The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 11, 1926, Page 2

Page Two SOVIET TOILERS RAISE ENORMOUS SUM FOR STRIKE Refuse to Load Ships} Bound for England (Special to The Daily Worker) MOSCOW, U. S. S. R., May 9, —The general council of the All-Russian La- bor Unions today remitted by wire a second installment of the relief fund belng ralsed by workers thruout Rus- sia, It amounted to a million dollars and was addressed to the general council of the Trade Union Congress in London, While the Russian trade union ex- ecutive asked for but a quarter day’s contribution from its eight million members, information coming in from all parts of the country indicates that payments of a half, one and two days wages are being m . Furthermore, various py view tions and news- papers a ing fund raising campaigns) a t the British strik- ers, In some instances theaters have given their gross receipts to the strike fund. Tho rap with which the funds are being raised exceeds all ex- pectation. In the first day’s collec- tion hundreds of thousands of gold roubles poured into the fund. Ban On English Ships. Demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of workers are taking place in all cities of the U. S. S. R. Port workers numbering 8,000 have ceased Yoading English ships. Crews of Eng- ish steamers in Odessa and Novoris- sisk in the Black Sea participated in demonstrations of solidarity with the strike and thanked Russian workers for their support. Crowds fill the streets of Moscow and other large centers listening to Speeches transmitted by loud-speakers recounting the events of the strike and the news of the international sol- {darity of the workers being expressed in all quarters of the globe. Resont American Action, News of the weak statements of sympathy to the strike made by Presi- dent Green of the American Federa- tion of Labor and John L. Lewis, presi- dent of the United Mine Workers ex- cited great indignation among the large masses of Russian proletarians who listen and watch every develop- ment. “Altho the Russian workers are ac- quainted with the views of the Amer- jean Federation-of Labor officialdom they did not anticipate such unpre- cedented perfidy at a moment when Buropean workers of every political conviction are considering the strug- gle of the English workers an affair worthy of the united moral and mater- ial support of the international prole- tarlat,” said a prominent trade union- ist. PLASTERERS IN CHICAGO STRIKE FOR INCREASE Demand Contractors Pay $14 a Day Contractors in Chicago refusing to pay $14 for an 8-hour day as the basic ‘wage to plasterers are getting no work done since May 7. Local 5, Operative Plasterers International Association, has no definite figures yet of the ex- tent of the walkout because the journeymen are slow in reporting to headquarters, but there was little plaster mixed or applied on downtown jobs today where contractors wanted to continue the old $12 scale, The odds favor the strikers who are united while the employers are split into two groups of which the Employ- ing Plasterers Association agreed to the $14 for a week to continue negotia- tions while the Contracting Plasterers Association, backed by the open shop Tandis award organization, held out. Individual contractors in this associa- tion are beginning to slip, especially as the Landis committee offer to sup- ply up to 2,000 strikebreakers is no boon to employers who want 'to avoid complications with the other building trades unions. It is estimated that almost 800 plasterers are getting the $14 basic seale exclusive of bonus while about 1,500 are on strike. Tailors Sign for Increase, SCRANTON, Pa.—(FP)—Under the new journeymen tailors agreement Wages are increased from to $44 for skilled workers and from $21.15 to $25 for helpers. TH WORKERS’ INTERNATIONAL AID SENDS $175,000 TO STRIKERS The Berlin headquarters of the Wo rkers’ International Ald sent yesterday the following cable to Its American section, the International Workers’ Ald, with headquarters In Chicago: “TODAY WE TRANSMITTED TO ENGLAND $175,000, THE RESULT OF COLLECTIONS MADE AMONG WORKERS EUROPE AND RUSSIA.” IN The International Workers’ Ald has become well known to the workers of the country recently thru its activity on behalf of the Passaic strikers. Princes Listen While Laborite Urges Republic Win Free Speech Fight in Pittsburgh (Continued from Page 1) an immediate hearing, postponing it until Saturday morning, This resulted in Engdahl and Jakira being held in jail for four days, only one day less than their original sentence, During the court procedure, Judge Ford showed himself to be as temper- amental as his decision, While wait- ing for the representative of the city solicitor’s office to appear, without the case being actually before the court, he delivered himself of an extended lecture on