The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 18, 1926, Page 6

‘Page Six THE DAILY WORKER Published by the DAILY WORKER PUBLISHING CO. 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, Ml. Phone Monroe 4713 SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mail (in Chicago only): By mail (outslds of Chicago): $8.00 per year $4.50 six months $6.00 per year $3.50 six months $2.50 three months $2.00 three months Address all mail and make out checks to THE DAILY WORKER, 1113 W. Washington Bivd., Chicago, Iilinols J. LOUIS ENGDAHL WILLIAM Fi DUNNE: (eter MORITZ J. LOEB... ..Business Manager intered as second-class matl September 21, 1923, at the post-office at Chi: cago, Ill, under the act of March 3, 1879. ole 295 Advertising rates on applications. The Pennsylvania Senatorial Conflict In Pennsylvania the three-cornered battle for the senatorial womination on the republican ticket obscures every other feature of the primary election to be held Tuesday. Senator George Wharton Pepper, trained in the corrupt school ef the late Boise Penrose, and now a creature of Andrew W. Mellon, and one of the “yes-men” of the Morgan coalition of republicans and democrats at Washington, running for renomination, is confronted with two formidable opponents. One of them is Governor Gifford Pinchot, who is persona non grata with the Mellon gang, in spite of ‘the fact that he swears allegiance to the strikebreaking Coolidge regime. The other candidate is “Boss Bill” Vare of Philadelphia. Vare is the corrupt head of a political machine organized for pillage flone. He represents the powerful traction interests of Philadelphia nd is a defender of the “Mitten plan” of scabbery in industry. He is a union wrecker par eacellence. The Mellon-Coolidge machine openly supports Pepper, tho Coolidge personally does not participate in the campaign. Mellon ‘and Secretary of Labor James J. Davis have actively campaigned for Pepper. The pacifists, liberals and the state functionaries are out to nominate Pinchot, while the political riff-raff of the state who long for the return of the palmy days of Matt Quay, who turned the state into a cesspool of corruption, are as one behind Vare. Most despicable is the role of many labor leaders and especially those in control of the state labor party who have nominated on the labor ticket some of those on the republican ticket. The Communist demand, enunciated by the two districts of the Workers Party in Pennsylvania, that the labor party be rebuilt into real party, supporting none but bona-fide labor candidates, is the only reply to the dirty role of the fakers in the labor movement of that state, as it strikes directly at their alliance with the capitalist class by demanding that they either break their present political THE DAILY WORKER Coolidge Opens the Sesqui-Centennial Celebrations Dramatic Revolutionary Events Leading Up to Signing of Declaration of Independence Utilized by Lackeys of Wall Street to Cloak Reaction of Today OY hundred and fifty years ago, May 15, 1776, the Virginia As- sembly meeting in the hall of William Mary College at Williamsburg, adopted a resolution declaring Vir- ginia independent of Great Britain. This action by the oldest and largest of the colonies spurred on the hesitat- ing elements to that defiance of the crown and parliament of England that culminated in the American declara- tion of independence at Philadelphia seven weeks later. A century and a half after that memorable event Calvin Coolidge stood in the same hall and expounded the theories of the United States gov- arnment of today. The walls that re-echoed the thunder ot a Patrick Henry looked down upon he puerile antics of Coolidge, the court jester of Wall Street. The pageantry of 1776 is besmirched by the low burlesque of 1926. The revo- Nutionary grandeur of yesterday is used as a cloak to cover the rapacious imperialism of today. There is profound historical symbol- ism in this appearance of Coolidge at Williamsburg in Old Virginia. It represents two climaxes; one the cul- mination of the preparatory struggle against the arrogance of British tyran- ny and the alignment of the, thirteen colonies behind the open armed strug- gle; the other the complete subservi- ence of the government to the slight- est demands of the mighty imperial- ism ‘of Wall Street, and LOAKING his imperialist program behind historical reminiscences, Coolidge perverts the. famous resolu- tion of May 15, 1776, into a defense of the Wall Street’ world court pro- gram, That resolution stated in part: “That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in general con- gress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the united colonies free and independ- ent states, absolved from all alle- giance to or dependence upon the crown or parilament of Great Brit- ain; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, and to WHATEVER MEASURES MAY BE THOUGHT PROPER AND NECESSARY BY THE CONGRESS FOR FORMING FOREIGN AL- LIANCES.” (Emphasis mine.