The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 8, 1926, Page 6

eee seem Hr Pege Six ue THE DAILY WORKER THE DAILY WORKER » Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ill. Phone Monroe 4712 ———— SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): By mail (outside of Chicago): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per vear $3.50 six months $2.50 three months $2.00 three months .. Editors Business Manager Address all mail and make out checks to « THE DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ilinols RGSS Sa OS inl ARR he aNd aS J, LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM F, DUNNE (" MORITZ J. LOEB. Entered as second-class mail September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chi- cago, Ill., under the act of March 8, 1879. Advertising rates on application. <= EES 290 == War Preparation inthe Pacific The appointment of Carmi A. Thompson, one of the notorious “Ohio gang” of political corruptionists, to go to the Philippines to conduct an “extensive economic survey” is another yenture of Amer- ican imperialism that indicates the world-wide preparations for the next bloody extermination of peoples of nations. The Thompson mission has as its object the interesting of American capital in the Philippine islands. An inspired statement from the Coolidge administration is to the effect that it is hoped investments encouraged. thru this mission will “result in closer ties with the islands, greater interest in their problems and eventu- ally the abandonment of all thot of ever severing the political ties which retain the Philippines under the American flag.” For the Filipinos this latest move of the Coolidge government only reaffirms the belief that their freedom will never be realized thru the voluntary act of Washington, Every advance of American capital makes their struggle more difficult. Mr. Thompson’s mission, altho ostensibly economic, is in reality for military purposes. But his principal efforts will be directed toward encouraging investment of capital for certain industrial un- dertakings. This seeming paradox is readily reconciled when we consider the fact that industrial power today is the principal factor in warfare. Military experts, especially those who specialize in air- craft fighting, have proved that the Philippines with their means of defense could not be held two weeks against Japan. The principal weakness is absence of an adequate base of supplies for both naval and aerial warfare. This defect can be remedied only by establish- ing industries on the islands that will guarantee a considerable output of war supplies. Those indispensable auxiliaries—fuel, etc. —that cannot be produced on the islands may be stored in such quantities that they can safely supplement the home product. Besides enabling the United States to prepare for the in- evitable conflict in the Pacific, the establishment of war industries’ in the Philippines makes easier the task of the military agents of ‘Wall Street who are paid to suppress every move toward national independence. : Democratic senators indulging in puerile talk about the Thomp- son mission laying plans to combat Britain’s rubber monopoly by developing that industry in the islands base their campaign upon supplementary phenomena and ignore the real motive of the Mellon- Coolidge administration. No special survey by an appointed agent of the government is required to determine the capacity of the Philippines for rubber production, but the economic preparation for war requires the most cautious inventory of all resources. The Thompson mission is one more reason why all class con- scious workers should lend every encouragement to the natives of the islands to rise and drive out the imperialist invaders. Episcopal Indignation and Oil Every member of the United States senate has received copies of a document signed by one hundred and ten bishops of the pro- testant episcopal church opposing ratification by the senate of the Lausanne treaty with Turkey. All the malevolent propaganda against the Turks that has been used by the christian plunderers since the crusades is repeated and brot down to date in this effusion of the holy defenders of the faith of the church of England. Regardless of the foul purposes they serve, the christian clergy can always be relied upon to cloak their protestations in the garb of morality. In this case the bishops insist that “as Americans we should be as solicitous for the performance of our moral duty as for the protection of our material rights.” Then follows the shred-bare indictment against the Turks who are accused of main- taining an avowedly anti-christian and unrepentant