The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 3, 1926, Page 5

ee ee ei News and Comment Labor Education Labor and Government Trade Union Politios CLOAKMAKERS OF NEW YORK NEED HELP IN STRIKE 40,000. Workers in Four Months Battle By ESTHER LOWELL t Federated Presa | NEW YORK, Nov. 1+-(FP)— The strike of 40,000 cloakmakers of New York needs organized labors strong: est and best assistance, The strike is in its fourth month anid has been endorsed ‘by the American Federation of Labor convention with requests for full financial aid, Workers Hungry. Cloakmakers have been looked upon as better off than most other groups of workers, but the fact is that many of the strikers and their families are actually hungry and their union can- not give them enuf help. Fines and strike “costs have depleted the union treasury. At a press luncheon given by the Emergency Labor Conference formed by New York unions to help the cloak- makers’ fight against the vicious in- junction, Louls Hyman— chairman general strike committee—pointed out the trickery by which the union had been led Into a conference which it thought would bring peace and which the manufacturers tried to turn into a complete rout of all union demands, which would mean the return of sweat- shop production. State Federation Backing. John Sullivan, president State Fed- eration of Labor and honorary chair- man of the conference, told how the International Ladies’ Garment Work- ers’ union had grown and how it had always been one of the most gene-. rous to contribute to other unions In distress. _He told Hyman to remind manufacturers who try to label the strikers’ demands as “communistic” that the A. F. of L. had gone out of its regular order of convention busi- ness to endorse the strike and that his participation im the conference meant the state federation was back- “Mig theefight for union conditions the garment industry. ~ 7H Zanoay NoRKER Make rs a weekly habit, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Celebration of the Ninth Anniversary of the Rus- sian Revolution. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 7 at 2:30 p. m. Splendid Musical program and prominent speakers ‘MUSIC-ART HALL 233 So. Broadway. ADMISSION FREE THEDAILY to be for GOOD FUN GOOD MUSIC SPENDID FOOD |BRICKLAYERS’ U are invited to attend WORKER RESCUE PARTY Binkley Evening Nobwnier 13 at the COOPERATIVE CENTER 2706 Brooklyn Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. ‘RUSSIAN TEA AND DANCE: MUSICAL PROGRAM AND REFRESHMENTS AUSPICES:—Nucleus. No, 26, Workers Party of Los Angeles ardly ever has such a great feed been planned LOS ANGELES’REBELS - There’ will be music and good fun and there'll be vegetable dishes to tempt the most stubborn meat eater, And part of the proceeds go to the Daily Worker. VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT Brooklyn and Soto St, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1926 THE bs ik a 3 BY DAILY WORKER Frage rive Organized Labor—Trade Union Activities ( UNION WINS WAGE RAISES IN NEARLY ALL CENTERS BUT FAILS IN SHORTENING HOURS ¢ By LELAND OLDS, Federated Press, Continued success of the bricklayers’ union in raising the wage of its 70,000 members is shown in a U. S. department of labor report. In 15 of the 40 citles covered by the report unién rates for bricklayers were materially higher May 1, 1926, than in the previous year. + recorded, 3 The 1925 rep6 showed an advance over 1924 in bricklayer wages in 12 cities. Taking the two years together, bricklayers have secured wage in- creases in 23 of the 40 cities, In 35 cities bricklayer wages are today above those in 1920, No Shorter Hours Gained, The 1926 report shows no gain to- ward the shorter working week, In fact Charleston, 8, ©., in which the 44- hour week wag established in 1925, fell back to 48 hours, With this ex- ception the 44-hour week is general. Cities in which bricklayers have se- cured increases since 1925 include At- lanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Jacksonville, Mem- phis, New Haven, New York, Philadel- phia, Pittsburgh, Providence and St: Paul. Two cities have been brought to the $1.75 an hour minimum. These are New York and St. Louis, For both cities this is a gain of 40 per cent over 1920 and 160 per cent over 1918, Minimum hourly rates for union bricklayers in 18 cities in 1918, 1920 and 1926 were: Bricklayers Per Hour, 1913 1920 1926 0.625 $1.25 $1,625 ‘ 1,00 1.40 CRICAZO wees, 75 1.25 1.50 Cleveland 2... .65 1.25 1,50 Dallas sresccosmmegee 875 1.125 1.625 Denver isin 75 1.25 1.50 Detroit ...ccsseu 65 1.26 1.50 Kansas City 15 1125 1.60 Los Angeles 75 125 1.875 Minneapolis .... 