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

—_ SECOND PRIZE’ WINNER \ PBOSTON PAPERS IGNORE BUREAU OF EMPLOYMENT Suppress News Because of Advertising By PHYLLIS FENIGSTON. (Worker Correspondent) BOSTON, Mass. Nov. 8 — The Massachusetts public employment of- fice at 23 Pearl street, Boston, has issued ‘a report of its September ac- tivities, and Boston newspapers, it has been learned ,refuse to print this report because it will interfere with their hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising from private employ- ment agencies, Every year a bill is introduced in the legislature appropriating a sum to the bureau for advertising. And every year the pressure used by the Mer- chants’ and Manufacturers’ Associa- tion defeats the bill. Ignorant of Existence. Many workers in Massachusetts do not even know of the existence of the free service furnished by the state, which maintains employment offices at 23 Pearl street and at 25 Tremont street, Boston, and which also has offces in Worcester, Lawrence and Springfield. These workers continue to give up their hard-earned wages to the blood-sucking private employment agencies. The Boston newspapers maintain a consistent and discreet silence on the matter of free employment offered by the state bureau, because they do not wish to antagonize the private agen- cies which subsidize them so gener- ously. The Boston Globe refused to print a single line of this report. The Transcript gave a short squib, and an- other paper summed it up in one para- graph. They have a good reason to ignore the report. It affords a clear and authoritative insight into unem- ployment conditions existing among the workers of Boston, and a graphic illustration of “Coolidge prosperity” here. Many Jobless, In the mqnth of September 20,269 workers were turned away without jobs, out of 21,844 applicants only 1,575 positions were reported filled. Of these 20,000 jobless turned away in one month there are, says the re- port, “large numbers of men without any trade, looking for inside work for the winter months, but there is prac- tically:no demand for their services. Want Only Young Girls. For faétory Workers in the-women’s department, says the report, “the prin- cipal demand is for young girls, 16 years of age. There are numbers of experienced help over 20 years, but the employers do not seem to want them.” The deliberate purpose of the employers to beat down standards by using younger workers at lower wages is very clear. The same condition is found in the men’s department. Here not only do they require boys instead of men, but the boys must have high standards of workmanship—at boys’ ‘wages. The report goes on: “The demand for boys continues good, but some dif- ficulty is experienced in securing the right kind of boy for some of the po- sitions.” And why? They have plenty to choose from, for “there is an over- ebundance of boys seeking factory work, and practically no demand for their services.” Soldiers Favored, The building industry, printing in- dustry and shipyards called for highly- THE DAILY WORK THIS WEEK'S. PRIZE WINNERS Heinz Schroeter of Rock Falls, Wisconsin, is awarded first prize in this week’s worker correspondence page for the story he sent in on con- ditions in lumber camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Schroe- ter gives a vivid picture of conditions, and presents it in a well-handled manner. He receives a copy of the interesting and important book by Friedrich Engels, “The Peasant War in Germany.” The second prize is awarded to Phyllis Fenigston, worker correspond- ent in Boston, Mai for her story on how Boston newspapers suppress news about the free employment agenoles there because of advertising revenue from pay agents. Her story is crammed full of facts and Is or- ganized ih a splendid “newsy” manner. She receives a copy of the celebrated collection of Red Cartoons, Rudolph Harju, worker correspondent of Waukegan, Illinois, is ‘warded the third prize,‘the board bound edition of the Russell-Nearing debate. It is unusual to offer-a prize for a “publicity” story, such as Harju wrote, but his had such exceptional merit, illustrating how publicity should be handled, that he was awarded the prize. BUT NOW— PRIZES TO BE OFFERED NEXT WEEK. Three very splendid prizes will be given for stories sent in by worker correspondents between now and next Thursday that are considered the best examples of worker correspondence ef the week. Send in those stories, workers Here are the prizes: First, “Left Wing Unionism” by D, J. Saposs. A new book that Will- lam Z. Foster advises every trade union rebel to read for its valuable information, Second, “Flying Osip,” short stories by nine of Russia’s leading new writers, Third, The Workers Monthly, a six-months’ subscription to the best THIRD PRICE WINNER PROCEEDS FROM CELEBRATION 10 GO TO OUR DAILY Waukegan Plans A Fine Program By RUDOLPH HARJU. (Worke® Correspondent) WAUKEGAN, Tl, Nov. 3—The ninth anniverkaty of the establish- ment of the first workers’ republic will be celebrated here the evening of November 6 at the Workers’ Hall, 517 Hemholtz avehie, under the joint auspices of thé Workers (Communist) Party, the Youhg Workers’ League and the Finnish Club. A joint com- mittee has been appointed by the re- spective organizations, which is ex- erting every possible effort to make the event the most successful eve held in Waukegan. ‘Two-Act Play. The program thus far outlined by the committee for the evening in- \cludes speechés by prominent leaders inthe revolutionary movement and BOSTON COMMON SCENE OF HUGE. PROTEST MEET Workers Voice Sacco- Vanzetti Backing By a Wurker Correspondent } BOSTON, Nov. 3.