The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 25, 1926, Page 3

DELEGATES AT T.UL CONGRESS FLAY BROMLEY ' Called Betrayer by Min- ers Delegates BOURNEMOUTH, Eng., Sept, 10— (By Mail)—Plenty of excitement was furnished yesterday at the Trade Un- jon Congress when John Bromley rose to second a motion of Robert Smillie’s asking for continued support of the miners’ strike. The miners had stood betrayal by the-leaders of the T. U. C. They had stood starvation, government at- tacks and public insults from Ram- Bay MacDonald, J. H. Thomas and others including Wromley. It, was Bromley who wrote thé infamous ar- ticle against the miners and in justi- fication of the calling off of the strike, that was used by Churchill and the coal. ‘operators in their strike- breaking publicity. Miners Break Loose. To put Bromley up as a.defender of the miners so that his political shirts might. be washed was more than the miners could stand. Their delegates in the convention put on a demonstra- tion that threw the convention into an uproar and compelled the chair- man, Mr. Pugh, to adjourn the ses- sion. The following is an account ‘given of the incident by the London Daily Herald, official datly organ of the Trade Union Congress, which is un- der the control of the right wing: A storm of passion burst with light- ning suddenness upon the calm of the Trades Union Congress this af- ternoon. Disorder raged for nearly, half an hour, but after’a 40-minutes’ adjournment calm was restored. Mr. Smilie, with his caressing voice, had on behalf of the general council been making an appeal for financial assistance for the miners, and Con- gress was obviously moved by the ap- Mr, Bormiey, who was to second the appeal, which took the form of an emergency resolution, was rising to his feet when “Point of order, Mr. Chairman,” in a rich Lancashire ac- cent, rang thru the hall. It came from Mr. McGurk, a miners’ delegate, end he proceeded to ask whether the general council had de- liberately gone out of its way to. in- sult the miners by asking Mr. Brom- ley to second tho resolution. There were shouts and cries from » the,miners' delegates in .support of Mr, McGurk, and a clamor of ex- elted remarks, punctuated by the clang of the chairman’s bell, came from other parts of the hall. Mr, McGurk stood, with all eyes on him, He reiterated his demands for an apology, apparently in connection with a document on the national strike which had appeared in the journal of Mr. Bromiey’s union, “Put Baldwin up,” shouted a dele- gate above the din, and cries of “Trai- ter” could also be heard. “Come Down Bromley!” Pushing forward towards Mr. Mc- Gurk, with gray tousled hair, came Mr. Hough, the Yorkshire Miners’ treas- urer, shouting to Mr. Bromley to sit down, and calling to the council to put someone else up. The chairman hammering his bell, kept calling for order. “Have you seen Bromley’s poster used against us?” shouted another miner, and then Mr, Richardson, the federation treasure, could be heard appealing to his miner colleagues. “We have been humiliated, we have made our protest,” he said, Bromley Rose Again. There was a luli\in the hubub and Mr. Bromley, who had sat down, rose again to speak. Mingled cheers and hoots greeted him and many. miners and other dele- gates made to leave the hail, Tho. aisles were blocked with gesti- culating, arguing and excited dele Bates, Mr, Pugh began to read the stand- . ing ordérs relating to the expulsion from the congress of a delegate who Tefuses to obey the chair, but this warning of disciplinary action did not calm the storm, The miners and others shouted, to Mr. Bromiey to sit down, and then came the strains of “Tha Red Flag.” There was a pause, and ,then the chairman was Meard to say: “Con- ‘gress will, adjourn until 4 o'clock.” The general coung!! went into’ sé¢s- ry and the miners also held a meet- Mr. Richardson, Mr, McGurk, and Mr. A, Parkinson, M. P., went as de- putation to the council and explained thelr position. They had made their protest, they said, and would no longer obstruct the business of congress. Fakers’ Dignity Sullled! The atmosphere in the hail wag still tense when the chairman entered again with the council and took his Place in silence, He explained the standing orders, and apoke of the dig: nify of the congress that had been sul- Med by the incident, Mr, Richardson asked permission to make the statement that he had al- ready made to the council, He fin- shed, and then, to a final burst of cheers, Mr, Bromley made his speech “Nothing like this has happened for 80 years,” I was told by a dele congress fot ‘who hag attented number of years. — viet A Page of Bri HE DA!ILY WORKER Soviet Unions Telegraph to British Congress On General Strike Betrayal (Special to The Dally Worker) BOURNEMOUTH, Eng., Sept. 23.