—H. M. W.) The dirty sophistry of Coolidge was brot into full play in his “interpreta- tion” of the part we have emphasized in the quotation. Praising’ the “com- munion of colonies” the down east lackey of the House of Morgan asserts that “these resolutions, even tho un- consciously, recognized a communion of nations when they authorized the forming of foreign alJliances.” Coo- lidge adds: ' “They could not escape the con- clusion that as the individual de- rives his\liberty from an observance of the law, so nations derive their independence and perpetuate their sovereignty from an observance of that comity by which they are all bound. Our country holds to pol- itical and economic independence, BY H. M. WICKS BUT IT HOLDS TO CO-OPERA- TION AND COMBINATION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUS- TICE.” fs While Coolidge did not refer spe- cifically to the world court, there can be no question regarding his meaning. He ignores the fact that the Virginia resolutions were designed as prepa- ration for revolutionary action against the British government and that the authors of those resolutions were deliberately, striving to invoke the aid of the European enemies of Britain as well as to align all the colonies on the side of the revolution, and that the resolutions quoted did not have, and could not have had, any refer- ence whatsoever to an international tribunal of the character of the league of nations’ world court, which the Coolidge government has entered in order to defend the interests of Amer- ican imperialism against its enemies. Assails Direct Primaries. OLIDGE took advantage of the occasion to enunciate a new re- actionary program regarding elections since his favorites have fared so bad- ly at the hands of the registered voters of his own party. Referring to direct primaries as an element of re- cent development that is to be de- plored, Coolidge adds: “Direct primaries and direct elec- tions bring to bear upon the politi- cal fortunes of public officials the greatly disproportionate influence of organized minorities.” Coolidge yearns for the return of the good old days of the party caucus, where the ward-heelers, bribers, bribe “Oh! Say, Can You See . . . 999 . ties or proclaim themselves openly the agents of the scab shop in in- dustry. Coolidgeism in Excelsis One reads the speech delivered by Coolidge at Williamsburg, Virginia, on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the formal declaration of independence with a feeling that the forthright and unequivocal fighters for American independence like Paine and Jef- ferson must have turned over in their graves. The Coolidge speech can be characterized only as the clumsy at- tempt of a Wall Street marionette to cadge votes from a section whose population fought for states’ rights—the statés rights’in this instance being the right to hold millions of human beings as chattel slaves. At a time when every act of the central government is designed to further increase its power, when the centralization of function in every avenue of governmental activity is a fact known to every intelligent inhabitant of the United States, when.a bureaucratic ap- paratus without precedent in American history has been set up and its powers extended and consolidated under the Coolidg® regime, the president delivers himself as described by the correspondent of the Chicago Tribune: He tore into bureaucracy and all its works, declaring that there was neither health nor efficiency in it, and he made a states rights and anti-centralization speech that would have thrilled even the austere heart of that pioneer states rights man, John Caldwell Calhoun, dead these six and seventy years. Hypocricy has been elevated to the level of an art by Coolidge and his advisers. “The doctrine of states rights is not,” said Coolidge, “ a privilege to continue in wrongdoing, but a privilege to be free from inter- ference in well doing.” Deafening cheers from the Virginian chivalry which draws fat dividends from child labor by virtue of a supreme court decision that the robbery of child workers is purely a question of states rights, must have followed the utterance of this blatant Pollyannaism. After this it was eminently fitting that the president should re- ceive the degree of LL.D. from William and Mary college, but again its most distinguished alumnus, one Thomas Jefferson, must have stirred, uneasily in his graye. But such incidents in the life of “our” president have some ad- vantages for us. If we are ever doubtful as to whom the real, rulers of America are we have only. to recall