The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 19, 1926, Page 5

THE DAILY "WORKER Page Five LENGTHEN HOURS, SPEED-UP TOILERS AT MURRAY PLANT Antiquated Machinery Cripples Many By Worker Correspondent. HAMTRAMCK, Mich., Feb, 17—At the beginning of this month the time of severest unemployment, the Mur- ray Body corporation did its share for the poor. unemployed. .In two of its plants it lengthened the. regular straight-time working hours from 50 to 54, That means: those inside the gates sweat longer to make those out- side the gates freeze longer. Cut Piece Rates. At the same time they equipped the men with new badges, keeping back a $2.00: security for each badge. That means, thousands of dollars of easy money, ._Lengthening of hours. go hand in hand nicely with cuts in piece rates, The following letter was circulated thru the departments of the. various plants. “February 8th, 1926. “To all department heads and fore- men: “During the past few months we have had entirely too many cases of néw men being injured’ in the perform- ance of their work. In. some cases men have been on the job but three or four days and due to injuries re- ceived had to have a finger or two amputated. “This is very serious—There is no d for this to happen. Hereafter, when new men are em- ployed for any department, it will be the duty of the foreman to instruct all such men as to the dangers of the various machines they will come in contact with, and also how to avoid accidents, “Foremen will be held responsible for all accidents occurring in their respective departments in the future. “L, A. McDowell, “Manufacturing manager.” Antiquated Machines Cripple Many. | The Murray corporation does not blame’ the many injuries on the low piece rates, whipping the men on to frantic speed for the sake of a living. It does not blame them on antiquated machinery, crowded together for want of floor space or on lack of modern safety devices. Instead the Murray Body corpora- tion blames all this on its foremen, the underlings who are employed to speed up, economize in machinery and material. “Profits Frst” Is Motto, “Safety First,” they paint on ‘the on badges, exhibit on leaflets. Spell walls, print on card boards, inscribe it “Profits First” and you have their spirit. Workers do all the work, take all the chances, suffer all the injuries. Bosses feel glorious in doing all the bossing, all the managing, all the pro- fitting, 1000 WORKER. CORRESPONDENTS BY JANUARY 13 1927 ICE This Week’s Prizes! Send in a story—make it short, give the facts, and a prize may be yours! No, 1—First prize will be a néw book now on the press: “The Awakening of China,” by James H. Dolsen, A beautiful edition of an unusual book. No, 2—“Bars and Shadows,” by Ralph Chaplin, as a second prize of a book of beautiful working class poems written in Fort Leaven- worth prison, No, 3—Makes an attractive third prize: “The Russell-Scott Nearing Debate” on the Soviet form of government. * Write---Rush---Order a Bundle of the issue in which your story appears! Exploitation at - Vegetable Oil Co. Drives Workers Mad By HARRY WESTON (Worker - Correspondent) BERKELEY, Calif. Feb..17 — A few weeks ago a crazed Negro was seen running from door to door and shouting at the top of his yoice that the world was coming to an’ end. After he had terrified the neighbor- hood with his jargon and antics, the police were notified and he was taken to a hospital as too dangerous, to be at large. At the hearing of the insanity boerd, the physicians reported the cause of his temporary loss of mind? They said the terrific heat of the “copra” cook- ers at which he works at the Veget- able Oil corporation went to his head. The case was discharged with the warning that if he went back to the same place he would be affected the Same way and would have to be re- moved to the state hospital for the in- sane. The Vegetable Oil corporation, situated here in Berkeley, in the west end, is one of the worst examples of exploitation. It has been in operation for the last five years, employing at the beginning practically all white labor, but due to the low wages and bad working conditions the white men gradually gave way to Negro and Mexican labor. The unemployment situation here makes life very hard for) the. white worker and very much, worse for Negro and Mexican workers. DON'T LEAVE OUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS WHEN SENDING IN YOUR’ ARTIGLE Due to the volume of Worker cor respondence that comes to our office every day and the necessity often to ik for more detailed information and send suggestions and. instruc- tions, we make the following request from our Worker CoFrespondents: At the top of each page of your manuscript, in the