The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 11, 1926, Page 3

\ 1000 WORKER. CORRESPONDENTS BY JANUARY 13 1927 UNORGANIZED AN IMPORTANT ISSUE AT CONVENTION ‘A. C. W. Delegate Can Learn from Montreal By a Worker Correspondent Reprinted from Living Newspaper In the English Language, Chicago, One of the most important problems that will have to be considered by the convention of the American Cloth- ing Workers of America, in Montreal, May 10, will be the organization of the unorganized. This question if not solved in the immediate future is threatening the very life of the un- jon, because the unorganized workers are undermining the conditions of the organized workers and the manufac- turers are gradually moving the in- dustry to the unorganized cities and towns. Adopt Wrong Policy. The general executive board of the American Clothing Workers has tried to solve this problem in two ways: 1, They gave all kinds of conces- sions to the manufacturers in the form of wage cuts and readjustments, so that the manufacturers can com- pete with the unorganized shops. This policy has failed to keep the work from going to non-union shops, be- cause the employers in those shops could always reduce the wages of those unorganized workers below the standard of the workers in unionized cities, 2. The general executive board also tried to organize the unorganiz- ed, but has succeeded very little, ex- cept in Cincinnati where the employ- er, Mr. Nash, has (for various rea- sons which we will not discuss in this article) turned over the workers to the Amalgamated. But in cities like Philadelphia, where the A. C. W. A. has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, the union has made very little progress. No one can say that the general executive board does not want to or- ganize the unorganized, but it has taken the wrong attitude. that a few paid officials and plenty of money will do the job and by this time the dele- Bates to the convention ought to real- ize that an organization campaign can only be successful when the whole membership is drawn into the cam- paign. This can only be done when the membership has full confidence in the leaders of the organization. The condition in the organization in Montreal where the convention will be held proves this viewpoint to be cor- rect. From the latter part of 1923 to the end of 1924 the Montreal organiza- tion of the A. C. W. continued to dis- integrate. The leadership of that or- ganization having lost the confidence of the members, were helpless. So in- tolerable did the conditions become that in 1923 there was scarcely any semblance of organization in the small shops. The average dues paying membership dropped to 700 out of 5,000 employed in the industry. Results of Concessions. ‘The methods used by the officials in thelr efforts to save the organization were, concession upon concession to the employers, The system of “Stand- ard of Production” was introduced, re- duction of wages was granted, the 44- hour week was actually done away with. These methods only brought about a situation where the members became disgusted with the union and this helped the bosses to disorganize the workers. The rank and file finally revolted under the leadership of the “lefts,” new elections were demanded, mass meeting after mass meeting repudiat- ed the bureaucracy until finally the Pressure of the rank and file became Bo great that the bureaucracy suc- cumbed. New elections were held and Plumbers Helpers’ Club of Brooklyn, New York calls on all helpers to join the club. Meetings every FRIDAY night, 8:30 p. m., at 7 Thatford Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. FOR RENT: FURNISHED ROOM—Modern con- veniences, 3121 Augusta St. Kedzie DR. 5. Telephone Armitage 7466 I guarantee to make your pla’ Gas or Novol for Extraction. Logan Square eee BOOK 3 PRIZES For Winning Worker Correspondence to Be Printed in the Issue of Friday, May 14th: A laapisdahl England?” by Leon Trotsky. A brilliant work that throws light on the great strike going on now. Cloth bound, 7 oveneneg of China,” by Jos. H, Dolsen. The latest publication on a great event, Sle and Shadows,” by Ralph Chaplin. Beautiful poems written by the author while a olass war prisoner in Leavenworth, WIN A BOOK THIS WEEK! Conference of Worker Correspondents in Pittsburgh District Reorganizes the Movement for Greater Activities By a Worker Correspondent, PITTSBURGH, Pa., May 7——Enthusiasm and constructive effort marked the first district conference of Pittsburgh worker correspondents held here. It was In this district that the first group of worker correspondents was organized, Some of the best and most loyal writers for the revolutionary press are to be found in the coal mines and steel! mills of this district, J, Louls Engdahl, editor of The DAILY WORKER, addressed the confer ence, reciting the needs of the worker correspondents’ movement and its function in building a powerful revolutionary press. The district worker correspondents’ class was reorganized to meet twice a month and a committee appointed to organize groups In all sections of the district, The conference unanimously hailed the actions of the central executive committee of the Workers (Communist) Party In approving the Issuance of the American Worker Correspondent, and Its publication In printed form, and endorsing the holding of worker correspondents’ conferences In all Bec: | tlons of the country. Greetings