that Calvin Coolidge is presi- dent by the grace and gold of the House of Morgan and a strike of policemen in Boston some years ago. ; It takes much power to make and keep a Coolidge president even in these Benighted States. A Feeble Gesture , Tomorrow is the opening day of the so-called preliminary arms conference to be held in Gieneva, under the auspices of the league of nations. The attempt of the assembly of the league, meeting in extra ordinary session, to admit Germany to the council, failed with such } | dividend will now be 7 paid since early in 1924. The change in the regular dividend rate was made at the suggestion of J. P. Morgan. The Wall Street Journal says, “While the change in the steel common dividend so far is merely in the method of declaration, as the $7 regular rate represents the same pay- ment to stockholders as the $5 regular and $2 extra payments in recent years, the change is a significant one, It in- disastrous results that the league doesn’t yet know whether it is alive or dead, and it is afraid to try to find out. After long secret conferences the announcement is made that the delegates to the “preliminary conference” will elect their chairman and continue their secret deliberations. But we are given a hint regarding the nature of the plans of Sir Eric Drummond and Lord Cecil. The conference is to decide upon the number of committees to be selected, it will ap- point the committees and then adjourn until next fall, while the com- mittees conduct “surveys” of the arms problem and prepare reports to be submitted to the next (seventh) assembly of the league. Meanwhile the imperialist sleight-of-hand performers will try to maneuver for control of what remains of the league so they can adopt measures for disarmament of their enemies and the amaller nations under the influence of enemies—obviously an impossible feat. The agents of Morgan’s government are on the job endeavoring to obtain advantages satisfactory to their master-and to ascertain the fighting strength of other powers, The outcome of any disarmament conference can: y mean new and more subtle preparations for war, which is inevitable in the era “of capitalist imperialism. 4 a a dicates the conviction of directors that a $7 rate can be maintained indefinite- ly and leaves.the door open for extras in good years,” Disburses $60,800,848 Annually. The corporation’s regular dividends will now mean a disbursement of $60,800,848 to the owners each year. Cal's unearned $350 share will come to him regularly as a result of the work done by steel labor. An unskill- ed laborer in the stecl milly would have to work more than 850 hours to earn this for his family. But Coolidge is only a runt capitalist compared with other sto the corporation. Ore chairman of Mor; First National bank, leads wifh.f8,450 shoves of cone mon and preferred stock. ‘The 7 per cent dividends on both classes of stock bring him $409,150 a year without any work on his;part, A common labor ne ma per cent instead of 5 per cent plus’2 per cent extra pi 2 in the steel industry, would scarcely earn this ina million, hours, Coupon-Clippers. Below Baker there,are at least 334 holdings of more than 1,000 shares. each. To earn the dividends on the smallest of these would require 17,000 hours of work at. the rate paid com- mon labor. Many of;the larger blocks are in the hands of.pbrokers and other private finance corporations. Exclud- ing these the 14 individuals following Baker, with their holdings and regular annual dividends are: Number of Steel Stockholders shares Dividends T. F. MeGowan .. 0,000 = $280,000 L, C. Phipps 5,000 245,000 Gilbert Haldane ,. 0,000 =. 210,000 G. A. Oswald , 0,000 210,000 Loke H. Cutter . Mary S. Milligan G. H. Singer Hf. M. Johnson 2,084 154,618 145,859 182,020 105,000 J. H, Hurley 10,512 73,584 A. M. Andrews 10,100 70,700 F. J. Thornley 0,019 70,182 8. J. Marvin 8,700 60,900 E, D. Shaw 8,242 57,694 Emil Winter 8,000 56,000 Enormous Dividends, Including Baker tHis makes 15 indi- viduals taking $2,880,526 a year in cash dividends from a@ single corporation. This would pay 1,800° workers the ay- erage annual wagesspald by United 28 By Deni, in Moscow Pravda _ Uncle Sam and the capitalists of the world, in spite of their hatred for the soviets, are begin- ning to recognize the value of the Soviet Union oil wells. UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION WILL HAND OUT BIGGER DIVIDENDS TO COUPON CLIPPERS IN THE FUTURE Calvin Coolidge and his fellow capitalists who own the United States Steel corporation are slated for larger cash dividends in the future, At least Wall Street thinks so after Chairman Gary's announcementysthat the regular States Steel, including skilled as well as unskilled employes in the computa- tion. Scarcely a name in the list is known to the public. They are simply owners. Gary’s announcement accompanied the report of a $45,061,285 profit for the first quarter of 1926. This com- pares with $42,280,465 in the last quar- ter of 1925 and $39,882,992 in the first three months of 1925. It represents $3.89 a share on common, more than twice the dividend requirements for the quarter, Thus United States Steel is piling up the surplus which will guarantee 7 per cent dividends even tho a depression lays off the workers in the industry. Mexican Government Turns Seven Catholic Churches Into Schools MEXICO CITY, May 16.