The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 30, 1926, Page 5

UNIONS MUST AID NEW YORK HOME WORKERS Working Class Mothers Toil for Low Wages By EDITH FRADKIN, (Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK, March 28,—A number of women were in the waiting room of a large embroidery shop, Work was being handed out to us to take home. By working very hard at the work given to us we could not make more than 20 cents an hour. The work the forelady handed out was hard and very poorly paid. The better and the higher paid work the forelady kept for “special” customers, Forelady Discriminates, A finely dressed lady walked in and handed the forelady a box of candy, The forelady then handed this lady a lot of the better and higher-paid work, ‘When we began to ask why this was being done, and why we were being discriminated against the forelady de- clared haughtily: “Well you can go it you don’t like it.” Some of the women came with their children from out of the city and could not go from one shop to another look- ing for work. They had to take any work at any price given to them. I asked the well-dressed woman what she thought about the low prices that were paid. She answered: “They are good enuf for me, because I am a contractor and give out the work at a cheap rate. I am from Newark and the women there are very glad to take it for any price I give them and I am making money on a” Union Must Organize tndustry. If the embroidery workers’ union ‘would organize the frame hand work- ers in the shops, then we home work: ers would be able to join the union and get better pay for our work and \ not let ourselves be exploited as much ) as we are. I appeal to the Embroid- ery Workers’ Union to do their duty. Organized labor is the only one that a» can help the home women of the working class, whose home life is made almost unbearable in their eéf- forts to take care of the children and to earn enuf to make the rooms they live in.a home. Westinghouse Worker » Tells Experience with » Jehovah’s Salesmen By ANDY, Worker Corrrespondent. WILKINSBURG, Pa., March 28. — Salusky is an American worker of Polish parents employed at the West- inghouse East Pittsburgh plant. He is @ young man, 25 years old. Recently. he had the ill fortune to fall in love sand marry a young catholic fanatic. Immediately after Salusky’s miar- jriage the salesmen of Jehovah began calling on the young couple and mak- ing Hfe miserable for poor Salusky. The first visit by two churchmen re- sulted in the extraction of a $12 dona- tion from Salusky. The following Sunday afternoon a couple of other salesmen appeared at Salusky’s home asking for a donation for another church. The 50 cents an hour Westinghouse slave refused to give anything, but his young bride forced him to pay $5. This incident made our victim fighting mad. For Salusky, Sunday, the day he had al- ways looked forward to for recreation after six days of slavery at Westing- house, now took on the character of a horrible nightmare, Six week days passed and another Sunday came. In the afternoon, true to form, into Salusky’s home walked “the committee to raise funds to build & good house for a good bishop” and asked for a $25 donation, For a moment Salusky remained speechless, Then: “I like your nerve,” he shouted. “Get out of this house and stay out.” His wife’s pleading and threats could not move Salusky any more; F The committee got out. So did Sa- lusky’s young wife. She left home because Salusky would not let these leeches feed on him. “Religion is the opium of the peo- ple,” says Karl Marx. So it is. Note to editor: This is a true story. Please publish it at once as many workers here are waiting for its pub- Heation. I want a bundle of 30 copies of the issue in’ which it appears, ‘The more you'll write the better you'll like it. Bulent THE is alone a very good reason to SS Bid. TO WORKER CORRESPONDENTS for the best stories sent in during the week, to a the issue of Friday, April 2. ppear in A New Book ni ea dg Stool Pigeon and the Open Shop Movement,” by Jean Spiel- man. An exposure “presenting invaluable facts’ on the labor spy. ye year’s subscription to THE WORKERS MONTHLY. You'll enjoy this prize for a whole year, po cine Ossip’—Stories by the best of the new revolutionary writers of Russia, Write a story now about your shop, trade union, how you live. Make it short, give facts—give your name and addr HARVESTER SHOP CUTS WAGES OF ITS MECHANICS Works Council is Bosses’ Tool, Need Real Union By a Worker Correspondent MILWAUKEE, Wis., March 28—At the last monthly meeting