The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 4, 1926, Page 2

Page Two THE DAILY WORKE R Secretary of Labor Davis’ Laine Congratulating Elbert H. Gary on the “Safety” Work of the Steel Trust. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON March 9, 1926 Honorable £. 8. Gary, United States Steel Corporation, Empire Building,” New York, N. Ye Dear Judge Gary?) T have just deen” going over the records of the United States Steel Corporation. in the matter of accident prevention and safety work. The record is such a remrke able one that I cannot refrain from telling you how exceedingly gratifying it is to me or from complimenting you upon a really wonderful achievement. , Accident statistics for the iron and steel industry have been kept in the Bureau) of Labor Statistics of this Department going back to 1907, during which time the Commissioner of labor Statistics informs me frequency acoident rates in the industry {have dropped from 80.8 per million one man hour exposure in 1907 to 30.8 in 1924, and that the severity rates Rave dropped from 7.2 to 3. . More satisfactory still than this is the achievement of a smaller | group of plants composed largely of the United States Steel Corporation's subsidiaries, and in which more energetic and systematic methods have been installed and tenaciously adhered toe \In this group of plants the frequency ratio has dropped from 60.3 per million hours, of exposure in 1915 to 10.2 in 1924, and this group contains nearly one-half_of the/ fron and steel industries in the United States. { _What especially pleases me is your reported statement that the United States Steel Corporation has found that accident prevention and safety work really pays from a dollar-and-cents point of view. You are reported as having stated that the United States Steel Corporation in ten years spent $9,763,065 in accident pree \vantion work and that the money saving resulting therefrom hed been $14,609,920 in eddition to the fact that 250,000 men had been saved from injury, and probably more! than 40,000 had been saved “from fatal injury. Jase eelf-insurer the United States Steel Corporation is in @ position to lmow . Whether or not there is an actual money gain to be derived from intelligent accident’ prevention work, and this statement of the Corporation's experience will be of ine 4 estimable value to me in reaching that percentage of employers with whom the humanity, appeal does not get one very. far, and to whom_you must show a chance to save money or they will not go along.” Once more, I wish to compliment you on this eplendid record, and to assure you of my highest regards and estecms. ‘ Secrétarye, The close connection between the Steel Trust and government officials who are supposed to look after the interests of wage-earners, is shown by the above facsimile of a letter from the sec- retary of labor to the head of the United States Steel corporation. Here are pictures of the responsible heads of the United States Steel corporation, of which the Illinois Steel company is a part. These are the men who look after the interests of the stock- holders whose thirst for dividends is responsible for such disasters as that which occurred in Gary recently. W. J. Gilbert Percival Roberts, Jr. J. A. Farrell Geo. F. Baker R. V. Lindabury E. H. Gary (chairman) J. P. Morgan Here are the pictures of men who have spent their lives working for the Steel Trust and its subsidiaries. Observe the contrast between them and heads of the Steel Trust who never did a day's work in their lives. It was workers like these, not officials like those in the other picture who were killed in the Gary disaster, ee seat | IN GARY MILLS (Continued from page 1) ing, on June 15th, He said that 80 men were working in the plant on the day of the blast of whom 59 met with accident. Ordinarily, he said, there were less men, but due to repairing that had to be done the force was larger on that day. Made Confidential Report. He told Borisoff and Garnett that he questioned some of the injured men who could talk. They were unable to furnish any explanation. He made a private report to the governor that was not for publication. He claimed he examined the safety book of the company in which com- plaints from the men are tabulated. These showed, he said, no record of complaints from the workers. The pipe lines were found to be in good shape, he declared and evidently the explosion was due to opening and clos- ing one of the valves. In the meantime the industrial board has ordered the valves locked ; With only the foreman in possession of the key, Dailey said. No Blame on Dead Workers, Dailey said Ite did not mind stating to the press that the Industrial Board has done everything possible to in- vestigate the case and can find no one- on whom to plate theguilt, It would be @ shame, he ata) place any of the responsibility on the dead men. He also wanted it stated that the Steel company was doing everything pos- sible for the men. When questioned ‘about the com- pensation settlements made with the men he referred Garhett