—Seven Catholic churches in various towns in the state of Tobasco abandoned by Catholic clergy, who refused to com- ply with the constitutional require- ments regarding religion, are being re- modeled into public schools, President Calles ordered the use of these buildings as public schools under a constitutional provision which de- clares that all church buildings are national property. Corbishley Speaks in Avella on Sun., May 23 (Special to The Daily Worker) AVELLA, Pa, May 16, — Henry Corbishley will speak the Zeigler Miners’ Frame-Up at ‘te Slovenian Hall, Sunday afternoon, 23 at 2 o'clock under the auspices-of-the [n- & collectors and other cogs of the pol- itical machine get together and, under instructions of the local or state boss, endorse the slate that appeals to the machine, For the most part the direct prima- ries follow the dictates of the politi- cal ‘boss. But occasionally the regis- tered party voters repudiate the ma- chine-picked candidate and select one who is not so satisfactory. With one of the White House favorites already repudiated by members of his own party for his stand on the world court and with Lenroot in Wisconsin, Cum- mins in Iowa, and others of the world court senators facing primary con- tests, Coolidge starts a campaign to wipe out the direct primary, so the registered .republican voting cattle cannot run amuck and select candi- dates without the official stamp of the bureaucratic machine. Coolidge’s professed concern over the “disproportionate influence of or- ganized minorities” is only a smoke screen behind which he hopes to en- force unquestioned obedience to the Mellon-Coolidge machine: in his own party. The Campaign Begins. THER reactionary measures were enunciated by Coolidge, such as further centralization. of government power under the cloak of a discourse on state’s rights. Speaking before a Virginia audience the White House spokesman had to soft-pedal this part of his speech so he qualified his as- sertion that “it is impossible to lay too much emphasis upon the necessity of making all our political action of Communism at University of Wisconsin sat the federal government harmonize with the principal of national unity,” with the observation that if the fed- eral government should go out of ex- istence the authority of the states would be sufficient for'a time to pre- vent disorder. This part of his speech concluded with the warning that “the doctrine of state rights is not a privi- lege to continue in wrong-doing but a privilege to be free from interfer- ence in well-doing.” This pointless observation seemed to have no connection with the rest of his ‘speech, but then a modern president is not obliged to be coherent in his public utterances. The Williamsburg speech is the be- ginning of the sesqui-centennial cele- brations that will culminate in the opening of the much-advertised show at Philadelphia July 4th. It only in- dicates the trend of the capitalist prop- aganda calculated to pervert the re- volutionary ‘past in order to inspire respect for the tyrannical present. But in this celebration we Commun- ists, the revolutionists of today, will not be denied the right to make our voices ‘heard. We will observe the 150th anniversary of 1776 in our own way. While we disdain to cloak the revo- lution of today in the trappings of the past, we review the struggle of the American revolutionists, praise their revolutionary audacity, appraise their errors and profit by their experiences in their struggles against the despot- ism of their day so that we may more effectively wage our struggle against the black reaction of our day. By MARY PERSCHONOK (University of Wisconsin) “The working class revolution is the inevitable outcome of the evo- lution of our industrial system. The soviet form of government is the only government which will rep- resent the proletariat.” —H. M. Wicks. “The capitalist system most ef- Ticlently gratities the instincts ot human nature. Under capitalism, in the past 50 years, more wealth and more happiness has been ac quired by everybody than ever be- fore.” —Leon Lamfrom. MADISON, Wis., May 14—Before an audience that filled ‘the Agricultural hall of the University of Wisconsin these statement, one“ ‘sketching the aims and policies of the Workers (Communist) Party of America, the other defending the present capitalist system, outlined in @ joint giscussion the talks on communism and capital- ism held under the auspices of the Wisconsin Student’’Forum, a non- partisan liberal organization on the campus devoted to the ‘study of se- cial, political and economic: questions. H. M. Wicks, editorial writer for The DAILY WORKER, represented the Communist viewpoint, while Leon Lamfrom, Milwaukee attorney, cgun- sel for the Wisconsin Employers’ as- sociation and well known thruout the state for his agility in obtaining labor injunctions and defeating labor legis- lation, was the spokesman for the present industrial system. Traces Capitalist. Development. A background for the proletarian revolution was painted by Mr. Wicks when he “traced the development of capitalism from its inception as a reyolutionary movement which culmi- nated in the French revolution, its progress in accumulating a surplus thru the exploitation of wage labor, thru its imperialistic stage, a result of this surplus production, which found expression in the world war. “Capitalism has outlived its useful- ness; it generates within itself a negative force, the constant reinvest- ment of surplus which it is able to obtain only thru the. exploitation of wage labor. It will not disappear of itself but in response to certain defi- nite conditions and needs. And we are doing everything to bring about its speedy disappearance,” said Mr. Wicks. “A revolution would be unnecessary if the capitalists yield to our demands, but history shows that no class has given up its power and position as rulers without a struggle. That is why we believe that a revolution is necessary, “The government today is an ex- ression of the capitalist class; not the workers, At every opportunity, in a struggle between capital and la- bor, it lines up against the workers. The present Coolidge administra- tion especially was denounced by Mr. Wicks, who said that it worked “hand in glove” so perfectly with the indus- trial and financial interests that no lobbyists were required to watch the government's action, * Advocates Labor’ Party. Because the government today does not represent the working class it is necessary to form a labor party thru which American labor will be able to fight back, Mr, Wicks explained in advocating a political party, Every class struggle is a political struggle, he said, This labor party would not be a Communist party, but one rep- resenting all shades of opinion of the working class. “But a labor party is only the first step toward the revolution,” he con- tinued. “The working class will not come into its own until it will be rep- resented entirely by a workingmen’s government. Such is the soviet form of government which would comprise representatives of all those who labor. Leaders are elected by the rank and file, not chosen by the leading indus- trial or financial interests, to repre- sent their interest, as is the case in our two parties, “Altho the soviet government .of. Russia is a dictatorship it is a,dicta- torship by an overwhelming majority, |and is far more democratic than the ‘democratic government’ of the United States,” Mr. Wicks replied to an as- sertion from the audience that the government of Russia was the auto- eratic rule of.a minority. Lawyer Defends Capitalism. Pointing out that capitalism hag been and is still percolating with in- justices, Mr. Lamfrom, ‘in defending the present industrial system, said that capitalism is divesting itself of these shortcomings thru social and industrial legislation. The “give and take” spirit among enlightened em- ployers has permitted such legislation which adjusts unequal differences. Private proprety, Mr. Lamfrom de- fined, is the invulnerable basis of cap- italism and the choicest instrument thru which the aspirations and ambi- tions of humanity can be expressed. Mr. Lamform advised his audience that a communistic form of govern- ment would be wholly incompatible with human nature, would not permit the acquisition of wealth, and would fail utterly because it is contrary to man’s spiritual and psychological make-up. Wisconsin, Mr. Lamfrom cited as an example of a comonwealth under capitalism which does not exploit the workers, but which utilizes the taxes its citizens pay in public services, such as good roads, etc. To which Nj. Wicks responded that under commu- nism the workers would not only make the roads but ride over them. Mr, Lamfrom could not refrain from a slight eulogy of the present sys- tem. “When I walk home on a winter night and see the bright lamps in the peaceful cottages of our workers, I envy——” the rest was buried under waves of laughter. Mr. Lamform's eulogy seemed to be antiquated. Guha? a> ee