— As the Manchester Guardian quite properly divined, the refusal of the British government to grant the Sov- let Union delegates to the Trade Un- jon Coligress permission to enter the country, was no less pleasing to Down- Ing Street than to the trade union gen. erals who deserted thelr armies in the great general strike. Tho the T, U, C, officials did the “correct thing” in protesting the gov- ernment’s action, they were greatly relieved that Tomsky was not able to appear before the convention and tell the delegates in person that the strug- gling Russian workers had contribut- ed more to the miners’ strike fund than all the other courtries of the world combined, _ Soviet Workers Cheered.. The reception that the Russian com- rades would receive from the dele- gates was foreshadowed’ when Dele- gate Richardson speaking to Robert Smifilie’s motion for continued sup- port to the strikers declared that “two-thirds of the money that had come into the miners’ coffers in their JOHN BROMLEY, Engineers’ head, flayed at Congress. great trowble had come from Rus- sia. a “When they can send $3,000,000 while emerging from tyrannous con- ditions and fighting their own battle: there must be them.” The cheers that followed Richard- son’s remark rocked congress. It was not sunprising that the T. U, C. lead- ers preferred to circulate the follow- ing telegram from the Soviet fraternal delegates, who were banned from the country, than to hear a report deliver- ed personally at the congress: Dear Comrades:— In the name of eight and a half million organized workers of the Union of Soviet So- clalist Republics, the Soviet C. C, T. U. sends fraternal greetings to you and, in your person, the whole Brit- ish proletariat. The Soviet workers sain partiou- larly warm greetings to the courage- ous battalion of mine workers who continue to defend their rights, their living standards, and their past his- toric gains, despite furious attack and capitalist betrayal by certain leaders of the general strike and the capitu- lating mentality of others, The Soviet C, C. T. U. expresses the hope that congress’ first word and primary business will be as regards assisting the miners. To do other- wise would be a step unworthy of the grand proletarian organization of British workers, Refused Admission, ‘The Soviet C. C, T. U. greatly re- gyets the impossibility of its delega- tion attending your congress of such tremendous importance, The government, under the mask of democracy, representing a dictator- ship of the manufacturers, bankers, mineowners and landlords, has done its best to keep out our delegation. Thereby they plainly indicated to ‘| British workers that-they ane without any rights, and cannot even decide for themselves who shall and who shall not attend their own labor con- gress. The conservative government will- ingly admits representatives of. Am- sterdam and the American Federation of Labor, who either blackleg on the miners or shamefully talk of loans on interest, that is, speculate like us- urens on the unheard of distress of ihe miners, on the tears and misery of workers’ wives and bairns. The conservative government does not admit répresentatives of the Sov- jet workers, who under extremely dif- ficult conditions are giving of their last penny to help their class brothers in their great fight. ‘Thereby the conservative goverm George Hicks GEO. HICKS, Head of Buliding Union, who went along on’ the betrayal of the general atrike! m te. ‘something good In|~ ing class conscience and our bounden | ment displays audacity to control the Dolicy of trade unions. It seems the great democracy does not allow the immense workers’ or- ganization to make even the most ele- mentary act of comradely solidarity. | Naturally the Soviet workers are highly indignant at such mistreatment of British trade unions by the British government. The Soviet workers believe that blame must be laid therefore on the bending the knee attitude towards the government of T. U. leaders like Thomas. They were too loyal to capital and too disloyal to the working class. ‘When the general councél must now report on activities during the gener- al strike, and subsequent period, Thomas, the majn instigator of defeat of the general