were sent to all other worker correspondents in the United States, with special greetings to the worker correspondents of the Union of Soviet Republics. WORKER CORRESPONDENTS GLASS MEETS TONIGHT T0 DISCUSS ACHIEVEMENTS The Chicago Worker Correspond- ents’ class will meet tonight In the editorial rooms of The DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington DENTIST 2232 N. Near Milwaukee Avenue " Milwaukee, Kedzie and California Ave. cars to door. Blvd. The Living Newspaper and the worker correspondents’ conferences held in Chicago and at Pittsburgh will be discussed. Comrade J. Louis Engdahl, who was present at the Pittsburgh conference, will report. All students must attend this class, Come in time—at 8 p. m. the “left wing” were elected without opposition. Despite the depression and critical financial situation of the union, de- spite the debt that the union had of twenty-five thousand dollars, the new administration with the help of the rank and file started a campaign for union conditions and a hundred per cent organization and today we find union conditions again established in the men’s clothing shops of Montreal, the membership has increased to thirty-five hundred and this was achieved only because the rank and file had full confidence in their lead- ers, Rank and File Confidence Needed. From the above we can conclude (a) that to organize the unorganized We must get the co-operation of the rank and file. (b) That to get the co-operation of the rank and file, they must have con- fidence in their leaders. These conclusions lead us to the question of the “shop delegates” sys- tem of organization, because altho militant and sincere leaders can gain the confidence of the rank and file to a considerable extent, only under a system in which the rank and file and the leaders become one and the same thing, in which the rank and file have full control of the union, can they be awakened to their full responsibility, their initiative developed and the or- ganization be made successful. If the delegates to the convention study the situation in Montreal and learn the lesson from that situation they will adopt the practice of rank and file organization committees and the shop delegate system of organiza- tion, Furman University Fires Teacher for Teaching Evolution GREENVILLE, §, C., May 9.—Fur- man University, baptist, of South Carolina, has turned Professor A. L. Pickens out of his job as teacher of biology for teaching evolution, The trustees are “against that stuff.” ZIMMERMAN California Avenue My and make your appearance NO PAIN, Seven new subscriptions for the American Worker Correspondent were taken at the conference, all the comrades present pledging themselves to bring in many more, Minneapolis Lathers Vote to Strike to Enforce Wage Demands By a Worker Correspondent, MINNBHAPOLIS, Minn, May 9.— Twin-City lathers have accepted the challenge of the plaster bosses and are determined to strike to enforce their new wage scale of $10 a day, ef- fective May 1. They register 100 per cent in favor of enforcing the new wage scale, The conference sponsored by the mayor of Minneapolis and attended by representatives: from organized labor as well as employers, in an attempt to settle the dispute between the union lathers and the plaster bosses, demon- strated the attitude of the bosses. The bosses plainly indicated they would not meet the new agreement. The old agreement provided for a $9 day. Following this conference the lath- ers’ local union met and voted unani- mously to form a block against the bosses and assured them that they “had strength enuf to force them to accept the agreement.” Twenty-seven shops out of 35 have already signed up. This leaves only five shops which have not definitely signed the new agreement. Seveny per cent of the membership of the lathers union are now receiving $10 a day for their work. The lathers will not give up their struggle until the remaining 30 per cent of their members are included in the new agreement. The union is united to fight until these shops are forced to accept the union’s scale of THE DAILY WORKER Page Three DARROW CLASHES WITH PROSECUTOR IN SWEET TRIAL State’s Witnesses Try to Hide Facts (Special to The Daily Worker) DETROIT, May 3. — (By Mail) — Clarence Darrow, attorney for Henry Sweet, younger brother of Dr. Ossian H. Sweet, accused the state’s wit- nesses of deliberately lying, quibbling and evading questions in the trial of Henry Sweet for the alleged murder of Leon Breiner. The witnesses for the state have tried in every possible manner to hide their connection with the Water Works Park Improvement Association, Many tried to hide the real aims of the organization. A number who at- tempted to hide the real purpose and their connection with the association after a gruelling cross-examination by Darrow admitted membership in the organization. They also showed con- clusively that the organization was formed to keep the Negro out of the “restricted white” district. Meet Near Sweet Residence. A very important fact was drawn out of one of the state’s witnesses. This witness after a cross-examina- tion that had lasted for some time told of a meeting held by the associa- tion in yard of the Howe School at Garland and Charlevoix Ave. directly across from the Sweet residence one day before the attack on the Sweets. Darrow was also able to draw out from the witness that speeches were made at this meeting with the inten- tion