and Borisoff to the company. They told him that the company would not give them the information and he then referred them to the board’s headquarters in Indiana- polis. Reported Discharges, It is evident that little can be got- ten out of the State !Industrial Board that will throw much Hght on the real facts of the explosion. Workers, for example, are known to have complain- ed about leaking pipes in thé plant long before the explosion. It is re- ported that the injured are recetVing anything but the best of care in the hospitals. The coroners jury investiga- tion was a whitewash for the com- pany. In the meantime, several work- ers have been, according to reports from the mills, discharged for show- ing interest in the case. The mass meeting on July Fourth will be held at Turner Hall, 14th Ave. and. Washington. Prominent labor speakers will address the rill, adldresg. the meeting. TWO MORE 1924 STRIKE PICKETS ARE RELEASED Garment Workers Seek Debs for Mass Meeting Miss Lena Movich ¢ and Yetta Horn- stein, sole support of a sick mother, were met with loug cheers and en- thusiastic applause” as they left the Cook county jail aftpr serving twenty days in jail for placing their loyalty to the International) Ladies’ Garment Workers’ union above the edicts issu- ed by “Injunction Judge” Denis EB. Sullivan during the 1924 dressmakers’ strike, Bouquets were presented to the two girls by a committee of the union. Mrs. Wanda Kaleta, mother of a seven-months’ old babe is expected to leave the prison this afternoon after gerving a 15-day sentence, Meyer Kranz is to be released Sunday atter- noon, The Chicago joint board of the In- ternational Ladies’ Garment Workers’ union is planning to hold a second mass meeting to protest. against the jailing of their strike pickets and to protest against the use of injunctions in labor disputes. Attempts are being made to get all of the Chicago unions that have been victims of the injunc tions behind the mass meeting. The garment workers have sent a letter to Eugene V. Debs asking him to address the P|) eum mass ‘meeting. Blood on Steel Makes New Record for Stock Prices in Wall Street By J. LOUIS ENGDAHL. ee A Mra blood of the workers on steel products, like labor's blood on coal, does not interfere with profits. While women and children of the Gary steel district are still mourn- ‘ing their dead and crippled, the agony of the death blast in the by-products plant of the Illinois Steel Co., ‘on that black Monday morning, June 14, Wall Street an- nounces the highest prices for steel stocks in a quarter of a century. se * The Post-Tribune, the mouthpiece of the steel interests at Gary, In- diana, under New York date line, proudly announces the news to its readers: THE HIGHEST MARK, “New York, June 29.—Bullish leadership of the most aggressive and confident character was fur- nished in the stock market (Wall Street) today by U. 8. steel and General Motors. Buying of these stocks was in unusually heavy vol- ume, sweeping aside such technical market factors as the five per cent call loan rate and. liberal profit taking by the professional and out- side traders, “Steel common broke thru 140 in the second hour, TO SELL AT THE HIGHEST PRICE IN THE 25 YEARS’ HISTORY OF THE BIG CORPORATION. It rose to 141% in the afternoon. Aside from the ‘Morgan and Baker’ sponsorship of the steel corporation, and the pros- pect of a stock dividend next month, the financial district has been in re- ceipt of mysterious reports of ‘big special developments in the opera- tions and products of the company and to this a great deal of the new outside buying has been attributed.” EM. ate These two paragraphs are pub- lished in full so that workers may carefully study them. “They will not find here the smallest mention of wage increases, shortening of the workday, the bettering of con- ditions. The complete report would be equally barren of any mention of these items of paramount interest to the workers. Tf they read between the lines, however, they will see that the in- creased power that greater profits gives to the huge steel combine means wage decreases, a lengthen- ing of the workday and the worsen- ing of conditions, if labor does not fight back, and thru its organized strength hold its trenches against the capitalist foe. fae FS Steel stocks sell at the highest rate in 25 years because of the abil- ity of the mill owners to exploit the mill workers. Regular dividends have been paid and a huge surplus laid by. This surplus is divided, usually in stock dividends, when the board of directors decides. The rumor that there is to be another distribution of sufplus earnings among the holders of steel stocks has helped boost the price to a new Mobilize Behind British Strikers (Continued from page 1) HERE are over a million miners on strike. They constitute one-eighth of the British working Gass. The fight they are making is the fight of the whole British working class against having tho losses of decaying British industry paid by the workers tru cuts in their wages and length- ening of their hours—thru a