The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 24, 1926, Page 12

wat By G. MELNITCHANSKY. N a provincial American (‘labor paper,” Vermillion County Star, of Danville, Illinois, there appeared an article devoted to the Bulletin issued by the foreign relations committee of the Central Council of Trade Unions of the U. S. S. R. and to the informa- tion about the Russian trade unions contained therein, The article was distributed from Chicago by the International Labor News Service, semi-official news agency of the American Federation of Labor, and sent to all newspapers con- trolled by the federation. Its heading reads: “Red Trade Unions Seek to Fool Labor Press.” ae “To begin with, the article says: “Milnitchansky evidently believes that American trade unionists will be im- pressed when he says, as he does in othis first issue of his press service, ‘that the Russian trade unions now have a ‘grand total membership of 7,846,789’ .... The unions of a char- acter affiliated with the A. F. of L. have a total membership of approx- imately 4,000,000 . . When it is eonsidered that Russia has a popula tion of 165,000,000 people, and that the Communists have absolutely dominated the situation there for seven*years, the showing as to present trade union membership is not im- pressive.” This quotation shows the unreli- ability of the International Labor News Service and also indicates how these gentlemen deceive the American work- ers, The International Labor News ‘ger. vice ought to know that the popula- tion of the U. S. S. R. is 142,614,700 (census of 1920), that a great ma- _ jority of the population are peasants, of whom there are 118,674,800, and that the trade union membership of 7,846,789 represents 87 per cent of all the people who work by hire in the U. 8S. 8. R. In that same issue of the bulletin we gave figures showing the increase in membership year by year, but the news agency did not notice the figures and the paper does not qnote them. We shall adduce them here, in order to refresh somebody's memory. The Russian trade unions had On April 1, 1924 ....... 5,822,682 members October 1, 1924....6,430,470 April 1, 1925......... 6,950,484 October 1, 1925....7,846,789 Now we can give the latest figures: On January 1, 1926, the membership of the trade unions of the U. S. S. R. had reached 8,303,000. did not intend to “impress” with this data or with any other infor- mation which we publish in the Bulle- tin. We always remember that our trade union movement has been de- veloping only during these last nine years. We simply would like the workers in other countries to know about the life and work of our trade unions. But.as the International Labor News Service is really trying to fool its readers by the statement that a trade union membership of 7,346,789 with a population of “165,000,000” after “seven years” work of the Com- munists is not impressive, I will allow myself to draw a comparison with the figures of the American trade union movement, The article merely says: The Amer- jean Federation of Labor has a total membership of approximately 4,000,- 000, According to the Labor Year Book for 1925, issued by the American So- cialists (reformists), it appears that of the total population of 105,710,620 in the United States (census of 1920) there were 32,710,495 people (workers and employes) gainfully employed, The figure is really impressive. But we all know that the United States is the most highly developed industrial country, and we do not in- tend to question it, But what is the situation as regards the trade unions, how many workers are organized after the many years of existence of i i aR RNY Nila es ik Soviet Labor Leader Gives Facts on Russian Trade Unions — A Letter to The DAILY WORKER, trade unions? The official data of the above Year Book show that in 1924 the American Federation of Labor had a membership of 2,865,979 (according to other data, that many were repre- sented at the congress of the Amert- can Federation of Labor in 1925), But, then, the American trade unions have existed, not since 1917, and have. been under the influence of the Gomperses, the Greens, the Morrisons and their like, not for seven years, but a little longer—about 45 years. The American’ Federation of Labor was organized in 1881 and be- fore that the trade union movement existed—the “Knights of Labor.” It should be noted that at the high water mark of the American Federation of Labor in-.1920 it had a membership of 4,078,740 and never more than that. This out of a total of 32,710,495 hired workers and employes, a great ma- jority of whom are subjected to shock- ing exploitation. That is really strik- ing and makes an extremely strong impression. Another thing which evokes the author’s witty comment is our Bulle- tin’s item about the financial condition of the trade unions of the U. 8. S. R. We quote again: “The latest statistical data