The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 2, 1926, Page 1

CHAPTER I BS THE RIDE I The road ran, smooth and flawless, precisely fourteen feet wide, the edges trimmed as if by shears, a ribbon of grey concrete rolled out over the valley by a giant hand. The ground went in long waves, a slow ascent and then a sudden dip; you climbed, and went swiftly over—but you had no fear, for you knew the magic ribbon would be there, clear of obstructions, unmarred by bump or Vol. Ill. Na.120 Subscription Rates: CAL COOLIDRE AT ARLINGTON DEFENDS COURT Boasts of Military Might of U. S. (Special to The Daily Worker) WASHINGTON, D, C., May 31. — Coolidge’s Decoration Day address at Arlington cemetery was characterized scar, waiting the passage of inflated rubber wheels revolving seven | ®Y an eulogy of the army, the navy times a second. The cold wind of morning whistled by, a storm of motion, a humming and roaring with ever-shifting overtones; but you sat snug behind a tilted wind-shield, which slid the gale up over your head. Sometinies you liked to put your hand up, and feel the cold impact; sometimes you would peer around the side of the shield, and let the torrent hit your forehead, and toss your hair about. But for the most part you sat silent and dignified— because that was Dad’s way, and Dad’s way constituted the ethics of motoring. Dad wore an overcoat, tan in color, soft and woolly in tex- ture, opulent in cut, double-breasted, with big collar and big lapels and big flaps over the pockets—every place where a tailor could express munificence. The boy’s coat had been made by the same tailor, of the same soft, woolly material, with the same big collar and big lapels and big flaps. Dad wore driving gaunt- lets; and the same shop had had the safne kind for boys. Dad| wore horn-rimmed spectacles; the boy had never been taken to an oculist, but he had found in a drug-store a pair of amber-col- ored glasses, having horn rims the same as Dad’s. There was no hat on Dad’s head, because he believed that wind and sun-} shine kept your hair from falling out; so the boy also rode with} tumbled locks. The only difference between them, apart from size, was that Dad had a big brown cigar, unlighted, in the corner of his mouth; a survival of the rough old days, when he had} driven mule-teams and chewed tobacco. Fifty miles, said the speedometer; that was Dad’s rule for open country, and he never varied it, except in wet weather. Grades madé no difference; the fraction of an ounce more pres- sure with his right foot, and the car raced on—up, up, up—until it topped the ridge, and was sailing down into the next little val-| ley, exactly in the center of the magic grey ribbon of concrete. | The car would start to gather speed on the down grade, and Dad} would lift the pressure of his foot a trifle, and let the resistance | of the engine check the speed. Fifty miles was enough, said Dad; he was a man of order. . Far ahead, over the tops of several waves of ground, another car was coming. A small black speck, it went down out of sight, | and came up. bigger; the next time it was bigger yet; the next time-—it was on the slope abové”you, rushing at you, faster and came a moment to test the ni ‘of*a motorist. bon of concrete had no stretching.powers. sides had been prepared for emergencies, but you could not al- ways be sure how well it had .been.prepared, and if you went off at fifty miles an hour you would: get disagreeable waverings of the wheels; you might find the neatly trimmed concrete raised several inches above the earth at*the side of it, forcing you to run along on the earth until you could find a place to swing in again; there might be soft sand; which would swerve you this) ¢ way and that, or wet clay which would skid you, and put a sud- den end to your journey. s So the laws of good driving forbade you to go off the magic and the air forces. He boasted of the fact that never before has the United States possessed such a gigantic peace time military machine as at the present time. He was quick to Japse into the usual pacifist talk abéut this country coveting no territory, entertaining no imperialistic designs, nor harboring no enmity toward other peoples. Praises League and Court. In his memorial day address Coo- lidge went a step farther than he has hitherto gone and not only reaffirmed his stand in favor of the Wall Street conspiracy to bludgeon this country into the world court, which is the back door of the league of nations, but he even praised the league itself as a European instrument by stating that it “ought to be able to provide those countries (European) with cer- tain political guarantees which our country does not require.” On debt cancellation he frankly ad- mitted the concern of the administra- tion for the right of American capital (Wall Street) to invest in European countries. As an excuse for the shameful cancellation of Mussolini’s debt, while not relieving the workers and impoverished farmers of this country, rather increasing their burden, Coolidge said, “Our national treasury is not in the banking busi- ness.” m He neglecfd to state that the na- tional treasury under Mellon is used to aid the private banking business of Mellon’s associates in the game of high finance in this country. The speech, for the most part, was the customary decoration day drivel Entered-at Secdnd-class matter September 21, 1923, at the Post Office at Citcagu, illinols, under the Act of March 3, 1879. In Chicago, by mail, $8.00 per year, Outside Chicago, by mail, $6.00 per year. