The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 21, 1926, Page 1

) ce workers had come to hear in detail Mcrae. The DAILY WORKER Raises] WORKER Raises fy the Standard for a Workers’ j and Farmers’ Government Vol. Ill. No. 85. FURRIERS JAM 3 || { HALLS: REFUSE BOSSES’ TERMS Stand Solidly Behind Strike Committee NEW YORK, ‘April 19-—With shouts and cheers, the. thousands of fur. work- ers packed into Webster, and Bee- thoven Halis and Manhattan Lyceum this afternoon, \pledgéd once more thelr confidence in the General Strike Committee, and their determination to continue with them the struggle to win all their demands without com- promise. All the halls, where the mass meet- ings were called to discuss the strike settlement proposed by certain offi- cials of the International, were crowd- ed to canacity and the police had to forbid any more strikers to enter. The from their own strike leaders just | what the manufacturers had suggested as a basis of settlement. The Demands. ' Hach point was carefully explained by Ben Gold, chairman of the strike Committee, and was met by loud “poos’ from the workers. In place of the 40 hour week demand, the manu- facturers propose a 42-hour week; and they seek to drop altogether the de- mand for equal distribution of work in the shop, the demand for no over- time work, and the demand for an unemployment insurance fund. They propose a 10 per cent wage increase in place of a 25 per cent, and they sug- gest a-3-year agreement instead of a 2 year, No Compromise. Al suggestion of compromise was flouted by the workers and wild: en- thusiasm reigned when Gold announ- ced that the strikers will néver weak- en in their determination to win this strike on the terms of the agreement proposed two months ago, Several of the shops already settled on the union's terms stopped work this afternoon in order that their members might attend the mass meetings and pledge their loyalty to the strike lead- ers. Never since the very first days of the strike have there been such wonderful mass meetings, and they proved conclusively that the fur strikers stand solidly behind their general strike committee in its con- duct of this great strike. Seven Speakers. In addition to Ben Gold, the workers were addressed by Ben Gitlow, Wil- liam Weinstone, New York secretary of the Workers Party; August Claess- sens, New York secretary of the so- elalist party; Louis Hyman, general manager of dhe New York joint board ot Cloak and Dressmakers; Abraham Shiplacoff of the Leather Goods Work- ers; Robert W. Dunn of the American Civil Liberties Union—geleased yester- day from the Passaic jail where he had been confined for two days follow- ing his arrest on the picket line; Mor- > vis Rubin, of Local 22, LL. G. W. U. ,and Bert Wolfe of the Worker: « School. Alb night picketing of the fur manu- facturing distrjct will be continued as usual tonight and the strike will pro- ceed in the same yigorous: manner in , Which, it -has been conducted for the past 8, weeks. ’ French Franc Sinks to Its Record’ Low . rayne g | (Special’to The Daily "Worker) NEW YORK, April 19—The French Trane has reached the lowest point on record, Yesterday it was worth 3 1-3 gents compared to a pre-war value of 19.3 cents, and a previous record low of 3.4 cents in March, 1924, when it was saved from sinking precipitately to practically zero only by a $100,000,- 000 Morgan loan to France. A number of large French govern- ment loans mature next month. Hold- evs 6¥ such bonds in the past have, upon their maturity, generally taken over the new bonds which refunded them. In the case of those due, how- ever, in May it 18 expected the hold- ers will demand cash. ‘Contributing to the lack of support for the france is the uncertain status of the French débt to the United States. The administration has pub- ‘ely stated its disapproval of private Joans to nations which have not ar ranged with the United States treas- ury for the refunding of such ad- vances. The consequence is that France is unable to throw the re- quisite millions into the market to create and stpport a demand for the afrane suffgient-to maintain its value. repursehoaiee Rates: ally constructed for Well-to-do familie also frame houses, but a considerable number are constructed of Some have two floors and o¢casional- ly-there is added a low ceiling at- tic, But the Interjor is vastly changed. Larger rooms make smaller rooms thereby accom- modating a greater number. places are veritable pestholes, even worse than the smaller one and two- story frame houses described yester day, because the crowding is greater. scription, The one toilet that sufficed for one family must now serve as many as ten and twelve families, in addition to the boarders and room- ers. One bath room likewise serves from thirty to fifty and sometimes more people, plumbing is wrecked so that the bath, tub, if used at all, must be filled with water heated on the stoves. Mes that originally . occupied these houses are now converted into “base- menta’* b y by the, simple expedient of lay- “poarda ¢ THE BAIL @ntered at Second-class matter September 21, In Chicago, by inail, $8.00 per year, Outside Chicago, by mail, $6.00 per year, WORKERS! USE THIS