of inciting members to use violent methods to force Negro residents out of this territory. It also intends to show that because of this testimony that the Negro residents acted in self- defense when they fired back at the mob that threatened to lynch them and burn down the house, Prosecutor Falls to Bar Evidence. ‘The prosecutor did his best to have Judge Murphy of the recorder’s court strike out this important and damag- ing testimony from the record. One witness brought out that a spe- cial speaker at this meeting was the leader of another Water Works Im- provement Association and that he had boasted that his organization had forced Dr. Turner, Negro, to abandon a home that he had moved into in a “restricted white” district. State Witness Caught In Trap. Darrow humorously asked this wit- ness how he had liked the speech of the instigator of riots before the Sweet residence, The witness taken off his guard declared that he had liked it very much and that he had applauded, Darrow then asked him how could he favor “peaceful and con- stitutional means” and applaud for violence at the same time. This created much merriment in the court room. Numerous clashes have occur- red between Darrow and the prose- cutor, Importance of Trial. The importance of this trial grows as each day progresses. The prosecutor backed by the ku klux klan and similar organizations is seeking to force the Negro to live in the “black belt.” They also deny the right of the Negro to defend himse{f against attacks on his person, If the prosecutor succeeds in sen- tencing Harry Sweet, then the Negro will be the helpless victim of the klan lynch mobs of the north. Many Negro and white workers all over the nation are rallying to the defense of Sweet. wages and grant better working con- ditions. ENTHUSIASM GREETS LIVING NEWSPAPER OF CHICAGO GLASS With the slogan “Write as You Fight,” the first “Living Newspaper” In the English language was given Saturday night. The entire Workers’ Correspondents’ section was con- ducted by the Chicago class. The paper sparkled with person- ality by the living presence of each author presenting his own produc- tion. A large range of topics ex- pressed in prose and poetry, cover- ing the entire field of serious and humorous, economic and political life of the working class, gave prom- ise of many worker correspondents for future work In the Communists and labor movement of America. The most striking feature of the Living Newspaper presented today was its industrial trend. The items presented gave us a glimpse into the factory, the mines, the railroads, and other Industrial life of the workers and many of the tasks that face the worker correspondents to arouse the workers to action against the evil conditions that exist. The first printed edition of the American Worker Correspondent “A magazine by and for workers In sold at the meeting, and its excellent appear ance and content attracted much attention. It is very clo: to the work of the si Workers’ Correspondence be promoted among other education- al efforts by the class. The indica- tions are that the class is going to live up to Its slogan—Write As You Fight! Machinists, Firemen and Engineers Locked Out at Krueger’s Brewery (Special to The Dally Worker) NEWARK, N. J., May 9.—The ma- chinists, firemen and engineers at Krueger’s Brewery company, were locked out when their agreement ex- pired, The bottlers, brewers, and drivers remained on the job and sign- ed an agreement with the bosses for one year. Scab machinists, firemen and engi- neers are at work in the plant pro- tected by plug-uglies from the Cos- grove Detective Agency. These scabs never leave the plant as the com- pany ‘has put in cots in the plant. Union bottlers and brewers are mak- ing beer and bottling it, power for which has been furnished by scab mechanics, The union drivers are de- livering this béér. How much longer will it take for union men to realize that their boss'{s their common en- emy and that if contracts are signed that all the ‘crafts must sign at the same time’ or one craft will vir- tually act as a scab against the other, This is what ig taking place in the Krueger’s Brewing Co. in Newark, Oldest Philadelphia Bake-Shop on Strike PHILADELPHIA, May 9.—The first of the shops that was called out in the general organization drive to close all open-shop Jewish bakeries was one run by Newman Beard, 708 South St., one of the oldest bake shops in the city. ‘This shop has been an open shop for 80 years, All attempts in the past to organize the shop have failed due to a lack of unity on the part of the badly exploited, workers, The shop has come out 100 per cent after about six months of, organization activity. Tourists are forced to lug their own baggage in England. Lower picture shows the harbor tie-up on the Thames. PAINTERS REJECT THE COMPROMISE OFFER OF BOSSES Workers Strike to Win Union Demands ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 9.