The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 31, 1926, Page 7

are. ATE PD LRA { Beene a | see aan ements Se | Bunlimet ot THE DAL By AGNES DE LIMA, NE of the main grievances of the striking mill workers in Passaic is the continuance of the abomination of night work for women. This work, they claim, is forced upon them by the insufficient wages paid to men, wages on the average less than half the amount fixed by the United States bureau of labor as necessary to sup- port a family of five. Night work by women is encouraged by the mills not only during period of slack work, but even now during the strike. At the same time the testimony of the work- ers is overwhelming that this night work is disastrous to the health of women and to the welfare of their children, The following daily routine of a night worker supplied by one woman is typical: She works in the card room of the Botany mill, which is the heaviest work conceivable. All night she stands from 7 o’clock in the evening until 5 the following morning. She then returns to her home, where six : Children, ranging in age from three | months to thirteen years, and her husband await her care. In exhaus- tion, she “falls on the bed,” until 6 o’clock, when she must get up and prepare her husband's breakfast, get him off to work, and then get three children ready for school. When they are gone, there are still three younger ones to look after. For an hour or two she may try desperately to get a little rest with them at play in the same room, or even in bed with her, to keep them quiet, “But you know, baby no keep still. All time call, ‘Mama, get up.’” Pres- ently she staggers to her feet and sets about washing or cleaning, or preparing something for the chil- dren to eat who come home at noon from school. After dinner she may attempt another nap, or, abandoning any such hope, may continue -her oversight of her three children at home. Occasionally, she says, she puts the two youngest in charge of the one of six and lets them play in the street below, but “How I know they not get kill from automobile.” Then comes the evening meal, and her 7 o'clock return to the carding room. By Saturday, she says, she “no can move from tired. Like horse mus’ work, but me no strong like horse.” : 7 * 8 In a black rear tenement lives Mrs, D., all of whose four children are under six, To help her husband support them she has worked for years between babies, on a spinning mule at night. The children are sickly and she, herself, a beaten, wretched creature, worn to the bone, and incredibly aged. Her husband at the time ofthe visit was danger- ously ill in the hospital and Mrs. D. was beside herself with grief, won- dering how she could-ever ralse her family, should he die. Oné won- dered how she could manage it even if he lived. Decoration by Jerger LY WORKER. Second Section: Phis Magazine Section Appears Every. Saturday in The DAILY WORKER. ALEX. BITTELMAN, Editor. SATURDAY, JULY 31, 1926 Night Working Mothers In the Troubled Waters of Mexico EXICO is again confronting se- rious difficulties. The high priests of the catholic church, from.the pope down, have engineered a regular con- spiracy against the Mexican govern- ment. The political waters of Mexico have become troubled again, Undoubt- edly the imperialists of all lands and countries, but particularly of the United States, will attempt to utilize the situation to hurt the Mexican peo- ple and to help themselves, It stands to reason that the catholic priests would never have dared to challenge the Mexican government the way they did had they not been urged on to it and supported by the big imperialists. The catholic church is not in the habit, as a rule, of pur- suing policies that go contrary to the wishes of the capitalists and big land- owners, What we are therefore deal- ing with now is a new attempt to strengthen the economic and political influence of the foreign imperialists and the land-owning aristocracy of Mexico at the expense of the workers and poor peasants. 4 Altho the attacks of the catholic priests is directed against the Calles government, it is in reality an attack wainst the independence of Mexico. It is’ therefore the duty of all friends of Mexican independence; of all those that are opposed to tmpérialism and oppression of small peoples, to raise their voice in thundering protest against this new attack upon the free dom and independence of Mexico. hg must be said, however, that the Calles government itself is not free from just criticism on many important points. Specifically, the present gov- ernment of Mexico is not the govern- ment of the workers and poor peas- ants that constitute the overwhelming majority of the Mexican population. The Calles government, in alliance with the right wing bureaucracy of the trade unions, is oppressing the workers and stifling the labor move- ment. This is a serious charge t@ make, but it is true. On many occa- sions the Calles government, in which labor reactionaries are playing an im- portant part, has seriously worsened conditions of labor ip order to placate and satisfy foreign imperialists. And on just as many occasions the Calles government hag sacrificed the inter- ests of the poor peasants to gain favor in the eyes of British and American investors, The foreign policy of the Calles gov- ernment up to date was a policy of saving the appearance of Mexican in- dependence by sacrificing thé real in- terests of the workers and poor peas ants. . freedom and independence of Mexico is the affair of every-worker and poor farmer in the United States. « All support must be rendered to the ~ Mexican people in their struggle against reaction at home and imperial- ism from abroad. But at the same time the Calles government must ree ognize that the real guarantee for the freedom and independence of Mexico are the revolutionary struggles of its workers and poor peasants. A Lesson in Politics Sees is a good lesson in politics to which we must draw the attention of our readers, It is the findings of the senatorial slush fund committee which is now sitting in Chicago, And what did it find thus far? That Mr, Insull, head of Illinois util- ity corporations controlling something like $5,000,000,000 of property, has con- tributed nearly $200,000 to the prima- ries of both republicatl and democratic parties. In the words of Senator Reed, chairman of the investigating com- mittee, “this utility giver played to land on both feet.” Exactly. And this is what we have in mind when we say that both of the old parties—republican and demo- cratic—are owned, controlled and op- erated by the big capitalists of the United States. It also so happens that Frank L. Smith, successful republican candidate in the primaries, to whose success Mr. Insull contributed the small fortune of about $180,000, is the chairman of the Illinois commerce commission, And it also happens that this commerce commission has jurisdiction over the rates, service, extensions and capitall- zation of all the public utilities of the state, Do you get the connection? Of course you do. Well, then, this is what we mean when we keep on say- ing that the big capitalists own, con- trol and operate the governmental in- stitutions of the United States, T may or it may not be true that Coolidge is losing control of the Costee republican party. But the big capt talists will surely retain it. Whoever is the next republican candidate for president, whether it be Coolidge, Dawes or Lowden, the real bosses of the party will be the Insulls, the Mel- lons, the Morgans and their like. The same igs true for the democratic party. The question we wish to raise again is this: On what grounds did the of- ficial leadership of the Illinois labor movement endorse and work for the nomination of Frank L. Smith? By what reasoning did John H. Walker, president of the Illinois State Federa- tion of Labor; John Fitzpatrick, presi- dent of the Chicago Federation of La bor, and half a dozen or more presk dents of international trade unions come to the conclusion that an agent of Insull is fit to be supported by or- ganized labor? We know the answer. But we would like these worthy reactionaries in the labor movement to open their mouths and try to explain their treachery to the American workers. Alex Bittelman,