The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 22, 1926, Page 2

= ent Is out. Did you get your copy? Hurry up! Send in your sub! it's 9 omy 50 cents, ‘SLUSH FUND TO BE BlG ISSUE IN FALL FIGHT Election Graft Is Now Under Fire BULLETIN PHILADELPHIA, May 20.—John S, Fisher, Mellom-Coolidge candidate for the republican nomination for governor, took the lead today in the counting of the ballots of Tuesday’s election and is practically assured of the nomination. This changes the outlook considerably and if Fisher holds his lead it will give the administration forces control of the state patronage and hence the state republican machine. se 8 (Special to The Daly Worker) WASHINGTON, May 20.—With the republican stalwarts stampeded into yielding to the demand of Senator “Jim” Reed, democrat of Missouri, for a wholesale investigation of the expenditure of funds in the primary elections the whole issue of “New- berryism” is again ralsed at) Washing- ton. So swift was the action \of the in- surgents who jammed the resolutions thru following the slashing a\itacks by Reed of Missouri and Pat Harrison of Mississippi and so confused was the old guard of the administration forces that the vice-president, Chayles S. Dawes, completely bewildered and) taken off his guard appointed .a2 com- mittee controlled by insurgent wepub-| leans and radical democrats. ‘This was a desperate political move to ereate the impression that the ad- ministration dif not fear such an in- vestigation, but now that the ma- chinery is in motion to bring the whole qtestion of such expenditures into the open the Mellon-Coolidge gang is try- ing to devise some way of evading the consequences. Satoon League Under Fire. The Reed ‘resolution is more far- reaching than many senators at first suspected because the main debate/ yesterday revolved around the ques- tion of the alleged expenditure of mil- lions of dollars in the Pennsylvania primary élection and obscured the sweeping nature of the proposition which demanded investigation of any “organization, form or individual” to aid individual candidates. This in- ‘eludes such erganizations as the anti- saloon league, whose supporters have consistently blocked all attempts to investigate its source of funds. Newberryism Issue. It is cehtain that the democrats in the coming congressional elections will make Newberryism the paramount issue against their republican op ponents, with the question of modifica- tion of the Volstead act also playing an important role. “We will carry Newberryism into every state of the Union,” said one ranking senate democrat today. “That's a fighting slogan for us and we'll elect a democratic congress on it, paving the way for a democratic president in 4928. We'll fight New- Werryism not only as represented by the vote which seated Newberry, but as represented by the efforts of a few rich men to buy seats in the senate and to poison the electorate thru the lavish spending of millions of dollars in primary campaigns.” As the democrats rejoiced, the re publicans were correspondingly down- hearted. One veteran western republican be- rated the Coolidge administration and observed, “If the administration won't help us in the primaries and we can't win if it does, what's the use of lining up with the adnrinistration.. I'm go- ing to make my battle on my own feet.” Insurgent Committee. The slush fund commitee, com- prising Senators David A. Reed, re- publican of Pennsylvania; Deneen, re- publican of Illinois; LaFollette, pro- gressiverepwblican of Wisconsin; Bayard, democrat of Delaware, and James A. Reed, democrat of Mis- souri, will meet within the next day or two to organize. It will elect its own chairman, which means that Reed of Missouri will get the post. ' The committee undoubtedly will open its inquiry by investigating the charges against Pepper's backers. It may have serious consequences polit- feally as “Jim” Reed demanded in the @enate that if $2,000,000 had been Spent to aid Pepper, the “rich men spending it” ought to be given terms in a penitentiary, Coal Dealers Accuse Operators. WASHINGTON, —(FP)— Charges that anthracite operators have been Tobbing and cheating the dealers and public by mixing inferior sizes with Various standard sizes of coal, were ‘made by Roderick Stephens, chairman of the executive committee of the National Retail Coal Merchants’ Asso- elation, in convention in Washington. Three-fourths of the members pres- ent upheld his charge, demanding that the operators stop tricking them. WRITE AS YOU FIGHT! 