65 1.25 1.25 New Orleans 625 1.00 1.25 NOW YOrK wcrc. .70 1.25 1.75 Philadelphia .... . .625 > 1,30 1,625 Pittsburgh . -70 1.125 1.625 +70 1.25 1.75 875 . 1.25 1.875 75 1,25 1.375 ‘Washington 625 1,00 1.625 Lowest Rate $1.00 ah Hour. In 23 of the 40 cities the bricklayers’ unfon has secured minimum rates of $1.50 or more per hour, The lowest rate is $1 an hour in Charleston. In no other city is the union rate below $1.25 and only six cities have this rel- atively low rate, These are Fall ‘River, “Milwaukee, —New Orleans, Omaha and St. Paul. ‘The average of the 40 cities was $1.458 an hour. This is an increase of 4 per cent over the 1925 average, of 24% per cent ever 1920 and:117 per cent over 1913. Atlanta bricklayers have the record increase over 1913 with an advance from $0.45 to $1.40 or 211 per cent, Weisbord Tests Free ‘ Speech in Elizabeth ELIZABETH, N. J.— (FP) — Eliza- beth allowed the American . Civil Liberties Union to hold its free speech meeting and then permitted Albert Weisbord, former Fassaic strike leader, to give the speech he had been prevented from giving the prev- fous week: American Legion influ- ence is suspected of having stopped the other meeting. Robert Dunn, na- tional committee man of the Civil Liberties; Louis Bundex, editor Labor Age; and Bishop Paul Jones spoke be- fore Weisbord, whose topic was The Passaic Strike and American Work- ers. Police and detectives entered his other meeting and cleared the hall. We wil! send sample coples of The DAILY WORKER to your friends— send us name and address, held GINSBURG'S No cut in union wages .is Tariff Bogey Forces G.O.P. to Move for Ending Mill Strike PASSAIC, N. J, Nov. 1,—Senator Borah has arranged a conference with Julius Forstmann, president of the Forstmann and Huffmann mills, on the question of settling the nine months’ old strike, according to a dis- patch from Washington. The Passaic strike has taken on | mew aspects’ with the approach of elections and the political significance of a recent manifesto of international bankers and industrialists condemn- ing protective tariffs, The situation as it exists today in the woolen mills of the Passaic dis- trict is being used as one of the most forceful arguments against a proteo- tive tariff. In spite of the high duty on wool, the woolen industry is in a worse shape than any other in the country with the possible exception of the coal industry, Republicans, it is said, are fearing that they will be kicked on the sore spots of the Passaic strike, when the fight over the reduction of the tariff comes up in congress. Consequently a renewed effort to get tha strike settled before con- gress meets doubtless will be made. Plasterers’ Local Aids Passaic Mill Strike With $680 PASSAIO, N, J., Nov. 1--The gen- eral relief committee, 743 Main Ave., announced today the receipt this morning of a check for $680 from the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Fin- ishers’ International Association, Lo- cal No, 80,.as the result of a member- ship assessment for Passaic strike re- lief. The check was accompanied by. @ letter. expressing confidence in the ultimate victorious outcome of the strike, amd promising financial and moral support: to the very end. Thrilled by Passaic Movie, Cleveland to Start Clothes Drive CLEVELAND, 0., Nov. 1.