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 1926 pian ee peananan tenor | | | | | about the spirit 6f Lincoln, Washing- i ['ton and the other national heroes, faster, a mighty projectile hurled out of a six-foot cannon. Now)“ —_——- The magic ribk-'* The ground at the'}’ CHIEF BABBITT ribbon except in extreme emergencies. You were ethically en- titled to several inches of margin at the right-hand edge; and the man approaching you was entitled to an equal number of inches; which left a remainder of inches between the two projectiles as they shot by. It sounds risky as one tells it, but the heavens are run on the basis of similar calculations, and while collisions do happen, they leave tithe enough im between for universes to be formed, and successful careers conducted by men of affairs. “Whoosh!”’ went theother projectile, hurtling past; a loud, swift “Whoosh!” with no tapering off at the end. You had a glimpse of another man with horn-rimmed spectacles like your- self, with a similar grip of two hands upon a steering wheel, and a similar cataleptic fixation of the eyes. You never looked back; for at fifty miles an hour, your business is with the things that lie before you, and the past is past—or shall we say that the passed are passed? Presently would come another car, and again it would be necessary. for,you to leave the comfortable centre of the concrete ribbon, and content yourself with-a pre- cisely estimated ‘one-half minus a certain number of inches. Each time, you were staking your‘life upon your ability to place’ your car upon the exact line—anid. upon the ability and willing- ness of the unknown other patty to do the same. You watched his projectile in the instant of hurtling at you, and if you saw that, he was not making the necessary concession, you knew that you were encountering that most dangerous of all two-legged mam- malian creatures, the road-hog.’ Or maybe it was a drunken man, or just 2 woman—there was no time to find out; you had the thou-, sandth part of a second in which to shift your steering-whee? the tenth part of an-inch, and run your right wheels off onto the That might happen only once or twice in the course of a day’s driving. When it did, Dad had one invariable formula; he would shift the cigar a bit in his mouth and mutter: “Damn fool!” It was the only cuss-word the one-time mule-driver permitted him- self in the presence of the boy; and it had no profane signifi- canee—it was simply the scientific term for road-hogs, and drunk- en men, and women driving cars; as well as for loads of hay, and furniture-vans, and big motor-trucks which blocked the road on curves; and for cars with trailers, driving too rapidly, and swing- ing from side to side; and for Mexicans in tumble-down buggies, who failed to keep out on the dirt where they belonged, but came wabbling onto the concrete—and right while a car was coming in the other direction, so that you had to jam on your foot-brake, and grab the hand-brake, and britig the car to a halt with a squealing and grinding, and worse yet a sliding of tires. If there is anything a motorist considers disgraceful it is to “skid his tires”; and Dad had the conviction that some day there would be a “a law turned inside, out—it would be forbedden to drive less es tos miles an hour on state highways, and le who wanted to drive spavined horses to tumble-down buggies would either go cross-lots or stay at a b ihe “\ barrier ea baie mene My ieee the a : td off, shee had blue, with a canopy of fog on top; they lay in tum pool one summit behind another, and more summits peeking i . ae John H. Moss, of Milwaukee, is the president of the Kiwanis International and will preside at the tenth conven- tion of this petit-bourgeolg, “boost- ers’” organization of bed and egg men when it meets in Mo} 7, 1926, Railroad Unions Ask for Wage Increases real June (Special to The Daily Worker) CLEVELAND, Ohio, May 31.—Three hundred general chairman of the _en- gineers’ brotherhood, will meet here on June-2 to decide upon procedure in presenting “requests’ for wage in- creases, according to statements of the union officials, The firemen will meet at the same place on the same date for the same purpose. All of the transportation brother- hoods now have wage demands formu- lated or pending. This is regarded by some observers as probable to bring about a later campaign of the rail- roads .to get a raise in freight rates, in spite of the fact that the dividend returns to stockholders show that the |! lines can easily pay the wage raise to ‘the workers without any subse- quent increase in rates. This is ex- pected to be one of the results of the |! Watson-Parker law. San Francisco Cemetery Workers’ Win Increase (Special to ‘The Daily Worker) SAN FRANCISCO.