The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 2, 1926, Page 10

BIG SPENCER MES were hard. Sultry, storm-charged air lay over the district, Already speaking had been forbidden by the police, And gatherings were not allowed. Whether in halls or on gronnds. Not even on the street. But that did not improve the sultry, ominous. air. Wages became more meager still. The children cried from hunger. Things couldn’t go on thus, Then the Miners called.a strike. , The strike set in immediately even tho the police sought to prevent jt. The mimes shut down. The lifts Tan empty. The emergency workers alone were al- lowed to continue, The mine grounds were full of military, It was therefore necessary to attempt an attack on capital in some other way. The most important thing was to call! upon the metal workers to strike. They, too, were suffering from hunger, as if it stood over them like an eternal god-father and they were waiting for opporiunity to Jump at his throat. , They notified them. And they even promised. But they wanted a joint mesting to be “held before the de- cision to strike was made. ; Tt was to be today. The boys had already been Joiter- ing around the factories from eariiest morning. They whispered into the ear of everyone they knew when to come. Trastworthy people. Old eomrades. They eounted on five hundred, Meanwhile, the leaders conferred as to the speaker. Most of the votes were in favor of Big Spencer, “And Blg Spencer was an able fellow. He was a pick- man back in the old pit. Lean, but as strong as an ox; and he had a voice which could be heard for three streets, ‘When they told him about it, he scratched his neck thoughtfully. He knew it might cast his head. But he promised anyway. At home he sat down in his room and reflected. His thoughts crowded densely jn his too-small head, arched themselves threateningly behind his forehead. But he Was he afraid? No! He drummed his fists on the table a few times. Stood up. Looked at his longish face in a smali mirror. Laughed at himself-and his to throw open hishesitation. Ho, already he burned mouth. In the afternnon, he still worked in the garden; towards evening, fed the cattle, changed clothes and went to the city. rs The cafe in which the meeting was to take place lay in the suburb. He had to go right thru the maze of streetsjin the lower part of the city. Up a small hill Beyond, he dipped into the bustle of ths streets’ Wien he came to the small cafe, he saw a few clusters of people. They had gathered on the edges of the side streets. In front of the cafe itself stood a track fuli of military. So it had been betrayed. He whistled softly thru his teeth, turmed around and went up to one of the groups. They recognized him immediately. A fat locksmith growled tn his ear: “We might as well go home again here.” He looked at him wratfully. “No,” he hissed. “We must settle things today. Tomorrow it may be too late.” : “Where shall we go? asked one of the buddies who Bressed up to him. “To the ravine in back ef our mine,” he whispered. “But walk separately, so the military can’t follow us.” They scattered immediately like a flock of Pigeons. A few courageous ones even ran across the street past the military to the other side to tell the comrades there of the decision, The secret march thru the city, already dark, gaye Big Spencer joy. The houses ducked beneath his out- striking steps. They shrank together as if they were the anxious souls of the citizens who live behind those high walls. He had walRed too fast. When he came to the small ravine, only a few of the younger ones were there. He looked around. The ravine was not a good meet- ing place. To the right, it was cut off by walls of the mine. To the left was a strong wire fence, However, it was too late to look for a better place. The others came from below in everthicker masses, Some, who had come by. round-about ways, also came from above, The first had sat down against the wall, so they were entirely in the shadow. The others did the same. Thus, only a few, who were not covered by the shadow were seen. ‘ Big Spencer stepped forward. He said that he had been chosen to speak to the comrades. He then re- quested that the individual comrades of the factory present themselves, A comrade from among the metal workers stepped forward and called the roll, They were all there, The march thru the elty did not seem to have weakened them. That pleased Big Spencer. Se Stepped back a little in order to speak. The light, which fell across the dark wall from the mine grounds, completely enveloped him. He appeared sallow and flushed. And his uplifted hands stood out white and transparent beside him, He said harshly and abruptly: “Comrades!” he began about their miserable condition, Then the comrades in the factory. Ss suburban |” About the misery of the lads in the pit, and about the misery of He spoke in loud, shriek- ing sentences, while looking fixedly into the mine-lights which danced back and forth before his eyes. Sudden- ly someone at the erid called out loudly. No one rightly understood the call. And the tall man spoke on, However, the one who called had jumped up, Several others had done the same,’ “The soldiers,” he cried more clearly and ran towards the center, The tall man turned around, Soldiers were actually coming thru the ravine below. They marched in double file. The light was refiected in the leather of their tschakos.