government that persecutes the innocent christians in that part of the world. These meddlesome bishops should know by this time that the Lausanne treaty was not designed with the object of raising the morals of nations, but solely in order to defend the interests of Standard Oil in the Near and Middle East and that it will be rati- fied in spite of their howls of indignation. ¢ Furthermore, those senators ‘receiving the protest from the bishops might start an investigation to learn just what role these holy men of the church of England play in defending the interests of the British rival of Standard Oil known as the Royal Dutch Shell. Certainly the signing of the Lausanne treaty with Turkey by the United States is not at all pleasing to the British concern which fights Standard Oil in every part of the world and it is not at all improbable that the christian indignation of the bishops of the church in this country rests upon something more substantial than abstract morality. Religious gentlemen of the cloth are supposed to serve ex- clusively the ruling class of the country in which they operate, un- less they function as missionaries among the “heathen” of un- developed nations, and for bishops of the episcopal church to in- dulge in the propaganda of British imperialism within the sacred domains of Morgan ‘and Rockefeller is, to put it mildly, the height of ingratitude. ONE-FIFTH OF ALL STEEL WORKERS ARE MEMBERS OF COMPANY UNIONS By ROBERT DUNN, Federated Press, More than one-sixth of all company unions in American industry are in the metal trades, Somes 20 are in iron and steel works and three each in structural steel, sheet metal and wire establishments. Among companies that have installed them are Bethlehem Steel corporation, Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., Inland Steel Co. Hydraulic Steel Co., Valley Iron Works, American Steel Foundries, Erie City Iron Works, Wheel- ing Steel Corp., American Rolling Mills €o,, American Cast Iron Pipe Co., American Stove Co., Virginia Bridge & Iron Co., and United Alloy Steel Corp, Not in U, &, Steel. U, 8. Steel’ corp., headed by Albert Gary, exponent of “ethics in industry,” has resorted to every other type of pategnalism but still considers “em- Ploy ec an uncertain a and unnecessary frill so long as the ‘blacklist, the labor spy, the discharge for union agitation and other primitive and pioneer methods can be emp along with the latest welfare de Bethlehem Steel installed company unions as early as 1918. In spite of the capture of the company union by the regular union workers in 1919, the Passaic Mill Strikers Picket United States Senator. By H. M. WICKS. (Special to The Daily Worker) ASSAIC, New Jersey—(By Mail,)— When the textile senator, Edwards of New Jersey, tried to aid the réac- tionary propaganda against the strikers here by announcing that he would have nothing to do with Albert Weisbord, the organizer, but would deal only with the strikers from the mills, he evidently thot he could evade hearing the strikers’ side of the story. But the committee in charge gf the strike selected a small cpmmittee of four of the actual strikers who have had experience with senators and other government officials, including Davis, the secretary of labor in the strikebreaking cabinet ‘of Coolidge, to call at the home of Edwards in Jersey City. The committee consisted of Mrs. Anna Bresnak, the mother of nine children who visited Washington and related the story of the miserable working and living conditions to many government officials; Nancy Sandow- sky, called “the Joan of Arc” of the picket line who has incurred the bit- ter enmity of the depraved thugs and bruisers on the Passaic, Clifton and Garfield police force; Carl J. Trocola and John Sabi. All of the committee except Sabi were with the delegation at Washington. Picket Edward’s House. The delegation went to Jersey City and direct to Senator Edward’s house on an exclusive residential street and asked for him. They were told that he was not at home, but that he was in Passaic. This was evidently a ruse to get the strikers to go back to Pas- saic without seeing him. If he ever was in Passaic he made no effort whatever to see the strikers. Before leaving Washington the New Jersey senator had expressed the opinion that he strike was unjustified, had fought against the investigation by the com- mittee on manufactures and had-an- nounced that he would make an “in- vestigation” of his own on the scene of the strike, and who slandered the leadership of the workers instead of endeavoring to learn their side of the story. Edwards’ daughter told the commit- tee that the senator would not be in until dinner, so they said they