obedience to the law. Judge Ford Makes Speech. “The laws are on the books and must be obeyed,” was the substance of his argument, “If the police tell people to move on, they must move. If they don’t like the laws then they should elect better representatives at the next election to have the laws changed, But the laws must be obey- ed. You cannot challenge the law. You must obey it.” When the case was finally called, he questioned Engdahl, then Jakira, and finally D. E. Early, local educa- tional director of the Workers Party, who had actually made numerous trips to the office of the superintendent of George Buchanan above, labor mem-| police, seeking a permit for the meet- ber of parliament, declared In a recent session that he would like to see the expensive British throne abolished immediately. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York listened to his remarks, DEFENSE NOW PRESENTS CASE IN SWEET TRIAL Negro Doctor Tells of Race Persecutions (Special to The Dally Worker) DETROIT, Mich, May 6. — (By Mail.)—The testimony of Dr. Ossian H, Sweet brought the case for the de- fense near to a close. Dr. Sweet tes- tified as in the previous trial as to how the Negro has been oppresseed and terrorized. By his dramatic de- scription of white mobs he establish- ed the fear which naturally justified the 11 Negroes to act in self-defense when the mob attempted to drive them from their home at 2905 Garland avenue. Witnesses for the defense testify that there were approximately 500 People congregated at Garland and Charlevoix Ave. on the night of the shooting. State witnesses tried to im- press the jury with testimony to the effect that there was no mob pres- ent. The defense will probably soon rest its case. Vanderbilt Seeks Banker Support to Save His Tabloids (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, May 9—Cornelius Van- derbilt, Jr., is negotiating with several New York financial institutions to finance his three tabloid newspapers. COMMUNISTS PROPOSE JOINT CAMPAIGN TO AID THE BRITISH SOCIALISTS NEW YORK, May 9—The Work- ers (Communist) Party of New York in a letter to the New York so- clalist party proposes a joint cam- palgn to rally the organized labor movement in support of the de- mands of Critish labor. It urged united action to prevent strike. breaking coal reaching England or Scabbing on British labor in any form, It also announces meetings to be held by the Workers (Communist) Party at Union Square in support of the demands of British labor and proposes to turn it into a Joint meet- ing if the socialists are wiling to aprticipate, DISAPPOINTED WAR VETERANS DRESS MISS LIBERTY IN CREPE (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, May 9.—Passenge! abroad out-going liners today beheld the statute of liberty swathed in blackest erepe and with funeral cerements hanging dejectedly from the torch which ordinarily symbolizes freedom, Members of the World War Veterans Light Wine and Beer League, get- ting by the military guards by a ruse that they were “weather observers,” had hung the great statute with the mornful emblems. The league was not permitted to testify at the recent “dry” hearing In Washington and took this method of announcing what It thought of the coun- icin ‘aaa heralded liberty, ing. Superintendent of Police Peter P. Walsh, who had refused the permit for the hall meeting, failed to appear in court, even tho he had been served with a subpoena, None of the police who made the arrests were in court, but the testimony they had given in Magistrate E. M. Hough’s court, where the case was originally heard, was reproduced in the transcript. City: Solicitor Randolph sought to have the case continued until Monday, but Judge Ford claimed that the prisoners would have completed their sentences Sunday morning and then the case would be out of his hands, Mustn’t Break Pittsburgh’s Laws. “But I want you to distinctly under- stand that you can’t break the laws ;here in Pittsburgh,” declared Judge Ford vehemently, turning to Engdahl and Jakira, as he prepared to dismiss the case. “It doesn’t matter whether you are laborites or Communists. You can't defy the law. And you have defied the law.” He then dismissed the case and it was only after the insistent demands of Attorney Shaffer that counsel for the Communists got this across: “T insist that the main issue in this case has not yet been touched,” said Attorney Shaffer. “The issue is whether the police have a right to de- mand permits for hall meetings. There is no law or ordinance demanding that. That is the issue that should be decided here.” Court's Ear Goes Deaf. “I refuse to hear anything about that,” declared Judge Ford, insisting that, so far as he was concerned, the case was ended. In the meantime the great banners of candidates for United States sen- ator, governor and a host of other pol- itical