of The In- ternational Harvester Works Council, composed partly of workers an@ em- ployers, the manager, L. G. Brooks in speaking for the bosses gave a loud and lengthy talk on how well the workers were treated at the plant. He declared that their workers received the highest piece-work rate in the city and that workers should not quit their jobs because of the fine shop conditions they have. The flunkey of the bosses appealed to the men to get any experienced machinists that they know working in other factories to gome to The International Harvester. Co. for a job, The way Brooks spoke one would think the harvester,.com- pany was heaven for the workera., What are the real facts? ro There are workers that receive only 40 and 45 cents an hour. There .are departments located in basements that are always damp. ‘Lack of air is very evident there. Artificial lights must: always be used in these dead holés, In winter, the workers must wear’ex- tra clothing. because of the lacq°of heat and the draft. hs “VOICE OF TAILOR NEW PROGRESSIVE ORGAN IN PHILLY Raps Joint Board Lead- ership (By a Worker Correspondent.) PHILADELPHIA, March 28.— “The Voice of the Tailor” is the name ot the organ of the Trade Union Educa- tional League of the Philadelphia Amalgamated Clothing Workers mak- ing its first appearance this week. The slogans of the publication, the first issue of which is being mimeo- graphed, are “One for all and all for one” and “Thru unity and struggle— to power.” The leading article takes heavily to task those in control of the Phila- delphia Joint Board of the A. C. W. “The present Joint Board, under the leadership of Sam Rudow, Sam Lon- don and J. Mekdanik has succeeded in demoralizing the organization of the Philadelphia tailors,” says the ar- ticle. Bad Leadership. “The leaders of the Joint Board have equalized conditions in the shops in a splendid way—by agreeing to wage reductions or forcing the work- ers to produce more so that tke union ‘can compete with the nonunion sbosses. “The workers in the shops know Only ¢oo well of their, mistreatment When eating at the cafeteria ont’ by the bosses and the slave system can always hear complaints by wo: ers of how piecework rates are Te: duced. The company has just’ com* pleted a new tractor line where they will increase their output from 75 to 125 tractors a day. In order to have the same number. of men make 125 tractors that form- erly made 75 for the same wages, the bosses are decreasing the rates.on piecework accordingly. It is only a \|few weeks ago that the chippers, had their wages cut as much as $5 a week,, When this happened one of the s0- called workers’ representatives of the Works Council wanted to find out the reason their wages were cut. When he got up to speak on the wage cut the bosses made him sit down with the answer that discussion on wage. cuts was not in order at meetings of the council, So the so-called representa- tive of the workers had to sit down with the fear that he might be fired from his job. Time and again work- ers’ representatives have been afraid to bring up real problems of the work- ers before the Works Council for fear of being fired. It is time the workers at the Harvester Company wake wp to the fact that the Works Council is a bluff. The only way workers can better their conditions is to dump the fake Works Council and organize ‘a real anion. Get together and put up a fight against the bosses for better condi- tions. Fight against the wage cuts and for an hour for dinner instead of a half hour, and an §-hour wotk apy instead of 9. Brooklyn Co-operative for War on Fascism (By. a Worker Correspondent.) BROOKLYN, N. Y., March 28—The Finnish Co-Operative Trading ciation here is one of the*many co- operative societies in the United States that have adopted resolutions protesting against the fascist terror ization of workers’ and farmers’ co- operatives in Italy and calling for a world-wide conference to combat the fascist menace, RATES: 1113 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, Ill. Enclosed §. sub to the Daily Worker. Ppunder which the workers are trodden whder foot by the smallest cockroach contractor, These evils are to a large extent the result of the incurable leadership of the present manage- ment.” Attend Meetings! The paper calls upon all workers to take a greater interest in their union meetings and to attend en masse to settle with their reactionary leader- ship. BROOKLYN COAL YARD WORKERS ARE ON STRIKE Bosses Hire Scabs to Terrorize Strikers By a Worker Correspondent. BROOKLYN, N. Y., March 28,—The