would CONSERVATIVES IN SENATE WILL AID BROOKHART Combination May De- feat Committee Report ne WASHINGTON, April 6—One of the most unusual political battles in the history of the senate began today as ‘tthe Brookhart-Steck election contest reached the floor for a decision as to who will wear Iowa’s junior sena- torial toga. A swing of administration republi- cans to the support of Senator Smith W. Brookhart, after a study of the records of the case, made it appear likely the senate will seat the lowa insurgent in the face of a ten-to-one majority report from the elections committee, endorsing the claim of Daniel F. Steck, democrat. The movement of republicans to Brookhart’s standard was led by out- standing conservatives, who believe the insurgent is entitled to his seat on the merits of his case and are re- ported ready to vote for the minority report, filed individually by Senator Stephens (D) of Mississippi, which recommended the seating of Brook? hart by a plurality of 1,032 votes, If these conservatives join with the un- broken progressive ranks of both parties, Brookhart undoubtedly will be seated. Debate over the contest got under way late this afternoon upon the in- troduction of the two resolutions, one seating Brookhart and the other seat- ing Steck. Senator Caraway, democrat, of Arkansas, opened the fight and de- fended all decisions of the committee. Senator Albert B. Cummins, republi- can, of Iowa, this afternoon was ex- cused by the senate at his own re- quest from voting upon any phase of the Steck-Brookhart case. His reason for the: request was based chiefly upon the fact that, if denied a seat in the senate, Senator Brookhart, republican, of Towa, will tun against Cummins when the lat- ter stands for re-election this fall. company persisted in liquidating trade union sentiment, Company union committee decisions are purely ad- visory. In case a grievance is not set- tled by the committee it is referred to a supposedly neutral outsider—the United States secretary of labor— whose decision is final, While talking of “one big family” to its steel work- ers Bethlehem has broken contracts with its bituminous miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, showing again its consistent anti-union policy, The Way It Works. In the Lackawanna, N.Y, plant.of Bethlehem the workers recently came under the plan in spitevof rank and file opposition, When @ strike oc- curred the company union delegates ‘were induced to order the workers back to their jobs withthe promise That all would be settled satisfactorily, On their return they were unable wait outside. They ool prepared] pipes the workers “must hang their for any emergency so they raised a| garments on while they are at work, banner reading, “Senator Edwards! saic! Will you see us?” up and down in front of the residence bourgeoisie who inhabit the street so they began sending in frantic calls to the police station. When the police ar- rived the pickets calmly told them they were waiting for the senator. Finally, after several hour’s picket- ing the vicinity the four strikers were asked into the Edwards home by the daughter where they Were served cof- fee and sandwiches “on ‘one of those baby carriage things,” ds one of the boys described it. A number of reporters‘were present and Edwards. family‘ séemed intent upon killing the visitors with kindness so it would be easier for Edwards when he arrived. Mrs, Edwards posed for newspaper, photographers with her arms around the shoulders of the two women strikers, just as Senator Ed- wards drapes himself over his visitors from New Jersey who, meet him in the cloak room of the senate at Washing- ton. It seems to be,.a.certain tech- nique cultivated by the Edwards’ out- fit. Call Edwards’ Bluff. Edwards arrived after:six hours and protested that he was weary, near the point of exhaustion and that he could not devote much time'to the strikers, He first ordered the ‘exclusion of newspaper men and then proceeded to berate Weisbord and the strike lead- ership, but Nancy Sandowsky spoke up and told the senator that they did not come to Jersey City to discuss Weisbord but they were there to dis- cuss the strike situation and the con- ditions in the mills, When the strikers proceeded to re- late the horriply low wages, the foul unsanitary conditions and the tyranny that prevails, Edwards insisted that they be specific and relate the precise state of affairs especially. as regards sanitation. Carl Trocola, who had al- ready shown Edwards, his card with his registration and fingerprints on it that designates him as.a slave of the Lodi Dye Works, told, the senator without mincing words the, precise Clouds Gather Over All Great