right hand cor ner, write In plain hand, if you do not use typewriter, your name, ad- dress and date. At the end of your manuscript add a note stating whether you wish your name to be and any other instructions re- ding the signing of your article, THE RAUB SHIRT FACTORY GIRLS MUST UNIONIZE Organize and Demand Better Conditions By a Worker Correspondent PITTSBURGH, Pa., Feb. 17—There are about 35 girls working in Raub’s shirt factory. All of them, with the ex- ception of a few, are piece workers. The work is divided into sections and is paid per dozen. The prices are so low that the average wages are $10 to $12 a week. Very few make $16 or $17. é Girls Dissatisfied, The girls are not satisfied and are kicking about the low wages, but what do they do to better their conditions? After working there a few months they quit.and look for better jobs. The boss does not lose anything, be- case no skillful workers are required. on ‘the window: “Girls who can run a Every few weeks you can see a sign power sewing machine wanted.” As soon as a few girls become disgusted and quit the boss gets in a new group of workers; To quit a job and look for a better one is not the best method to better our conditions. Why do we spend all day in shops? Why do we work so hard at the ma- chines? We don’t expect to become millionaries, but we do expect after working hard all week to get enuf in our pay envelope to pay our board, to get a new dress or a pair of shoes when the old ones are worn out. Organize—Fight Boss. There is but one way for us workers at Raub’s shirt factory to better our condiitons and that is to get together, —organize—and fight for the follow- ing demands: The 8-hour day; 5-day week; a liv- ing wage; the right to organize into a union and maintain union conditions. Set Minimums Wage. BOSTON—(FP)— The Massachus- etts minimum wage commission sets $9 a week as the minimum for inex- perienced girls and women and $13 for those with a year’s experienec—a dollar a week more than last year in the candy industry. ROYAL COMMISSION EDITOR’S NOTE: The heroic struggle of the miners of Nova Scotia, Canada, against the crushing down of their wages by the British Empire Steel Corporation, known as “Besco” to the workers of Canada, resulted in the federal government appointing a commission to investigate the situa- tion, As was to be expected the com- mission has upheld the corporation‘on every point, and has issued a report that not only supports the corporation in reducing the miners’ wages but also threatens the existence of the United Mine Workers in that district. The following ,article written by Jim McLachlan, militant leader of the Nova Scotia miners, should be of in- terest to all workers, and especially the anthracite and bituminous miners who are struggling today in this coun- try against the attacks of the opera- tors. eee By JIM. YWcLACHLAN (Continued from last issue) Class Warfare Got Results. Both Besco and the commission ap- peared to be all’ worked up because the miners had injected into their life and their stfuggles some of the Tpaankiuggs and tactics of the Commu- nists, but both ‘failed to show where a|the miners had not benefited by these tactics. As a matter of fact the re- port shows the éxact opposite. The report says that the miners were jus- tified in resisting the wage reduction in the year 1922. But it was exactly in that year that the miners put up an effective fight by striking on the job and finally calling their first hundred per cent strike. By these tactics they raised their wage by over eighty cents per day. The Commis- sion also says that the Corporation would have been justified in reducing the wages in the year 1923. But in that year Dan Livingstone and the men who believed in any method of warfare that brought results to the miners were in office and Besco knew jthat a cut in that year with these men at the head of the union, meant a 100 per cent, strike and any other thing that was calculated to bring results for the workers. The commission is very hard on the 100 per cent strike. This is what ityhas to say on that head: ie “It is inconceivable that reasonable persons could Jook upon such action (the 100 per strike) with favor or tolerance.”) The men in)office in 1923, like the Communists, were not overburdened with a ‘superstitious reverence for what_was “incenceiyable to reasonable persons,” hence, that reduction in wage rates was’not pulled off in 1923. The commission has dealt lightly with the capitalization of the com- pany. They show that some 54,000,- 000 of water has been injected into the corporation’ at one time or an- other. The commission says that when 19,000,000 of water: bil 3 apparently followed, in the cap- italization