The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 27, 1926, Page 13

By Jimmy Clifford. I Fuori CYNTHIA MOSLEY, million- aire part-owner of a big coal mine at Zeigler, Illinois, calls herself a socialist and is touring this country in the interest of the socialist party simultaneously ‘with taking legal steps to get more profits out of this coal mine property in southern Illinois, Lady Mosley recently visited East Liverpool, Ohio, as a special guest of the chamber of commerce to investi- gate the pottery plants and the con- dition of the workers, was entertained by the members of the chamber of commerce, officials of ‘the pottery unions and members of the Potters’ Manufacturers’ Association. (Class collaboration.) The party dined at the country club. She was asked, “How do conditions among the laboring people of the United States compare with those in England?” She answered: “There is very lit- tle comparison between working peo- ple in the two countries. In England the average worker lives with his fam- . ily, often of five or six children, in one room in a tenement house, Pov- erty prevails everywhere. The aver- age potter in England receives about 45 shillings, which is about $11 per week, |In America the workers in many cases live in their own homes, drive automobiles to work, their fami- lies are well dressed and they seem prosperous. Everywhere I have vis- ited the workers are contented; in England there is a general spirit of unrest in all industries. One of the most serious things which we have to contend with in the English pot- teries is the dust which settles upon the ware while it is being fired for the first time. A man after a few years’ work in the potteries is sub- ject to a poisoning which soon wrecks his whole system. You have up-to- date machinery in this country by which, I am told, much of this disease Every class-conscious worker knows that regardless of what country he ts working in that he and all other work- ers are being exploited by the capi- talist class, who own and control the factories, mines and mills, and there is only one country in the world where the workers are not robbed Lady Mosley Visits East Live and they get the full product of their toil, and an equal opportunity to work, to learn and to develop physically and intellectually. That country is Russia, which is governed by the pro- letariat for the benefit of all the work- ers. Therefore, it. is true there is no comparison between the workers in any country where the capitalist sys- tem has control. A worker is a worker and the results are the same. In America their ‘families’ live in one or two rooms and also in com- pany-owned shacks. Poverty. prevails in this country and it is not hard to find if you look for it.. So’I do not think that the workers in this country are any better off than the workers are in England. The average -worker’s America is about enough to enable him to exist day by day, to produceé more wealth for his boss; that is, if he has a job; if not, then he is out of luck. “Many workers owning their homes and automobiles” is a joke—a few workers are, no doubt, struggling to buy a home. But when an industrial depression comes to pass or the worker goes on strike for better work- ing .conditions they are not able to meet their payments in the loan, the bank forecloses on them. If they do Manage to pay.for a home by that time the worker is worn out and old enough to die. Yes, some of the work- ers are buying “Fords” and second- hand automobiles on the installment plan. Their cars are ready for the junk pile by the time they are paid for, “We are prosperous and contented” bunk, the worker who seems pros- perous and contented is the deluded self-hypnotized Henry Dubb, who is dumb enough to believe that we live in a freé country, and that his chil- Monotony By Esther Aron. co clang of the alarm clock awak- ens Anna from dreams of a magic land of health and freedom. She looks at the clock and sighs—God! another day of monotony! She forces herself to get out of bed—lazily puts on one shoe, then another. Mrs. El- vine, her mother, peeps in and calls: “Anna, for goodness sakes! Anna, its getting very late and your breakfast is getting cold.” Anna does not respond, for thé very same words have echoed in her brain morning after morning, week after week, Mechanically she puts on her hat, gulps down her cup of cold taste- less coffee—rushes out. She must rush; she cannot stop to enjoy her meal or appreciate or discriminate in her food, for she must hurry to She cannot even enjoy the sweet, fresh smelling air of the morning. She must take the subway, where human beings are herded together