The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 20, 1926, Page 5

_—_— STEEL WORKERS SEND FUNDS TO PASSAIC STRIKE Ignore Sneering Remarks by Labor Faker By a Worker Correygondent NILES, O., March 18—The depths to which the reactionary officialdom of the trade union can sink is well illus- trated in the action of Secretay Don- the Niles lodges of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel and Tin workers at which he was one of the speakers. The consent of the committee, in charge had been secured to take up a collection for the benefit of the Passaic strikers. The committee con- sisting of Helen Panin, Mary Fraidin, and Mrs, Berger were in the audience and Helen Panin was on the platform making the appeal for the striking textile workers, when Donnelly inter- rupted by asking, “Take a collection for whom! Bill Foster?” The girl on the platform rebuked the. cheap labor skate by announcing “that the collection was not for the commit- tee, but for the men, women and chil- dren who were battling against a re- duction of their wages below the starvation’ line” ‘and she appealed to her hearers “to give the money to the collectors who will turn the money over to the committee in charge of the meeting, and have them send it by telegraph, to Passaic.” To the credit of the workers pres- ent they responded in a splendid man- ner and the girls were.able to collect $81.21, which the committee immedi- ately sent on to the strike committee by registered letter. Donnelly all thru his speech had in- sisted that the salvation of the wofk- ers lay in the trade unions, and not on “dramatics,” and he used.the Pas- saic strike as an illustration of the “dramatics.” He had nothing to say about the A. F. of L. granting a dual charter to a fake labor assembly in Warren as opposed to Niles on the in- sistence of a detective in the employ of the Manufacturers Association. This detective is now running a fake labor employment office and flooding Warren with workers. Nor did he by one word place the dangerous condition of the textile strikers and their need of help before his hearers. He sneered at the Communists, but was too cow- ardly to name them in his speech. THE DAILY WORKER * FIRST PRIZE WINNER. NEW YORK WORKERS RESPOND READILY TO PASSAIC STRIKERS By HANNAH L. SIGEL. Worker Correspondent, NEW YORK, March,}8,>-“You had better be careful, comrade,” warned nelly of the Ohio State Federation of | the textile strikers’: rglief,¢dmmittee when I asked for a chance to aid the Labor, at the joint mass meeting of| Passaic textile workers by collecting funds for their relief during tag days held in New York. “The police are interfering and have arrested many vol- unteers who went out to collect for the strikers, on the pretext that no permit was issued for this tag day.” I smiled, ¢—————-—_____________ issued for this tag day.” I smiled, took my box, streamer'and credential and went out. Tho the sun was shining brightly, the day ‘was very cold. Everyone seemed to be in a greater hurry than usual. Huddled up in théir great over- coats, they rushed by. It was only those who were in sympathy with the strike who stopped, dug into their pockets—under a couple of layers of coate—and gave what they could. I decided to try the trains.» In the sub- ways and elevateds the people sat leisurely and responded, more readily to an appeal. Conductor Plays Company Tool. On ohe crowded train I was reap- ing quite a harvest. Every direction I turned I was meeting with a ready response. Suddenly a conductor came rushing in from the next car. “You must stop this!” he yelled, purple with rage. I looked at him and calmly asked, “Why?” “It’s against the rules! Don’t you know you people must get a permit from the superintendent of the road before you can collect on trains?” “Bother your superintendent! Don’t you see how eager the people are to help the striking, textile workers? Why should you interfere?” “But it will cost me my job if they find out! ‘If you are in trouble, you don’t have to'get“anybody else in!” mentally he ‘seenied an infant. lowed him out to the platform. Union Must Help Strikers, “Did your union,do,anything to help this strike?” I asked, “Of course not!” he blustered out. “We have our own troubles!” “Perhaps if you'tried helping your fellow-workers a little more you would have fewer troubles of your own,” I ventured. “Help!” he almost, screamed. “Why, when we were on strike no one helped I fol- Don’t waste your breath, put It on|us, and many of the textile workers paper. scabbed on us! Help nothing!” SECOND PRIZE WINNER. ‘ BRUTAL SPEED-UP SYSTEM USED IN CALIFORNIA FANCY LEATHER GOODS COMPANY OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES, Calif, March 18—“Hurry up! Hurry up! Whenever I arrive iw the California Fancy yourself, but make it snappy.” Leather Goods company I am always “speed-up” plant, Sears and Roebuck of Chicago. Don’t kill reminded of the words of the famous The only difference is that in the Sears Roebuck plant, they hired special mem to: lioller these words all day long, and here the boss himself, who is also ‘the ‘foreman, does this dirty work. My First Impressions . The very first day I felt the results of that speed-up system. As a new worker in that factory and in that line of work, I was put to work beside a