of its assets and the issue of organization stock, a practice which had been adopted by its constituent companies at their inception, and a practice which we are advised has not been uncommon in Canadian compan- ies.” So they are all doing it, and when the miners call a 100 per cent strike, Can the Workers Write for Our Press? The Question of Worker Correspondents and Shop Bulletins. By MARTIN ABERN ARTICLE I, HE party, The DAILY WORKER, the language press are trying to build a staff and system of worker correspondents. Those are the rank and file writers from the shops, mills and farms who really make a revo- lutionary paper live and throb with an understanding ahd feeling of the needs of the exploited masses. There has been a measure of success. Yet thousands more of shop and field writers are needed. Why don’t we get them more quickly? Many comrades reply: We cannot write. Writing is too difficult for common workers, We. do not know what to write about. This is not so, comrades. Here are some things which workers contend with in one form or another. They are matters that must be written of. What The Workers Can Write About. (1). There is the speed-up system (what have you, Ford workers and others to say of that?) with its driv- ing, grinding, pulverizing methods. ‘There is the piece-work system, Work @ little fastér; make a little more; out of a job sooner; and more profits for the bo: How about those jobs where the workers’ arms and legs work like frenzy, faster than the clock ticks its toll of human blood and nerves? Then, too, look at the double and triple shift system, human cattle rush- ing in and out, both when the sun rises and darkness sets in. There is the exhausting night work for millions im steel mills and foundries, Tens of thousands still toll in America for ten, twelve, and more hours each day, te still demand overtime from workers without pay, exce} yi for a free lunch . eo ae The Issue of Unempl Regularly, some of 8 ands of men are laid off during the year, or work only part time, These practices are the rule under the cap- italist system, They are a harm and a@ menace to the workers, Such a system and methods demand resist- ance and organized intelligent opposi- tion to overcome. Tell The DAILY WORKER and other workers’ papers about all these things in your own blunt language, men of the shops, Health and Safety Conditions in the Factories, (2). Capitalism doesn’t take much interest, unless forced by the organ- ized might of the workers, in pro- viding healthy and safe conditions of work and surroundings, Machinery, despite ‘so-called “safety laws,” isn’t always in order, Machinery is often left in conditions offering great harm and Injury to the workers, It costs too much to put in order; human legs, arms, life are cheaper, Mangled bodies fill'a basket even as does saw- dust, Workers in factories still are compelled to work with poisonous ma- terials of all sorts where life is al- ways. in danger. Have the miners, painters, steel mill, chemical -work- ers, nothing to say of these things? Accidents do happen, it is said. How, if ever, are the tollers com- pensated, especially thru these most gracious “Workmen's compensation Jawa”? Does sunlight always pour in thru factory windows for the children working therein? Or is sunshine only for the hundreds of thousands of young men and women and children Sweating in the cotton, beet and berry flelds? Stockyards workérs might tell us a few interesting details of stink- ing “sanitary” conditions, gross dirt and sickening ventilation, not to men- tion the work itself. Certainly, the workers can write of these, and offer ways to lead a struggle for improve- ment, 4 Violations of Union Agreeme: (3.) Union men are acquainte only'too well with tepeated vi 8 of working agreements, contracts and Job regulations, Systematically there is discrimination against those milit- ants who fight this undermining of union organizations, Honest and class conscious union men are no doubt dis- gusted with the way in which the union officialdom is following a policy of co-operation with the bosses—of class collaboration instead of class struggle. The coal miners, machinists, clothing workers surely have a few things to say and write about John L. Lewis, “Baltimore & Ohio” Bill Johnston, and “Golden Rule” Hillman. Every union member almost by in- stinct knows that compulsory arbi- tration, or any form of arbitration, of strike disputes, job mixups, means concessions to the boss and defeat for the workers, Government by injunc- tion and arbitration is felt by the workers to mean: the pistol and. sword are at their throats, what are you going to say and do about that? Leaving the Unorganized in the Lurch, 4 (4.) Unorganized