offices, fly across the downtown streets, when there is an ordinance stating specifically that the flying of such banners js illegal, It all depends on which party’s flag is being flung to the breeze. “In spite of the unsatisfactory deci- sion in this case, we believe that a big victory for free speech has been won,” declares Organizer Jakira, The head of the police department failed to come into court to justify the illegal arrests carried out by his officers un- der his instructions. The arrests made by his officers were thrown out of court, altho the court at the same time made an effort to justify those arrests. The dismissal of the cases, neverthe- less, must be considered as a distinct defeat for the police department in its efforts to outlaw Communist meetings in the Pittsburgh district, The fight will be pushed to prove, even to the police department and the city ad- ministration as a whole, that it has no right to demand permits for hall meet- ings. In the meantime a suit for damages will be brought against Supt. of Police Walsh in an effort to collect the losses sustained by his arbitrary ruling that the International May Day demonstration must not be held,” New York Will Have Connolly Memorial Meeting Wednesday NEW YORK, May 9.—Friends of the martyred Irish revolutionist, James Connolly, will meet at the Bry- ant Hall, 725 Sixth Ave. and 42nd St., Wednesday night, May 12, at 8 o’clock. The James Connolly memorial com- mittee, which has charge of the affair, extends a hearty invitation to all na- tionalities to attend, Benjamin Gitlow and Scott Nearing will speak. Other speakers include P. Ennis, Chairman J. J. 0. Byrne and P. L, Quinlan, » “The pen is mightier than the sword,” provided you know how to use | 1 me it, Come down and learn how In the worker correspondent’s elasses, E DAILY WORKER CHICAGO LOOP COMPANY IS PARDON VENDER Len Small and Colvin Implicated in Scandal The Major Engineering company with offices at 123 West Madison St., which was incorporated {i 1921 as a $2,500,000 corporation ostensibly to buy, sell and build engine pumps, and later to make a metal as strong as steel and as light as aliminum, has ben found to be nothing more than a pardon mill. Convicts are Stockholders. This corporation headed by Major M. A. Messlein has been active in psaining pardons for imprisoned booze runners and gunmen, ‘Will Colvin, chairman of the state board of par- dons and paroles, and formerly treas- urer of this corporation, it is declared §s one of the principal investors in the corporation today, Among the stockholders of this corporation are well-known Meutenants of the O’Ban- nion and other booze-running Chicago gangs, Many of these gangsters have bought “stock,” anywhere from $300 to $1,000 worth, a month or so pre- vious to being pardoned, It is claimed that these investments are the prices paid by the gunmen for their paroles. Seek Church Support. Among the letters seized in the raid on the Major Engineering corporation was one from Will Colvin to Major Messlein in which it advised the major to distribute certain booklets defending the parole system to units of the Volunteers of America and Chi- cago churches and to urge the clergy to discuss lives and liberties in their pulpits. In this letter Colvin declares that “the parole law is on trial.” Warden in Company. Deputy Warden Peter N. M. Klein, who was killed by seven convits in their attempt to escape, was heavily interested on the corporation. The special grand jury investigating the McSwiggin murder 1s also investigat- ing the question of pardons and paroles as a number of the gangland figures in the triple-murder had been paroled or pardoned convicts. The grand jury of Will county which is probing the prison escape is also bent on finding out what connec- tion Klein had with Messlein, and why Klein held a consultation with seven convicts at one time. Pays $25,000 to Golvin, Messelein has been released but all the documents of the Major Engineer- ing corporation have been seized and are being investigated, Messelein ad- mitted on examination by the state’s attorney that he had given Colvin 25,000 in stocks in the engineering corporation for his nephew's parole. Letters were also found in the corpo- ration’s files showing that Messlein cor- responded quite frequently with Gov. Len Small. 