shows that the financial condition of the trade unions of U. S..S. R. has be come much stronger, says Melnitchan- sky. He then proceeds to deal in a mass of figures, winding up with the statement that the ‘total’ savings are 28,000,000 roubles. The normal value of the rouble is 50 cents, but if one- wished to be facetious he might say that the Russian unions now have about $4.85 in real money.” N the item referred to we give the figures and point out that the finan- cial condition of the trade unions has become stronger since the introduc tion of stable currency dur- ing two years all the funds of all trade unions reached 28,000,000 rou- bles. In American currency this con- stitutes a solid sum of $14,000,000. For some reason the witty author: of the article wanted to turn it into $4.85, One might think he was not in his right mind at the moment or that his conceit is such that he considers all his readers downright fools. How much stronger the financial condition of the trade unions has really become, may be judged from the financial sup- port rendered by our trade unions to the striking British miners. We would like to know how much more the sup port of the American Federation of Labor and the American trade unions, which are financially stronger than we are, was actually felt by the British miners, Further the author attempts to in- terpret in American terms the news item that the Lena-Goldfields conces- sion bound itself “to construct a suf- ficient number of houses or lease them” ‘The author exclaims: “Com- pany houses! Something which the American miners bitterly fought against for years and which are still in vogue in some of non-union fields in this country and used as a means to keep the miners in bondage.” The author’s indignation is roused even more by the following: “When building new mills,” says Melnitchansky, “the ‘company ig bound to build workers’ settlements, with clubs, hospitals, and bathhouses,” And he comments: “Can any one imagine an American trade union putting such a clause as that in a wage agreement? That is feudalism pure and simple, with the health and lives, reactions, and goings and comings of the employes wholly in the hands of the overlords of the concession company, with the full force and authority of the government back of the owners, “This evidently is a striking ex- ample of the practical working out of the boasted ‘new economic policy’ of tho Russian Soviet government, No wonder that certain American capital- ists are howling for recognition of Russia!” This is, indeed, a horrifying situa- tion. The author only forgot to tell / his readers that we have benefited by American experience and have secur- ed ourselves against the real bondage in which American workers find them- selves. Our security consists in that the workers of the U. 8. 8. R. some time ago took the power away from the capitalists; that the courts and the police are at our service, and not at the capitalists; that houses, schools, bathhouses, clubs for the workers are built under our control; that the very distribution of the housing space and the conditions of its occupancy are determined by Soviet agencies and factory committees. Lastly, according to our rules, firmly established, the houses erected according to stipula- tion in the collective agreement, are not managed by the concessioner, but by the workers themselves, through their organizations. author perhaps does not know that we get even from state unm dertakings an annual contribution amounting to 10% of the net profita, 75 per cent of which contribution is used to build houses for workers, If the author of that article should read one of our collective agreements he would find much that ts not stipu lated in American collective agree- ments, for which reason, as we know positively, the American trade unions which are affiliated to the Federation of Labor enjoy much greater favor of the American capitalists than the Rus- sian Bolshevist unions, BRITISH LABOR: The General Strike Will Come Again! THE TINY WORKER A Weekly Edited by D. Sheveienko, Chicago Vol. 1. Saturday, July 24, 1926 No, 9 ROSE HOROWITZ, DANIEL CHE Y-~ ROCHESTER, ELENKO CHICA. WITH US AGAIN @O JOINS US. She writes: ~ Isn't this the In school when dandiest li they were celebrat- ange “Denlelt. ive ing the 150th anni- good we made pes of ~~ , Beam editor of aration ° nde- pentenece ne Pg this leeue. us salute the flag, the RED in the PUNY DONRS flag made me think of this salute and Another Cockeyed pledge to ls Egbert FLAG— the RED wa ae ae FLAG: Oh, Boy, I'll have a penny’s worth his workers | pledge allegi-| of that—those swell all day suckers” Get a tot of dough. ance to the Soviets, “ae 1 Red told Mr. Candystore. 2 And to tne REV- OLUTION for which they stand, ¢¥ eer TIONA \. of pointed as heck and told his mother BROTH ERHOOD, about it. 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