—In spite of a driving rain, a rousing demonstration } of protest against the recent decision | of Judge Thayer, was held by a large crowd of Sacco and Vanzetti support- ers, Sunday, Oct, 31, on.Boston Com- mon, Ballam Flays Decision. The meeting was called by the) Workers Party of America, Among jthe speakers were William Z. Foster, John J. Ballam, candidate for U. S. Senator on the Workers Party ticket, and V, De Nummo in Italian. Ballam called the decision a contemptible dis- play of prejudice on the part of a ige who is the tool of the em- ploying class”, He charged that the activities of the United.States Depart- ment of Justice agents would render he American government guilty of {murder if the accused men were ex- Foster Points Way. Foster pointed out that the employ- ers are always trying to crucify the leaders of the working class for their activities and that the only way to workers’ magazine, FIRST PRIZE WINNER LUMBER WORKERS TRICKED INTO ACCEPTING LOWEST WAGES AND _ FILTHY CONDITIONS IN CAMPS By HEINZ SCHROETER, Worker Correspondent. ROCK FALLS, Wis., Nov. 3.—Very little is heard about life in the north- ern lumber camps of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. The number of workers employed in the three states probably Tyns as high as 100,000, The employment bureaus of Minneapolis, St, Paul and Duluth furnish the great bulk of the lumberjacks who come from the harvest fields, road and construction camps, and general farms. ————______________ It is these employment “sharks” that give the necessary information in re- gard to wages to the employers, They know the supply of unem- ployed men and give this information to the employers, with the amount of wages that will bring enough men to work in the camps. Wages Low, it In the latter part of October the range of wages in Minneapolis; was $35. to $50 @ month for general woods work, There is no organization among =e skilled men of various d ; the demand for carpenters "was, very slow. The general trades called for rubber workers, condenser men, hard candy makers, chauffeurs, shippers and packers. The ex-service men, as @ matter of course, seemed to ‘receive the best treatment. Of 299 applicants sent out 199 secured jobs—that is, over 85 per cent. This is quite a con- trast to the 7 per cent of the “sol- diers of industry” who received jobs during the month—1,500 out of over 20,000. The employers of Massachusetts do not like to use the free public employ- ment service, We are told. They pre- fer to have the long line of employes waiting at their gates, in order that the spirit ofthe workers may be fur- ther crushed by being turned away in large numbers, Read “OIL” by Upton Sinclair WORKERS WHO PLAN TO JOIN CLASS IN WRITING SHOULD ATTEND FRIDAY This is to again remind Chicago workérs that the class in worker cor- Tespondence here opens this Friday night tm the editorial office of The DAILY WORKER, 1113 West Wash- ngton, Blvd. The meeting is very important and all who intend to join the class in news writing should be there with- out fail at 8 o’clock.. The full course will be outlined at the meeting Fri- day and suggestions will be asked for from the members of the class, so all are urged to attend in order to ex- press their ideas. Remember: Friday night, 8 o’clock, 1113 West Washington, Blyvd., third floor, Be there, ready to go to work! the lumber workers. The I. W, W. has not done anything here The fee for a job ranges from one to five dollars, according to the sup- ply of men who are in need of a job. Trick Offers In order to guarantee that certain wages can be paid, attractive offers are given by the employment bureaus. These are advanced railroad fares and fees. These are later taken out of the wages. As a security, the em- ployment bureaus take all of the ertra clothing and valuables and have them checked at the railroad station in the name of the lumber company, The baggage is not released by the com- pany until the advanced fare and fee has been paid. These force the work- er to stay several weeks before he has amy money coming to him. With much of the timber already gone, the camps are situated 15 to 20 miles from the nearest towns. Filthy Bunk Houses. Bunk houses hold as.many as 100 men. The steel beds are double-deck and wide enough for two, making four in a bed. These are placed side by side with a space of about two feet between. The same blankets are used the whole winter thru, ‘d A newcomer never knows who has previously slept in his blankets. He doesn’t know whether his bed partner is lousy or diseased, Camps become quickly lousy and sickness continuous- ly prevails. ) Bad Ventilation. One or two huge stoves furnish the heat. Considering the number of men in the bunkhouse, ventilation is far from sufficient, Men with rheumatism desire as great amount of heat as, possible, making it uncomfortable for the others: ‘Wet and damp shirts, shoes, and socks, are hung all around the stoves, making the air damp and smelly. The only recreation is