The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 13, 1926, Page 5

| TEXAS COTTON aa or gaia chan tenn SO Oe SECOND PRIZE WINNER. WORKERS TOIL FOR LOW WAGES Organize and Demand Better Conditions! By CHUNKY BILL. (Wotker Correspondent) HOUSTON, Texas, March, 11—In the vicinity of Houston, ‘farm hands receive $25 a month producing the an- nual cotton crop. © The worker is hired thru the city employment bureau. After being thoroly investigated by the mediators between the plantation owners and the workers, the worker at ‘once puts a kink In his back and’ leaves it there till the crop is picked. He is automatically converted into a “vag” the moment, the crop is har- vested and remains so till it is, the pleasure of the boss. to tell him that he may work again which is next planting time. The average wage for cotton pickers is $1.50 a day. The Cotton Gins. The workers in the cotton gins ex- convert the residue into cotton seed cake and meal, The season is very short and the mills work in two shifts of twelve hours each. The swage is 25 cents an hour both, for the day and the night shift. The major- ity of the workers lose one hour g0- * ng to work and one hour coming from work so that they really put in four- teen hours for $3.00. Five months is the average season. The worker works in a continual rush for $3.00 a day; the remainder of the year he lives again on the “halo” shed from the flag of prosperity. The Cotton Warehouse. Big husky guys who have passed | the company’s rigid examination are employed in the cotton warehouse. They juggle 500 pound bales of cotton all day long. While it is true that they get a com- paratively large wage for their 10 to 15 hours of labor, (35 cents an hour and no overtime) there is a reason for it, They know that to hold their jobs, they have to keep up with the company speeders. The season is hem, Pa. eotton worker, Chunky Bill. His on this page. Gibson. Second Prize—“Social Forces of the. American nation. Simons. New edition just issued by International Publishers. book’ gives the best economic interpretation of the origin and growth NNERS Rani * ‘ (the. winner of the first prize, the original of a DAILY WORKER cartoon, framed, is a worker in the Bethlehem Steel Mills, in Bethle- His article appears on this page. The second prize, Marx's Capital, Volume 1. goes to a Texas article describing the life of the cotton worker appears on this page. The third prize, “China's Awakening” by James H. Dolson, goes to a Chicago militant trade unloniist who has outlined the struggle in the trade unions against reactionary leadership. His article appears Next Week's Prizes First Prize—An original DAILY WORKER cartoon by one of the noted American Communist artists, Robert Minor, Fred Ellis or Lydia In American History” by A. M. This Third Prize—“Lincoln, Labor and Slavery,” by Herman Schlueter, the only book on Lincoln from a revolutionary standpoint. IS THERE EQUALITY OF EDUCATION _ FOR THE WORKER UNDER CAPITALISM? By D. BENJAMIN, Teacher Correspondent. Qile of the boasts of modern capitalism and American democracy is “qniversal and free education for all, ing story of a New York boy. for rich and poor alike.” Judge for ’| yourself whether or not this boast is a sham and a hypocrisy, from the follow- tract the oll from the cotton seed ar John is 18 years old, a former student of De Witt Clinton high school. He is of working class parents, who barely manage to eke out a living, altho ——<—<—<— — — Vemwaa rasema-KypHar Ukarckoro omaend a3. i Nees next (sixth) issue of Prolet- Tribune, the Russian living news- paper published by the worker cor- respondents of Novy Mir, willebe out Saturday, March 20, at 8 p. m., at the Workers’ House, 1902 W. Division St. ‘The issue will be devoted to the Paris Commune. Admission is 25 cents. Minneapolis Central. Labor Union Protests Teachers’ Dismissals By a Worker Correygondent MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., March 11.— short and they must save enuf during] ypon a resolution brought in by the the five months to’ exist on till the} painters No. 186 and the report of the next year. to reform again and be “saved” for the ‘teenth time at the Star of Hope| ent of Schools missions. Longshoremen Are Organized. In the event of their fail-] squcationat-committee, the Minneap ing in this frail hope, they will have | giis Central Labor Union took a stand against the action of the Superintend- Webster in refusing renewal of contracts for seven teach- ers. The action of the School, Board affects teachers which have been ac Tho the employes at the warehouse) tire in the local labor movement, both work harder and handle more cotton|;,, the trade unions and the Farmer: in one day that do the longshoremen|ya)or political movement. ‘belonging