boy who had worked there a long time and received a few pennies more, for which he had to work like a horse, I certainly could not work as fast as that boy, and I couldn’t keep him going. The boss came every min- ute and yelled, “Look here, he is wait- ing for you. Can’t you make it a little snappier!” The result was that, when I came home at night, I was so tired I couldn't move any part of my body. Not Allowed to Say a Word. When you talk to one of the work» ers even if only about the job, the IMT WORKER CORRESPONDENCE _ 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 by every worker. F 10 Cents 12 copies for one dollar. THE DAILY WORKER PUB, CO, 1113 W. Washington Blvd. n9% boss immediately appears and shouts “This is not a talking shop. Don’t talk now. You'll talk at lunch time!” Spies in the Wash Rooms. You are not allowed to go to the wash room only twice a day, and only for two or three minutes. Even in the wash room the boss or his spies come and try to apply the speed-up system, When necessity compels ‘a worker to remain there a few minutes longer, the boss yells, “What the hell! Are you going to stay there all day?” Once a woman came into the fac- tory and asked to see her daughter. This brute of a boss started to hol- ler ,at the poor old woman, “Don’t bother ué mow. You'll see her after five o’clock,. and! then you'll talk to her, as much as 3 chased her ont her face. ~ , Miserable Wages. For all these brutal conditions, the young boys and girls that‘work there, ‘Set as little as ten and twelve. dollars a, week, The highest wages are fit- teen dollars a week and only to those ‘ please,” and he shut the door in | who work there over one, year, Necessity ‘of Organization, Comrades! Fellow workers! Old and} young! Boys and girls! Do you know why the boss is so brutal’to us? Do you know why we.all work for such miserable wages and. live under juch terrible conditions? | Because we are isolated from each. ape Be- cause we are unorganized. Let us not spy on ourselves, but ‘stand together. Let us organize into one solid unit just like one body. Then we will not only shut up the foul mouth of our brutal boss, but we will also win higher wages and better conditions. Tn unity there is strength! Notes to Contributors, Every day our mail contains letters with pictures that have appeared in other newspapers which would be suitable for reproduction in The DAILY WORKER, We are very glad Indeed to receive ey and Ww He was @ large man physically, bu 0 Ed at EE Sr He seemed furious. I could see very plainly that there must have been a great deal of propaganda cir- culated among the conductors and guards of the trains in order to poison their minds against the textile strik- ers and get them to co-operate with the road owners in preventing tag day collections for the textile strikers on the trains. I went off'at the next station and tried other trains with more success. There were a few other conductors of the same type, but there were a great many who pretended not to see and even helped me in opening the doors in going from car to car on the rush- ing trains, Guard Aids Collector. “Listen, lady, you'd better go down below at the entrance and do your collecting, because this platform. is}: just swarming with road detectives and they will turn you over to a cop!” I turned and looked up into the kindly face of a train guard. In his eyes there was a world of sympathy for the cause of the strikers. “The police will interfere down be- low,” I told him. His face clouded somewhat. Just then a train rushed into the station, “Well, then, get on this train. See, it’s quite full and you can get a lot there. If you get.more than you can carry let me know, and I will come and help.” The genial warmth of his voice was like a bright ray, of sunshine and heartened me wonderfully. Workers Sympathize With Strikers, “Easy to see, that the people are in sympathy with the strikers,” said a member of the relief committee as he spilled the contents,of my box out on the table. “Neyer;before did I find so many quarters, half dollars and even dollars in. ,eollection boxes!”. That is true. I have gone collecting before, but never did. people give so eagerly and were even thankful for the opnortunity to help. THIRD PRIZE WINNER. ORGANIZED SIX WEEKS AND MILLINERY WORKERS SET THEIR OWN PRICES By a Worke® Correspondent NEW YORK, March 18.—It is now six weeks since the girls in the R. H. Meyers millinery shop of New York have been organized, and have affiliated with the millinery work- ers’ union. Price committees are still new to the boss and he is uncomfortable. Every Monday even- ing he finds himself battling with union members over the price of a dozen hats, Several times our wages have been “delayed because the price commit- tee and the ,boss have been unable to reach an agreement. The organ- izer of our union had to be called in before we could receive our wag Often the members of the price committee have thrown up their hands in despair and have vowed never again to waste an evening haggling with the boss over pric but they have persevered for the sake of their fellow-workers. The other day our forelady failed to divide the work equally among the girls. One of the girls pro- tested, and the shop was full of excitement. The boss came running in like a wild man, shouting: “What is ti rumpus all about! 