workers are not unacquainted with the practice in some “anion” shops, where the union men get by with a certain contract and the unorganized are left in the lurch, holding the sack. Wage cuts, some- times called “readjustments in the industry,” as in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, take place regular- ly. The textile workers could vividly write or tell what tt means in their’ lives. Or sometimes, instead of direct wage cuts, speed-up work is demand- ed, or better machinery is installed giving greater production at the same nominal pay, Have the workers no- thing to say of how to meet this ex- ploitation? How much profit is made from the labor of workers? What is really necessary to live like human beings? How does advance of the technique of production affect them? Shall machine deyelopment be stop- ped, if it could, or, shall all this be oe for the benefit of the work- ers i" The System of industrial Spies (5), ThePe is hardly a worker who cannot speak of the blacklist system, the “rustling card,” the use of indus- trial spies, thugs, guards, gunmen, police, soldiers in strikes, lock-outs, etc. Workers, young and old, are well acquainted with the more subtle meth- ods used by the bosses against the workers. For ipstance: Bosses wel- fare associations; ‘workers stock com- panies and schemes; “Be a share- holder in the factory—be a boss your- self.” Then the}many clubs, sport associations, etc., in the factories, such as the Western Electric, thru which the class instincts and tendencies, be- come warped in the workers. There are also the fake “joint workers’ com- mittees” and outspoken company un- ions. Worker correspondents have ex- perienced much of these. Have they any solution? These are only a few of thousands of things which ‘workers can write about, not to say anything of what shop nuclej can do about them, Surely enough to start ‘any worker going. Now go ahead and write! Become worker correspondents! But wait a- while, There's lots to write about, it is admitted; only we can't write English or know how to write, The excuse of not being able or having time to write Is a slim excuse indeed. It can be done. If our DAILY WORKER and language press are really to become mass revolution- ary organs, there will have to be a wide system of worker correspond- ents, both in the English and foreign languages. Nor will it be possible for our shop nuclei to issue shop bulletins unless in the factory, the members first, and later also the other workers, will contribute to the shop bulletin, That means a group of worker cor- respondents in each factory and nucleus. Thus will we reach the workers with the Communist message. But how shall we get our comrades to write? In the next article are some suggestions and ways.\ (Article I in next issue) & SUPPORTS CORPORATION IN ATTACK ON THE MILITANT NOVA SCOTIA MINERS because they refuse to have their fam- ilies starved to pay dividends on water, then these hypocrites hold up their hands about “unreasonable men.” It is also recommended that} Besco shall pay a little more for the coal it uses in its steel works but not more than the exact cost of produc- tion, The Heart of the Trick. When you have waded thru this sea of words, you are very apt to miss the heart of the whole report if you are not careful, What is the cause of | all the trouble in and about these coal mines anyway? Why cannot the miner and his employer live at peace with each other? For this simple rea- son: the operators run the mines to make profit, the miners dig coal to make a living, and these two ends| just won't jibe under present condi-| tions. The miners want a living, the operators want profits. Which of these two “wants” should receive the |= prime and first consideration? The commission, this unprejudiced com- mission, has left no doubt on that question, Profits come first, and these must be maintained even if the present low standard of living of the coal miners has to be reduced still further. Paragraph 16 of the report is the vital thing in this report for the miners to consider. Here is the heart of the trick that is about to be played and for this reason we give the entire paragraph: y “16—Future Wage Regulation—We have already emphasized our belief that certainty of a continuance of peaceful relations is, after so many recent eruptions, absolutely essential} to rehabilitate remunerative trading, and to permit of the operations of the pits being developed upon the basis of regular and steady employment. A short term settlement is therefore to be deprecated most strongly. There are two alternatives, it seems to us, befpre the parties; either, “(1) To fix a general wage varia- | standard, tion now in the light of