reduction in their standard of life. British industry has not recovered from the blows which the capitalist system received in the imperialist war. British industry has lost its dominant position in the world mar- ket, It ts unable to compete success- fully with its more powerful rival— the United States. It is on a down- ward path. HE capitalist employers of Great | ful oppression not only of steel Britain are trying to find a solu- tion of this situation by cutting down the standard of life of the workers. That is the real meaning of the pres- ent struggle in Great Britain, It was because the British workers realized that this was the situation that they rallied to the support of the miners in the general strike. Their splendid demonstration of solidarity was betrayad by the general council of the Trade Union Congress, which called off the géneral strike, leaving the miners to fight alone. In this be- trayal ‘the left leaders lke Purcell joined with the Thomases of the right, Only the Minority Movement and the Communists stood for a solid front in support of the nmriners, ni Md miners are now fighting the battle of the whole British working class, Their victory will retrieve some of the losses suffered dy the trade union movement thru the cowardly ‘betrayal by the general council of the general strike, Defeat of the miners will be followed by a general onsiaught on the standard of Mfe of the: British workers and the trade union movement enn ata ane alll Minis BA. ana athe record, There is a stampede to buy steel stocks. There is no rumor that wages are to be increased. The only prediction is that there will be plenty of steel orders to keep the mills running, so that labor may sweat and slave to make more steel and more profits. It is declared: “The first six months of the year established a record for sales, speci- fications and shipments. It is un- derstood that shipments in particu- lar were he heaviest of ANY SIX MONTHS IN THE HISTORY OF WESTERN MILLS.” 8 The kept press will spread the propaganda that the workers should be happy to know that there will be ‘work for them in the mills. Many workers will be satisfied with this view. But no thinking worker will be satisfied. He will realize how he is being robbed, how he is being sweated to produce profits for parasites, SSeS SS SSSR IS ERR a 1 a SNE EE nce amen wo eas eee ou sf @ Now only the steel workers, how- ever, should be interested in this record smashing showing of steel stocks, It is declared that farm implement makers again are coming into the market on a large scale and auto makers are showing more interest in steel purchases. Steel products are used tb make practically all farm implements that are sold to farmers at just as high prices as wages are low in the steel mills. “General Motors,” the big auto- mobile combine, is dominated by the Morgan and Baker banking in- terests, that rule also in the steel trust. The financial power in Wall Street, the “Morgan-Baker” power, that fights the steel workers and farmers, also combat every move of the auto workers to better their con- ditions, Thus the black hand of money power injects itself every- where that huge profits are to be taken from labor. se @ Steel stocks at 140, therefore, are a challenge to all labor, in industry and on the land. It is a measure of great capitalist oppression, success- workers, but of the great producing masses of all American labor. The Gary, Ind., Post-Tribune also says: “Wall Street rumors persistently state that important developments ‘of far greater significance than stock dividends or higher cash div- idends’ are pending in the affairs of the corporation.” Labor should begin to move and make the basis for that rumor an intensive movement for organization not only in the steel industry but thruout all its ramifications. That would be a development of vital ben- efit to the steel workers. The stock market showing of the steel trust is a challenge to all labor to de- velop the fight on its own side of the class struggle. It is because these tremendous 1s- sues are involved in the miners’ struggle that the whole labor move- ment of the world must rally to their support. It is because of this situa- tion that the action of the executive council of the A. F. of L. has so much significance. HE Central Committee of the Workers (Communist) Party calls upon the whole working class to answer the call for help. The appeal of the executive council of the A. F. of L, must not remain merely a paper declaration. The American trade union movement should be able to at least approach the splendid showing which the trade unionists of the Soviet Union have made in sending over two million dollars to the Brit- ish miners. HE Central Committee of the Work- ers: (Communist) Party calls upon all members of the party and its sym- pathizers to immediately take up work in the trade unions to secure donations in response to the call of the executive council of the A. F. of L. The issue must be raised in every local union and central body and every worker familiarized with the fight of the