—(FP)—The cem- etery workers of) San Francisco have at last agreed to accept the compro- mise offer ofo25¢ a day raise to $6.75. The Pre Ree for $6, oe $400 Raised in Temple Hall for Defense ~ Fifteen hundred Chicago workers jammed the Temple Hall here to pro- test against thesproposed execution of Nicola Sacco amd Bartolomeo Vanzetti and to express their determined sol- idarity with them. Enthusiastically ap- plauding the speakers, the workers demonstrated that they were a united whole in demanding the release of the framed-up workers who are being led to their death by the unjust decision of the supreme court of Massachusetts, which denied them a new trial. we can help Sacco and Vanzetti,” said Ralph Chaplin, “is to see that the workers of this country are reached with the story of the case.” It was the appeal of Chaplin te the audience which resulted in a flow of bills and change amounting to $395 for the printing in leaflet form of an appeal which Eugene V. Debs has written to American labor. This stirring plea will be distributed in hundreds of thous- ands of copies. ~ Speakers. Robert Morss Lovett, of the Chicago University, William Z. Foster, of the Trade Union Educational League, and James P. Cannon, secretary of Inter- national Labor Defense, under whose auspices the meeting was held, also spoke, under the chairmanship of George Maurer, local secretary of I. L. D. Other meetings are being arranged (Continwed on page 2) MacNider Tries to “Enlist” Industries WASHINGTON, May 31, — Hanford MacNider, assistant secretary of war, is very much-pleased with his cam- paign to “enlist” industry in the next war. He has just completed a tour of most of the army corps centers of the country for the purpose of co- ordinating the ac- tivity of the army divisions with the x manufacturing and ——~. other industries of /H, MacNider. the country, He was very careful in his speeches to business men’s associations to stress the fact» that he»sought voluntary co- operation and ‘had no intention of “conscripting” industry. If they can be assured that they will not be denied further opportunities for profiteering in the next war as they had in the last, big business men might consider “voluntary” co-operation—as for con- scription, that applies to the workers, “The most effective way in which | “YOU PREPARE A DAWES PLAN FOR FRANCE,” CRY LEFT BLOG AT BRIAND “PARIS, May 31.—Premier Briand secured a vote In favor of his pro- posal to deny discussion on. the financial situation of the country by a majority in the chamber of de- puties of 320 to 208. “A public discussion now would be dangerous and might result in a new depreciation of the franc,” was | Now Open to “White Civilization” | MUSSOLINI TO KEEP ENVOYS FROM MEXICO Tries to Bulldoze Mexi- can Government ROME, May 31.—Because officials of the Mexican foreign office have called to the attention of the Italian diplo- | matic representatives in Mexico the Briand’s argument. ¢ |fact that Italian fascisti have attack- This was fet by cries from the left bloc: | “You are putting us in the hands of Anglo-American bankers! You are enslaving us to the financiers | of Wall Street! You are preparing a | Dawes plan for France!” | WORKING GIRLS LOSE LIVES IN FACTORY FIRE Safety Precautions Ignored by Bosses (Special to The Daily Worker) ROCKFORD, Ill, June 1 — Five dead women wage workers, one dying and ten injured, is the result of the | negligence and disregard for the work- ers’ lives by the owners of the Sutton Auto Top company whose factory was destroyed by fire Saturday, aecording to the deputy state fire marshall, George Kraine and Coroner Fred C. Olson. The fire was caysed by an explosion of celluloid and Kraine stated that only two weeks ago he made an in- spection tour of the factory, and, or- dered a pile of rubbish removed which contained a large amount of celluloid workers’ lives safe and the explosion followed. The five working women dead are Mamaly, age 21; dahl, age 30; Miss Mildred Kramer, age 20; and Miss Mary Walleck, age 28, One girl, Miss Lucille, is dying slowly from breaking ‘her back and arms when she leaped from the sec- ond story window and struck a motor) Ttalian masses with a rod of iron, truck, | governments. ed Mexican citizens in Milan and Genoa, the post of Italian minister to | Mexico will be left vacant for a while. Premier Mussolini has given no sat- isfaction to the Mexicans who were attacked and insulted, nor have in- formal apoligies been offered to the Mexican government. Instead, he is expected to treat the Mexican com plaint, which was informal, as an af- front to his dignity. The Mexican foreign office is re ported to have asked for an explan- ation of the incidents in Milan and Genoa, while the Italian fascists are understood to take the position that a radical government in Mexico need not be granted the usual courtesies and amends due between capitalist Many Provinces Revolt in Portugal LONDON, May 31. — A military re- volt has broken out tin the northern and southern provinces of Portugal, according to a dispatch from Lisbon. Price 3 Cents FUR STRIKERS REJECT NY. BOSSES’ TERMS ‘General Strike Commit- | tee Approves Refusal (Special to The Daily Worker) NEW YORK, May 31.