workers in the Brooklyn Coal Com- pany yards have gone on’ strike de- manding better working conditions and higher wages. The company is trying to break the strike by one scabs. The 1,500 to 2,000 workers in coat distribution in New York City and Brooklyn are unorganized. They are forced to work ten hours a day at small pay. They oftentimes work two to three hours overtime without any extra pay. Most of the workers are married and the suffering in their families is intense, Workers who deliver coal and work in the coal yards need a union organ- ization to beat back the attacks of the bosses and to improve their condition, ~ : THE DAILY WORKE CHICAGO MOVIE CENSORS BAR Police Glibhings Are Taboo on Screen By CARL HAESSLER, (Federated Press Staff Correspondent There must ‘be no class propaganda in movie films shown in Chicago as long as the present personnel of the municipal board of motion picture censors is in control. This edict was impressed on the’ International Labor Defense when ifcasked permission to exhibit films depleting familiar-scenes in the class w@r,as it is waged in America, $ Police Clubbing Labor. Reels of Chiitago policemen club- bing and dragging away workers on strike at the wtockyards are particu- larly obnoxiougtthe censors declare. Mounted guardpedoing their stuff in the klan riots at Herrin are also taboo. In fact when, the censors got thru slashing the Aefense organization’s film there was,,not enough left to show. The censors,, ‘all estimable ladies headed by Miss, Sigler, sighed as they viewed the subyersive material in the projection room, ,“The police have a hard enough | time as it is,” sobbed Mrs. Adams of the board. “We should not do anything to make it harder for them, All thesé films are class propa- ganda, There must be no class propa- ganda or anything that might incite to riot.” George Maurer of the defense body asked if the truth of the films was questioned and was told that their effect was a more important issue than theirfidelity to actual events. A film from Germany depicting a judge deal- ing out upperclass justice against the workers came in for severe criticism. To cast doubt on the integrity of the courts, even of German courts, is not to be tolerated in Chicago (where cor- porations and.‘bootleggers own most of the judiciary.) >< Page Rip Van Winkle. The censors did not know of any propaganda in the movies that favors the owning and'émploying class, they indicated, and so they did not want to set a precedent’by permitting work- ‘ing class propaganda against the op- posite class. Anyhow there are no classes in America, was their parting shot as Maurer gathered up his cellu- loid and departed without the permit. Living Newspaper at Imperial Hall ‘Thursday The ‘Living: ade to be com- posed “by the’ Workers’ School next Thursday, April-ist, at Imperial Hall, 2409 N.. Halstéds St. has them all guessing. We have-approached twenty workers about: this living newspaper _| business, and almost everybody has a different idea of}what it is. It has made us doubt.the very existence of such a newspaper. Some say that, a few workers pre- pare articles on yarious subjects and proceed to read.them. Others say that this makes a.ngwspaper dead, and that in order to make it alive, the articles must be written right there in the editorial room, as the news THE DAILY WORKER, for months aary | to tal with any of the strikebreake: comes hot off the ticker, or as the cor- respondents come rushing in from the shops with their news of strike vic- tories or left gains. Still others say that The DAILY WORKER stall must rehearse their daily performance on the stage. Come and Find Out. Who is right about it? Who shall it be? Correspondents or newspaper- men? Reading or writing—there be- tore our eyes? Shall it be serious or are a few attéhpts at humor in place? Who shall say? The .commit- tee has drafted its little play, putting pep and spirit in, it, and rehearsals are going on, If the perforiifanee doesn’t conform to your idea of what it should be, then there will be nething left for you to do but to start agother newspaper in competition. All workers who write or have any desires,to write or even to read a working, glass newspaper will be at Imperial. Hall, on the day cele- brated usually by fools. Remember the Day. The Living Newspaper will change April 1st from a= ay for foolg to a day for fun. The dance after the main event will be as good in its line as the Living Newspape.. Printing Trades Worker Pickets Shop Four Years BOSTON — (FP) — James Smith, world’s champion picket, who for four