from his falling from grace as a Sev- enth Day Adventist. Having surren- dered all hope of the second coming of Christ, hé decided to get rich and so after wandering around for some years as a tramp, he finally took over a contract clothing shop in Cincinnati in the year 1919. This shop had been paying the old women and crippled girls who composed its force the muni- ficent sum of $4 to $6 a week. It con- tinued to lose money and so in order to avert bankruptcy Nash and his wife prayed one night: “God, if there is a god, show me the way, and I will walk in it.” This was easy for god who apparently told him to raise the wag- es, for Nash continued with the state- ment that by increasing the pay to $12 a week the shop commenced to make money and the workers became exceedingly happy. Prior to this in- Page Three Nash-Hillman-God crease, however, Nash said his wife had commented on the fact that “after all $4 a week was something for crip-| pled girls and old ladies to thank God for.” Profits Pile Up, ITH the wage scale increase to, $12 a week, everything went love-| ly. The deficit of $4,000 a year was wiped out, for now the old ladies and the cripples turned out three times as much work as before. In that very first year business totaled the sum of $500,000. Two years later, in 1921, it had ‘grown to .$2,577,000,. increasing yearly by over a million a year until 1924 when it jumped $3,500,000 to $9,-| 245,000. --Last year, 1925, it reached $12,284,000. Now here is where the Golden Rule comes in. Out of the profits of the business 14st’ year, Nash said there was distributed to his 5,000 employes the huge sum of $40,000. This is an average of $8 each. “The foxy old fellow did not say, however, whether the distribution was equal to all or whether some got a good deal and the most, nothing. Another indication of the slippery methods of this old hypocrite was in his statements concerning the distri- bution of stock to employes. In his talk he had declared that over 50 per cent of the company’s stock was in the hands of the workers. In the ques- tioning he stated that 500 of the em- ployes held this majority of the stock, and that they had elected him as their proxy in voting the shares at the an- a| nual stockholders’ meetings, And not a worker in the audience, comprising many tailors, got the significance of his statements. Nash is the absolute dictator of the concern, the stock held by the workers only giving them the illusion of ownership and binding them the more thoroly to the job of grinding out profits for their boss. THE SPIRIT OF PEACE IN THE AMALGAMATED Drawn by William Gropper By James H. Dolsen Nash-Hillman-God, HIS is the same Nash who in 1919 fought bitterly all efforts to union- ize his shop and who paid his work- ers the starvation wage of $12 and $14 a week at that time. Then he was also a member of the Manufacturers’ Association of Cincinnati, which was trying to make the city an open shop. After Nash’s sudden conversation with God in 1919, he states that he went around the country trying to con- vert his fellow-exploiters to the belief in the Brotherhood of Man, by*.the latter refused to give up their Wor ship of the Golden Calf. So enrapt is Nash now in the application of the Golden Rule via A. Nash Clothing company that he has become a bosom friend and right-hand advisor of Sid- ney Hillman, president of the Amal- gamated Clothing Workers. Indeed, next to Jesus Christ stands Hillman, according to Nash. Hillman must have somewhat the feeling which the German Kaiser had when he referred to himself and God, Nash is going to Louisville, the Waterloo for so many years of the Amalgamated; to help organize that « city, according to his speech. It ought to be some organization when God’s right hand man, Sidney Hillman, and the latter's earthly associate, Golden Rule Nash, get to work among the clothing workers of that southern city. Class-collaboration—religious evangel- ism—how has the mighty Amalgamat- ed fallen to resort to such claptrap in meeting the class struggle in America, Reichstag Committee for League. BERLIN, Feb. 8.—The reichstag committee on foreign affairs has voted an approval of the entrance of Ger many into the league of nations, To wake Henry Dubb— Send in that sub! From Bebel to Gompers -- The Congress at Breslau Article I, By A. LOSOVSKY, Secretary of the Red International of Labor Unions. ‘F the reactionaries of French trade unionism found it necessary to carry on their calss-truce policy under cover of revolutionary phraseology, the German Amsterdamers did not consider, it necessary to make use of the Breslau (German) congress was the most reactionary of all congresses ever held on German territory. Almost seven years have passed since the in the hands of social-democracy and of the trade unions. During ‘these seven years the German social-demo- crats and trade union bureaucrats have maneuvred so skilfully that the German republic is as indistinguish- able from a monarchy as two peas from one another and the German proletariat has become the European coolie, I remember the conve: which I had in 1920 with Leg! capacity of delegate of the AJ Central Trade Union council, Legien said: “The trade unions could assume power any moment, but we don’t want it.” In answer to my question “Why?” he replied that the proleta- riat must make use of everything that 4s healthy and progressive in the present social order. He said: “The German proletariat is not yet assuming Power but are compelling the state to serve the working class.” These tactics have produced brilliant results in the last few years. What has become of all the talk about so- clalization which filled the pages of the social-democratic and trade union press during the first years of the revolution? What has become of the boasting statements with respect to the organization of he economy of the country? And finally what has become of the eight-hour day which seemed to be the inalienable poossession of the German proletariat? All this has vanished and on the surface there has remained the most prosaic Hinden- burg rule to which the German social- democrats and trade union bureanu- crats are adapting themselves exceed- ingly well, HE congress was held under the slogan of real politic and the abandonment of all utopia and sense- less hopes and dreams, With an out- spokenn for which we ¢an only be grateful, one of the leaders of the German trade union movement, Her- man Mueller, declared: “We trade unionists always recog- nize our responsibility to society. It is we who erected the dam against the Bolshevik flood, It is we who saved Germany from Bolshevism.” Has the German proletariat profited by this? This is what Herman Mueller and his colleagues forgot to tell the | sailles meee On ihe whole: the real 4 trade union bureaucrats, together with their party, are all the time saving the fatherland, but their manner of salvation plunges the workers of Ger- many and Germany herself deeper and deeper into the abyss. We will only take four examples from the brilliant, wise and patriotic activity of these loyal subjects of their kaiser and their Hindenburg. 