7 The American Worker Correspond: | | SCABS AND STREET CAR COMPANY FARE BADLY AT CANTON ' | (Special to The Daity Worker) | CANTON, ©., May 20—The Ohio Power and Light company’s attempt to break the strike of union carmen | between Akron and Canton on the | nineteenth day of the strike met } such determined protest that the effort proved a failure. . Two strik- ers were arrested by police reserves rushed to the scene. Strike sympathizers were attack- ed by company guards and scab car- men, who got the worst of it in the ensuing battle which raged for some time. Bricks and clubs broke the windows of twenty cars and the head of one scab. The scabs were so frightened that some leaped from their posts without setting the brakes and runaway cars wrecked two automobiles, PASSAIC CLERGY URGES SENATE PROBE TEXTILES Asks Senators to Take Immediate Action (Special to The Daily Worker) WASHINGTON, D. C.,, May 20, — Senators William E. Borah, Robert M. Lafollette and Burton K, Wheeler have been approached by a delegation rep- resenting the Associated Societies and Parishes of Passaj’> and vicinity with a demand that y insist on im- ; Mediate action on the resolution be- fore the senate manufactures commit- tee calling for an investigation of the textile industry of Passala Walsh Urges Inquiry. Frank P. Walsh, counsel for the Passaic strikers, was also present and he urged an immediate inquiry and directed the attention of the three senators to a report made by W. Jett Lauck, a Washington economist, on the textile industry of Passaic. Walsh brought out that the need for an investigation into the industry was wreat since the mill owners raised the pavrety plea. He pointed out that the poverty plea was without founda- tion as the tariff law protects the Pas- saic industry 78% and that the profits of the mYll owners on their invest- ments had been 93%, While the com- panies have been making enormous profits the heads of families have been getting less than $1,000 a year. Because of the low wages paid to the heads of families, Walsh further pointed out, the women and the chil- dren were forced to work long ‘hours in the mills and that child labor “existed in the vilest manner” in the Passaic mills. Senator Robert M. LaFollette and Burton K. Wheeler are both members of the same manufactures’ committee, of which Senator William B. McKin- ley, Illinois tractoin magnate and sup- porter of the Coolidge anti-union pol- icies, is chairman. Vice-President Johnson of the Botany mills was in conference with {Senator Borah after the Passaic dele- gation, representing a number of the societies and churches, left. It was not possible to get any in- formation as to what Johnson of the Botany mills had to say to Borah and what they had discussed. All that Borah would state was that Johnson had requested the interview, s+ * To Start Investigation. PASSAIC, May 20.—Representatives of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and the National Catholic Welfare Conference at a meeting here in the district court chambers, have decided to carry on an investigation of the txetile industry and the. strike. Lawless Dry Raiders Meet with Resistance at New Philadelphia, Ohio NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio, May 20.—-Quiet reigned in this city fol lowing a night of disorders when 1,500 citizens, enraged by promiscuous fir- ing on the part of dry raiders oper- ating out of the court of Mayor W. K. Weaver of Mineral City, attacked the raiders. The town’s police force of seven of- ficers charged the 1,500, rescued the raiders and locked them up in jail. Southern Russia Battles MOSCOW, May 20.—Southern Rus- sia continues to battle against flood conditions. Nineteen persons were drowned when a raft. carrying thirty persons across the swollen Salak river, cap- sized near Mahatchala, An ava lanche ‘is reported to have worked havoc in the Caucasus, it SEND IN A SUB! Against Many Floods| . Disposed of by June 2 should be predicated upon French rat- ifieation, - FURRIERS CAST BiG VOTE FOR 40-HR. WEEK Almost 100% on Union Ballot (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, May 20. — The vote of the fur workers on the question of the forty-hour week demand in the fur strike, was counted this afternoon at the office of the joint board by the committee of shop chairmen which was appointed May 13 at the meeting in Manhattan Lyceum, There were 9093 workers who signed names, local and ledger numbers