like dumb, driven cattle. She reaches it and is mashed into the crowded train while the gards yell, “Plenty of room inside! All aboard!” Anna is nearly crushed to death; more than ever are the crowds pour- ing in from all ends of this great city. At last the train lands at Forty-second street. On the steps she meets Essil, the swift one from her shop. A look of smug contentment shines on her face, for is she not lucky to have the opportunity of sewing hats? Is she not the swiftest girl in the Place? To Essil the employer was a god who deigned to give his lower beings a chance to serve him. But to Anna, life had once meant more than threading endless needles to sew hats that she can never dream of wearing. At times she felt like shouting to the forelady: “Give me anything—shoes; coats, anything but hats—hats!” but the words always died in her throat, Who was she to rebel?—a little ant inthis bigoworld,. What right had sheto remance ‘and adventure? Those things which every young person craves—she, just a slave in a capi- talist grinding machine—a little nec- essary but unimportant cog in the wheel, And she would once more return to the monotony of stitch—stitch—end- less stitch. “eo: The Botany Mills Cut Many if ina Botany Consolidated Mills, Inc., was incorporated March 21, 1924, under the laws of Delaware. Its function is that of a holding company. It has acquired 99 per cent of the stock of the Botany Worsted Mills in Passaic, N, J., the assets, business and property of the Garfield Worsted Mills, Garfield, N. J., and large inter- ests in two German textile groups, controlling some 30 affiliated compan- ies in Germany, Hungary, Czecho-Slo- vakia, Italy, Latvia and Holland. The foreign companies are engaged in spinning and weaving woolen fabrics, ribbons, tapes and laces. The New Jersey companies constitute complete units. for the manufacture of dress goods, cloakings and worsted yarns. "The Botany Worsted Mills was in- corporated in 1889. The company op- erates 2,200 looms and its normal ca- pacity is 125,000 pounds of yarn and 225,000 yards of woven dress goods per week. It owns 67 acres of land on which are located the 109 buildings of the plant, with an aggregate floor space of 2,124,175 square feet. The Garfield Worsted Mills Laeyond in 1902, It operates 1, che ie has also weaving, dyeing finishing facilities. Its normal ca- 100,000 yards per week. It acres of land in Garfield and the aggregate floor space of its plant is 376,360 square feet. The two foreign groups controlled @ Botany Consolidated g g E knitting spindles. They employ about 11,000 workers. liminary financing—apparently about When the holding company was or- ganized in March, 1926, it proceeded to issue $9,227,300 in 10-year 6% per cent bonds. The bonds were sold by Blair and company at 96%, and with the proceeds the holding com- pany proceeded to acquire the assets and business of the Garfield Worsted Mills and the stock of the Botany Worsted Mills. The holding company also issued 100,000 shares of Class A stock with a par value of $50 and 479,000 shares of common stock without par value. The Class A stock was sold by Blair and company at 46% to 48 per share, and the proceeds were used to buy an interest in the two German groups, and also to make additional payments for the stock of the Botany Worsted Mills. , Of the common stock, 461,187 shares were given in part payment for Botany Worsted Mills stock, and 18,000 shares ‘to hold options with the 34,000 shares of old Botany Mills stock. The financing brot them in $15,000,000 in cash—$10,000,000 from the’ bond issue, and $5,000,000 from the sale of Class A stock. With this cash, they bought the Garfield Mills for an unknown sum, loaned some $4,000,000 to the foreign companies and secured an option for their con- trol, and paid an unknown but sub- stantial balance to themselves for the surrender of their old stock to the new company. In addition, they dis- tributed practically all the common stock of the new company to them- selves—a total of 479,000 shares. So while they went into the deal with 34,000 shares of Botany Worsted Mills, they came out with a new com- Dany purchased outright (Garfield), important foreign holdings, a few mil- lions of cash, and 479,000 new shares in the holding company. If this de- duction is in any way sound, it would foreign companies. Thus a total of|/appear that the 1924 merger was the 47,9187 common has been issued, The Class A stock is a preferred stock in effect. It is to receive a minimum of $4 per share per year, or 8 per cent, and to share with common up to a maximum of $7, or 14 per cent per share per year. " Without further detailed