ANTI- TOXIN! By JAY LOVESTONE A LOT of talk has been going the rounds about the much- vaunted American standard of living. But the stand- ard of subsistence for the great masses of the American workers will remain inadequate until the time when the laboring masses consider The DAILY WORKER part of their very basic needs and demands. Daily the bosses and their hirelings fill the workers with all kinds of poisons. The DAILY WORKER serves as a powerful anti-toxin, as an effective antidote against the bacilli and toxin to which the workers are subjected in their everyday contact with the capitalist institutions of misinformation and exploitation. Let us begin—put a DAILY WORKER every day into the hands of the millions of American workingmen in order to raise their standard of living—mental as well as physical—and hasten the day when they will begin to speak for their class and speak in the only language that the exploiters understand,—the language of power, the tongue of the victorious proletarian revolution, HOUSES ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR ONE FAMILY NOW SHELTER FIFTEEN psy pan 1923, at the Post Office at Chicago, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 1926 The Bloody “Angel of Peace” in Passaic jam ‘Gropper UNDERTAKERS ROB WORKERS FOR FUNERALS Steal Savings of Many New York Widows (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, April 19— Ghoulish profits of 500 per cent to 1000 per cent on burying the dead are threatened by a new rule which New York life jinsurance companies are adopting against paying assignments of policies under $1000 to undertakers. The rule will not end the exorbitant profits taken by unscrupulous undertakers, but may be a curb. Investigation of this gouging of the grief-stricken shows that caskets wholesaling at $25 to $30 are retailed for $200 to $300 and that the same proportion of profit is obtained from. shrouds, flowers, vaults, hearses and other funeral ac- companiments. Workers’ families: are most often muleted, investigation proves. In the case of a street vailway worker killed accident j:the undertaker'’s ¥ OF TWENTY FAMILIES OF WORKERS revanering came ‘out in state work- r houses origin- middle class and Many of them are These are the iar ROCHESTER LOCAL, A.C. W. ELECTS TEN PROGRESSIVE DELEGATES TO MONTREAL (Special to The Daily Worker) ROCHESTER, N. Y.—Of the 20 delegates elected to the Montreal convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workets’ Union, 10 are progressives. This despite the fact that the machinery of the Rochester Joint board is in the hands of Hill- man supporters. ‘ Four locals of the eight. here elected solid slates of progressive delegates on the issue that the Hill- man administration of the union does not heed the voice of the mem- bership, ees: brick. .The houses externally remain uch as they were originally built. are partioned off to These Sanitary conditions are beyond de- Not infrequently, the les of workers.: What served as cellars for the fami- (Continved on page 4.) ns A. bu “prownd Seeciten: hundred vd Get the point? Besides the incredible crowding of workers into the filthy, ill-ventilated, diséase-breeding frame buildings that were originally erected for one-family dwellings to accommodate the poorly paid workers of thirty or more years ago and that now shelter two and three and more families in addition to roomers and boarders, there are other forms of atrocious housing that are equally, 4s bad, if not worse, + ing off the space beneath the house end renting these holes out to fami- Thruout the long win- ter months these places are invariably “Lenin with each five men’s compensation board hearings. The widow hadsbeen charged $1,074 *|for the funeral, aout which she had hardly been askedh« The two $500 life insurance policiessfor which she and her husband had fdenied themselves were taken by thedmdertaker and he demanded payment of the remaining $74. One of thesitems for burial was $50 for a suit:which investigators found had been purchased for $5 at a second-hand shop. Rob Widow. Another worker,,a day laborer earn- ing up to $20 a week, was also killed in an accident. His wife helped sup- port the four children by making arti- ficial flowers at home at $5 or $6 a week when business was good. The undertaker took the bank book show- ing savings of $800 and had the widow sign a slip, which, unknown to her, gave him authority to draw on the account, When she asked for the book after the funeral, remembering her rent was due, she found that she had been charitably treated and $50 out of the original $800 was still lett. Supreme Court Denies German Shippers Motion WASHINGTON, April 19—The su- preme court todayrdenied a joint mo- tion to restore tw the calendar for argument at this session, the appeai by German ship owners from the court of claims which held the United States lawfully seized alien vessels during the war, associates. Green followed this and the decision made that the New York joint board Uinols, under the Act of March 3, 1579. aa Published Daily except Sunday by TAE DAILY WORK&R PUBLISHING CO.,, 11 113 W. Washington Bivd., FORCE GREEN T0 SUPPORT STRIKE Left Wing Joint Board Retains Leadership (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, April 19 — The at- tempt of the right wing international officers of the. Furriers Union to nego- tiate a strike settlement over the heads of.the General Strike Committee has been defeated, Representatives of the New York joint board in direct charge of the strike of 12,000 furriers met in a con- ference at the Cadillac Hotel with William Green, president of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor and interna- tional officers of the Furriers Union. Here it was decided that represén- tatives of both the New: York joint board and the International would meet with Hugh Frayne, American Federation of Labor organizer to con- fer with the manufacturers. Strikers to Decide. The terms agreed upon are to be submitted to the strikers for a refer- endum vote before they will become final, The conference at the Cadillac, held Sunday was preceded on Satur- day by an interview between Presi- dent Green and the leaders of the General Strike Committee in which Ben Gold told of the strike situation. Officers of the International Furriers Union had attempted to take the lead- ership of the New York fur strike out of the hands of the progressive New York joint board ofthe union. In this they found a ‘ready ally in Hugh Frayne, eastern organizer of the A. F. of L. who carried on negotiations with “the bosses. The™ Internatfoirar called a meeting last week at Carnegie Hall, the purpose of whigh was to at- tempt to discredit the New York lead- ership. This was frustrated by’ the striking furriers who crowded into the hall and demanded to hear Ben Gold speak after Gold had been refusedyad- mission. At three York on Saturday the members of the union reaffirmed their confidence in the strike leadership of Gold and his The conferences with monster rallies in New must participate in all conferences looking towards a strike settlement. President Green has accepted an in- vitation from the general strike com- mittee to speak to the fur strikers at 4 mass meeting Wednesday afternoon. The hall is not yet announced. Rail Lobby Opposes Elimination of Extra Charges on Pullmans NEW YORK, April 19 — Declaring that his bill to repeal the surcharge which the Pullman company imposes on all purchasers of sleeping car tick- ets was meeting more determined op- position than a similiar bill at last year’s session which was fought by the most powerful lobby he declared he had seen in his twenty-five years of congressional experience, Senator Robinson of Arkansas, in an address here at the Hotel Pennsylvania to the National Council of Traveling Sales- men, predicted its ultimate passage. Robinson stated that the Pullman company had gotten the farmers or- ganization to oppose the elimination of the surcharge by making them believe its retention would help them to get the rates on their products lowered. The company had then turn- ed around and joined the railroads it served in opposition to the farmers’ demands, In the same way, he claim- ed, the corporation had caused the rail labor organization to fight the repeal of the surcharge, causing them to feel such reduction would be the first step to a general reduction of rates that would lead to a cut in wages because of decreased revenue Mussolini On War Path, LONDON, April 19.—-The Westinin- ster Gazette declares that it has in formation that Mussolini intends to obtain a footing in Asia by force, later hoping that thru the league of nations Italy may secre mandatory control of provinces in northern Africa, Macao Confiict. HONGKONG, April 19.—A shooting affray occurred yesterday between the Chinese strike pickets venforcing the boycott against foreign..shipping at Macao and the Portuguese guards, Several of the Portuguese were wounded, nasa: | RALPH CHAPLIN CALLS FOR SUPPORT OF I. L. D. | IN PASSAIC CAMPAIGN The following telegram to Inter- national Labor Defense was receiv- ed today from Ralph Chaplin, fam- ous I. W. W. poet and writer:, “The arrest of Albert Weisbord, Robert Dunne, Esther Lowell, and Norman Thomas is a challenge to organized labor and to the liberals of America and the world. At one blow the workers are denied the right to organize and to present their case to the public. “It is the old story of capitalist greed and government partisan- ship. “The I. L. D. must rise to the oc- casion and inaugurate such an ex- tensive and compelling campaign of publicity as will render such nefar- fous plots forever impossible. “(Signed) Ralph Chaplin”. N. J. TERROR IS SCORED BY F.P. AND AL COYLE Send Messages to I.L.D. Protesting Arrests “PASSAIC OUTRAGES WORST AS- SAULT IN YEARS ON DEMOCRACY AND LABOR. NATION MUST RALLY TO DEFENSE OF IMPRIS- ONED MEN AND WOMEN FORCING RESTORATION OF LAW AND OR- DER IN NEW JERSEY,’ This is the first teiegram’ received which expresses solidarity with the national united front campaign of the International Labor Defense against the arrests of Albert Weisbord, textile strike leader; Norman Thomas, Rob- ert Dunn, Esther Lowell and others, a number of whom have been released on bond. The telegram is sent from Cleveland by Albert E. Coyle, editor of the Locomotive Engineers’ Journal, official monthly organ of .the Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers, Message