—The central | strike committee of the Furriers’ Un- |ion met last night and unanimously | approved the action of its confidential {committee in rejecting the terms for | settlement which were offered by the American Fur Merchants’ Association in behalf of the fur manufacturers. |The conference committe which had | conducted negotiations with the com- | mittee of five representing the Ameri- jean Fur Merchants’ Association re- | Ported that the dealers had offered | the following: be A forty-hour week 2. Conditional elimination of overtime. 3. Four hours’ work on Satur- days during the months of Septem- ber, October, November and Decem- ber. The pay for the four hours to be at the regular rate, 4. No increase in the minimum wage scale. 5. No abolition of contracting. 6. The union is to relinquish six out of the ten legal holidays with Day granted by the old agreement, hn Individual Cases. In addition to approving the rejee tion of these proposed terms, the gen- eral strike committee also approved | the action of its confidential commit- tee which agreed that during the busy the conference committee | shall consider all individual cases of | manufacturers who claim inability to | fill their orders and where it finds it necessary to allow the workers to work overtime with pay at the over- time rate. existing | months Statement, In a statement issued after last night's meeting the general strike committee said, “During the last few Te anumber of outsiders-and-emis- sars of the manufacturers have con- ferred with the representatives of the union. The committee has found how- ever, that on every occasion the man- ufacturers put all sorts of obstacles in the way of peace. The committee | Wishes to declare emphatically that j the workers will not relinquish any jot the conditions cpnceded by the | manufacturers in former years. The | workers are prepared to strike until the manufacturers concede the just de- mands of the union and the fur work- ers are assured of a minimum decent living conditions.” Members’ Support. At two strike mass meetings held this afternoon in Webster Hall and Manhattan Lyceum, the fur workers enthusiastically endorsed the action of their committee and pledged con- tinued support of their leaders until their demands are won. Martial Law Rules Guatemala as Step Against Rebellion (Special to The Daily Worker? WASHINGTON, May 31. — Martial |law was declared in Guatemala as a precautionary measure to head off pos- sible revolutionary movements by the opponents of the government, the Guatemalan legation was advised to- day in a message from the minister of foreign affairs. Vanzetti Appeals to Us! By WILLIAM F. DUNNE. * Are the textile barons and the Back Bay aristocracy of Massa. scraps. Evidently the firm did not |Chusetts, supported by the labor-hating bosses of all America and wish to spend anything to make the | their government, to take the life of another working man? This is the question put squarely up to trade unions, working- class political parties, workers’ fraternal societies and the whole Mrs. Mary Lille, age 43; Miss Helen | great body of men and women who labor, by theyappeal of Vanzetti Mrs. Emil Strom-}to his fellow workers thru International Labor Defense. Vanzetti stands in the shadow of the electric chair for a erime he did not commit and of which even his enemies do not believe him guilty, But because he fought against the fascist reaction that rules the he offended, its capitalist sup- Coroner Olson openly condemns the | Porters in America. With the details of the frame-up all intelligent factory as a fire trap and intimates that he will seek court action against the company. The inquest will be held Wednesday. ae Barbers Want More Pay—Strike. NEW YORK—(FP)—-May 27— The 1,200 barbers of Local 752, lower Bast Side, New York, are striking for a wage increase from $35 to $38 weekly with Sunday and Mopday off. About 00 shops are. closed—all in the con- ed working class district, workers are familiar. This is not the time for argu ing the pros and eons of the case, One of our class faces death for his loyalty to us, and in the person of Vanzetti the whole army of agitators and organizers, who inspire the working class to drive forward against oppression, is being slain, From every organization of workers must come a demand for a new trial for Vanzetti or his unconditional release. We have been able to stay the hands of his executioners till now. Let us make our protests heard again in so determined a mans ner that Vanzetti will not only live but come back to us, his class brothers. : woe hy wits tne tc