The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 22, 1926, Page 5

| ? yy 3,000 MINERS ON STRIKE IN WEST VIRGINIA Picket Lines Seven Miles Long PURSGLOVE, W. Va., July 20. — The call issued July 5 by the. United Mine Workers, District 31, including. twelve counties of northern West Vir- ginia and affecting 40,000 miners, marks a deciding turning point in |} , this important coal section. For more than three years this sec- tion*has been the scene of continous strikes. In 1923 it was close to 90 per cent organized with more than 25,000 miners in the United Mine Workers of America. Open-Shop Drive, In April, 1924, the coal. operators started this open-shop drive and in June the Bethlehem Steel Corporation broke its agreement. It was followed by the Consolidated Coal Company, which controlled about 60 per cent of production of the entire field. From this date until April, 1926, every strike has resulted in the defeat of the union. On April 1 the James Pasley in- terests, which operated the three mines with over 1,000 men, broke their agreement, and were followed by the Pursglove Mining Co., with 1,000 men. This was later followed by the Gilbert Davis Co., with 500 which was the last union mine in the Scotts Run section. 1917 Scale. The companies had worked for two years under the Jacksonville agree- ment, On April 1 they posted notice of a 20. per cent reduction, which meant the 1917 scale. Miners Strike, To this the miners responded with strikes which completely tied. up pro- duction. In the three months up to July 1 the operators, with non-union miners, reached less than.20 per cent of production. With the strike of July 5 this production has been. re- duced to 5 per cent. Non-Union Mines. In the mines that were operating as non-union it is conservatively esti- mated that by July 18 the strike ‘will become more than 75 per Cent’ ef- fective as hundreds of miners are joining the union daily, Mass Picketing. “It is a real strike with only 3,000 men with women and children on the picket lines, The picket lines at times reach seven miles—the entire length of the field. The spirit of determination of the miners is good. These miners realize that they must win now or be com-. pletely driven from the field, Pope Disturbed by Loose Money Stolen from Vatican Desk ROME, July 20.—Great excitement prevailed in the Vatican today when it was learned that an office of an offi- cial of St. Peter’s Cathedral had been burglarized and $700 stolen. The Ro- man police were called in to investti- gate. The Pope, it is understood, is great- ly annoyed by the laxity in caring for funds, which was exposed by the bur- glary, the stolen funds having been taken from a desk drawer, which was easily opened. Hon, president of the union, y af E DAILY WORKER Page Five Another Useless Pageant of Peace Aristocratic women of England against future wars. coal fields. British miners who are fighting a severe battle now, and the rest of the workers In England when they again demonstrate their power thru a show of solidarity such as they displayed during the general strike. NEW ORLEANS CARMEN REJECT OPENSHOP PLAN Matter Will Now Go to Arbitration NEW ORLEANS—(FP)—By a vote Jof 900 to 658 the street carmen’s union rejected the contract offered by the New Orleans Public Service, Inc., ‘which would permit the cémpany to employ nonunion men alongside the closed shop men. The only question at issue was the open shop clause, the union haviig indicated ite -willing- ness to renew the old contract, * The contract submitted by the ¢om- pany provided that, ,:new,, employes could join the union or not at their own discretion; old employes~ could continue membership»and: the, union could function as at present. . Bd. Vil- denounces the proposed contract-as a direct step toward the open shop. No ‘interruption is anticipated in the traffic department and, the matter will be referred to arbitration, For the past year the New Orleans Public Service, which controls the transporta- tion and lighting system of the city, has been selling stock to its em- Ployes on the easy payment plan in addition to a life insurance policy, which ceases on the termination of employment. Parkersburg Hears Union Band PARKERSBURG, W. Va., July 20.