1 don’t want girls here who raise a rumpus. Any girl that will do it again will be fired.” But we all looked at him and smiled, knowing how useless hie threats were since we have Joined the union, SPREAD “OUR DAILY” By a Worker Correspondent NEW YORK, March 18.—I am very much interested in the Worker Cor- respondence page in The DAILY WORKER and because I like it I spread our paper so that many more workers may see it, Usually I buy my paper every eve- ning and read it very carefully. , Trav- eling to the shop on the train the next morning I take it along and dis- play it. Some of the people in the train give me a scared look while others appear curious. When I leave I drop my paper on the seat and in- variably someone picks it up. We all should try to spread our paper and always leave a copy on the train and in restaurants and wher- ever workers congregate, “The pen ip fhightier than the sword,” pro now how to use SPOT. CORRESPONDENTS BY JANUARY 13 1927 THE “AMERICAN WORKER CORRESPONDENT” WILL BE OUT ON APRIL 1ST The first issue of the American Correspondent will be out on April 1, After that it will come out regu- larly on the first of each month, Every worker correspondent will want to see it. It will contain just the kind of articles that he has been wanting to help hin in his work of writing for our press, There will be articles telling just what kind of news to send in, There will be articles telling how to go after such news There will be manuscripts by worker correspond- ents:in the rough and the corrected copy right beside: it, with the rea- sons for the changes made so that any worker will learn by that worker correspondent’s mistakes. There will be articles about worker correspondents and their activities in other countries: There will be short snappy lessons to help worker correspondents, Just the kind of magazine every worker correspondent has wished for—now it has arrived! 0, rather, it is on its way. April 1st it will be here. But one feature of this magazine we have left for the last. It will cost some money to get it out. Not for salaried writers—all work is vol- unteered—but for paper and post- age, etc. But what worker correspondent will mind the small sum of 50 cents a year for a subscription to such a valuable little paper? In fact many have sent in--$1.50 to go for a standing fund t6 get the magazine started, wb Get on the: honor roll. You can afford that Iftié: sum, too, if these worker correspondents, some of them living omjvery small wages, have made theacrifice of sending one dollar, te Get excited about the magazine, too! Pin one dollar to this article and sent it bagk to us, Editor Amer- ican Worker. Correspondent, 1113 West Washington Bivd. Start the ball rolling! «96 Worker cornessondents, your slo- gan: x WRITE AS XO FIGHT! Lae Textile M r Employ Superintfindent to Spy on Girl’s Lavatory By A Passaic Striker. (Worker Correspondent) PASSAIC, N. J., March 18 — The working conditions in the New Jersey | spinning mill is something awful. The ladies’ room is not fit for animals, but it is honored, with a toilet super- intendent. aut We can not go,into the ladies’ room without someone. spying on us, and if you want to know who that spy is I will tell you that it is the night superintendent. We can’t go into the toilet without his coming in there, and snooping around, The toilet is a filthy place with water on the floor and wool and oil and dirt all over the place. There are only three side tenders to four sides when there should be four. And yet we got our wages cut. And if sometimes we get good wool so we can stand and look for a little awhile, that toilet superintendent comes around and stares at us and tells us to keep moving. We have no lunch hour, but have to eat while we work, and cannot even go out for a bit of fresh air, or so much as stand for a°moment without that toilet superintendent watching us, 33% Keep Up the ight, Says Trade Unionist to Passaic Strikers By a Worker Correspondent As a trade unionigt who is inter- ested in your cause I have nothing but admiration for the splendid fight you are making., Don't be fooled by ‘the statement made by Mr, Joh He says he will deal with only fide unions. We know how the are treated when they really do work in these mills, When their deléates go there, they are guarded all the time they ‘e in the mills. I suppose they are d they might talk union to you. These mill owners will employ only ‘non-union men for maintenance work, and any efforts made by unions in the past to get union conditions have been met with the opposition of men like Col, Johnstone, SO men and wo- men stand together, it is not you as individu nor your organizer the it is your union, Ly HE winner of the first prize this which appears on this page. articles will be somewhat different First Prize: may be added on’ to the winner's upon receipt of his choice. Send in your contributions. get more. DAY, not only on Friday. Worker Correspondent’s page. Get written by workers for workers, for it, too. WORKER CORRESPONDENTS! N. Y. Police Line Up with Textile Bosses to Kill Strikers’ Tag Day By MICHAEL CHATSKY (Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK, March 18—New York City had a tagrday for the benefit of the Passaic