to the International Long- shoremen’s Association, Local No. 896,| proposition, yet the longshoreman gets $10.60 4] tho first time that Organizer Weir, speaking on the declared; “This. is not the present school @ay and works eight hours or less} hoard is discriminating and persecut- while those in the warehouse work| ing members of organized labor.” He 10 hours for $3.50. The bosses willl then cited a case of a school engineer give the workers nothing until the} who was demoted because he was an workers begin to organize and de- mand more. Even then if we are not careful they will try to make us satis- fied with minor concessions. We must be militant. We must or ganize and demand better wages, DITCH DIGGERS REVERIE. By a Worker Correspondent The alarm clock rings at 5 a. m. Then | work ten ho! r more is wet: four. 1 ow until my shir And earn three dollars , | draw my pay; me of our pills. for an hour, or si as the ‘wind-swept Saturday com = wife pays ‘e see the dough, Then we're clean, hills. guys that’s got @ fot of "with plenty of coin, in that’s got mazuma galore; with money to burn, And birds There's snobs that wade in currency And dudes with dough that need sense more, . But | can’t get hold of the tinkling tin, Tho | work while the rest of them snore. a fine old place to complain. th , say-—just a rainy day, sting rain? ‘ This world ag be And 1 surely ha’ But is thi: Or a life-long To hell with their Coolidge Ase erity. 9) it’s moonshine without a kick. 1 believe it’s right, what they led me last night, The Story BETHLEHEM, Pa. March 11. — ‘The Bethlehem Steel Mills, Bethlehem, Pa., now employ 12,000 workers, the great majority of them Americans, Hungarians and Slovaks. There are also a small number ot Italians and Mexicans, Wages. The majority of the workers work an eight-hour shift with no time off for dinner. ‘The laborers work 10 hours a day and get only 37 cents an hour. None of them make over $20 a week. Experienced carpenters get 42 cents an hour and make about §24 a week, ‘The other workers are on piece work and the best machine hand averages between $30 and $35 a week. here is no union in the industry | and thé workers tnust’ accept what the boss offers. active and enthusiastic union man, The present school poard is pre- dominantly reactionary and is thoroly antagonistic toward any progressive idea or practice, They must have sensed that the two teachers in par- ticular who were members of the ‘Yeachers’ Federation would be an ob- struction to some reactionary policy that is to.be put into effect, so they took steps to remove them. Aside from passing the resolution the Central Labor Union instructed the executive board to follow up the matter and be prepared for any new developments, Teachers’ Union Against Board. it was reported that the Teachers’ Feteration at one of its best attended mectings of the year pledged its full- est support to the dismissed teachers in obtaining a trial to present their Heuse, which is required by the board vhinames + The board ignored its own reg fions that no teacher can be dismissed by the board without a fair trial; if she has worked in the | Minneapolis school three years. |Mhe ‘butchers and general drivers ae on an active campaign toobuild their organization, | bl Shop Democracy. During the world war when there located at |was strong feeling for organization and there were frequent walkouts from the various departments, the firm established shop committees which the workers were made to be- eve represent their interests. It is important to say a few words about the election of these committees to show that these committees are noth- ing but tools in the hands of the Bethlehem Steel corporation, Shop Committee Elections, Every year there is an election for the shop ‘committee, The rules for nominations are very liberal. ~ Any worker may get himself placed on the it rode the boss has no ob- joe ‘AN the nominations are handed over to the old shop’ commit: tee, which conducts the election, The they toil long hours. John was @ senior in high school, had only about hfee months to go in order to re- ceive his diploma. To be able to go to high school, he worked nights at a Y. M. C. A, for his parents could not afford to keep him at school otherwise. His working hours were usually from 6 p. m. to 11 p. m. every day. Homework for school robbed him of sleep; he never got to bed until early in-the morning. Very oft- en, after a hard evening’s work and homework late at night, he found it physically impossible to get up in time for school and he was late. Sometimes, he was too exhausted to even attend. So this worker’s son, this worker, became a truant in the. eyes of the educational authorities. The school system could not under- stand this working class situation. The