card games relating ones experiences and jokes. A few daily papers comesin by mail, but these hardly ever circulate around, revolutionary musical selections by |f*ee Sacco and Vanzetti was for the the well-known Waukegan Finnish | Workers to raise the issue in all their band and the Young Workers’ League |°Sanizations and demand the free- orchestra, “To cap the climax of the |40m of these innocent men, eventful evening, there will be a two- Denounces Press, act play, which the Young Pioneers} De Nummo denounced the capitalist will present with their usual enthusi-|press for its part in attempting to asm and dramatic ability, Help DAILY WORKER. The committee in charge of the af- fair fully, realizes that a mere “com- memoration” of the revolution will not be sufficient, but that “whatever en- thusiasm can be aroused by such _| events should be utilized to the full- est advantage for the revolutionary movement. This, the committee be- lieves, can be best accomplished by making the future safe for the English Communist “press of this country. Thus the meeting will be two-fold in purpose: first, to commemorate and pay tribute to great achievements of the Russian Workers; and, second, to “Keep The DAILY WORKER,” and the Young Worker, which both are destined to play a very important role in building @ itiass revolutionary move- ment which Will ultimately lead the American workers ins their struggle against their’ exploiters, The net proceeds” of The “affair will be turned over to The DAILY WORKER and the Young Worker on an equal basis. Every wage: earner in Waukegan is urged to bs present at this most important event of the year. The program will:be both educational and entertaining, thus a good time is as- sured to all. prejudice public opinion during the trial against the defendants. The fol- lowing resolution was adopted unani- mously by the crowd, who remained at the meeting in spite of the drench- ing downpour: i! Whereas, Mr. William G. Thompson, a leading attorney of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, has submitted to the superior court of Dedham an array of imposing evidence, which has in the public mind a deep conviction as to the innocence of the two | Italian working men, Sacco and Vanzetti, and Whereas, the evidence of responsible agents of the department of Justice has |further tended to prove that Sacco and Vanzetti were the victims of a dastardly attempt to persecute them for their ac- tivities in the labor movement, and Whereas, Judge Thayer in his decision refusing to these working men a new trial, and another opoprtunity to estab- lish their innocence has not only shown an utter) contempt for the facts and authoritative ‘testimony presented by the defense, but has also demonstrated his unshakable bias and determination to ex- pedite the unwarranted i of Sacco and Vanzetti; therefor Resolved by this mas: sembled on Boston Common, of Oct. 1926, that we protest m: against the unfair and unjusffiable de- cision of Judge Thayer, and be it further Resolved, that, in behalf of the work- ers of the city of Boston, we demand of Governor Alvan T. Fuller a complete In+ vestigation of the conduct of the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the activities of the agents of the district attorney of Nor- folk county as well he Boston agents SSS | Of the department of Justice, to determine and most of them are foreign papers. The commissary sells no periodicals. Food Is Bad. The food is hardly ever satisfactory. The stuff comes mostly canned, can- ned milk, canned fruit, canned vege- tables. Oleomargarine is used instead of creamery; butter. Meat is not al- ways of the best quality. Stomach trouble is common, on account of this. The hours of actual work are from sun up to sun down. Wholesale dis- missals are common. The work is one of the most dangerous. Semi-skilled labor is mostly employed. There is a general mixture of piece work and day rates, A few days ago in this camp, the sawyer working by the day were fold to keep account of the number of logs cut. Organization work is highly favora- ble, but difficult. The isolation of the camp makes communication very poor. The composition of the lumber jacks is largely foreign, Finns, Rus- sians, Swedes, Poles, Slavs, and Ger- mans make up the majority. Every Worker Correspondent must be a subscriber to the American Worker Correspondent. Are you one? whether or not there has been a conscious effort to thwart the ends of Justi id to convict innocent men for their ac- tivities in the labor movement, and be it further . Resolved, that we-here demand of the supreme court of Massachusetts in the name of thousands of toilers of this city, who are deeply concerned in the welfare of their fellow wort Sacco and Van- zetti, a speedy dec for a new trial in order that the ac lish their innocence lease. which they Strike Call Issued to Non-Union Miners CLEARFIELD, Pa., Noy. 3.—(FP)— A strike call to all noh-union miners n the central Pennsylvania bituminous fields has been issued by the execu- tive board of Dist. 2, United Mine Workers.