—Elated by the tremendous success attending the presentation here of the Passaic strike motion picture, the Conference for Passaic Strike Relief, which in- cludes in its membership most of the local A, F. of L. and independent un- ions, decided last night to launch a drive for the collection of clothing and staple food, in answer to the ur- gent appeals from the strike zone for immediate relief aid, RAILROADS SHOWING BIG PROFIT INCREASE AS MORE WORK IS BEING FORCED OUT OF THEIR EMPLOYES Railroad profits are again bringing With eight months’ profits runnin, the entire transportation industry ds mitted under the transporation act. Railroad profits thru August total 558 in the first eight months of 1925. far this year is reckoned at the annual rate of 5.81 per cent on the rate mak- ing valuation, August Returns Big. The returns for August exceeded those of any previous August on rec- ord and lacked only $4,000,000 of be- ing the largest profits reported by the carriers in any month in their history, According to the New York Times: “It 1s general expected by railroad men that they will be exceeded by both September and October.” The August profit was at the annual rate of 6.2 per cent on the rate making valuation, How railroad workers are ¢o-operat- ing to make these tremendous profits possible is shown in the fact that while railroad receipts have increased by $189,562,410, railroad expenses have increased by only $82,934,128. The ratio of expenses to revenues has ‘allen from 76.8 per cent te 74.3 per cent, Decrease Costs, The operating pronts of some of the more important carriers for the first eight months of 1926 and 1925 were: Railroad Profits. 1926 07,471 527,478 13,042,787 27211,683 22,526,443 25,980,876 1 1926 $18,701,027 34,678,855 11,266,301 24,718,563 19,991,409 21,067,376 15,953,932 18,326,860 (27.417 B41 Atl, Coast L. Balt. & Ohio. Boston & Me. Burlington more than 12 per cent ahead of last year practically assured of an annual return on the enormous $21,175,000,000 valuation exceeding the maximum 5% per- ed $744,944,169 compared with $664,127,- That means a cool $80,000,000 additional profit already in hand. The profit so+ ais Policies and Programs The Trade Union Press Strikes—Injunctions Labor and Imperialism N.Y. JEWELRY STRIKE WINNING STRIKE DEMANDS Novelty Workers Force Big Shops to Sign NEW YORK, Noy, 1-—The jewelry novelty workers’ strike, which began as a stoppage on Monday, Oct. 25, is practically won, The biggest shop in the trade has signed the union agree- ment and the other employers are rapidly falling in, line. About 800 workers and 40 shops were involved in@the walkout, which was authorized at. meeting of Local 17, International. Jewelry Workers’ Union, on Oct. 22..;Trifar!, Krussman and Fishel, 35 Sixth Ave., was the first to settle. with the union. About 150 men from this shop joined the walkout and 60. girls also became members of the upion automatically because the contract provides that all workers shall be hired thru the union employment bureau. Anthony Capraro, manager of the union, is signing contracts with the other employers as fast as he can. The contract provides for a 44-hour week, a 10 per cent wage increase, time and onehalf for overtime, no more.than one apprentice to 10 work- ers, six holidayg-with pay, equal divi- sion of work, and. the abolition of home work—-no..work to be given out of the-shop, ine , The workers in this branch of the jewelry industry are. engaged in the manufacture of..white metal, alumi- num and silver imitation jewelry, to!- let sets, Spanish combs, celluloid ear- rings and bracelets, buckles and milli- nery ornaments, Interborough Still Persecuting ‘‘Sub” Strike” Leadership er NEW YORK, Noy..1.—Pending le- gal argument which \isyto take place Nov. 6, Supreme Court Justice Mit- chell declined to, Jerus an injunction against Ed PP. in and other leaders of the Intgrborough Rapid Transit subway strike, closed somo time ago, because {here was no “im- mediate threat of violence.” Counsel for Lavin and the rest, told the court that the application did not purport to prevent a strike, as it declared, but sought ‘to stop anybody from inducing employes of the com- |pany from joining the Amalgamated Association of Railway Employes. There was no law, counsel for the subway strike-leaders held, to enjoin any man from persuading other en- gaged in labor that it was to their advantage to join’ regularly organ- ized labor body.’ Joy to the heart of the invésting class > ‘ Louis, & Nash.. 23,463,380 20,457,985 Missouri Pac..... 19,409,670 17,298,239 67,273,000 63,554,198 Nor, & West..... 30,032,268 21,724,134 No. Pacific 15,082,429 12,020,699 Pennsylvania .... 99,592,285 90,012,776 St. Paul 18,044,589 15,806,369 Santa Fe 41,940,048 31,895,062 Southern 41,215,119 38,309,072 Sou, Pacific ...... 