existing facts —and our deductions from them for a term of, say, two years at least; “(2) To fix that variation now, but to let it apply only until such time as a scheme has been worked out, and is in operation, for the automatic regula- tion of wage fluctuations at stated in- tervals—say, every six months—over a longer period of years, say at least three years—in the light of the abil- ity of the coal operations to pay. The ability to pay would be tested by agreed data, which would be incorpo- rated in the scheme. Any scheme of this kind to be satisfactory must be Besco comes to add its little item of; worked out by the parties themselves, with the help and advice of competent accountants appointed by each party, and should operate under the super- vision of these accountants. It might prove helpful to the parties if any dis- cussions they had in regard to the framing of such a scheme were pre- sided over by an independent chair- man who would in no sense be an ar- bitrator, nor have a determining voice in their negotiations. We do not go so far as to make a suggestion to this effect, bit merely mention it for the consideration of the parties. Regulation of War Fluctuations “We strongly recommend that the second course suggested in paragraph 16 be adopted. This scheme might Provide for the variation of wages as @ reflection of variations in selling prices, or as a reflection of variations in some other agreed factor; but we prefer that the test should be the pro- ceeds of the industry. ’ “Machinery would be agreed upo for the relevant figures to be continu-| ously returned, audited and adjusted under the supervision of accountants for both parties and any variation of wage found to be due would be ap- plied automatically in the wages for the succeeding period without discus- sion or friction between the parties, Since the ascertainment and verifica- tion of the figures would take time, an interval should be left between the first period of ascertainment and the period governed. The first period of ascertainment could be made the per- jod from Feb 1 to July 31, 1926, to take effect from Nov. 1, 1926; and the next period of ascertainment would be August 1, 1926 to Jan. 31, 1927, to take effect from April 1, 1927, and so on.” The operation of such a scheme would be subject to a provision that wages were not in any event to be re- duced below an agreed level or stand- ard, The length of period during which the scheme should operate— altho we have suggested three years as a minimum—would in a measure depend upon the standard fixed, and the standard itself would depend upon the position of the industry at the time of fixing it, the cost of living, and the extent to which outside competi- tion is regulated by operation of the tariff. If the returns for any perfod of ascertainment showed that the pro- "TRYBUNA ROBOTNIGZA’ =| | SECOND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, MARGH 7 Trybuna Robotnicza, the Polish Communist organ, will celebrate its second anniversary by mass meet- ings all over the country. In Chicago, a concert and mass meeting will mark the anniversary. The concert will be held at the Shonehofen Hall, corner Ashland and Milwaukee Aves., Sunday, Mar. 7, at 2 p.m. Besides speakers in English, Polish, Russian and Uk- rainian, there will be an excellent | musical program. The Lithuanian Choras, the Frei- heit Singing Society, the Russian Mandolin Orchestra, a Russian dance by Miss Jean Blasak, Com- rades Hilda Reed, Elsie Newman and Emma Bliechsmidt dancing the Tarantella, an Ukrainian mando. linist and a Russian accordionist are among the musical numbers that have been planned for this concert. j ceeds were not enuf to remunerate capital within that period, as well as sustain the standard wage, then rather than reduce wages below the the deficit due to capital would be carried forward as a change to be met out of the balance left over in succeeding periods, Forcing the Miners Down, So there you it. In the first instance the standard of wages is to be fixed on the “ability of the coal op- erations to pay.” Then you get your three-year contract, and if during the life of that contract, it is found that the standard has been fixed too high, then all the deficits borne by your employer during the threé-year period are heaped together and the next three-year contract will see your standard of living reduced by at least the amount of deficit that capital is supposed to have suffered the previous three-year period. In other words, miners, this long- winded paragraph tells you that capi- tal is not supposed to suffer any de- ficits, but it’s all right to reduce your standard of living. What is more, there are to be two accountants who| will