Britain as Labor Unrest Grows (Continued from page 1). about a settlement of the non-union difficulty. t tpe Further Negotiations, Today’ the engineering employers and union representatives are meeting to again consider the claim for 20 shillings a week increasé; Should this be turned down by the ,bosses, as is expected, the matter wilt be referred to what is known as the central con- ference, on April 9. The feeling is prevalent that the claim will still be turned down by the bosses, and a strong feeling is developing favoring all out on the 10th. 16 One thing is sure. The mechanics and machinists generally. are deter- mined to force the position for a sub- stantial increase, and no hedging or dodging on the part of the bosses will prevent them forcing the issue. Replacing of Civilians by Military. ‘The dispute at the Feltham Army Repair Works still cofitinues. The war office still insists on dispensing with civilian mechanics in favor of soldier mechanics. The arguments of the war department are counted alto- gether too flimsy, and the men are stoutly resisting the change. The Miners. The issue of the coal commission report which many hoped would indi- cate a way out of the present trouble, proves to be of no value whatever. It is a shrewdly drafted document with a paragraph here and there showing sympathy with the men; but as soon as fundamentals are touched they are all in favor of the bosses. The mili- tants amongst the miners are already preparing a reply for general circula- tion. As yet the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain has not,made a defi- nite announcement, It, may be ex- pected to in a few days,. Unrest Among the Railwaymen, The railwaymen, whose case was supposed to be settled by the accept- ance of the wages board award, are showing signs of serious discontent, and as they failed nationally to obtain an increase many districts have now decided to initiate claims locally. The. reactionary officials ofthe N. U, R. will certainly oppose “all such at- tempts, ‘but the rank and@-file militants gates who fought for the workers were replaced by 100 per cent company union men, One Lackawanna worker writes: “When a question on a change in the wage rate is up anyone who has had experience in the trade union move- ment can see the lack of power on the part of the workers. The manage- ment stops all discussion and refers the issue to the wages committee, which meets once a month. It may be one or two months the ques- tion can be decided, and then it is determined solely by what the U, 8. Steel corporation is its men. Besides, the men ‘are by a fear of losing their joby if oppose the company.” Rockefeller Bhan. Colorado Fuel & Tron (Rockefeller) plan, the first important of Edwards was too much for the |~ are showing increasing courage and capacity, fairs at present demanding attention on the industrial field, and to give a lead in a militant direction, the na- tional minority movement held a na- tional conference on Sunday last at Battersea, London. the conference was a great success. The delegates present numbered 883, sent by 547 societies or branches of unions, representing 950,000 members. hostile or quietly unfavorable to the minority movement, counted not only as a real success but a most important indication of the temperament of a large percentage the unspeakable pollution of the We are the’ real strikers from Pas-| toilets, washrooms and the dirty, oily »|floors and foul air that the workers The spectacle of workers marching | must breathe during their long hours Passaic Thugs Club Strike Picket what to answer so they all be- gan to talk at once so that one of them might thing of an adequate an- swer. Finally the young girl striker, Nancy Sandowsky, spoke up and said it was because the man that painted This photograph taken during the Passalc textile workers’ strike shows two policemen clubbing a girl picket. ner in which the police are clubbing The reader can notice the brutal man- this picket. ' of excruciating toil. John Sabo related conditions of a similar nature of the Botany Mills and described how the workers had to eat their lunches on the machines and spend the entire day in dust- filled rooms. Edwards Sees Red. This sort of talk was too uncom- fortable for the apologist of the mill barons so he tried to change the sub- ject by asking the delegation why they had their sign they carried in front of his house painted-red. For condition of the damp,;steam covered|@ time the pickets did not know SECTION THREE, CHICAGO WILL HOLD A DANGE AT VILNIS HALL SATURDAY of the Work- Section 3, Chicago, ers (Communist) Party is holding a dance and get-acqualnted party at the Vilnis Hall, 3116 