father was summoned to school. But he could not afford to stay away from work in order to vis- it the school. Something had to be done. The boy, in an innocent way, to get rid of this truant trouble caus- ed by his situation, signed @ doctor's name to a slip of excuse for absence. He was found out. John was ex- pelled. To American capitalism, to the American school. system, John wag not a boy struggling for an edu- cation amidst many difficulties, and hardships, but he was only a forger, a cheat, a thief. Expulsion was not enough. The school authorities immediately notified the Y. M. C. A. where the boy was working, that John was a forger. He was fired—branded for life as a “forger.” John does not think there is equal opportunity for education and devel- opment, for the rich and the poor. He wonders where is this much laud- ed “American freedom and opportun- ity.” Send in that sub! an DAILY WORKE " Page Five a The Barber Worker * ‘M. PERLIN. (WoltKer Correspondent) To learn the barber trade, it takes at least from three to five years, and after the barber passes his examina- tion, gets his barber license, joins the union and gets a job, he must not fail to please his boss. Every customer is a boss because if he does not please every customer he will soon get fired. The result is that the barber whom many consider progressive, is really more backward than many other workers. The barber’s wage is low, thirty dollars’ a week being the union scale. His working hours are very long. This is the routine of a union bar- ber shop: From 8 a, m. to 7 p. m. during week days; from 8 a. m. to 9 p. m, on Saturdays and before holi- days. 2 The custdémers who come in before closing time’ must be attended to. Many times a barber is forced to work an holir or two overtime with- out getting paid for it. Because ofthese long hours the barbers have no social life. A proof of this is thé fact that when local un- ion 548 of which I am a member, and which has a‘membership of over 3,000 meets, you @afinot find more than 70 or 75 membérs including the officials. For this reagon the leaders of the un- ion can do as they please. ‘At the end of 1925 the barbers’ un- ion expelled “all progressive mem- pers. They took them off their jobs and now they: are forced to work in open shops, and no one mentions their names: at the meetings. Revolutionary By JOSEPH R. BOOTH, Worker Correspondent, All class conscious workers must recognize the absolute necessity of staying within-the unions in spite of their backwardness. This necessity has fully been demonstrated by the hostile attitude on the part of the re- actionary labro officialdom to expel “progressive elements. Bureauctacy Fights Progress. The labor, bureaucracy want no fighting opposi ion within that throws light on their ,betrayals of the workers thru class-collaboration, labor separa- tion and by their opposition to amal- gamation, wopld trade union unity and other important Philadelphia Labor Faker ‘Imprisoned for Stealing Strike Funds ni By a Worker Correspondent PHILADEUPHIA, March 11—James A. S. Brattom°a prominent labor fakir of this city, HAS been sentenced to the | state prison dt’Moyamensing for steal- ‘ihg $11,000 of funds of the Painters’ District Coundil No, 21 of this city. Bratton offered the defense that he had lost this amount in two weeks of gambling, ” ‘The money had been collected from the locals as assessments to establish a strike fund for use this spring. The Worker Correspondent on the Job Today, when you come home from work, get your pen and paper and write a story about your shop for The of the Bethlehem, . committee refers the nominees to the boss for approval, If there is any objection to any worker he is simply not placed on the ballot. The work- ers are then given an opportunity to vote by secret ballot for any man that the boss has chosen for them. In almost every instance the commit- tee consists of foremen, leaders and such. The ballots are counted by the old committee, With these restric- tions it is practically impossible to elect a real representative of the workers. In order to be eligible one must answer to the following quall- fications: 1, Must be a citizen, 2. Must have worked in the mill for one year, i 8, Must be tot less than 21 years of age. tt bas 4, Must be a’loyal Worker for the firm. Only those who worked for two ‘ DAILY WORKER. nonths for the firm cah vote during the elections, Control of Shop Committees. The workers in the shop have no way of controlling, instructing or ad- yising their committee. Shop meet- ings are never called, Shop commit tees never report and never issue bul- letins. Shop committees are bound in secrecy. Even the meetings of the shop committees with the representa; tives of the firm are held secretly in some office of the firm, When a worker asks a committeeman what was considered at the shop committee meeting he invariably 8 the an- swer: “It’s none of your business. Get to work.’ Shop Committe: During the, whole period in which the United States participated in the World War we worked 10 hours a day instead of 8, Big placards all over and Back Pay. progressive measures, ings.. The unity of the workers means The policy, at leaving the unions|the death blow to the labor bureau- was due to the fact that the perform-|cracy and the establishment of revo- {ime of this b asic was left just to aJ lutionary leadership to show them the Pa., Steel Wills “It Will Serve You THIRD PRIZE WINNER. Activity in the handful of seattered and separated radicals. Therefore the progressives must form a force to meet the big problems in an organized way. The ‘unions offer the most fertile field for developing the class-con- sciousness of the workers because they take part in the every-day strug- gles of the workers. By gaining the confidence of the organized workers we can point to them tke real, tole of the exploiting bosses with their press, politicians, preachers, police- men, militiamen, judges and fake ‘la- bor leaders. Workers Must Keep Up the Fight. The workers must soon realize’that the entire brutal system of capitalism is responsible for all of their’ suffer- Trade Unions way out. Therefore an energetic cam- paign must be waged to strengthen the unions. We find that in addition to the great number of our fighting comrades in the unions there still exist among us the following elements: 1. The kicker who lets others do the fighting while he very liberally contributes to the kicking. 2. The pessimist claiming it is im- possible to accomplish anything with the “working stiffs.” 3. The ineligible, that on the mere ground of being kept out of the unions refuses to do anything to further the cause of unionism, A strong effort must be made to have all members active in the union. Unorganized workers, it is your duty to join and be active in the unions, in tant organs of the class struggle. Unemployed Workers - Have Hard Time at State Job Agency By a Worker Correspondent I have been one of the hundreds who have gathered at the State Em- ployment Bureau, Jefferson and Mon- roe, every morning seeking some kind of a job. Conditions were such that the men looking for work gather in front of the door at 5:30 in the morn- ing and wait until 8 o'clock, when the office opens. If you don’t get there early chances are against you of getting some kind of a job, because the moment they open up there is a grand rush for the entrance to get lined up inside in |tront of a little desk where they dish out the jobs. There are two small desks in dif- |ferent parts of the spacious room. There is room for about five to eight {men in front of each desk, and if you are not among the first few you are out of luck, They have a card system they use. Every time you get a job they stamp the back of your card. You are en- titled to only one job a week, If the job only: lasts four hours of one day, as most of them do, that is your quota for the week. The men handing out the jobs as- sume a defiant and hostile manner and do all they can to make life dis- agreeable for the unemployed worker. DONT LEAVE OUT YOU NAME AND ADDRESS WHER SENDING IN YOUR ARTICLE Due to the volume of Worker cor respondence that comes to our office every day and the necessity often to ask for more detailed intormation and send suggestions and instruc- tions, we make the following request from our Worker Correspondents: 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- dri and date. At the end of your manuscript add a note stating whether you wish ycur name to be used and any other instructions re- garding the signing of your article. Is the shop where you work a union shop? Do they follow up the union rules? If not, why not? Write it up. Why I am Striking. By MARY: BROWN, Young Textile Striker. Tam a young striker.of the Passaic Worsted Spinning company. The girls and I walked out on strike because our wages were so small and our con- ditions so bad. Sometimes we were even compelled to do the work ,of the older girls for the same wage of $16.65 a week which we were receiy- ing. We would not stand for these con- ditions and wage cuts any longer when FE knew that the united front com- “. Why a worker correspondent? Why not? Is there nothing of interest hap- pening around you? Write it up and send it in! nittee was willing. to help us, so .we alked out on strike. The more you'll write the better you'll like it. this country and make them real mili- | ‘HUBIG DRIVERS TO FIGHT WAY BACK TO UNION Thank Daily Worker for Its Co-operation By a Worker Correspondent CINCINNATI, March 11. — The