— The Parkersburg Union’ Band is play- ing at all the public summer concerts arranged by the city. SSS Sess: SATURDAY JULY 24 ISSUE WILL CONTAIN THESE “The Red Savior” UNUSUAL FEATURES:: By Hermina Zur Muhlen A splendid little play by the author of “Fairy Tales for Workers’ Children,” “The Story of China” Translated by A. Landy, a M. ae Second installment of a story of a great people's struggle for libera- tion by a writer who has taken part in it for many- years, POEMS by the best proletarian poets including “The Mother Curse” By MICHAEL GOLD. Second Lesson in Reading By ARTHUR W. CALHOUN. Don’t miss this invaluable series of articles by a ne educator. v The History of the Wealth of J. P. Morgan A story of the rise of great wealth accumulated’ from the bitter ex- ploitation of Ameriéan labor. ‘The first of a series of splendid articles on the history of great American fortunes, CARTOONS by Fred Ellis Hay Bales A. Jerger Vose and other leading proletarian ody Mo a Shetiers, “4 4 were the initiators of this peace pageant in Hyde Park, held as a protest But at that very moment the miners were fighting for their lives in Wales and the English The women sald nothing about this war. The only ones who will be able to stop the next war are the “CITIZEN’S COMMITTEE” FAILS IN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE UNITY OF 16,000 PASSAIC TEXTILE STRIKERS PASSAIC, N. J., July 20.—The textile baron’s starvation offensive having een defeated by the splendid support organized labor has given the 16,000 striking textile workers, the mill bosses are now attempting to cut off strike relief. Astoundingly impudent as it may sound, the mill owners have in- jected themselves into the American labor movement. The textile barons have not invaded the labor movement in person. They are far too clever for that. The newly organized committee of strike- breakers, calling itself the “Citizen’s Committee” is doing the work for them. And this committee of paunch-bellied bankers and merchants is using a letter from Henry F. Hilfers for their purpose. Under the lying and diabolical head- ing “Strike Is Lost” they have inserted page advertisements in the local press, in which they copiously quote¢——__________________. NEW YORK’ LABOR GREETS PASSAIC STRIKERS’ TOTS ‘Police Bar Youngsters from Mass Meeting NEW YORK CITY, July 20.—(FP)— Passaic youngsters took New York without a blow. Building workers, | truckmen, warehouse men, bakers | eating thelr lunches outside the big ;|dows of their tenements, and work- | ed the bus-loads of Passaic young- the Hilfers’ letter on the Passaic strike. Strikers Refuse Judas K This page advertisement ‘first ap; peared in the papers, Saturday, July 10, two, days after the textile strikers in a huge mass meeting at Belmont. Park, Garfield, N, J., had given an.en- thusiastic vote of confidence in the leaders of their union, and crushingly repudiated the Judas friendship which these parasites had offered in another page advertisement address- ed to “our fellow citizens, the textile workers of the Passaic industrial zone,” Bosses Desperate. This deliberate lying on the part of the bosses’ tools, and their use of the Hilfers’ letter to support their falsehood, show to what limits the textile bosses are driven in their des- peration.” This is the crucial period of the big strike. Faced by the solid- arity of the 16,000 textile strikers and the splendid support. given by or- ganized labor, the bosses see them- selves defeated unless they can de- vise some means of crushing the strike, Police mob-law, judicial tyranny absurd frame-ups and vicious lies against the leaders of the strike, hav- ing failed to affect the solidarity of the strikers, the bosses are now at- tempting to isolate the 16,000 heroic strikers who are struggling against the open shop and company unionism. The other bosses are chipping in to help the mill barons. All the bosses realize that the success of the strik- ing textile workers in holding out against the mighty mill barons is stiffening the morale of organized labor and giving encouragement and inspiration to organize to millions now unorganized, Wages Cut. Thousands of-,textile workers of Lawrence, Mass., have admitted that the militant Passaic strike prevent- ed wage reductions in many Law- rence’ mills; Jt wan be readily seen that if Passaic loses, wage reductions will take place generally not only in the textile industry but in other in- dustries as well. The citizens’ committee failed to fool the strikers, It will not succeed in fooling the rest of organized la- bor. The committee first appeared ond@the scene with a mask of friend- ship. In an attempt to discredit the union and the strike leadership and fool the striking textile workers into going back to the mills on the bosses’ terms the committee express- ed the deepest love for the strikers. But as soon as it became apparent that the strkiers were wise