to THE DAILY WORKER FIRES OF MYSTERIOUS ORIGIN DESTROY MANY NEGRO WORKERS’ HOMES OMAHA, Nebr., May 20—Fifteen fire companies and hundreds of men formed into bucket brigades to fight twelve fires that broke out simul- taneously shortly after 7 o'clock this morning in a district mostly populated by Negroes. The fires, which covered an area of four blocks, were believed to be under control after two hours. An investigation already Is under way by local police and st fire agents, who believe the fires were started by a fire bug. ‘ Among the structures destroyed was the Omaha toy factory. One fire- man was injured when the walls of the factory fell. Most of the houses in the district are old frame structures. 7 the pledge of loyalty to the General Strike Committee and endorsed the firm stand for a forty hour week no matter how long it may take to win it. Many signers added comments to their signatures and said, “We will stick to the end of 1926 if necessary”; or “We will stay in the fight until all our demands are won,” Almost 100% Since there are 1,000 strikers re- leased by the union for sther work, and about 700 members of settled shops who did not attend the meeting to vote on Tuesday, this is close to a hundred percent vote of the fur work- ers to accept no settlement of the strike unless the forty-hour week is granted first. The committee which counted the ballots was composed of J. Herskovitz, chairman; Lipkin, Jacobson, Schwartz, Serbensky, Mrs. Leibovitz, Fishback, Trachtenberg, D. Ziselman, M. Tami- zoff, Fijan, D. Goodman, L, Kurtiz, Bassin, Skolnick, Rosenstrich, Fried- man, J, Fishman, L. Cohen, Zucker, Press, Rosner, Melzer, Isenberg. This committee gave the official report of their count at the shop chairman meeting in Beethoven Hall this even- ing. ’ On Guard. This shop chairman meeting also discussed methods of keeping watch on the settled shops so that there should be no possibility of their doing work for those shops still on strike. This problem was discussed at last night's meeting of settled shops, and the workers arranged to report all sus- picions of infrimgement of the agree- ment between the union and the em- ployers. Following this evening’s shop chair- men meeting, all the chairmen and members of the general picket com- mittee will march to the fur manufac- turing district and picket the shops there until 2:30 in the morning. Madison Square Meeting. Plans for Saturday’s great forty- hour week mass meeting at Madison Square Garden are progressing rapid- ly and the campaign ir rousing en- thusiasm in all parts of the country. The committee in charge of arrange- ments received today a letter from John Coughlin, secretary of the New York Trades and Labor Council, ac- cepting the invitation to speak on Saturday. Greetings From California. The following telegram came from San Francisco, California, signed by Paul Scharrenberg, secretary: “Greetings and best wishes from the California State Federation of La- bor. We have watched your wonder- ful struggle for the forty-hour week and feel certain that with such splen- did solidarity as has been manifested you are bound to win. Please convey to your membership our hearty en- couragement in your epoch-making fight.” . Hat Cards. Labor unionists thruout New York City are now carrying in their hats a card which reads “New York Labor will demonstrate for 40-hour week, 2- day rest and support of Fur Strike. Big Mass Meeting, Madison Square Garden, 49th Street & 8th Ave. Satur- day, May 22nd, 1 p. m, Admission Free.” The committee urges workers to carry their union cards to make sure they get into the meeting. BUILDING LABORERS OF ROCHESTER STRIKE FOR ~— RECOGNITION OF UNION (Special to The Daily Worker) ROCHESTER, N. Y., May 20— Demanding recognition of their un- jon more than an incre: in wages, building trade laborers of Roches- ter went on strike and started to picket construction jobs, French Debt to Come Up in House and to Be (Special to The Daily Worker) WASHINGTON, May 20, — The house will take up the French debt settlement on May 27 and dispose of it by June 2, Representative Tilson, Connecticut republican floor leader, informed President Coolidge today. The senate, Tilson said, will then, be ready to consider ratification of the pact, provided the French chamber of deputies and senate have acted upen it. Tilson agreed with the president that final action by this government EI cin tA eT ON Ee I cette inane Dh St. a Hh ws SSE te Et A se ER OER es A a A