years has stood outside the University Press, Cambridge, in silent remon- strance against the lockout that oc- curred at the plant on April 4, 1921, is still on the job. He was ordered off the job by the nion because there were only six fen still not employed somewhere out of the 240 men originally locked out. Two weeks ago Smith was sent back by Boston lectrotypers’’ union to distribute blanks to all electrotyp- ers, Silence is the Weapon employed by the union and Smith {8 instructed not R semaee Page Five Workers (Communist) Party WORKERS’ FILM|Party Reorganization, Socialist Fractions and the Labor Spies By JACK STACHEL. HE reorganization of our party on the basis of shop nuclei, and the organization of Communist fractions in the trade unions and other non- party workers’ organizations, such as co-operatives, workers’ fraternal: or- ganizations, workmen’s circles, altho only carried thru recently and not yet completed, has already shown to the members of our party who were skep- tical as to the new form of organiza- tions that the new forms are the only forms on which a Communist Party can be built. The reorganization on the basis of shop nuclei, the formation of Com- Mmunist centers in the shops, has plac- ed under our influence workers who heretofore had never heard of nor un- derstood the meaning of Communism. In the camp of the employers the reorganization has increased the number of labor spying agencies to whom the employers are flocking for assistance. One of these agencies has recently distributed a handsome pam; phiet to the fur manufacturers enti- tled, “Fire the Reds.” This agency sells what it calls strike prevention to the employers of labor at a rate depending on the number of workers in the plant. This agency, the American Sterling Service Corporation, operates on the following plan. from the plant directly who are will- ing to become spies against their fel- low workers and these plant spies re- main working at their regular jobs and receive in addition for their spying ac- tivity about $40 to $60 per month, The agency that pays this sum to the fac- tory spies receives its annual fee from the employer for what they call strike prevention, In addition of course some spies are employed full ° time either directly by the employer or some agency. The reorganization of the party has also brot about an increase in» the number of bosses-controlled and in+ spired shop committees and company unions, That the organization of nucleiiand Communist fractions is being wateléd carefully by the labor bureaucracy‘of the American Federation of Labor cai be seen from the following quotation taken from the Labor Advocate offi- cial organ of the Bulding Trades Council of Cincinnati and vicinity,°*" “Orders were received from Moscow many months ago to abandon thé old brauch, ward, and city form of’ po» litical units and adopt the “factory nuclei” plan. This has been doné, and in carrying out the order a cafd index system has been compiled show: ing the occupation, industry, factory, and home address of each Communist Party member (emphasis mine J. S.). Every member is held accountable for the successful spread of Communist doctrine in every factory or workshop where he is employed. Each man and woman must give unquestioning obedi- ence to the central authority.” The reaction of the enemy to the creation of Communist fractions in the unions has been similar. Here the trade union bureaucracy is acting as the agent of the capitalists,’ pledged to uphold the present order of things. Thru their policy of class collabora- tion, these agents of the bourgeoisie} in the labor movement are now be-| coming more militant against the| Communists and the left wing in gen- eral. This “militancy” (more and more going over openly to fascism— Beckerman ip the A. C. W. A., etc.) | expresses itself in all unions where} the left wing is of some strength, and finds its highest expression in those unfons where the Communists and the lefts aré particularly strong, in the needle trades, and other unions where the struggle for leadership is be- tween the socialists and the Commu- nists. Here the socialists are ¢alling for the organization of “socialist fractions” in the trade unions as well as in all other organizations. This is a radical departure from the policy They pick workers i positive socialist program. The ‘big mass is not Communist, but they are dissastisfied—(emphasis mine—J. S,) They accept the Communist leader- ship because the Communists are the only ones who come with a positive program. “Not once waq I confronted with the following questions at meetings.” ‘You criticize the program of the lefts, well what is your program? What do you answer to the proposal of the lefte?’ To answer that things must remain status quo is of course no answer for a socialist. If it is an an- swer as some believe, it must be in- corporated in a program proclaimed by an organized group around which the mass of impartial members can gather.” (Close of the quotation—em- phasis mine—J. S.) So the socialists are going to or- wanize fractions. They are going to adopt a program. But already, we were told that this program will be to uphold status quo, only that it will be embodied in a program—namely in the policy of class collaboration. Class collaboration as the policy and the use of armed gangsters of the Beck- erman school as the enforcers of this policy,—this is what the mass of workers who are confronted with wage cuts, injunctions, open shopperism, can expect from the soeialists and the socialists fractions in the unions. The writer is evidently very frank, when jhe says that to fight against the con- servatives, the socialists did not have to organize and carry on their work systematically, but now when the Communists make up the opposition, planful and systematic organization is mecessary. This clearly follows from the political line of the Socialist Party. Against conservatism, against capitalism, no struggle but against the Communists, against the revolu- tion, against the new order, and for the capitalist system, the socialists will organize; they will ally them- selves with all the forces of reaction; they will assume the leadership in the fight to maintain the bourgeois order. ‘These two reactions to our’ organ- ization may lead some comrade’ to the conclusion that we must there- fore not form nuclei, slacken in the or- ganization of fractions, as this only increases the activity of our enemies, Others may be of the opinion that. we must not call to the attention of our comrades the increased activity of fac- tory spies, as this may frighten some of the comrades and they will slacken in their activity in the shops. Both of these arguments must be dismissed, The first one would logically lead to the conclusion that since organization on our part inevitably leads to’ the consolidation of the enemy forces, we must do nothing. As Communists:we know that this is ridiculous. We know that with the conscious van- guard, our party, leading the strug. gles of the workers, and the inevitable contradictions of capitalism at work, we will succeed in organizing’ the ma- tion. This can only be done thru the conscious intervention of the van- guard—the Communist Party. To preach passivity as a solution for the consolidation of the enemy forces is tantamount to giving up the strug- gle, or adapting the fatalistic attitude that the revolution will come inevit- ably even if there is no party unify- ing and leading the struggles of the workers, The second viewpoint that we must not acquaint our party membership with the activities of the employers, | and the spying agencies as well as call this to the attention of the entire work- ing class, is a viewpoint that would make of our party an ostrich burying its head in the sand, Only by calling these facts to the attention of: our party membership and the entire working class will we be able to de- feat the attempts of the bosses to fire the Communists out of the shops, The answer to the consolidation of he enemy forces must be a more in- that the socialists have been advocat ing in relation to the unions, This they expiain is necessary due to the fact that the fight Im the unions is no longer between socialists and con- servatives, but that there are three groups, the Communists, the social- ists and the “impartials.” This new policy is presented in the March 13 is- sue of the Wecker, weekly organ of the Jewish Socialist Verband, The following is the position ex- pressed by A. M. Morrison (Kantaro- witz). “The trouble is that many so- cialists do not understand that the tactics that were good prior to 1914 no longer hold good today, When the division in the workers’ organiza- tions was on the basis of socialists and conservatives, ‘it was probably not necessary to carry on organized, systematic work,.but now when every organization is divided between Gom- munists, socialints,’ and impartials, when the Communists come organ- ized, to capture the.organizations, it is no longer sufficient to be merely ensified and systematic organization ot ow forces, a greater and ‘more thoro training of our party member- ship a8 