1. The German social-democracy and trade unions came out strong for the war in 1914. Owing to this policy the war was protracted for several yea This resulted in hundreds of thousands of killed and millions of invalids for the German people. from the viewpoint of national in- terests, opposition to the war by the German social-democrats would have been more advantageous for their fatherland. This would have saved Germany from the famous Versailles treaty. 2. During the Brest-Litovsk nego- tiations, the German social-democrats and trade union bureaucrats supported their kaiser. If these leaders of the labor movement had even twopenny- worth of political acumen they would have vigorously opposed the Brest- Litovsk treaty; they would have in- sisted on the conclusion of a demo- cratic peace with the Russian revolu- tion, This would have led to the disin- tegration of the allied front and would have thereby made the Ver- “Eater thera iain beige Even German social-democratts and trade union bureaucrats became the most obedient and faithful servants of the entente, Instead of putting their hopes on the international proletariat and doing every hing towards bringing about, with their help, the abrogation of the Versdilles peace and of the burden of reparations connected with porters of reparations and of the Dawes plan, sabotaging thereby the struggle of the international proleta- riat against’ the enslavement of the German workers, The action of the British proletariat against the Dawes plan is neutralized by the fact that the German trade unions have their blessing to this plan, considering it the last word in political wisdom, 4. It would seem that in the posi- tion in which Germany and the Ger- man proletariat find themselves, it would be only natural for the German trade unions to do their utmost to- it, they become the most ardent sip-| o between the German workers and the workers of Great Britain and the U. S. S. R. There are no fiercer enemies of unity than the German trade |un- ions. And yet from the viewpoint of the most elementary everyday. inter- ests of the working class of Germany, agreement between the German, the British and Soviet unions could be gigantic importance. If the leaders of the German trade union movement had the least notion of these simple elementary things, they would per- force follow a different path. In the meantime we see that the German trade unions offer categorical resis- tance to the least attempt to arrive at an agreement with the Soviet un- fons on the question of unity. They carry proudly their yeffow patriotic banner. One can truly say that there are no greater enemies of the father- land than the socalled patriots. This also applies to the social-democrats. Much was said in Breslau about wards establishing a united front with the working class of the U. 8. R. and Great Britain, for it is only the proletariat of these coun- tries which will be able to break, in the further process of the stru; the shackles of the German masses imposed by the Versailles treaty and the system of.¥@) ions. But instead of promoting closer contact between the trade unions of both countries, the policy ofthe trade union bureau- cracy of Germany consists of bring- ing discord into the mutual relations ‘ S.| immediate achievements. real politik, economic democracy and But the German social-democrats and trade union bureaucrats show that there was nothing real in all the talk about real politik, We have already seen whence “real” politik of the German social- democrats has led the working class of Germany, Just one more example. It is well-known that Germany is at present a republic. But the ex-emperor Wilhelm de: js that the German state should return all “his” property (castles, land, valuables, ete.) After several years of Ilégal proceedings the. supreme court of the German republic has irrevocably decided to return to Wilhelm II all that “belonged” to him. And do you know at what this property is estimated? At 800 million gold marks. Thus the ex-kaiser will receive for his services to the father- land 800 milliom gold marks. Such are the results of the real politik of the German social-democrats and of the trade unions under their control with respect to saving Germany from Bol- shevism. But the trade union bureau- crats could not rest content with real politik alone. One had after all to say something. about the future, about ideals, With this object in view the item “economic democracy” was placed on the agenda of the congress. But no one gave a clear explanation of what this really means, Economic democracy was presented to the congress in order to provide the disillusioned workers with an ideal, as stated by Tarnov, one of the most reactionary leaders of the Ger- man trade union movement. But what is in fact this economic democracy? The meaning of the resolutions adopt- ed with respect to it is that the con- gress demands, or rather aspires to, the establishment locally in the dis- tricts and in the ceftre of economic councils on which employers and workers are to be equully represented. This reformist utopia is for some reason or other called) real politik, This has been already @ long time fein galbeny the dream of the German trade union congresses, but up to the present nothing has come of it. Already at the Congress of German trade unions in Nuremburg in 1919 an attempt was made to define this famous economic democracy, At that time it was a question of workers* participation in the administration of the economic life of the country om a parity basis, with the retention of the entire capitalist system with its banks, trusts, etc. The whole matter resolved itself into the system of 80 called business, namely the class truce. These real politicians indulged in utopian plans as shown by the further trend of events in Germany, In circles where socialism only existe in name one is prone to speak pom- pously of the equality of rights in im- dustry, of economic democracy, ete, Such pompous advocates of economic democracy can alse- be found in Bel- gium, France, Great Britain and other countries;) But nothing has come of these pompous declarations for the simple reason that the problem of administering industry is not solved by legislative, parliamentary means or by voluntary agreement of both sides. The problem of administering industry is solved by means of strug- gle; it is only as a result of vietory over the bourgeoisie that the proleta; riat will get an opportunity to ads minister industry and only after that will one be able to speak about @C0- nomic democracy, (To Be Continued Tomorrow) ee