—At a meet- ing of painters and paperhangers at- tended by 2,900 members of the union, the compromise proposal of the Mas- ter Painters’ Association which offer. ed an increase of 20 cents a day was rejected by all except two. Refuse to Grant Increase. Negotiations between the union and the master painters have been going on for over three months. The mas- ter painters continually refused to grant any increase. Last week they offered an increase of 10 cents. When this was rejected, the Master Paint- ers’ Association offered an increase of 20 cents a day. The Building Trades Council, which has been in a chaotic condition for some time, has been reorganized. The painters are in the council. It is ex- pected that the council will call out the other trades where the bosses try to put on scab painters. The Master Painters’ Association is affiliated with the Associated Buildin: Industries of St. Louis. This bosses organization has fought every incre: in wages in the local building trad It is stated that the Master Paint were willing to grant the demands of the workers but that they are held back by the building interests’ associ- ation which is seeking to defeat the painters so as to weaken the spirit of the other building trades unions and thus avoid other wage increase de- mands. They fear that if the painters win their demands that it will encour- age the other building trades unions to demand wage increases. Independents Sign Union Demands. The Master Painters’ Association employs a little less than half the un- ion painters in the city. The associa- tion is composed of a few latge con- tractors. The other half of the paint- ers are employed by independent con- tractors. About 90 per cent of these have signed the new agreement giving the painters $1.10 an hour. Permits have been given the painters working for these independent contractors that have signed up with the union allow- ing them to go to work today. New York Steamfitters Win Wage Demands NEW YORK, May 9.—(FP)—Three thousand steamfitters and helpers are back to work with a victory. The strike ends with the helpers for whom it be- gan winning a raise from $8 to $9 a day. The raise is given in two 50- cent instalments. Till Jan. 1, 1927 helpers will get $8.50 a day, and from then on $9, Mechanics’ wages had previously advanced from $10.50 to $12 a day, without a strike, but the journeymen went out for the helpers. Employers had demanded a wage- cut that would start helpers at $6 a day, gradually raising them with length of service to a maximum of $8.69. The union will concede the em- ployers the right to hire card mem- berg from out of town. The American Worker Correspond- ent Is out!’ Did you subscribe? " Franklin County Labor Behind Zeigler Miners ZEIGLER, Ill., May 9.—Members of the International Labor Defense in Franklin county, Ill, and sympathizing coal. miners had a good time at the I, L. D. picnic at Cleburne Park, two miles north of Zeigler. Five hundred turned out the first day of the picnic and over 1,000 on the second, despite the drive of Farrington against the I, L. D., the threats of Farrington henchmen to come out and break up the picnic and the systematic cam- paign of the remnants of the K. K. K. to destroy the posters announcing the picnic, The speakers at the picnic on the first day were Max Shachtman and William Simons. Shachtman spoke on “May Day and the Youth.” Simons spoke on the necessity for defense by labor of its militants. Shachtman and Simons also spoke on the second day. The main speech was given by William Z. Foster. It was devoted to his experiences dur- ing his six months’ stay in the Work- ers’ Republic. He showed how indus- try was recovering, wages increasing, workers’ conditions improving, as housing, food, cultural level, etc. He proved that the workers of Russia con- trolled production, and when he show- ed that the Communist Party of Rus- sia was the leader of the Russian working class in its forward march, loud applause came from the miners who are not allowed by Farrington to belong to the Workers (Communist) Party. Milk Wagon Drivers Insist on $3 Increase BOSTON, May 9—(FP)—Milk Wag- on Drivers’ Union, Local 380, holds firm for the demanded $3 raise over the present $38 a week and rejects a compromise offer by employers, Defense Rallies Workers | MANY OBSTACLES CONFRONT ALLIES IN CHINESE WAR Americans Dissatisfied with Japan Maneuvers MOSCOW, U. S. S. R., April 22— (By Mail)—According to reliable in- |formation from Peking, although the occupation of Peking by~Chang Tso Lin has strengthened Japanese influ- ence and British and Japanese imper- jalists have not given up the attempt to form a united front between Chang Tso Lin and Wu Pei Fu, these at- tempts are meeting with great hin- drances. The strengthening of Japan’s influence at the cost of Wu Pei Fu is causing discontent amongst the Americans, The occupation of Peking by Chang in no way means the establishment of a centralized dictatorship over the whole of China for first, General Sun |Tuan Fang who has extended his op- erations to Shantung and who now |controls five provinces, is fighting against Chang. Power of Canton Grows. Secondly the national revolutionary government in Canton has extended its influence to three further prov- inces, and thirdly, the peasant move- ment behind the front of Chang and Wu is growing in strength. With these factors at work half of China is already out of the reach of Chang and Wu. The national army has re- tained its fighting capacity and re- mains a political rfactor, The imperialists are doing every- | thing possible to defeat the revolu- tionary movement in China which may be held up for a time, but which will continue to strengthen its forces. LAND ON IT! THE DAILY NAME STREET. ROBT ES mmm @ pear 6 8.50~6 montis $200 9 montis VO -f S00 a year [450 NEW SUBSCRIPTION TO BUILD S months f 2h F montihy WORKER THE DAILY WORKER 1113 W. Washington Bivd, Chicago, Minois\ ane a