strikers. The strikers were arranged in groups with one New Yorker as a guide and they were sent into the needle trade section dur- ing the lunch hour. I was in a group of thirty assigned to Seventh Ave. from 24th St: to 40th St. Wheneveryone was in his as- signed place I made the rounds to encourage the collectors. To my astonishment I could not find a single collector, I learned later that the police had chased them away. With the remaining few in the neighborhood, I started back for the headquarters. We were stopped on the street by a policeman and taken to the police station for no reason whatever other than being Passaic strikers, At the police station they shoved us into iron cages, five to a cage. After a while they brought us into the presence of his honor, Judge Goodman, who told us, without being asked, that he was born in New York, and that he cared very much about the order that was kept in the city, and that he would not permit any disorder at any time. Our attorney, J. Brodsky, informed the judge that there had been no disorder at any time. After a period the judge grant- ed a suspension of sentence, The pur- pose of the whole performance having been of course to kill the tag day. It may be difficut to believe but this is a true story of what actually hap- pened—no, not under the czar, not in Bulgaria, not in Italy; but right here, in the United States of America, the so-called land of the free. THE WINNERS A six month’s sub to The DAILY WORKER which Second Prize: The choice of any $2.00 book from the Books for Workers’ catalogue which will be sent to the winner as soon as he is awarded the prize, and the book will be mailed to him immediately Third Prize: Education in Soviet Russia, by Scott Nearing. Write as You Fight! Many are coming in but we should We want a full page of Worker Correspondence EVERY Write about the shop, factory and Job. Go out and interview other workers, Talk to them wherever you meet them always with the thot in mind of getting a story for the body likes to read the Worker Correspondents’ page because it is If you enjoy reading it, then write The DAILY WORKER CANNOT HAVE TOO MANY Yemnas rasema-aypran koro omaend a3, === HOKbI MMP = At the meeting of the Chicago Novy Mir worker correspondents, held last Wednesday night, 8 subscriptions for the American Worker Correspondent were taken up and it was decided to arrange a special affair for the benefit of the American Worker Corres- pondent in the near future. aa oS Number six of Prolet-Tribune, the Russian living newspaper published by the worker correspondents of the Novy Mir will be out this Saturday, March 20, at the Workers’ House, 1902 W. Division St. Beginning at 8 p. m. Admission 26 cents, This living newspaper is appearing regularly now for the past six months, Many new worker correspondents joined the origigal group who started the venture. The contents usually is as good, or even better than many a Russian pa- per or magazine published in the United States. Not only workers, but even intellectuals are attending each issue of the pi Even its enemies admit that it is a power, 5 SEND IN A SUB, 4 week, a cartoon framed, Is Hannah L. Sigel, who wrote about collecting funds for the Passaic strik- ers on a tag day. Her experiences are very interestingly told in the article, “New York Workers Respond Readily to Passaic Strikers” The winner of the second prize, “Social Forces in American His- tory,” by A. M. Simons, goes to a leather goods worker In Los Angeles, Calif., who. in his article, “Brutal Speed up System Used in California Fancy Leather Goods Company of Los Angeles,” depicts the tragic helplessness of the unorganized worker, The winner of the third prize, “Lincoln, Labor and Slavery,” by Herman Schlueter, goes to a New York Millinery Worker who writes about the new conditions in the millinery shops since the girlg have or- ganized and should be an inspiration to the Chicago millinery workers in their present organization drive. All three articles appear on this page. Next Week’s Prizes The prizes offered for this week's best Worker Correspondents’ from those previous. subscription if he is a subscriber. the facts and send them in. Every- DETROIT STREET CAR EMPLOYES MUST DANCE AND PAY FOR IT T00 By W, BURCK (Worker Correspondent) DETROIT, Mich. March 18.—A new way of doping the workers has been inaugurated by the officials of the Detroit Street Railway, which is municipally owned. This new class _ collaboration scheme is in the from of dance so- cials given under the direction of the superintendent of personnel. The expense of these affairs, which are given in rented halls, is borne by the conductors and motor- men thru a collection at the various car barns. The men are checked off as they donate. Those who do not contribute are called into the super- intendent’s office the next day, and asked if they would like to donate to the dance fund. In such a situation the men have no alternative. It is either a case of.donate or have yourself put on the black list by the superintendent, to be persecuted in the future. Some of the bosses attend these dances to create an impression that they are interested in the workers’ welfare. But the men are begin- ning to see thru this class collabora- tion scheme, and the last few dance socials were poorly attended. Young Textile Workers Will Give Fat Barons a Fight to a Finish By A Passaic Striker (Worker Correspondent) PASSAIC, N. J., March 18 — In the early days when slaves existed they were forced to work from 12 to 18 hours a day., These conditions still exist in the textile mills of Passaic and vicinity. We are not going to be driven about the mills by the textile barons like a herd of sheep. They have blind- ed us enough. We are not going to stand for that slave driving business. Now we are on strike and we are going to-show the rest of the textile indystry ‘and labor organizations that we are going to fight these textile barons till we win. Page Five CROOKED LABOR OFFICIAL GIVEN GATE BY MINERS Progressives Win Fight to Keep Him Out By a Worker Correspondent SPRINGFIELD, March 18.