40,512,323 33,517,116 Union Pacific... 20,587,616 18,981,910 Some Climb High, * The owners of some of these roads are enjoying incréases in profits far above the averages’ Thus Norfolk & Western 1926 profits are running 53 ber cent ahead of 1925. Other roads in which the increases are large: in- clude Santa Fe 31) per cent; Northern Pacific, 26 per cent; Chesapeake & Ohio, 23 per cent; Southern Pacific, 21 per cent, and Baltimore & Ohio, 20 per cent. Several roads are apparently secur- ing larger profits as a result of the increased efficiency of their . shop forces, Santa Fe, with an increase of about $8,660,000 in business, hag re- duced fhe cost of equipment mainten- ance by about $1,444,000. Baltimore & Ohio, with an increase of more than $10,000,000 in business, is spending no more for maintenance of equip- ment than in 1925. And Norfolk & Western, with the largest increase in profits, has handled $10,000,000 or 15 per cent more business with an ex- penditure for maiiftenance of equip- ment reduced @ neyeaut ar hy nearly $1.000,000. Ar ie eh iO al eat i eta wl tks Renita Sanka —————— eee eS $50 CUSPIDORS | GRACE GAPITOL OF WASHINGTON. Political a Shows Gross Expenditures By BERTRAM D. WOLFE SEATTLE, Wash., (By mail)—With cuspldors costing $47.75 each it will be a pleasure to expectorate within | the Mmits of the state capitol build- | ing at Olympia after the new furni- ture now being contracted for by the state capitol committee, and the north- west which is so proud of having the “biggest” and the “greatest” and the “best” in everything will be able to | boast of the most luxurious recep- tacles for saliva and tobacco juice of any public building in the United | States. rt $96 for Waste Baskets Waste baskets will make even the shabbiest trash feel genteel, for the new waste baskets are being bought at $96 each. Umbrella stands will be too good to put any but dry umbrellas into them and wet ones will have to be parked outside when the new $222 umbrella holders adorn the halls of the $7,000,000 building that houses the dignity of the state goverment. Only the best quality hats should be permitted to hang on the hat racks that cost $168 each, $534,000 was spent by the State last Thursday on just a few of the necessities for the proper carrying on of the govern- ment's activities. Novel Buying Method. Instead of calling for bids for the necessary furnishing on a competitive basis the state officials adopted the novel procedure of (to quote the Go- vernor) “asking these firms how much they would give us for $568, 900...” In many cases the unhappy bidders had to enormously pad the prices in order to reach the required sum. For example, if the state asks: How many cuspidors will you give us for $5,000? it would be insulting to offer 1,667 cuspidors at $3.00 each sincegit would imply an {nordinate amount of spitting on the part of those who rule the destinies of the evergreen state. Consequently, the the discreet company that won the contract for cuspidors sold three- dollars cuspidors (that’s what the governor estimates them to be worth) for $47.50 each which would make only 101 cuspidors for $5,000. r Hartley Loses Control, Of course Governor Hartley would have not been so. ummannerly as to point these facts out—there is. usually | honor among those who award public contracts and those who get them — were it not for the fact that there is a bitter faction fight in the republi- can party here and Governor Hartley has just lost control .of the State machine to the anti-Hartleyites, and is trying to get his revenge. Hartley is one of the lumber barons of this stafe where lumber is king. Back of the squabble appears to be a" scramble for the richly timbered state lands in which Hartley got the short end of the deal. He attacked the land commissioner Clark V. Savidge alleg- ing that he had disposed of public lands too cheaply. He attacked “extravagant expend- itures” on the State Uatversity and recalled two of the regents appoint- Ing others. With that the battle was | on. From the standpoint of issues | raised, Hartley seems to have gotten the better of the argument. But all of the Seattle papers have attacked him as an enemy of education and the republican