EIT Bo SE SES I cP ct A OO Ra i i MD laa i a shay, NS —<$<$<—$ ____ PASSAIC STRIKE RELIEF MEETING HELD IN CHICAGO International Workers’ Aid on the Job The story of the Passaic strike was related last night before a mass meet- ing at Hull House to a sympathetic audience, H. M. Wicks, editorial writer of the DAILY WORKER, was introduced by the chairman of the meeting, Jack Bradon, local secretary of the Inter- national Workers’ Aid, under whose auspices the meeting was held, and related the efforts of the Passaic strik- ers to secure a senatorial investiga- tion of the strike and, incidentally, paid his respects to the Mellon-Coo- lidge regime at Washington. Nancy Sandosky Speaks. Nancy Sandosky, known as the “Joan of Arc” of the Passaic strikers, who led many of the picket lines and was jailed many times ‘for her activity, related the story of contlitions in the mills that led up to the strike and the police brutality and official terrorism that accompanied the long struggle of the 16,000 mill workers}who are now in their sixteenth week of struggle. The audience was well pleased with her talk and enjoyed her descriptions of the impotent fury’ of the police against the solidarity bf the strikers. Tells of Relief Drive. Fred Beidenkamp, national secre- tary of the I. W. A., told of the aims and purposes of the @rganization of which he is the head and of the mag- nificent work it has done is aiding the relief of the Passaic strikers. His ex- posure of the attitude toward strikes of the fake charity and “community chest” organizations clearly showed the necessity for class organization in order to aid the workers in their struggle against the employers for bet- ter conditions. WETS DRIVE FOR STATE VOTE ON WINES AND BEER New York to Start Ball Rolling (Special to The Daily Worker) WASHINGTON, May 20.—A series of state-wide referendums on. the is- sue of prohibition was looked upon by the wets today as a certain prelude to the presidential campaign of 1928, New York, the largest state in the union, already has provided for a clean-cut test of the strength of the wet and dry sentiment. The legisla- ture has hurdled the necessary legal obstacle, and Gov. Al. Smith has sup- plied the executive approval. Pennsylvania, the second largest state in the union, has just had left- handed referendum itt the senatorial primary, and will sentl to the senate in November another wet member, Penn, Referendum Looms, On the heels of the Pennsylvania showdown, it was learned today that the new Pennsylvania legislature will be asked as soon as i{' meets in Janu- ary to authorize a referendum similar to that which has just been approved by Gov. Smith for New York, The Vare leadership in Pennsyl- vania, which has just ridden into pow- er by taking the wet side of the ques- tion, will approve it, and the Mellon leadership of the state, which went down to defeat by taking the dry side, will not stand in its way. On the con- trary it will support the plan, Merger of Standard and Petroleum Oil Concerns O. K.’d by Justice Dept. WASHINGTON, May 20.—An in- vestigation of the acquisition by the Standard Oil Company of New York of the assets of the General Petroleum Company shows that there was no vio- lation of the anti-trust laws or of the 1911 decree dissolving the Standard Sroup, the department of justice an- nounced, The department said the two com- panies were not competitive, the Gen- eral Petroleum being # distributor and the Statndard a producer, Pia This Spring Has Seen SYRIANS AGAIN the Soviet Union Take Big Strides Forward By J. LOUIS ENGDAHL. HE chorus grows. Not to be outdone by Junius B. Wood, the Moscow correspondent of the Chicago Daily News, Walter Duranty, of the New York Times, joins in applaud- ing the brilliant economic gains being achieved in the Union of Soviet Republics. over his article is as follows: Only part of the headline appearing “Spring Sees Russia More Prosperous: Production Increases, Railroad Traffic Gains and Unemployment is Reported Reduced.” F Altho one of the few correspondents who has been at all fair in reporting Soviet developments, Duranty was’ among those who recently predicted dire things for the Workers’ and Peasants’ Republicc, Reiteration of his past fears and the outlook that he pictures at the present time are contained in this paragraph: “The last four weeks has witnessed marked improvement in the internal situation of the Soviet Union. Not only have the most obvious features of the recent crisis