to its game,.the committee threw off its mask of friendship and with a snarl of rage came out openly a8 the strike- breaking organization it really is. That diabolical “Strike is Lost” ad- vertisement showed how wild and impotent was the rage of the citizens’ committee. The desperation of the bosses is the cue of the workers. The more desperate the bosses get the near- er is the. hour of victory. The boss- es are terribly desperate just now. This is the crucial period of the strike, The bosses know it, They know, too, that if the American labor movement continues its splendid sup- port of the striking textile workers the strike will be won for the work- ers, Hoover and Mellon Fear. a European Economic Boycott WASHINGTON, July 20, —(FP)— With Secretary, Hoover advising American manufacturers that they will hurt their market if they label their product “Made in America” when producing. goods for export, and with Secretary Mellon asserting that America has been more lenient with France in the debt settlemeny than England has been with France, Washington is beginning to realize the extent to which Europe ts show- ing resentment at the New American imperialism, Hoover is looking to just one thing—expansion of American busi ness in the foreign market, and ex- tension of American investments in the foreign field, If labeling Ameri: can goods will hurt their sale, he would keep the label off. But at every suggestion from France that bl ous and beging,to repeat his stninss, He is terribly afraid that the plan of the Federal,.Reserve Bank group to become regeivers,tor bankrupt France ond Belgium and Italy, and inejdent- ally Poland and Roumania and Czech- oslavia, will be, spoiled by casera sentimentalisua,” 2,000 Textile Mill Strikers Stubbornly Fighting: a Speed-Up PITTSFIELD, Mass., July 20, — For the fourth week the 2,000 workers of the Berkshire Cotton Mfg. Co. of Adams are holding firm their strike against speeding up. Speeder tenders refused to operate three frames in- stead of two. Under leadership of the Polish Weavers’ union the work- ers quit. James Tansey, of Fall Riy- er, president American Federation of Textile Operatives, told strikers in mass meeting that the speeding up would mean a 50 per cent increase in their work and only a doubtful 10 per cent raise in their earnings. Two Officials in Grain Inspector’s Office Are Ousted Two employes in the office of the state grain inspector were ousted as a result of revelations in the election vote fraud inquiry,now under way, The men had been implicated in ballot frauds in, their home wards, where they had..served as polling place officials. Thpir names were not made public, 4 ~ WRITE AS YOU FIGHT! - | National Biscuit Co. plants, street car }men, wives of workers at the win- | ers’ children in, the’ streets—all cheer- sters as they passed: The band boom- ed and the kids sang strike songs. Sandwiches and ice cream at the Hotel Workers Cafeteria were passed | around by union members. The buses and trucks of children and parents— over 800 all told—ealled at some of | the union offices from which help has come: Joint Board of Dress and |Cloakmakers; Joint Board of Furri- ers which is taxing each of its 12,000 members $1 for Passaic; Amalgamat- ed Clothing Workers; Amalgamated Food Workers; and then to the labor papers. Barred From Mass Meeting. But the youngsters couldn't come to the big meeting at the end in Union Square. New York police didn’t want them “exploited”—even for their own milk and bread fund! So the groups started on their different ways for glorious vacations; some to the In- ternational Workers’ Aid camp at Bernardsville, N. J.; some to Mohe- gan Colony, Peekskill, N. Y.; some to the Modern School Association camp at Stelton, N, J.; and others to Chat- ham Camp, Floral Hill, N. J. “Have you ever been in the country before?” A bashful little Italian girl shrunk. smilingly against her older sister, the gleam of her eyes telling how eagerly she was looking forward to camp. The older girl remembered the city. The famfly had lived here be- fore father began the terrible work at Lodi dye works. The older girl looked 15, thin pale and tired, should- ers slumped forward inviting con- sumption, One tiny little boy in’ a freshly fron- | ed blue shirt stood among the group going to Mohegan Colony up the Hud- son, When his back was turned, you'd guess he was four or five. But when he turned his old little face to you and told you “eight years old” it was Wlon Sinclair (Copyright, 1926, by Upton Sinclair) WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE, J. Arnold