informa- tion, it is difficult to know just what the inner meaning of this merger amounts to, From the facts available it would appear that it was probably the stockholders of the Botany Worsted Mills—a few large holders— who initiated the merger, They or- ganized the holding company, put up usual gtory of reorganization whereby the accumulated surplus of a profit- able operating company (in this case the Botany Worsted Mills) is made the subject for the cutting of a con- siderable melon, in cash, and @ tre- mendous inflation in number of shares of common stock to a no par basis. Thus the ratio of return on said com- mon can no longer be referred to a definite par value, and be criticized for its high index of profitableness. From the facts and figures published by the corporation records of the Standard Statistics company, the above deduction is a legitimate one, their stock as security during the pre- and it devolves upon the holding com- rpool, Ohio dren have an equal opportunity to become president of the United States some day. Nevertheless, they are the product of the capitalist state of society, The American potter does not live to be very old. The flint that is used in the clay to make ware is detri- mental to the health of ‘the potter: They inhale the dust and it cuts inte their lungs and the consequences are they suffer and die with what is com- monly called the potter’s rot, “We have up-to-<ate machinery,” but it does not benefit the worker. He has to speed up and produce more with the improved appliances. When we, the workers, own and control the industries like the workers do in Rus: sia then we will get the advantages of all modern machinery, Lady Mosley, all the workers in America are not contented and we do not pretend, or intend to be, until the capitalist system is overthrown and the workers are in control of the means of production, We are now de- nied the right to live as human beings. We desire the opportunity to culti- vate our taste for art, literature, mu- sic, travel, work and recreation. In the past we workers have been too busy producing wealth which made it possible for the idle class to live in luxury and enjoy the fullness of life. We are tired of being subservient and listening to such insults as are being told: that we are prosperous and contented. Bah! Workers, we must agitate, educate, organize and fight, until we come into our own. Be men and women and refuse to be capitalized, and use all our efforts to be sovietized, like the workers did in Russia, Lady Mosley, with the few hours that you spent in this town, you can- Dot be entertained and dined by the bosses, superintendents and labor of- ficials in the most exclusive club house in the town, hurriedly go thru the few modern shops, and then ex- pect to have a genera] knowledge of the workers’ condition. I would sug- gest that you make an investigation of the river road potteries, and the bomes in Harker avenue, Erie street, Jethro, Dixonville and other sections where the workers live. Then if you are sincere I know that your calcula- tions of the workers’ conditions would be about the same in this country as ‘you report them to be in England. Melons Dany to submit the data to refute the deduction if it is in error, Assets and Liabilities, he last reported balance sheet of the holding company is for June 1, 1925. This is a consolidated balan: Aheet covering the assets and Mabili- ties of both the Botany and Garfield Mills. Current assets are $27,000,000 while current liabilities are Only $12,000,000 —an excess of over two for one. Meanwhile surplus, or the total value of the no par common stock, is no less than $23,809,000—or about $49 a share. yee profits of the Botany Worsted Mills are reported as averaging $3,160,212 per year for the 7 years ended Dec. 31, 1923, On the basis of 34,000 shares in Botany Worsted Mills oustanding, this would mean an average per year of $93 per share, If the shares were $100 par, the rate of earnings would be 93 per cent. Five or six dollars a share on 479,000 no par value shares looks much better than 93 per cent on 34,000 shares of $100 par value, Since the merger, the new company has made substantial earnings, tho Rot as great as the old Botany Mills company was averaging. Costs of re- organization, liquidating old claims, promoting foreign interests, are neces- sarily heavy to begin with, and it is undoubtedly the hope of the holding company to increase its showing of profit when these outlays are done with. But even’ with this expense the earnings for 1924 were $2,000,000. This means that the earn- ings were nearly $60 a share on the old 34,000 of Botany Mills stock, ° |