disappeared, such as long queues of per- sons waiting to buy goods at the government stores, and the premium on gold and foreign valuta, BUT THE PRODUCTION FIGURES AND THE RAILROAD RETURNS ARE * * MOVING STEADILY UPWARDS.” * * It is the increase in the production figures, of course, that helps solve all the other problems. Goods are produced to meet the growing demands of the great peasant popula- tion. This increases the flow of farm products from the land, creating a surplus available for export, thus establish- ing the soviet credit in other lands, the sources of imports to the Soviet Union. figures. Duranty is always good at presenting Especially eloquent are the figures setting forth the results achieved by the transportation system. Here they are: “The average number of freight cars handled per day in April was 24,624, or a 63 PER CENT INCREASE COMPARED WITH APRIL OF LAST YEAR. and iron ore an Increase of 117 per cent, and timber 68.8 per cent. Coal shows an increase of 118 per cent; metal products THE NUMBER OF IDLE FREIGHT CARS ON APRIL 1st was 29,530, re- duced on May ist to 8.032.” om Whatever unemployed workers there are in the cities, are going back to the land with the spring sowing to help bring thru successfully the 1926 crops. Labor is at a prem- ium on the land. This in spite of the, modern agricultural machinery that is being used in'the Soviet Union on an in- creasingly large scale. It was Henry Ford, the other day, who was boasting that ten of his tractors manned by ten men were now doing the work that formerly required 1,000 men with 1,000 oxen. This took place in Soviet Armenia. But this is being dupli- cated in all sections of the Soviet Union, which has placed the largest order with the Ford concern in all its history. Thus the agricultural situation in the Soviet Union is just the reverse of what it is in the United States, where bankrupt, landless farmers are leaving the soil and flocking into the cities in an effort’to find work in the industries already overcrowded with workers seeking to maintain their standard of living against the wage cutting campaigns of the employers. ace e e\ And all the time the daily experiences of the Russian workers, in running their own government and building their own socialist economy, results in gradual improvement in all directions. The wasteful methods that were employed under czarism are being swept-into the limbo of things past. Superfiuous personnel is being eliminated. Overhead and other expenses are being reduced. It is declared that the to- tal savings thus brought about total close to half a billion roubles, about 12 per cent of the entire budget of the Soviet Union. ° e All this is not being done in the name of “Coolidge econ- omy,” so that the profits of the profiteers may be increased, as in capitalist America, strengthening the ruling class in its war on the workers. It is being done by the workers and peasants of the So- viet Union for themselves. This means that every advance step they take, strengthens their own Soviet power that struggles to lift their standard of living upward and beyond anything the world has yet seen. With the spring of 1926 the Soviet Union strides ahead. Even the capitalist press is forced to admit it. * CHINESE SHOW UNITED STATES IMPERIALIST AGENTS THE WAY OUT WASHINGTON, May 20.—So in- censed are the Chine: it the Amer- ican missionaries’ opposition to the Chinese struggle for national Ifbera- tion from imperial oppression that the Presbyterian mission at Katchek was entered and wrecked, according to advices received from the U, S. | consul general at Canton. The Chinese had.previously made clear that China could get along without meddlesome preachers and the latter and their retinue had al- ready left the mission before the visit of the indignant Chinese. Mellon Wants Senate to Ratify French Debt Before Its Adjournment WASHINGTON, May 20—Secretary of Treasury Mellon, chairman of the American debt commission, appeared before the house ways and means committee to urge ratification by con- gress before adjournment of the Franco-American debt agreement for funding more than $4,000,000,000 loaned to France, The settlement with France was the best America could get under the present poor conditions of French fi- nances, Mellon said. He declared it amounted to 50 per cent of the total loans, compared to 26 per cent in the Italian settlement. ee ee 14 RESUME DEBATE ON HAUGEN BILL IN U.S. SENATE May Vote on Bill Before End of Week