strike, thinks nothing of leaving for overseas, thereby evad- ing all responstbility. Had its delegation been admitted to congress, and had the British police and home office not been able arro- gantly to trample on the elementary rights of British trade unions, the Soviet C, C, T. U. would have con- sidered it its duty to report to your congress each step’ it took in connec- tion with British events. For concrete development these events scores of times demonstrated, and still confirms, the absolute cor- rectness of those evaluations made by the Soviet C. C. T. U. in declarations and resolutions. It was on the bass of its own his- toric experience and experience of numberless general strikes fought by our ‘working class before it overthrew once and for all its own bankers and mineowners, that we appraised the unforgivable tactics of the general council leaders-during the general strike. Vision of Revolution, We may be accused of being too sharp, but when it come’ to choosing between empty compliments meaning psn! bo to leaders and eerving the | working masses, we will always chooge the latter course. ‘These are the dictates of our work- proletarian duty. If we Soviet workers hold it neces- sary to do everything possible to ex- tend fraternal material assistance, we | equally believe it our proletarian duty to extend moral assistance. Had the general strike not been squashed and the general council's order calling it off, the general strike | would have led to glorious victory, el. THOMAS, Leader of the Right Wing General Council. and you would already have long been freed of your government aristocrats and mineownens. Had they not been left alone to fight, the miners would have long since smashed the obstinant clique of mineowners, and parliament capital- eens ists would not have dared despoil the miners of the seven-hour working day. Had there been other tactics and other leaders, the working class as a whole would not have been increasing- ly on the defensive, but marching vic- toriously forward. Leaders Denounced. Even with the finest, most disciplin- ed and courageous army, the battle may be Jost and the army shattered if there are people in headquarters and. in the entire officers’ staff prepared to shirk the fight, prepare capitalists, and even go straight over to the enemy. We most wish that the congress of fraternal British unions should, with complete proletarian frankness, sum up the experience of the great strike and draw corresponding conclusions. Only honest recognition of mistakes will prevent their repetition. Only frank admission of errors will open the eyes of the masses fighting against the capitalist offensive. Refuse to do Anything, The Soviet C, C. T. U. particularly regrets to confirm the fact that at the Paris meeting of the Anglo-Russian committee, the British delegation ca- tegoricelly » refused to discuss the question of assisting the miners. The Soviet ©. C. T. U. likewise re- grets to confirm that at the Berlin meeting of the Anglo-Russian commi- tee, that delegation completely turned down all our proposals ro assisting miners, including the embargo and 1 per cont levy for the benefit of strik- ore suffering, but fighting, determined not*to be slaves to the mineowners. ion’ only for the British labor movement, put also the enttre world labor move- | ment, than that of aiding the miners. If the miners go dgwn the capital- ists will crush the British workers section by séction. So This Is Democracy! Not for méthing “Democracy” now appears in the form of the emergency powers act..\fhis “Emergency Democ- racy” of the'government die-hard con- servatives won't stop at throttling the whole Trad@é Union Movement. Contrariwise; if the miners stand firm and fast, Bhould the work masses of other unions support them, if the mineowners*lose more and more with- | out hopes of winning out, then both victory is assured the miners, and re- | tiral from ‘power ofthe workers’ greatest enemy, the canservative gov- | ernment, which came to the helm of the state ona shameful swindle, Despite the refusal of the British delegation to the Anglo-Russian com- mittee to adopt our proposal re help- ing miners and even discuss them in a businesslike fashion (which we be- lieve quite unexplainable from the la- bor viewpoint), the Soviet C. C, T. U. will continue the policy in its own country of assisting the British min- ers. : AA. Paved AJA, PURCELL, So-called left winger, who flopped. Levy of One Per Cent. The Soyiet C. C. T, U. resolved to allocate ayfurther million roubles for the benefit of the miners on account | of receipts.from a one per cent levy which we don’t doubt will be adopted | by the overwhelming masse of the | workers of, the union of Soviet Social- | Ist Republics. | Proletarian solidarity is displayed lonly in deeds. Just as proletarians of over a hyndred nationalities inhab- iting tise Uertet-Republics helped each other in theirsstruggle, so our whole | proletariateconsiders it its fraternal duty to help British brother-workers in this, their critical hour. Helped More Than Once. Page Thren ish Labor News" RUSSIAN UNION LEADER SHOWS WHY SOVIET LABOR DELEGATES WERE NOT A MOSCOW, Sept. 5 (By Mail).