Ross, olf operator, formerly Jim Ross, teamster, drives with bie thirteen-year-old son, Bunny, to Beach City to sign a lease for a new oil field. Meeting his “Lease Hound,” Ben Skutt, in a hotel h s to meet a group of small property owners whose land he wants for drill But other olf concern: have been intriguing and tne meeting breaks up in a row, Bunny meet Pa Watkins, son of a Holy Roller, who has run away from home. They becom) friends but Paul leaves for other parts before their acquaintance is very ol@. Dad begins to drill in Prospect Hill near Beach City. He needs the roads fixed and smooths the palm of a city official. in short order his first well, “Ross- Bankside No. 1,” is begun, Dad spends busy days in his | tle office and Bunny is always with him—learning about oil. Bertie, Bunny's sister, comes home from finishing school on a vacation. She Is very snobbisn. Her Aunt Emma has been trying to make a lady of her. tunny telis Bertie about Paul. Bertie doesn’t like Bunny to know such “Horried Fellows.’’ in the meantime Dad tting along with his well. With many careful and toilsome mechanical operations, Ross-Bankside No. 1 is ready to drill and by noon the next day has filled up the first tank. In a week Dad had several more derricks under way. He was working hard with everything coming his way. Bunny asks his Dad to take a rest and go quail hunting over in the San Elldo valley. D. protests that it’s too far away and is told that that’s where Paul’s family Is and they're up against it and Bunny wants to help them. Finally Dad was persuaded. They get their camping outfit ready and the next day arrive at the Watkins ranch. The old man welcomes them and with little Eli and the three girls tagging behind show them a place where they can camp. tn hunting for quail on the Watkins’ ranch, Bunny and Dad find oi! oozing out of the ground. Dad, after satisfying himself that there is oil on the land, decides to buy the Watkins ranch. Dad goes Into the house with Mr. and Mrs Watkins, leaving Bunny to do as he pleases, while Dad wheedles the farm from the Watkinses. e e . se “Now, Mr. Hardacre,” said Dad, “let’s you and me talk turkey. I want to buy some Jand, if it can be got reasonable. Of course as soon as people find you want it they begin to boost the price; so let’s get that clear, I want it jist enough to pay a fair price, and I don’t want,it no more than that, and if anybody starts a-boostin’ you jist tell ’em to forget it and I'll forget it, too. But all the land you can buy reasonable, you buy for me, and collect your commission from the seller in the regular way, and be- sides that, you'll get a five per cent commission from me. That means I want you to be my man, and do everything you can to get me the land at the lowest prices. I don’t need to point to you that my one idea is to buy quick and quiet, so people won’t have time to decide there’s a boom on. You get me?” “Yes,” said Mr. Hardacre. “But I’m not sure how quickly it can be done; this is a pretty small place, there’s lots of talk, and it takes time to put through a deal.” “Tt won’t take no time at all/if you jist handle it my way and use good sense. You don’t mention me, and do the buyin’ for an unknown client, and you buy options for cash—that means, if the people are hereabouts, you close the reals right off.” “But that’ll take quite a bunch of money,” said Mr. Hard- acre, a little frightened. “T got a little change in my pocket,” said Dad, “and I brought a cashier’s check for three thousand, that I can turn into cash in the mornin’. You see, Mr. Hardacre, I happen to be jist crazy about quail shootin,’ and I had the idea that if I found plenty of quail, I’d get a little land to shoot over. But get this clear, I can shoot quail on one hill jist as well as on the next—and don’t let nobody mistake me for a quail!” a shock! A bright blonde-haired, brown-eyed Slovak girl who looked nine or ten said she was 12! And sq it was around the group. The youngsters were lively, seemed to have great endurance for they were still singing and cheering as they started the last lap of the journey with Harry Kelly and the attentive, fatherly striker who marshalled them about. The Passaic youngsters are suffi- cient answers to the so-called Citi- zen’s Committee, to Passaic health of- ficer Dr. John N. Ryan, and any others who deny that the strikers’ children need bread and milk—are undernour- ished. Even a random group of the kiddies shows many of them under- weight, undeveloped, suffering from malnutrition and anemia. They need bread and milk and sunlight and fresh air. They are living testimonials of their parents’ “starvation wages.” U.S. Bets Its Workers $400 Each They Can’t Stand Pace 30 Years WASHINGTON, June 20.