give you the figures that all of) these changes are to be made from) and the changes go into operation au-} tomatically. That is how peace is to be brot to the coal industry in this} province. Will the miners agree to} such a scheme? We do not believe} they will; they cannot help but fight to the death, for the living of the| workers being the first charge against | the industry in which they are en-/ gaged. Every miner before acceptiong this report wants to consider very care- fully these words that this scheme is “for the automatic regulation of wage fluctuations at stated intervals.” By regulation of wages the miners dele- gate to two acocuntants all the func- tions of their union. No more mass meetings to discuss whether you will accept a cut, no use even for a local union meeting to waste time over any wage change; the accountants do all that now and as far as the wage ques- tion is concerned, your union might as well disband. Accept this report and you will surely establish peace, the peace of the graveyard where the in- mates are dead trade unionists of a dead union. | P of the Central Committee of TOILERS PROTEST AGAINST TERROR RULE IN POLAND Chicago to Have Mass Meeting Feb. 28 The prosecutions, mass arrests and | brutal assaults on the national minor- ities in Poland are growing greater {and greater. Thousands of workers and peasants are in jail. The Polish secret police torture them during the “investigations.” Many workers and ants die two or three days after these “investigations.” In some cases, when the hangmen of the Polish government are not able to frame up some arrested worker or peasant because of lack of evidence, they do “away with him” by shooting him under some pretext, Jan. 18 a worker, Gardzinski, was arrested in Grodno, He was suspect- ed to be a Communist and a member Polish Communist Party. No evidence to this effect could be found by the secret police. The authorities of Grodno de- cided to send him to Warsaw “for, further investigations.” On his way 4from the prison to the railroad station, he was killed. This incident is not the only one. Hundreds of such incidents could be cited, Every worker .or peasant that is arrested never knows whether he will see his family again. When rela- tives try to visit them in jails, they are arrested and beaten. Union head- quarters are raided and closed. Offi cers of workers’ organizations are ar- rested for merely being officers. The working-class of America must in the strongest manner protest against this barbarian treatment of their brothers in Poland. Polish, Uk- rainian, White Russian and Lithua- nian branches of International Labor Defense are calling a protest meet- ing Friday evening, Feb, 26, at 8 o’clock in the Schoenhoffen Hall, cor. Milwaukee and Ashland Ave. Speak- ers in English and other languages will tell of the conditions in Poland. Demonstrate your international soli- darity with your Polish, Ukrainian, White Russian and Lithuanian broth- ers in Poland. Abandon Labor Temple. SEATTLE—(FP)—The Seattle Cen- tral Labor council has decided that plans for a new labor temple are im- practicable. With the movement at a low ebb this is regarded as no time for large financial responsibilities. SOCIETIES $$ Frauen-Kranken-Unterstuetzungs Weren, Fortschritt Meets every ist and 3rd Thursday, Wicker Park Hall, 2040 W. North Avenue. Secretary. E, W. RIECK LUNCH ROOMS Six Places 118 S, Clark 66 W, Washington | 167 N. State 42 W. Harrison 234 S. Halsted PHONES, HARRISON 8616-7 E. W. Rieck Boston Sakee ns and Brown Bread ny ISICK AND DEATH mae 169 N. Clark Fine Soups and Fresh Made Coffee Commiseary and Bakery: 1612 Fulton Ct. Phone West 2549 DETROIT, ATTENTION! CONCERT & DANCE given by Detroit Shop Nuclei Sunday, February 21st, 8 P. M. at the HOUSE OF THE MASSES, 2646 St. Aubin Ave. of these will soon be made— in the world. THE DAI and get one from the man you work with in the shop. Name: DON'T LET YOUR SUB EXPIRE! So many big features are being planned. Announcements Daily” an even greater working class newspaper—the best 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Renew your Chicago, III. _subscription— | Pcs *. Street: ... improvements to make “Our LY WORKER, + TOF soe MONTHS ion for: ‘WHAT In. thi “The question of the Socialist revolution to the Stat jeader, “is an urgent need of the day, cerned with the elucidation for the A few edition in durofiex durable binding. STATE and REVOLUTION By LEMIN ‘elation of a proletarian " says our great eing con~ masses of for their THEY WILL HAVE TO DO liberation from the yoke of capitalism in the very near future.” Lenin ins this question simply and beautifully eels, which is now a@ classic of Com- munist literature, 25 CENTS | | | | | | |