WASHINGTON, May 20—With only slight hopes of reaching a final vote on the Haugen bill, the house resumed consideration of farm relief legisla- tion. Believing the measure had been strengthened by the Jones amend- ment, under which regional represen- tatives on the farm board would have veto power in proposals to levy equal- ization fees on particular commodi- ties, supporters of Representative Haugen, republican, Iowa, were hope- ful of polling a majority when the formal motion is made to substitute a less expensive Dill. Reading of the measure was to be concluded today, according to estt- mates of party leaders, with an off chance that the .vote would be im- mediately held. With ratification of the French debt settlement and other admfnistration measures yet awainting action, lead- ers plan to “clean up” on farm legis- lation this week. Will Help Novy Mir. Some of the best talents of the Rus- sian colony will participate in the con- cert given this Saturday night at the Workers’ House, 1902 'W, Division St., or the benefit of the Russian Com- munist weekly Novy Mir, age Ame, MASSACRED BY FRENCH TROOPS Kill Many Women and Children; 600 Dead (Special to The Daily Worker) LONDON, May 20.—Repeating their Performance of last year, when French troops slaughtered hundreds of non-combatants in a wanton attack On the native section, which led even the leading imperialist powers to murmur a hollow protest at French imperialist barbarity, a letter from Damascus, which escaped the censors, tells of a new massacre of Syrians by French soldiery on May 8, news of which has been suppressed hitherto. More than 500 non-combatant civil- fang, ‘including great numbers of women and children, were slaughter- ed by the French, who gave 80,000 inhabitants—many of whom were ig- norant of what was going on—only one, hour to leave the native section of the city in which the French claim- ed several rebels, who had attacked a French outpost, were hiding. French fmperialist Civilization. Naturally, only a few of the 80,000 could leave the quarter in time, and the French troops, 3,000 strong, with artillery, airplanes and hand granades attacked the whole quarter, the ar- tillery bombardment lasting fifteen hours, The French used twelve three-inch guns, four howitzers and a dozen bombing planes, says the dispatch, adding: “Fires broke out immediately. The sky was darkened by smoke and dust. General panic followed. Women and children rushed aimlessly thru the streets, falling victims to burst- ing shells or collapsing houses.” Driven to Join National Army. Driven to desperation by the wanton massacre, hundreds ‘Of men and boys who had previously remained neutral between the French and the rebel forces, stormed against the, ring of French troops surrounding the dis- trict and were efther shot down by the superior armed French or broke thru to join the rebel forces to revenge the murder of their families and the destruction of their homes, In an interview given a foreign cor- respondent by the leaders of the na- tionalist liberation movement, they point out that while the French peace terms look very nice on paper, the French cannot be trusted, as four successive French governors, have be- trayed the Syrians and the Druses and the only method for arriving at peace is the complete evacuation by French troops of Syrian territory, Treated as Colony. The nationalists point to the bar- barous massacres of peaceful natives as proof of French imperialist cruelty and declare that the league of na- tion’s mandate is used by France to treat Syria as a French colony and not as a nation temporarily under mandate, . Runs Over a Young Mother; Tries to Kill Self Prevented four times from taking her own life, Mrs. Rose Spillman, who ran down and killed a young mother and injured several other persons se- riously, is under police guard at Mt. Sinai Hospital in a hysterical congi- tion, accused of manslaughter. . Mrs, Spillman was held on the man- slaughter charge on recommendation of a coroner's jury. During the night she is said to have twice tried to strangle herself, once with her stock- ings and again with other articles of clothing. During the inquest she at- tempted to choke herself twice, ac- cording to police, MAURICE HINDUS An unusual story of Russian life in the village. The author visited this little place where he was born—and tells the story of Rus sian life as he has seen it. $2.00 Cloth Bound, THE DAILY WORKER PUB. CO, 1113 W, Washington Bivd, Chicago, til, ey