British miners and dona- tions secured to help the miners win their struggle, Mass meetings must be held to rally the workers behind the British strikers, Mobilize the American workers be- hind the British miners, Give the united financial support of the American trade union move- ment to the British strikers, Show the international solidarity of labor in the fight against the bosses, Central Committee, Workers (Communist) Party, C. E, Ruthenberg, General Secretary, Did you ever write? See how you'll “J itke itt ’ GEORGE PAPCUN CASE WILL END IN COURT TODAY (Continued from page 1) non into a fury as he was prepared, for long questioning on this literature in order to obscure the real issue that is before the court in this prosecu- tion ‘by all the agencies of the steel trust against George Papcun for his strike and labor activities, Prosecution Rests, At four o'clock, when the prosecu- tion had rested its case, Attorney Ferguson immediately moved to quash the case, but this was formally re- fused by the court after an argument lasting over one and a half hours. The attorneys for the state failed to refute the splendid array of argument presented by Ferguson. In the earlier part of the day was witnessed one of the most bitter legal battles ever known in. Communist cases. The prosecution submitted as evidence numerous papers and “docu- ments” which had nothing to do with the case in order to prejudice the jury. Ferguson made numerous ob- jections but was overruled each time. The jury and the audience which filled the court room paid considerable at- tention to the documents and articles read to the jury by Assistant District Attorney Newels. These included a description in The DAJLY WORKER. of a Cleveland meeting addressed by Jay Lovestone on trade union unity and the sesqui-centennial exhibition, an anticle by I. Amter, on “What Our DAILY WORKER Campaign Means,” an article by Arne Swabeck review- ing a pamphlet on Lenin, Liebknecht and Luxemburg by Max Shachtman, and numerous others. Marx's Picture Figures, The jury was given a chance to take a look at numerous cartoons pub- lished in The DAILY WORKER, The statement on Education Week, pub- lished in The DAILY WORKER on November 12, 1925, was read in full. Even a picture of Karl Marx, published im the Croatian labor calendar, was made a part of the evi- dence to prove that Papeun violated the anti-sedition act of Pennsylvania! Attorneys for the state were rather disappointed when they read parts of the program of the Workers Party adopted at the first convention and failed to find any sedition in it. The countroom became especially lively when Ferguson took Lennon under cross-examination. Lennon was ail excited and showed considerable signs of nervousness when the cross-exami- nation began because of the judge's ruling against the use of hts literature . as evidence. Lennon was compelled to admit that the Workers Party is a legal organization with open head- quarters thruout the country, thet The DAILY WORKER hes second class mailing privileges, that he attended many public meetings arranged by the Party. Lennon also said that he was invited to Uniontown to prepare the case against Papcun on February last and was in town for the last Several days, that he was receiving The DAILY WORKER under an as- sumed Dame, and that he was em- ployed for some time by the Retail Merchants’ Association, Force Lennon to Answer Direct, Lenon continually tried to avoid direct answers each time a question was asked by Ferguson, but insisted each time on making explanations. The count was compelled to order him to answer questions directly. The case will probably end this Saturday. The entire machinery of the steel trust has been mobilized against Papeun because of his act- tivity in numerous miners’ strikes in Pennsylvania. Attorneys. for Inter- national Labor Defense, in charge of the case, say that they will carry thie case to a finish fight. Indictments Returned for Vote Stealing in Chicago April Election Five or more “indictments charging election frauds in the April, primaries have been prepared here, it was an- nounced today. The indictments are understood to be scheduled for presentation to Chief Justice Lynch of the criminal court when the June grand jury will be dis- missed tomorrow. The July grand jury, summoned to meet next Tuesday, will delve into al- leged wholesale vote stealing and fraudulent returns indicated by the re- count being conducted under direction of County Judge Jarecki, Changes varying from a few ballots to more than a thousand have been revealed, Judge William R. Fetzer of the criminal court, for instance, has lost more than 1,800 votes; Assistant State's Attorney McMillan, 1,073; As sistant State’s Attorney Savage, 418, with others ranging from less then @ hundred votes to 1,550, Milwaukee Central Labor Body Prepares to Aid ‘Passaic Strik Strike MILWAUKBE, Wis, Wis, July 2.—A spe- cial meeting of the executive commit- tee of the Central Trades Council has been called to take up question of supporting Passaic strike relief work in this clty.