—Domin: ick Teneski, a notorious embezzler of miners’ union funds, and henchman of Frank Farrington, has been refused admittance into the Miners’ Union by Local Union No. 494, by a vote of 78 to 1, The reactionary officfils of the district union warned the local un- ion that they must accept this hench- man of theirs, but the local union showed by its vote that it is out to get rid of its crooks and labor fakers. Teneski is the gentleman who stole $1,400 from the union for bury- ing members who are still living. The district uhion has a death benefit whereby it pays $250 for burial to the dead member. Teneski was finan- cial secretary of a local union and he would forge a death certificate and with the aid of the district officials would collect the déath benefit: He was exposed by his local union and expelled from the Miners’ Union for 99 years. For embezzlement of the local union funds Teneski was con- victed to 10 years in a state penl- tentiary. After a few months in the peniten- tiary, the wheels of Farrington’s cor- rupt machine began to move, and Teneski was pardoned by Gov. Small. Then Teneski was employed at the Capitol Mine by Supt. Smith wpon the recommendation of A. D. Lewis, state appointee of Gov. Small and brother of John L. Lewis, the president of the International Union. It is thru this same A. D. Lewis, the director of the state department of mines and minerals, that eight members of Farrington’s district exe- cutive board and three of Farrington’s sub-district officials, received their state certificates for first class mine managers, Evidently, these labor fakers are beginning to realize that the progressive miners are determin- ed in their work of cleaning out the ‘corruption and so these labor fakers are preparing themselves to serve the coal operators. Passaic Weavers Are Thru with Boss-Ruled, Company-Owned Union By A Weaver (Worker Correspondent) PASSAIC, N. J., March 18 — Forst- mann & Huffmann is supposed to have a union for the workers. This union is composed of bosses, a foreman and a few workers. The workers are there as orna- ments. They are afraid to open there mouths because the foreman and boss are standing there taking note of all that is being said, and ready to pick on them, When the United Front Committee of Textile Workers sent in their de- mands for the forty-four hour week and a ten per cent increase they tore these demands to pieces. And these are supposed to represent the work- ers. The bosses wondered why Forst- mann & Huffmann employes came out on strike. But we workers know. Fellow workers, stick together and we will have a workers’ union not @ bosses’ union. Gera Mill Employes Gripple Each Other in Fight for Bread By a Worker Correspondent, PASSAIC, N. J., March 18—I am employed as a spooler in Gera Mills, and the conditions in our department aren’t fit for human beings. There are about sixty girls and sometimes we have to wait three and four hours for bolbins, sometimes all day, and we don't get one cent for the time we lose. When they do bring us bolbins there are only enough to supply about 12 girls. So a scramble starts, the sixty girls all on top of one another fighting to see who can get heir buck- et filled first. Eyeglasses broken, bleeding noses, scratched arms and faces, and this is what they call efficiency, TEXTILE WORKERS! BECOME DAILY WORKER CORRESPONDENTS dso THOUSAND extra copies of this Special Textile Strike edition will be circulated in the big textile centers of the country. Most of these will be distributed among the Passaic strikers. Thousands of textile workers will therefore read The DAILY WORKER ‘or the first time. They ers Correspondent'’s department. working ¢' daily newspaper is like. will get acquainted with our Work- They will learn what a fighting The DAILY WORKER ex- tends an earnest invitation to all those workers to join our growing army of worker correspondents. Hundreds of textile workers should become Worker Correspond- ents, like other hundreds of workers who write for The DAILY WORKER, Perhaps you do not think you can write. But other workers have thot like you and have learned differently since they have started to write for The DAILY WORKER. Writing is a habit, Get it. Every worker must cultivate it. Once you have acquired it you will want to tell about everything that happens to you to other workers. Correspondence Editor, "DAILY Bivd., Chicago, Hil, Send all contributions to Workers WORKER, 1113 W. Washington ara oe stecernens cemmcneenmmmeaentaaacaaeaI ae r