to bow to carry on Communist votivity “in the shop and defeat the gents ‘and ‘spies of the bosses. Fre- (went Conferences of nuclei organizers ind comrades engaged in large factor- ‘es where the spy system is most ughly developed must be instituted so that the entire party may profit from any one experience that our jority of the workers for the revolu-! party meets. This also leads to the sroblem of gathering the sympathetic forces in the shop that will not yet ncept the Communist program around us, and furthermore to provide some means of organization in the shop for the workers in the form of sport clubs, ete., this particularly in the unorgan- ized industries employing large num- bers of workers. In the unions the new policy of the socialists to build fractions, must be answered by a more systematic om ganization of our fractions, and the drawing closer of all comrades active in the union into party work in the nuclei and other units of the party. The fractions must build around them- selves all the sympathetic elements, who must be organized into the left wing. The Communists must not de- mand in the union as eligibility to the left wing that the workers be willing to adopt the program of the party. The left wing must be given the broadest base possible so that we may be able to isolate the socialists. The minimum policy around which the left wing is to be formed must be of course a fight against the bureaucracy and against class collaboration. At the same time this does not preclude the possibility of forming temporary blocs from time to time’ with all ele- ments that are willing to conduct a struggle with us ‘on some one or more particular issues as they arise in the union. Thru the reorganization on the basis of shop nuclei; and the organ- ization of fractions, we have increased our influence. Now we must inten- sify the building up of the power and influence of our nuclei, intensify our work in the unions, gather the mass of sympathetic workers in the shops and unions around us, learn how to carry on our activity in the shops, as Bolsheviks, and we will soon be strong enuf to take more and more advan- tage of the objective conditions in the country, expose the labor and so- cialist eutenants of the bourgeoisie, consolidate our forces and become a mass party—the recognized leader of millions of the best workers of the country. Conference on Local Workers’ School Will Be Held on April 4 A conference on the Chicago Work- ers’ School and Methods of Instruc- tion will be held Sunday, April 4, at 10 a, m. at 19 South Lincoln St. This meeting was caHed at the request of a previous conference and has for its object the clarification of methods and means for making the school a great- er success. All teachers, members fo class com- mittees, and others interested should attend. Russian Members of Workers Party Will Meet Wednesday A special meeting of the Russian fraction of the Workers Party will be held Wednesday, March 31, at 8 p. m. at the Workers’ House, 1902 W. Divi- sion St. Very important matters will come up. All Russian members of the party are urged to attend. To Show Lenin Funeral Film in MacDonald City (Special to The Daily Worker) McDONALD, Pa., March 28-—The Im “Lenin’s Funeral” will be shown for the first time in this city at the Orpheum Theater Thursday, April 1, at 2 p. m. In addition to this film there will be a lecture on the World Court by D. E, Early, educational di- rector of the Workers (Communist) Party of Distriet No. 5. A special at- traction will be a selected comical pic- ture, The affair is arranged by the Work- ers (Communist) Party, Admission is 20 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, FREE LITERATURE SUPPLIED. MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Free copies ef the YOUNG WORKER, Tribuna Robotnicza, Pravda, and Honor and Truth, can be secured from Frank ailder, 821 Clylesurn St.. Milwaukee, -———-LOS ANGELE DAILY WORKER COSTUME DANCE With Prizes for Costumes Saturday Night, APRIE:'S”*'* Co-operative Center, 2706 Brooklyn Ave. é He has had an day. His per-|“against,” toycspeak) at meetings renee GIVE A COPY » Yon aa CIRY acssrsersseessenidiireerdMEReorsov,seomsioernsenne | | Slotency and nat hea many |against. A negative program and this “” ADMISSION 50 CENTS TO YOUR SHOPMATE! vawilion ‘|| membors for thes is claimed DOB bial wd, ate CASH e! RE UE | tate anna so4gnanvasosnnnuuenonesogenrenneataenee,, Pa the shop vars closed Folk Dances. pean in relatioméo,one faction, is no eigen Oram systematic work _Good Music lo ne ~ We must come with a nae :