“ Revival of mining, with 8000 more men at work under the union scale, has created a shortage of labor. Two thousand of the men getting jobs this week are the employes of the Peabody Coal b., which operates eight mines for a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad. The Peabody men returned under the checkoff after the company gave up a futile attempt to scab its property, By Upton Sinclair (Copyright, 1926, by Upton Sinciair) 0 Bunny received a letter from Rachel. ‘Dear “Mr she always addressed him that way, alone of his c it was her way of maintaining her proletarian dignity, nates; in dealing wth a person of great social pretensions. “We are home after | picking all the prunes in California, and next we we begin on the grapes. You said you wanted to attend a meeting of the Socialist local, and there is to be an important one tomorrow evening, at the Garment-workers’ Hall. My father and brothers will be there, and would be glad to meet you.” Bunny replied by a telegram, inviting one old and four young Jewish Socialists to have dinner with him: before the meeting. He took them to an expensive restaurant—thinking to do them honor, and forgetting that they might feel une sy as to ther clothes and their table manners. Verily, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the feelings of the disinherited. Bunny found Rachel quite altered from the drab, hard-work- ing girl he had known. She belonged to that oriental type which can pick fruit in the sun for several weeks without worrying about complexions; she had sunset in her cheeks and sunrise in her spirit, and for the first time it occurred to Bunny that she was quite an interesting-looking girl. She told about their ad- ventures, whch seemed to him extraordinarily romantic. Most people, when they indulged in day-dreaming, would picture them- selves as the son and heir of a great oil-mag with millions of dollars pouring in upon them, and a sport) to drive, and steel widows and other sirens to make love to them. But Bunny’s idea of a fairy-story was to go off with a bunch of youngsters in a rattle-trap old Ford that broke down every now and then, and camp out in a tent that the wind blew away, and get a job picking fruit along side of Mexican and Japanese and Hindoos, and send home a post-office order for ten or twelve dollars every week! Papa Menzies was a stocky, powerful-looking man with curly yellow hair all over his: head and a deep chest—though he was bent over by toil. There were certain English letters could never pronounce; he would say, contemptuous y, “Dis talk about de vorld revolution.” His son, Jacob, the Socialist one, Bunny knew as a, stoop-shouldered, pale student, and found him much improved by outdoor life. The other two boys, the young “left wingers,” were talkative and egotistical, and repelled the fastidious Bunny, who had not insight enough to guess that they were meeting a young plutocrat for the first time in their lives.¢ and this was their uneasy effort to protect their working-class integrity. Nobody was going to say that they had been over- awed! In addition to this, they were hardly on speaking terms with the rest of the family, because of the bitter political dispute going on, + They went to the hall, which was crowded with people, mostly workers, all tense with éxcitement. There had been a committee appointed to deal with the policy of the “local,” and this committee brought in a report in favor of expelling the “left wingers”; also there was a minority report, in favor of ex- pelling everybody else! So then the fat was in the fire; and Bunny listened, and tried valiantly to keep from being disillu- sioned with the radical movement. They were so noisy. and Bunny had such a prejudice in favor of quiet. He wouldn’t expect working people to have perfect manners, he told him- self, nor to use perfect English; but did they need to shriek and shake their fists in the air? Couldn’t they debate ideas without calling each other “labor fakers” and “yellow skunks” and so on? . Bunny had chosen to call upon Local Angel City of the Socialist party at a critical moment of its history; and decidedly it was not putting on company manners for him! Here was Papa Menzies( clambering onto the platform, and shouting at’ his own sons that they were a bunch of jackasses, to imagine they could bring about mass revolution in America. “Vy did de revolution come in Russia? Because de whole coun- try had been ruined by de var. But it vould take ten years of var to bring de capitalist class in America t osuch a breakdown; and meanvile, vot are you young fools doing? You vant to de- liver de Sociajist party over to de police! Dey have got spies here —yes, and dose spies is de mainspring of your fool felt ving movement!” That seemed reasonable enough to Bunny. The business men of Angel City would want the radical movement to go to extremés, so that they might have an excuse to smash it; and when they wanted something to happen, they did not scruple to make it happen. But to say this to the young extremists was like waving a red flag before a herd of bulls. “What?” shouted Ikey Menzies at his own father. ‘WYou talk about the police? What are your beloved Social-Democrats doing now in Germany? They have got charge of the police, and they are shooting down Communist workers for the benefit of the capitalist class!” i (To be ‘continued.) STRIKE STRATEGY By WILLIAM Z. FOSTER * ARTICLE VI Tux Fienr Acatnsr tar Ricur Wine. The present dominant trade union leaders ideologically and organizationally constitute a definite group, a conserv- ative machine that is controlling