* “Get up,” cried the men, who had all risen and massed themselves around him, Up above, however, they heard the sigrals of an auto, , Commands, too, What should they do? “Over the fences,” cried a slender turner who first saw that they were locked in above and below, and he helped a small roundish man over the barbed wire. . The others, too, climbed over. @ another. Ran up the stone mound behind the wire until they reached the tapering peak, They didn’t all come. So the military didn’t follow immediately. They arrested those who remained be- hind, The first could therefore gather on the stofe mound. Even achieved a certain ecompaciness. On the other side, they swept down again like a black stream. Big Spencer walked et the head. His face was dark and threatening. But he was not discouraged. He was-intent upon speaking to the last, too. That was the only thought that occupied his mind. The others followed him as fast as they could. They even tried to hold him back in order to be closer to him. There was assurance in his hasty forward-strid- ing. They pressed around him like a frightened herd. But they weren't discouraged either. - They merely didn’t Know what was going to happen, and so they stuck to him. He seemed to have taken a definite direction. To know a goal. He was hastening some- where. But Big Spencer didn’t know where to go himself. Only as he sensed pavement under his feet and saw houses, did a place, which tay out of the way and which would be suitable for a meeting, come to his mind. And his feet turned immediately to the right into a smali street leading to that place. The others fol- lowed him. Penetrated them again with its monotony and drove them to run even faster. They crossed another place. Ran over it like thieves who feared the light and ran into a dark park. The trees enveloped them. They disappeared among them like night animals. In the suburb, they came out again, were more massed together, dipping back into the sea of heuses. Tt was strange that no one was lost or that no one broke away here or there as they passed their own homes. The collectivity of their fight kept them to- gether. Tied them as if they were bound with a single chain and indissoluble, Here between the houses their flight became calmer, more sober. Almost all were at home in these resident blocks. Sensed the nearness of ‘their dwelling holes and breathed in thetr air. They now knew where the tall man wanted to go. Called the name of the place softly to one another and approved of it. ¥ They walked more carefully, too. Stepped softly. Whispered only half audibly. Not because they. were afraid, but because they knew~that their wives and children lived here, were surely asleep already or were worrying about them. Thus, they finally came to the small place. It was only a narrow quadrangle of house walls. A lantern stood in the middie. It lit up the gray, cracked faces of the houses and brought them nearer. Big Spencer went up to the lantern. This time he did not wait until they had ail gathered around him, but got up immediately on the sloping stone which stood near the lantern and drew himself erect. Nevertheless he still cast a glance at the dark street from which the others were coming. Small, bowed, with agile swift- ness. They crowded densely around him. Surrounded him with their bodies. Their longish faces pressed towards his like a bright light, This compactness had a peculiar effect upon the small place, They looked ag if thay were merely a halo. Which was pushing itself higher, Which groped for the light, Which threatened to choke the light. ut there were still about three hundred people, Big Spencer began to speak. This time his face was in the dark, The shimmer of the light fell over him. ig really of Hungarian origin. a Translated from the German by A. LANDY. Pushed and pressed, *Techakos are the helmets worm by the Ublans. It By. Kurt From his shaded face, however, his eyes peered out ‘Co brighter and mere glowing, ‘ye “Comrades,” he cried, hie volce was strangely sub- t dued and yet of a piercing sharpness, “we must hurry, Ww They are surely behind us. Nor have I much to say, The I began with our misery. We miners have begun the | to «be strike for that reason. For that reason; also, we sent | rigid. out a call to you. Together we will not lose. No! | in spi But you must help us. Strike with us!” of fle: He stopped for a moment. Not because words failed | 2° & him. But everything sounded so strange. Every sound | @ sic reverberated -dully around the houses. Threw itself “Ap back upon him and drove the men with a shudder still closer to him. “Go on!" cried one who stood beneath him. In the stiliness, however, he. heard the clattering and re- sounding of steps. Not very near yet. Coming nearer, The others heard it too. But did not listen for it Looked up to him more urgently. But into him tenaci aE > = TRU “To the Bitter End.” By Adolph Dehn. | ° z : ously, as if he now became their protection and their support. , “Go on!" someone cried again close beneath him, He sensed the uneasiness of the men. At the same |. time, he felt their courage, too. Their clinging to him. The desire to hold out. And this persistence gathered itself together within him. Bore him aloft. Drew him more erect. “9 When the first soldiers set foot on the place, he had already begun to speak again. “Yes, you must strike with us,” he cried again, so that the words flew about the walls of the houses, loud and piercing. “Down your work. Walk out with us. Demonstrate! We don't want to starve! To die! To perish at our work.” “Silence!” roared a sharp voice, interrupting him. “Not perish!” roared Big Spencer once more. “Silence!” screamed the voice an octave higher. “Not perish!’ Big Spencer snapped back, almest screaming his lungs out. “No,” he hissed again, “we want one right, at least. We want the right to live. Even if we are laboring cattle. We are human beings!” “Disperse!” the voice now roared back. Already it seemed considerably closer. Boomed towards him. Wanted to alarm him. But the tall man did not look up at all. He only tried to drown it out, “By tomorrow you must down your work. Tomorrow you must leave the factories. Tomorrow you must join us!” His voice was a groan ing screant. “Load!” cried the other, apparently having retreated a piece, ¢ The word struck the speaker like a rock. Bat he did not break down. No, nor was he afraid ef it. He even tried to raise himself up still higher. “You must! You must!” he cried shrilly once more, The men did not disperse either. They only clenched their hands. Their faces became rigid. Their bodies bent towards one another. But their eyes continued to look at the speaker, “Fire!” rattled the command. The reports whipped thra the air immediately after. Ran around the rows of houses in a piercing echo and massed themselves gi ski t oF) ELE Se ee my . pee esaiel iia. Meathlslee tow pak’ Oo ender tae : The bullets also flew past the speaker. « grazed j his neck and carried away a piece of his flesh. One struck him in the arm and glanced off, striking the tren of the lantern, ( Be did not flinch, Only forgot to speak for the moment. Then twined aching arm around the