machine has just been captured by his rivals, , By Uplon Sinclar (Copyright, 1926, by Uptom Sinclair) One has to think these matters out in advance, and have standard of conduct. Bunny had made up his mind that the next time he embraced a woman, it would be he truly loved; and now the cledr cold voice of his reason told him that he did not love Charlie Norman’s mother, it would only be an intrigue, and neither of them would be happy very long. So he said, gently, that he thought she had better go; and slowly and sadly |she gathered up the kimono from the floor, and rose to her feet. “Bunny,” she said, “people have nasty minds. If they hear about this, they will-make it horrid.” “Don’t think of it,” he answered. “I shail not tell.” He heard the door softly opened, and softly closed again; and he turned on the light, and locked the door—never again would he fail to take that precaution at a house-party! For a while he paced the floor, thinking over his alarming experience. He told himself, with becoming modesty, that it wasn’t because he was irresistibly fascinating; but in this new pagan civilization women were so startled by an encounter with chastity, it struck them as something colossal, superhuman. Next morning the nautical maid had her first natural, blush in many years when she encountered the young Adonis on deck. But she soon got over it, and they talked about Theosophy, as spiritually as ever, and were perfectly good friends; he called her Thelma and Charlie did not even make a joke. But on the way home Bertie wanted to know all about it, had Mrs. Norman made love to him, and how much? And when Bunny blushed, she laughed at him, and was provoked because he was silly and wouldn’t tell. She decided.that of course they had had an af- affair. That was all right, thefe had been other affairs on board ithe “Stren”—the lights were dim in the central hall-way, so that you needn’t be recognized ag you flitted from door to door. “But don’t imagine she’ll ever marry you,” added Bertie sagely. “She talks a lot of reincarnation bunk, but she hangs onto her Occi- dental Steel bonds for this incarnation!” x1 Occidental Steel had a bad slump in the market a few days after this, and Bertle was worried—taking a proprietary interest in the concern. She asked Dad about it, and he said it was “jist manipulation.” But right away a lot of other stocks went tumbling including Ross Consolidated and then Dad said there were fools who would gamble and bid stocks up, and then they had to come down. But the trouble continued to spread over the country, and there were reports of big concerns, and even banks, in trouble. There was panic in the air, and Dad and “Verne” held anxious consultations, and stopped all their development work, and laid off several hundred men; “pulling in their horns,”’ as Dad phrased it. There was plenty of money in the banks, Dad said, but only the big fellows had the use of it; “Verne” was in a rage with some bankers in Angel City who had “thrown him down,” It was the “Big Five,” at their old tricks of trying to freeze-out the independents, Wouldn’t they jist like to get Ross Consolidated in a hole, and buy it up for five or ten millions! Bunny had a talk with Mr. Irving, who told him that it was the Federal Reserve system at work; a device of the big Wall Street. banks, a supposed-to-be government board, but really just a committee of bankers, who had the power to create un- limited new paper money in times of crisis. This money was turned over to the big banks, and in turn loaned by them to the big industries whose‘securities they held and must protect. So, whenever a panic came, the big fellows were saved, while the little fellows went to the wall. In this case it was the farmers who were being “deflated.” They were unorgaized, and had no one to protect them; they had to dump crops onto the market and the prices were tumbling— literally millions of farmers would be bankrupt before this year was by. But the price of manufactured goods would not drop to the same extent because the big trusts, having the Wall Street banks behind them, could hold onto their stocks. Bunny took this explanation to his father, who passed it on to Mr. Roscoe, who said it was exactly right, by