—In connection with the refusal of the LLOWED IN BRITAIN | British government to permit the delegation of the central council] of Soviet Labor Unions to the British Trades Union Congress in Bournemouth to land, | Comrade Tomski has made the following declaration: “The refusal of the British government to grant visas to the members of | our delegation was not unexpected, it was in line with the general policy of the bourgeois government which waging a class war against the prole- tariat of Great Britain, nevertheless, the refusal has caused the greatst in- dignation amongst the members of our unions, altho nothing else was to be expected from a government which stands completely upon the side of the mine owners, Class Struggle Always Political. “From the very first days of the Strike it was clear to everyqne who did not, like the proverbial ostrich, bury his head in the stand, that the miners’ struggle had taken on the character of an intense class struggle between the capitalists and the work- ing class of Great Britain. “The class struggle is, however, al- ways a political struggle and only the general council led by individuals of the Thomas type is afraid to recognize this, Capitalists Prepare, | “The preparations of the two parties to this struggle were unequal. On the one hand, the whole forces of the bourgeoisie rallied around the mine owners and the British government which is in the hands of the strongest capitalist party in Great Britain, the conservative party, which opposes the working class with all the means at its disposal, Further, there was the venal capitalist press which is distrib- uted in millions of copies, the fabri- cated public opinion, the courts, the laws, ete. Labor Leaders Timid, “On the other hand was the general council which showed its pusilanimity in oaths of loyalty to the bourgeois state. It became ever more clear to everyone that the abolition of the habeas corpus, the nomination of dis- trict commissars with extraordinary powers, the ordering of troops on to the streets, the support of strike- | breakers, the arrests of working class leaders, etc., was by no means demo- cratic, by no means constitutional, not even from the standpoint of the bour- geois British constitution. “All these facts prove once again the real character of the notorious'| democracy,’ they prove that the bour- seoisie, when its class interests~de- mand it, takes no fetishes like constti- | tutions, democracy, the law, et¢., into | consideration and certainly not the We are firmly convinced in our hour of trial the’ British proletariat will do the same byeus. More than once it has withheld the mailed fist of the British bourgeoisie hanking over our workers’ state. Thus wilf grow and strengthen brotherly bonds between the toilers of both countfies, the bonds that will become a tower of strength when in Britain a real workers’ government, whose advent is inevitable, is formed. We strongly believe the Trades Union Congress will do all to further consolidate the Anglo-Russian Com- mittee, a symbol of international trade union unity, a symbol of broth- erly bonds existing between the Brit- ish and Soviet workers. So long live international working class solidarity! Up the fight against the capitalist offensive! With comradely greeting—Soviet C. Cc. T, U., Chairman, Tomsky; Secret- ary, Dogadov. In reply to this broadside the T. U. C. issued a sneaking statement typical of the imperialist labor lead- ers of England. The Russians were. invited to send fraternal delegates and the British felt that they would re- main neutral.on questions affecting the British workers and devote them- selves to expressing goodwill. This coneeption of the duties of fraternal delegates to other countries has nothing in common with interna- tionaligm gr» identity of interests of the rs of all lands, a oon- ception whi British right wing la- bor leaders have in the past pro- fessed adherence to. William Hutcheson, fraternal dele- gate from the United States and “ezar” of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners got along very nicely with his abstractions on the difference between a living wage and a saving wage. pe Denver Trade Unions Aid British by Sale of Tiny Miner Lamps DENVER, Col., Sept. 23.