from F. P. Another message is sent to- the of- fice of the International Labor Defense by Carl Haessler, manager editor of the Federated Press, one of the corre- spondents of which was also arrested in Passaic with others, “Federated Press reporters know that the law and the police are con- stantly and illegally enlisted by the employers against the workers in American strik Haessler declares, “but at Passaic and vicinity even the American limit is being overstepped in the alliance of coppers and courts with the textile mamnufacturers. The arrest of Esther Lowell, our duly cre- dentialed correspondent, charged with disorderly conduct for stopping to as- sist a woman to her feet after the police had knocked her down, is in line with the entire conduct of the so- called law officers since the strike for a living wage began three months ago. “Fundamentally, it is a question of who has the greater power. Our task is to enlist the American public to swing power to the side of the strik- (Continued on page 2.4 NEW YORK EDITION Price 3 Cents Chicago, ML OSSES GET VICIOUS INJUNCTION IN. Y. FURRIERS 'WEISBORD IS JAILED AGAIN; BAILED OUT Show New Jersey Courts | Ignore Own Laws BULLETIN (Special to The Daily Worker) PASSAIC, N. J., April 19—Another attempt to keep Albert Weisbord, strike leader, in jail was made by Sheriff Nimmo of Bergen county and lackey of the mili owners on Satur- day. Late in the afternoon, after Weisbord’s release on a $25,000 bond } at Paterson on charges of inciting | to riot, hostility to government and | conspiracy, he was arrested by Nim- mo and lodged in the Garfield jail on the original exhorbitant bail of $30,- 000. His attonneys immediately got busy and after a night in jail the strike leader was again released, this time on $5,000 bail, which, in addition to the $25.000 bail in Pas- saic county, makes his total bail now the original amount set. ope By J. 0. BENTALL (Special to The Daily Worker) PASSAIC, N. J., April 19“ do not care about the right or wrong in this matter, This man is dangerous and must not be allowed to be out but must be kept in jail and away from the strikers.” This came as a climax to the busy day the attorneys and friends of Or- ganizer Albert Weisbord had spent trying to get him out of prison. First he was brot before Judge Black (which is correct) in the Pater- son court, where he pleaded not guilty to four indictments.and. placed_under $25,000 bail; which was furnished by the legal department of the United Front Committee of Textile Workers, Again Arrested, Immediately upon release from the Paterson hoosegow he was arrested by the Garfield police and taken to the Hackensack jail in Bergen county. He was brought before Judge Baker at the Garfield court and held under $25,000 bail on a charge of inciting to riot. Other charges were also made against him but bail was not fixed except in the first one, so that if he secured the first amount the judge could put the bail on the other charges so high that it would take several days in each case to secure the amount asked for. The lawlessness of the courts in New Jersey has gone so far that some of the most prominent men in the country are fearing that something besides a strike might happen. The masses—and among them business and professional and public men—are getting very restless, The press is unable to digest the rusty tin cans and dried up rawhides that the police and sheriffs and court: e feeding it. Look at the New York World and see its cartoons with man spiking big railroad crossing sign on post reading “Siberia, N. J.,”" Look all around and’ see the pictures of czarist cossacks decorating the front pages. The politicians are becoming alarmed. The industrial lords are becoming frantic. Colby “Sits In.” So when the case of Weisbord came up in Paterson no less personage than (Continued on page 2.) VILLARD, EDITOR OF NATION, PROTESTS PASSAIC ARRESTS A telegram of solidarity with International Labor Defense from the tiberal weekly, The Nation. N James P. Cannon, International Labor Defense, Chicago, III. the arrested men and women in the ic textile strike, has been received by the national office of the Oswald Garrison Villard, editor of The telegram reads as follows: EW YORK CITY, April 17, 1926. In nearly thirty years of active journalism } do not recall a case of a labor trouble in which there has been a worse abuse of authority than this one in Passaic and Paterson. The com- plete denial of civil liberty ou values his birthright rise in protest. only misused their powers in stitutional way but they have sidedness done everything to ght to make any American who The authorities have not the most arrogant and uncon- by their partisanship and one- Incite the strikers to reprisals. The self-control of the strikers and their refraining from vio- lence in the face of brutal police clubbings reflects the greatest credit upon them and thelr leaders. They deserve all possible’ moral and financial support. It Is one of the many telegra Ptional offiée of the |. L. 0. which OSWALD VILLARD, Editor The Nation, ms which are pouring into the n has begun a national campaign of ‘| united work of protest and, defense of the arrested men and women,