the labor movement. They are unwilling and in¢ompetent to practice an aggres- sive and effective strike strategy, They are reactionary, corrupt, and ignorant. They refuse to fight the employers. Their conception is not to build the trade unions into fight- ing organizations, but to reduce them through the B. & O. plan and similar schemes into mere instruments to. in- crease the capitalists’ profits by the speeding up of the workers in industry. And the Socialist trade union leaders are hardly one whit better than the old line Gomperites. More and more this reactionary leadership is proving its incapacity to lead the workers’ struggle. It cannot, or- ganize the unorganized, it cannot conduct strikes success- fully. It betrays and sells out every real fight made against tle bosses. Under its control the trade\union movement loses strike after strike, its meer al its morale declines, and the workers are in retreat before the attacks of the militant employers. A real strike strategy must succeed in defeating this 4 aes. treacherous and incompetent leadership and in replacing it by a militant, fighting left leadership, This means a fight for control all along the line, during, before, and af! strikes, by the organized left wing against the organiged right wing. This fight manifests itself in a maze of forms and presents the greatest difficulties. Now to conduct it constitutes a whole section of the general left wing strike strategy. Let us, for brevity sake, confine ourselves, to that part of the fight which actually takes place strikes. - ‘ A Dancrrovs ILtusion : ¥ First, let us dispel the illusion that the left wing can- not and must not fight the right wing during strikes. There are some left wingers who, victims of this illusion, claim that “the workers cannot fight on two fronts at the same time;” that is against the employers and the right wing simultaneously. Hence, when they fight the employers they refuse to struggle against the reactionary bureaucracy, and vice versa. a8 These workers make the serious mistake of not realia- ing that the employers and the right wing constitute pretty much one front against the rebellious masses of workers! The strategy of the right wit ' | tant attacks against the canoe and the organized left wing. If there are two fronts, are two fronts of the employers’ forces. In the n trades, for example, when the left wing gets into a vi clash with the reactionary officialdom the latter never to call the employers to their support in blacklisting 4 counter efforts of the right wing. ..... tant workers. The bureaucracy in the Miners, Machinists, and many other unions use the same tactics. And by the same token, when strikes take place, the employers may always depend upon the active support of the right wing bureaucrats against the “unreasonable” demands of the masses. In- deed, it is during strikes that the right wing is most dan- gerous in its treachery and it is exactly then that it has to fight most skillfully and resolutely. The treason of Thomas and others in the British general strike demon- strates this fact. ay The left wing st always carefully and skillfully expose the machinations of the right wing in strikes, This is strikingly necessary in the present strike of the New York Cloakmakers, when the right wing hag carried out the hypocritical policy of going to the masses with revolu- tionary phrases and more radical demands than the left wing controlling the strike, while at the same time working privately to knife the strike and for a treacherous settle- ment. The “cannot fight on two fronts theory” is a danger- ous illusion which has no place in a militant strike strategy. ? Rigur Wine Strarnax break up all mili- ; reduce the strng- gle to a class collaboration bas! itegy of ‘the left wing must be to make the struggle militant in spite of the , ’ The strike sabotage of the right wingers manifests itself in various ways. First, let us consider their attitude to- wards strikes conducted by independent unions under con. + trol of the left wing. In such cases no treachery is too | extreme for them. Take the I. W. W. strike in’ Lawrence. In this historic struggle the leaders of the United Textile Workers did not hesitate to furnish strikebreakers to the employers, Or take the more recent case of the Passaic textile strike. This was one of the bitterest ever waged in the history of American labor. But the A. F. of L. leaders | openly played the employers’ game and denounced it, using | the charge of dual unionism as a blind for this attack. | They sabotaged the collection of strike relief and they at- | tempted to demoralize the strikers. In such cases the left wing’ must maneuver carefully | to kill the dual union charge by moving for affiliation with | the A. F. of L. In Passaic affiliation was actually brought about in the midst of the struggle and the A. F. of L. was | compelled to endorse openly the strike which for seven | months it had shamelessly sabotaged. But’ in carrying through such affiliation maneuvers the left wing must be | careful to maintain its ideological and organizational con- trol over the striking masses and to prevent a sell-out settle? ment by right wing, for which the left wing would be held le by the workers. This can be acconiplished by an intelligent and determined left leadership, (To be continued) .