—-A ship- ment of the little lamps made in ‘the form of those used by the coal miners of Great Britain and sold to aid relief work in the British strike has reached Denver and found a good re- sponse in sales to sympathizers of the British coal diggers. Over $100 has already been collected by this means. These lamps are on pins for wear- ing on the coal lapel, and may be secured here at the Auditorium Book ct spot 2 Site Oo Denver ‘sistance, means purely and simply to HARRY POLLITT, Leader of the Minority Movement. opinion of the British workers and their trade unions, is+ ——__—__—_- Proves Leaders Wrong. “The refusal of the British govern- ment to grant us vises is a further proof for the incorrectness of the pol- icy of the leaders of the general strike who wished to present an open and intense class struggle, a_ political struggle, as a purely economic strike. This false policy determined in fact the direct betrayal of the “general strike by its leaders. “Economy alone does not exist in nature and politics is simply the con- centrated form of economics. This is proved, to put it mildly, by the ‘incor- rectness’ of the policy of the general council, which assured the conserva- tive governnpnt above all of its ‘loy- alty to the constitution.’ Loyalty to the same constitution which the con- servative government had bruskly and cynically pushed to one side from the first moment of the strike on. “The unforgiveable and criminal error of the general council in refus- ing the assistance of thé working class of the Soviet Union which determined the direct betrayal of the strike, stresses this once again. Everyone who grasps the interests of his own class and understands how to defend them logically (the conservatives are well aware of their class tnterests and know how to defend them) énly values the opinion of his own etass, “To take the opinion of another, a hostile class, into consideration and to run after Jt slavishly as the general council @i@ when it rejected our as- betray the interests of one’s own class, A Contrast of Classes, “Considered from a’ logical class point of view the conservative govern- ment acted logically and correctly cording to its bourgeois class inter- ests, It knows what it wants and that what it wants is the lowering of the Standard of living first of all of the miners and then of the workers of . |Great Britain in the other branches of industry, for it is,only the frst blow | ] | TOMSKY, President of the Soviet Unions, denied admission to England to attend T. U.C. “The representatives of the working | clase only value the opinion of the | proletariat. It is the duty of the lead- ers of the British trade union congress | to say frankly and openly what they | have done in order to obtain the visas for the Soviet Labor Union delegation, | what they thinic of this act of the eon- | servative govecument and how they intend to answer it. How Do They Stand? “It is their duty to inform the work- | ers clearly in this matter, for this act | of the conservative government is not | only a reprisal against the So¥iet La- bor Unions on account of the assist- ance which they have given the min- | ers, but it is also an insolent demon- stration of the capitalists against the | friendship of the proletariat of Great Britain and of the Soviet Union, an} insolent challenge to the British pro-| letariat, “This act proves that the capitalists carefully follow the international pol- icy of ihe British trade unions and actually influence it, Why Were Others Admitted? “I do not doubt that the representa- tives of te Amsterdam International and of the American Federit bor haw. received their vis any objection. The Ams*crdam Inter. national, whose strikebreaking role is clear to everyone, and the American trade unior; ecause they are ‘ultra loyal, did not permit thomselves to ‘interfere in the internal affairs of the Britisa trade *nion moveme “Instead they kept their hands in their pockets and watenel curiously the unequizl struggle of the British miners who hid been ‘eft to their fate against. the united forces of the | capitalist class, Will