drivers of the Hubig Pie Company wish to express their thanks to the DAILY* WORKER for aiding them in their struggle to unionize the places and receive justice from their busi- ness agent. At the last meeting of the Drivers’ Union the agent came to the meeting with a copy of the DAILY WORKER in his hand, When the membership demanded an explanation he said, that the drivers of the Hubig Company would not pay any more dues unless the union called them out on strike and paid them $25 a week strike ben- efits. This was a deliberate falsehood, but as there was no one present who knew the real situation he tempo- rarily got away with it. Buti the driv- ers are determined to fight this case to a finish and will carry the, matter higher. They will fight their way back into the union and force the company: to grant them union conditions and wages in spite of the business agent, Jacob Hesselbrock. SEND IN A SUB! Applicants Sting Shoe Scab Herder By a Worker Correspondent. PHILADELPHIA, Marcle 11 Mr. Bains, a very windy gentleman con- |nected with the J Miller and company shoe store at 1235 Chestnut St., is hir- ling scabs to take the place of strik- |ing wood heel makers at the Miller manufacturing plant in Long Island City, New York. The advertisement in the local pa- pers state that there are no labor troubles on. Mr. Bains, on being ques- tioned, however, admitted that there was “some trouble.” He explained: “We had some radicals in the place but they were discharged and cannot |get their jobs back.” To the ten men who had answered the ad, he handed out $3.25 each, with |the injunction to “Get the first train over to New Yor They took his |money but went instead to a nearby lunchroom where they all enjoyed the \finest breakfast they had ever known, |That..is as faras they got. Miller's. plant in Long Island City never saw them. “The pen is mightier than the sword,” provided you know how to use it. Come down and learn how in the worker correspondent’s classes. SOCYEVUUUUENELEUEUUBEBENEOSEENENUHEEN WORKER. CORRESPONDENCE What? Where? When? Why? How? | BY WM. F, DUNNE. A handbook for the worker who wishes to learn HOW to write for the workers’ press. A new publication that should be read by: every worker. 10 Cents 12 copies for one dollar. THE DAILY WORKER PUB. 00: 1113 W. Washington Blvd.’* * Chicago, M. phi the mill announced that we would be paid time and a half for overtime and double time for Sunday work, But we worked overtime and Sunday and never got the extra pay, It is now seven years after the war and we have not seen a cent of that mone; Our shop committees, who were sup- posed to fight for this, never got us a cent and we don’t even know if they ever mentioned it in their secret meet- ings. The only group of workers who got their back pay was the electrical department, They didn’t wait for any shop committees to ask for it. They tied up the plant for several days and the bosses had to give it to them, We have waited for seven years and we haven't got it yet. The shop com: mittees haven't won for us any de- mand for the eight years that they are functioning. This proves thatthe » WH are not representing our interests, The committees are only fooling the workers into believing that they don’t need a union, Bethlehem Charity. Some months ago an American got crippled in the plant. The boss immediately . got his little book working. Every worker gets his name put down and the sum that he gives. Of course the workers are afraid not to give, altho they know that the money never reaches the crippled worker. Over $200 was raised in this collection. Instead of sending the money to the famfly-of the crippled worker they sent it'to the Bethlehem City Charities. Some fine and philan- thropie dame then came down and offered the family, some grocertes. ‘They refused it ‘and ‘demanded from the company the full collection. To this day he did not-get it. And the worker was fired for demanding what FIRST PRIZE WINNER, © By a Worker Correspondent his fellow workers had contributed for him, Another instance. A foreign-born trolley. The usual collection was taken and again sent to the City Char- ity Fund, Again the same or a similar woman, But this time came the great discovery that this worker owned an old and dilapidated Ford. The charity automobile his wife and eight chil- dren might have something to eat. Not one cent of the Thoney collected. reached this worker. rt As long as the steel industry re- mains unorganized will this condition prevail, Only by establishing an of- ranization will we get real shop com- mittees to fight for our demands, to win us our back pay, human. treat ment, higher wages and better work- ing conditions, \ woman advised that if he sold the © Soe 6 worker had his leg crushed by a crane © wi > a A