8,000 Are Freed. Messlein admitted to having aided more than 8,000 convicts to gain par- dons and paroles. RUSSIAN-U, $, RELATIONS ARE TRADE BARRIER Head of Amtorg Tells of Difficulties (Special to The Dally Worker) MOSCOW, April 26—(By Mail)— “The further development of com- mercial intercourse between the United States and Soviet Russia de- pends to a large degree upon the regu- lation of political relations between the two countries on the one hand and on American business men being able to exhibit the same flexibility as those of Western Burdpean coun- tries in doing business” with Soviet Russia,” said Mr. Prigarin, the chair- man of the Board of the Amtorg (Co- viet-American Trading Company), to 4 Tass representative prior to his departure for the United States. Trade Hindranges, “At the present time the absence of normal political relations, and, what 4s more, the warnings .the United States government sees fit to give to business circles that thpir interests are not protected in the Soviet Union, certainly do not permit the commer- cial intercourse between the two coun- tries developing at the rate it would do otherwise,” added Mr. Prigarin, Trade Growing. “But trade will seek its natural channel and in spite of the obstacles the trade between Soviet Russia and the United States is developing and growing, For example, in 1923-24 the trade between the two countries amounted to $53,000,000; in 1924-26 it rose to $103,000,000, while for the first quarter of 1925-26 it was $21,000,000.” Artic Monoplane Departs, FAIRBANKS, Alaska, May 9, ~The Detroit Arctic expedition got under way again today despite disaster to the plane Alaskan. In the big mono- plane Detroiter, Captain! George H. Wilkins hopped off this tnorning for Woint Barrow, northernmost base of expedition. Bobbies Hustle Off a Striker! That London police are not averse to manhandling is shown in the above picture of two bobbles carrying off a striker, MORE STRIKE BULLETINS CONGRESSMAN AIDS STRIKE, WASHINGTON, May 9.—Representative George J. Schnelder, of Wis- consin, cabled a $100 contribution to the British labor strike fund today. fn his cable, Schneider hailed the striking workers as a “fellow trade unionist.” “A reduction in working and living standards In Great Britain means a corresponding reduction In Europe and ultimately a lowering of standards in America,” he sald in a statement. os 6 * CAN HOLD SIX WEEKS. LONDON, May 9.—The strikers are able to hold out at least six weeks, possibly three months, according to London’s best known socialist priest, Father John Groser, curate of the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, commonly called the “red church” by the people of East India dock district. Groser Is a prominent figure among the dock strikers. >. * @ @ ULSTER EMERGENCY. BELFAST, May 9—The Ulster government today proclaimed a state of emergency. The situation thruout Ulster Is generally reported to be quiet, and food supplies are not seriously ménaced, * . * . 40 ARRESTS IN EDINBURGH. EDINBURGH, May 9.—Forty strikers were arraigned In the sheriff's court here today. Sentences ranging from two months imprisonment to thirty days were meted out. ° * ° ° “BE CALM AND CONFIDENT.” LONDON, May 9.—“Be calm and confident, victory will be ours,” declared a statement to the miners issued tonight by Herbert Smith and A. J. Cook, miners’ leader, urging the miners to mot be misied by false rumors, Strikers Liable To Prosecution, Says Barrister R. 1. LU. OFFERS JOINT ACTION ON STRIKE HELP TO INTERNATIONAL CO-OP (Special to The Daily Worker) MOSCOW, U. S. 8. R., May 9— The Red International of Labor Unions has addressed a telegram to the International Co-Operative Alli- ance In London In which it pro- Poses a Joint organizing of assis- tance for the British strikers and thelr families. The telegram ex- presses the conviction that the Alll- ance will declare itself in agreement with this proposal as at present there are no working class organ- lzations which will stand on one side while the gigantic struggle of the British miners is on. The R. 1. L. U. is prepared at any time and at any place to discuss the methods by which this joint action with the Alliance can be carried out. Stanley Company in Big Theatrical Merger (Special to The Dally Worker) NEW YORK, May 9—The Stanley Company of America has acquired ¢on- Sir John Simon, ranked as one of England's foremost legal lights and a prominent member of the liberal par- ty, sald in the house of commons that the general strike now being con- ducted by the workers Is illegal and every striker is Ilable to prosecution, 3 Killed, 10 Injured in Worktrain Wreck KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 5—Threo railroad workers were killed and ten others injured when a Southern rail- way work train was wrecked near Philadelphia, Tenn, Those killed wero Arthur Collins, White Pine, Tenn.; Lon Wadkins, Alpha, Tenn., and Tom Pollard, of To- bin, Tenn. The wreck occurred when a freight train split a switch and plowed into the work train on a siding, where the men were sleeping, ree Open your ey Look arounat There are the stories of the workers’ etru; around you begging to be written up. Do it! Send It In! Write ae you fight! t trol of 225 theaters in seven eastern states in an $80,000,000 theater merger announces the Mark Strand Theater Corporation, Besides acquiring the Mark