Continue Support. “The workers of the Soviet Union, on the other hand, even from the point of view of the leaders of the general council, were-very ‘disloyal,’ they per- mitted themselves to show an extraor- dinary degree of activity in the cause of the British workers. They parti- elpated morally to a tremendous ex- | tent and contributed materially to the extent of their resources. “They are equally prepared to sup- port the British miners in their diffi- cult struggle to the very end.” NOAH ABLETT, OF BRITISH MINERS, I$ OUT TO FIGHT Union Executive Mem- ber Declares for Struggle LONDON, Sept. 23. “I stand now for a fight to a fifish. The ‘safety men must be called out; and all means, however drastic, must be em- | | | \% Jon the second day of the | declared, \ers'In their conduct of the strike. jthe worker to | fighting for 19 week jsame session, |have been | resolution. jone of these men, J. | congress. |about the strike as a boy with a new [and uplift. MINERS’ CHIEF “TS POPULAR AT BOURNEMOUTH [Cook Assails the Right Wing Leaders | By SCOTT NEARING, Federated Prees BOURNEMOUTH, Eng. — (FP) — Miners’ Secretary A. J. Cook took the center of the stage at Bournemouth British Trades Union congress Sept. 7. Hoarse }and nervous, Cook droye ahead with | his ustomary determination, He de- nounced as scabs the workers who, he had interfered with the min- “You can’t be passive,” cried Cook. Hither you must help the employer to win the dispute or else you must help win. We have been life ahd death struggle for the principles of union- ism that are common to us all, While | we ha been engaged in this fight, others are working behind our backs blacklegging on us.” Cook was cheered when he rose te speak. He very evidently is the out standing figu t the congress. Ernest Bevin, who directed the general strike, spoke for the first time at this His reception was far less friendly than Cook's, The congress challenged the British government On the emergency powers act, under which about 800 workers imprisoned the past 8 months. Elsbury of the garment work- ers was the only one to oppose the He took his stand on the ground that the workers of Britain never had enjoyed real freedom, aad that “this resolution is far too mild and puerile.” There has been general agreement that there should be no discussion of the general strike on the ground that A. J. “COOK, Miners’ leader, who led the miners? delegation at the T. U. C, it might injure the cause of the min- ers. The members of the general council are all reticent or silent. They are evidently not proud of their rec ord. The enthusiasm for the strike seema to be confined to those who were re sponsible for carrying it on—the lo |cal leaders who actually put the stop- | Page into effect. Today I talked with McLaughlin, president, Building Trades Federation at Scarboro, and a delegate to this He was as enthusiastic gun. Many of the delegates take a sim lar view. Before the general strike they had no idea that labor was really strong. They know now that the work- ers can have the works whenever they decide to take them. The mayor of Bournemouth epened | the congress with an address im which he emphasized fair dealing, goodwill, His plea for the employ- ing class wes greeted by emphatic protest from the delegates, who were manifestly out of sympathy with his principles of tolerance and compre mise. The president of the Bourne mouth trades and labor council tok lowed the mayor with a bitter denun- ciation of the municipal government for employing nonunion workers since the strike, ployed to defeat the efforts of the coal- owners ‘to give the mineys a hell of a hiding.’ In these words Noah Ablett, mem- Noah Ablett, "bor of the Miners’ Union executive, declared his attitude in face of the situation now confront- ing the miners and the Miners’ Fed- eration of Great Britain.: Rally Movement. The offer of the M. F. G. B, to re- open negotiations, he said, had been taken by the owners and the govern- ment as a sign of weakness. The points on which the owners now stood so determinedly were grounds on which the whole move- ment could be rallied to a tremend- ous effort. “For a long time I have sought a ARRIVED FROM . ENGLAND Three important new pamphlets On. the Road to Insurrectio, by Lenin ........ Lenin as a Marxist, by N. Bucharig .... Russia's Path to Communism, G. Zinoview peaceable way out, but I am now con- vinced that the government and the owners can only be brought to reason The Daily Worker Pub, Co, 1113 W. Washington Bivide.