—Members of unions affiliated with the joint con- ference committee on civil service re- tirement pensions have received from their chairman, R. H. Alcorn, a state- ment of the changes in the new law as compared with the old. Pension Commissioner Scott has issued similar information to the heads of all depart- ments. Laborers who formerly could not re- tire on pension until 70 years of age will now be pensioned at 65. Em- ployes engaged in hazardous occupa- tions, and those who have served 15 years in the tropics, will be mcr at 62, Sea post clerks and village let- ter carriers will be eligible for pen- sions at 65, How small will be the pensions for workers in the lower grades of salary by the official tabulation, Employes whose average annual pay for the final ten years of their service has been $600 will get only $200.04 annual pension, if they served only 15 years. It they stayed on the job 30 years they will get $399.96 a year, \ Those getting $900 a year salary as their final ten-year average will get pensions of from $300 to $600 accord- ing to their years of service, Those drawing $1,500 a year average for the final ten years will get from $500.04 to $999.96 annual pension, Benld Miners Give $1,000 to British BENLD, Ill., —(FP)—Wholehearted support to the striking British miners was given by Local 730 of the United Mine Workers at Benld: It voted a $1,000" donation to the British relief fund and in addition coneurred in the recommendation of, ‘the executive board of Dist. 12 to make a contribu. tion of $25,000 from the district Jreagury, Vey Reet ain Dad took out of his card-case a letter from the president of a big bank in Angel City, advising whomever it might concern that Mr. James Ross was a man of large resources and the highest integrity. Dad had two such letters, as Bunny knew—one inthe name of James Ross and the other in the name of J. Arnold Ross; the former was the one he used when he bought oil lands, and no one had ever yet got onto his identity in time! Dad’s proposition was this: He would make a contract with Mr. Hardacre, whereby Mr. Hardacre was authorized to buy ten-day options upon a long list of tracts, of specified acreage and at specified prices, paying five per cent upon the purchase price for each option, and Dad agreeing to take up all these op- tions within three days, and to pay Mr. Hardacre five per cent on all purchases. Mr. Hardacre, torn between anxiety and acquisi- tiveness, finally said he guessed he’d take a chance on it, and if Dad threw him down, it would be easy for him to go into bank- ruptcy! He sat at his rusty typewriter and made two copies of the agreement, with a long list of tracts that were to cost Dad something over sixty thousand dollars. They read that over twice, and Dad signed it, and Mr. Hardacre signed it with a rather shaky hand, and Dad said fine, and counted out ten one hundred dollar bills on the desk, and said for Mr. Hardacre to get to work right away. He would do well to have his options all ready for the other party to sign and Dad thought he had some blanks in the car—he wasn’t jist sure, but he’d see. He went out, and Mr. Hardacre said to Bunny, quite casual and friendly-like, “What is your father’s business, little man?” And Bunny, smiling to himself, answered, “Oh, Dad’s in all kinds of business, he buys land, and lots of things.” ‘What other things?” And Bunny said, “Well, he has a general store, and then sometimes he buys machinery and he lends money. ”’ “And then Dad came back; through a stroke of good fortune he happened to have a bunch of option hlanks in his car—and Bunny smiled to himself again, for he never yet had seen the time when Dad did not happen to have exactly the right document, or the right tool, or the right grub, or the right antiseptic and surgical tape stowed way somewhere in that car! (To be continued.) ROR nieenapamaarearaanamns CTT TT Woman Members Attention! A special meeting of woman members, Local Chicago, Workers (Communist) Party, will take place on Wednes- day, July 21, 8 p. m. at FOLKETS HUS, 2733 Hirsch Blvd. Be sure to attend and help get the women’s work of Chicago started. ° —— | RROOKLYN, t N. Y., ATTENTION! CO-OPERATIVE BAKERY Meat Market Restaurant IN THE SERVICE OF THE CONSUMER, Bakery deliveries made to your home. FINNISH CO-OPERATIVE TRADING ASSOCIATION, Ina (Workers organized as consumers) 4301 8th Avenue Brooklyn, N. Y. ca onl fc A