S, Halsted street on \aturday evening, April 19. The admission will be 50 cents. Comrades of other sections are in- vited to participate and aid section three establish an aaitation: ‘and pro- paganda fund, The National Minority Movement Conference. In order to deal with the many af- In every sense When it is realized that the bulk of the trade union officials are openly this may be of the rank and file, evidencing as it does a determination on their part to travel much more quickly than the slow-going officials of thé unions are disposed to travel. At ‘the conference every phase of the industrial situation was dealt with. Venice, Calif., Flooded. VENICE, Calif., April 6—Canals in Venice overflowed today and residents were marooned by the waters\surging around their homes. The high water was threatening to inundate a large section of the city but only slight damage had been done early today. “The pen sword,” provided you know how to use it. Come down and learn how in the worker correspondents classes. get their case heard and those’ dele- |¥/on plan introduced in American in-) company union against the long strike dustry, has been carefully studied by impartial outsiders, who find the work- ers at the mercy of the company. Bet- ter housing and some welfare, has been given the worke: provement attributed to thi mpany Like under Bethlehem’s plan, bargaining and then decided on the of what U. 8. Steel pays its Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co, plan, like the one formerly in force at Cam- bria Steel Co, (now, Bethlehem sub- sidiary), was introduced 1919 strike in the walkout. Altho c time, it was used as @ club against the unionized workers in refusing to before the preventing essful at the deal with their tradsunion committees after the strike. it had no other color but red. This seemed to relieve the senator and he began.a long rambling talk in which he advised the strikers to elect a committee from the mills to meet with a committeeof the bosses and leave out Weisbord. Like all the other enemies. of the strike Edwards wants to deprive the strikers of competent spokesmen and therefore objects to their outstand- ing leader. being present. But in order to call his bluff the committee informed Edwards that al- ready they had agreed to the proposi- tion of electing a-committee from the mills, but that the bosses would mot meet with a committee and were de- termined to break their union. When Edwards suggested that~the. strikers go to work during negotiations he was plainly told that his proposition could not be accepted as it meant the break- ing of the strike and that it was sim- ilar to Secretary of Labor Davis’ strikebreaking proposition that was repudiated at Washington by the dele- gation that visited the national capitol two weeks ago. As soon as the committee came back to Passaic and reported the results of the interview, wherein Edwards was non-committal, “an official Re ug was issued from the beaquascera oe the strike: “In the interview with "Senator Edwards by a committee of strikers the point was brot out that it might be feasible for a committee of strik: ers themselves, local leaders, to at. tempt to settle the strike. This. suggestion is the same as was brot out several days ago by the cham. ber of commerce and In relation to this the United Front of Textile Workers wishes to state that It Is ready and~has always been ready to elect a committee of strikers to nego: tiate with the mill owners whenever the mill owners honsetly desire @ settlement of the strike.” Can Strike All Summer, If the mill owners want to ‘plunge into an endurance contest they will get much more than they anticipate, for, there is a limit to the credits banks will extend them, while the amount of relief the strikers can obtain from the class conscious workers of ‘the country will continue to flow into the strike zone to keep the workers on the picket limes in fighting trim, With the coming of warm weather’the strik- ers state that they can stay out all summer and they are certain that the mill owners cannot afford to lose an- other season of manufacturing with- out going bankrupt. There is no question that the whole industry will support the Passale mill owners, but the growing sentiment for a strike thruout the industry will soon keep them busy so they will not be in a position to; ald; Passaic. ; At the beginning of the eleventh week the lines are holding firmly. BUREAU NAILS LIES OF N. J. LABOR COMMISSIONER AND TELLS F ACTS ABOUT JERSEY’S UNSANITARY MILLS ie NEW YORK CITY, April 6.