Pees; he knew the bunch that had their fingers in the till of the Federal Reserve bank here on the coast, and they were buying up everything in sight, the | blankety-blank-blanks, but they weren’t going to get the Roscoe- Ross properties. Money was so scarce, Bertie could not haye a new car, despite the fact that she had damaged hers in a collision; and Dad talked economy at meal-times, until Aunt Emma took to feeding them on hash made from yesterday’s roast! Shortage Plan Democratic Combine There are rumours that his bunch may combine with the democrats to slect the speaker of the lower house of the State legislature, Be that as it may, the democrats are profiting by the confusion in republican ranks. Martin Flyzic of the United Mine Workers supported Hartley, while William B. Short of the State Federa- tion of Labor supported his oppo- nents. The general reaction of the workers and farmers here, particu- larly the latter, is one of disgust at the whole spectacle and will probably result in the strengthening of the Farmer-Labor Party here, which was considerably weakened in the La- Follette election, Especially among the farmers the farmer-labor party is making rapid progress. It has the support of the Washington Progressive Farmers under the leadership of William Bouck. J. F. Freeman, a dirt-farmer of Tonasket, Okanagan County, is the party’s nominee for Senator against Wesley Jones, republican running for re-election and Scott Bullitt, demo- crat, Bootleg War Breaks . Out in Herrin, Ill. HERRIN, Ill, Nov. 1.—Four na- tional guard officers were here today surveying the situation and observ- ing the feeling résulting from the two killings yesterday in the Birger- Shelton gang feud. The guard ob- servers will visit Marion, Harrisburg and Benton later and report to their superiors’ in Springteld, | A bootlegging feud was said to be spesonaihle for tho Millings \ i everywhere, and worry in people’s faces, and hints of bank- ruptcy and unemployment in the newspapers—they tried their best to hide it, but it leaked out between the lines. Then a funny thing happened. A big limousine with a chauffeur drove up before the Ross home one summer evening and out stepped a stately personage in snow white flannels; a tall young man with yellow hair and a solemn visage—Eli Wat- kins, by heck! He shook hands all around—he had developed the manners of an archbishop—and then asked for a private con- ference with Dad. He was taken into the “den” and half an hour later cathe out smiling, and bowed himself away; and Dad said nothing until he was alone with Bunny, and then his face expanded into a grin and he chuckled, by Judas Priest, Eli had gone into the real cstate business. He had found a block on the outskirts of the city which was exactly the size for the temple which the angel of the Lord had commanded him to build; or rather he had found some real estate subdividers who had a pull with the city board of supervisors, and had got permission to create a block of this unprecedented size, So the word of the Lord had been vindicated and the golden temple was to arise But for some reason unknown the Lord had failed to tip off Eli to the panic, and here he was “stuck,” just like any common, un- holy businessm4n, with a payment on his hundred and seventy- five thousand dollar tract nearly a month overdue. The collec- roped ier hie ee had fallen off, and the Lord had made it manifest that He desired Eli to em saline thane © employ some other method of “What did he want of you, Dad?” “The Lord had revealed to him that I would take a second pee be og property. re I told him the Lord had failed 0 reveal where I was to get the cash. I wie hime coer.” gave him five hundred “Good God, Dad! I thought we were economizing!”’ “Well, Eli pointed out that he had blessed that first well the Paradise tract, and that was why we had got all the oll You can see, it would ’a been sort of blasphemy if I'd denied it,” Ha Dad, had know you don't believe in Eli Watkins’ bunk!” “IT know, but that fellow has got a tremendous f and we might need him some day, you can’t be an. mr should come a close election, here or at Paradise, we might get our money back many times by getting Eli to endorse our ticket.” ——_— —d | 0g. continued) ao