Strand theaters in New York state and thru New England, it also gained control of the Fabina theaters in New Jersey and the chain owned by Rowland & Clark of Pittsburgh, Pa, Negotiations are now pending for the control of the chain of theaters operated by Colonel Fred Levy of Louisville, Ky., declared Jules B. Mast- baum, president of the Stanley com- pany, Spread British Strike News! The DAILY WORKER, with its authentic stories on the British strike, Is being gobbled up by workers all over the country, Now is the time to reach your fellow workers In the shops, In the unions, and elsewhere with The DAILY WORKER, District Executive Committee 8 calls on all nucle! and comrades In the Chicago district immediately to order bundles of the DAILY WORKER. Take advantage of each day, Order now, HEALTH BUREAU MAKES TEST OF MILL STRIKERS Find Physical Proof of Horrible Conditions (Special to The Dally Worker) NEW YORK, N. Y., May 9—‘Med- ical examination with laboratory tests and X-rays will be made today of a large group of New Jersey textile strikers who have been beaten on the picket lines by police clubs,” an- nounces the Workers’ Health Bureau. “This will be an extra group in addi- tion to the 400 workers examined by the bureau during the past two weeks, These 400 have been chosen at ran- dom from the 16,000 workers who have been on strike for the past 15 weeks against unbearable conditions. 40 Examined a Day, “Young and old, men, women and child workers have been included in the survey. Forty strikers, all appar- ently well, have been taken from the Picket line each morning and brot to New York for careful and complete medical examinations with full labora- tory tests of blood, urine, etc. and X-rays, Laboratory Proof. “Overwhelming proof of what star- vation wages, long hours, night work, heat, steam, dust and fumes can do to wreck workers’ bodies is piling up in the records of the examinations,” states the bureau. “The results of ‘starvation wages’ are already clearly evident, the medical records showing anemia and undernourishment among the outstanding conditions, with which the workers are affeected. Tubercu- losis, nephritis (destruction of the kidneys) and heart disturhances also lead in the number of workers affect- ed, $11.90 a Week. “There is nothing surprising,” says the bureau, “in finding tuberculosis in a little 16-year old girl trying to feed and clothe a family of five brothers and sisters on $11.90 a week, and forced to work day after day in the hot, moist air of the mill, constantly breathing irritating wool dust. “Conditions are found so serious in some of the workers examined that emergency treatment has been neces- sary. Several strikers have been Tushed to the hospital. Practically every person needs further treatment and careful medical attention, the bureau finds, Soviet Navy Commander Praises High Standard of Russ Baltic Fleet (Special to The Daily Worker) MOSCOW, May 9.—(Tass) — “The Baltic Fleet, in a comparatively short period of time, has achieved impor- tant successes in training and in- struction, particularly in the sphere of communication and the coast de- fense tasks of the fleet,” said Com- mander Zoff, chief of the naval forces of the U. S. 8. R., to a Tass represen- tative in Leningrad, after he had con- cluded a tour of inspection of the training ships and fortress units of the Baltic fleet. “It is astonishing to observe the eagerness with which the young gen- eration in the navy is striving to acquire technical and political know- ledge. Even among semi-literate re- cruits there is a strong desire to take special naval instruction. ‘The out- standing feature of the Russian naval forces of today is the really high standard of intelligence and zeal of all ratings,” he added. Arrangements Made for Admission of Orientals WASHINGTON, May 9, — An agreo- ment has been reached between the department of labor and Gov. Wallace R. Farrington of Hawati, which will facilitate the entry of thousands of American-born orlentals (Japanese and Chinese) to the United States prdper, if they desire to come, it was an- nounced here today by Gov. Farring- ton prior to his departure to return to his post. Farrington said native American orientals will be equipped with birth certificates before leaving the Islands, in order to satisfy the immigration authorities on the Pacific coast. There are about 60,000 American-born orient- als in Hawaii. Coal Operator Tries Openshop. WHEELING, W. Va.—(FP)—The Boyd mine of Elmgrove Mining Co, is trying to resume operations on a non- union basis. The 600 union men em- ployed refused to accept monthly in- stead of semi-monthly payment, The company then closed the mine and now gives the stock excuse that it cannot afford the union scale. The new wage scale is $1.50 a day less than the union one, The union min- ers will continue their strike,