—‘The press for Wednesday, March 31, car- ried an ‘unqualified denial’ by Dr. Andrew McBride, commissioner of labor, that unsanitary conditions exist in the textile mills of New Jersey. In a letter to Representative Geo. N, Seger the commissioner of labor ig quoted as stating that ‘there are no better work places anywhere in New Jersey in so far as they relate to d sanitation and hygiene.’ In the light of authori- tative Scientific information regarding health dangers in the textile industry is mightier than the}. - and the im-|to th and the conspicuously high rate of¢————_—— tuberculosis among textile workers, a blanket endorsement such as is at- tributed to the industrial commission- er raises the question as to the basis for such an endorsement,” according to the Workers’ Health Bureau of America, New York City. Tuberculosis. in Mills. “Quoting the report of the New Jer- sey state department of health for 1925, deaths. from respiratory diseases including tuberculosis were almost six per cent higher (5.9) in Passaic than for the rest of New Jersey,” the bu- reau states, “The presence of dust fly- ing about in textile workrooms, the excessive heat and moisture, the ex- hausting labor and nerve strain caused by speeding up in order to eke out a bare existence wage, are unquéstion- ably responsible’ for. the death rate from tuberculosis:among the workers in the industry, The Metropolitan Life Ti ice Co. figures on deaths from among textile work- ers ares 2per cent among males and 35. ‘tor | lés as roe Sel bal age of 14.8'for the general lation. “Th6 report for 1919 of the U. s. department of labor statistics, ‘Pre- and. acbiadlidiptiond- have a direct : of children. Compute ones swith the state of of the Amalgamated Iron, Steel & Tin- plate Association members: in its plant. It adds spies, gunmen and injunctions, M. F, Tighe, trade union head, refers company union as “a peculiar method of strike-breaking”-—but it is common enough in the steel industry. Inland Steel Co. ties its company union delegates with an oath in which they jolemnly swear to faithfully support constitution of the United States and the state.of Indiana and the plan ft fon of the In- ot. emia, Daprenennay of the In ate ti Am affiliated with the tion of Labor, claims 11,000 higher, almost none illed steel ‘wor and the unskilled. dustry employs normally about $00,000, Possibly ofi@-fifth are already covered by the spreading menace of company New Jersey as a whole, the 48th annu- al report of the state department of health of New Jersey for 1925 slows that infants under one year old in Passaic have a death rate of 43 per cent higher than for the entire state: In the age group, one to five years, the rate is 52 per cent higher in the age group of five to nine. years the rate is also 52 per cent higher, » . “By what standards are working conditions in textile mills in New Jer- sey measured and given unqualified approval? The provision of ordinary sanitation and hygiene can in no sense be regarded as all that is necessary to safeguard workers against danger- ous conditions. Textile centers other than New Jersey recognizing the haz- ards of the industry have found it necessary to formulate at least some special measures to control the damp ness and humidity and other occupa- tional factors that are a menace to health and life. According to’ a state: ment from the New Jersey depart~ ment of. labor to the workers’ health bureau, on January 18, 1926, there’are no special regulations in the textile industry of New Jersey, In the Dye Mille. . “In the dye section’ of the textile industry which employes about 11,000 workers in Paterson and Lodi alone, workers are exposed’ to terrific heat, excessive moisture and steam and to vowerfully poisonous chemicals and dyes that undermine the vitality. and strength of the workers and call if immediate and drastic regulation;-Or top of these hazards it should be in mind that workers are com| to labor sixty to seventy hours a in order to earn from $22 to $27, amount on which no family can tain itself. The inevitable result not only disease and brea de but the exploitation of child labor ings of the mothers and fathers, To disregard the basic connection be- tween economic conditions and heal is to ignore the very foundation ¢ the problem, ‘onditions in the textile and Bi: tile dyeing industry of this country. call for thorough investigation into. trade hazards, hours, wages and labor and demand the formulation specific and clearly defined safe; whioh will guarantee health tion to the workers. The elim! of poisons, exhaust ventilation to rev. move dust, fumes, steam, the guard-, ing of all dangerous machinery, the provision of all necessary i facilities and the establis! * union standards of wages, hours: working conditions are i iv order to supplement the meager earn-