The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 9, 1926, Page 3

} 4S e, —™ r HE DANEY WORKER THE CAPITALIST OPPOSITION VOTE NOT YET COUNTED The Socitlint Cadidates ‘Make Poor Showing By CARL HAESSLER, Federated Press, While the republican and demo- @Gratic parties are speculating nation- plly on the control of the U. S. sen- i and in their various localities are sy doling out the patronage that goes with their respective victories, headquarters of the so-called third par- ties are still without accurate informa- tion as to the showing of their candi- fates Nov, 2 except that they were almost uniformly defeated. But the number of votes attracted to each can- didate, the location of party electoral strength or the occurrence of close ~eontests with the old party nominees remains a closed book at present. Berger Re-elected. “We have no reliable data on the performance at the polls of the social- ist candidates,” it was declared at the national h¢adquarters of the socialist party in Chicago. It is known that Victor L, Berger was re-elected repre- sentative from Milwaukee north side and that he will again be the only so- cialist in congress. It is also known that the socialist candidates for U. S. senator from Wisconsin and for gov- e@rnor made unexpectedly poor show- ings. No figures were available on inois sgcialist candifates. Secre- tary William Henry was too busy to talk over the situation. Purity Candidate Ignored. “The progressive candidates in Illi- mois drew so few votes that no at- tempt has been made to tabulate them,” was the statement at progress- ive party headquarters in Chicago. Parley Parker Christensen was the candidate for U. S, senator, running on a purity platform against Frank Smith, republican, and George Bren- nan, democrat, both of whom financed the greater part of their campaign thru the benevolences of Sam Insull, the public utility king. “No returns will be available on our fandidates for several days,” says Sec- setary C. BD. Ruthenberg of the Work- ‘rs’ Party, which also maintains na- tional headquarters in Chicago. “But we have heard of no victories for our ket.” J. Louis Engdahl, Workers’ candidate for U.S. senator from Filinois, ds reported to have been cred- #ted with 300 votes in Chicago by the old party election officials, Headquarters Abandoned. Farmer-labor national headquarters have been abandoned and Minnesota is the only state where the party func- , tions effectively on a state-wide basis. ‘Where unofficial returns indicate the defeat of Wefald, a farmer-labor con- Bressman, and possibly of Carss, an- other. The candidates for state office von its ticket, led by Magnus Johnson ‘for governor, were defeated by the republican slate. Control Evenly Divided. Control of the U. S. senate will be 60 evenly divided between the demo- crats, who seem to have 47 senators, and the republicans, who will have 48 by counting in all the insurgents, that the balance of power will rest with Senator Shipstead, farmer-labor from Minnesota, and the so-called LaFol- -lette bloc. In the new senate this bloc is expected to consist of LaFol- lette and Blaine from Wisconsin, Brookhart from Iowa, Nye from North Dakota and occasionally Norris from Nebraska. Among the more or less . Progressive democrats elected to the senate Nov. 2 are classed Barkley of Kentucky, Walsh of Massachusetts and Hayden of Arizona, The balance of power in progress- ive hands gives the advocates of a national labor party encouragement in their plans to detach the progressive democrats and republicans from their old party ties to join with the labor elements that are ready for a new political alignment. pay WORKER Vill Appear in December, STRIKE STRATEGY By WILLIAM Z. ARTICLE IX Tun Question or Demanps Organization campaigns and strikes must center around basic demands of the workers. Only the more advanced elements of the workers fully appreciate the value of organ- ization as such. As for the great unorganized mass, they “Thousands of British miners are receiving help collected from the world’s workers by the Workers International Relief of which the International Workers’ Send your contribution to the |, W. A., 1553 W. Aid in the American Section. Madison St., Chicago. The Role of the British Miners By JACK BRADON ARTICLH III. The reason for the collapse of tha general strike are quite well known, and so will not occupy any space here. It is the desperate struggle of these staunch-hearted miners, who are facing the consolidated attack or British capital and its government, that must claim our attention ana immediate aid. Let it be understood thet thus far we, here in America, have fallen down on the job of aia- ing the miners most miserably. Very little, next to nothing, has been done by us to aid the miners in their fight, which in fact is our fight. Surely it is not difficult to understand that if the British miners are defeat- ed, the entire British working clas» will be defeated, which in turn will mean reduced wages and longer hours for them. And it will not be long before the forces of competition, influenced by cheapened British labor, will force down our wages here in America, To help the minerg is in- deed to help ourselves, At this writing a report comes that a sum of $6,360,000 has been received by the miners since the beginning of the strike, and that $4,360,000 of this amount was contributed by the Rus: sian workers, The American Federa- tion of Labor 4s listed as having con- tributed thus far only $46,536. The magnitude of the miners’ strug gle, the disastrous potentialities io the working class, in the event of a miners’, defeat, demands. that we’ at least do as well as the Russian work: ers, who as yet are much poorer than we are, Since the beginning of the strike, only about $8.75 was received by the average miner and his family for re- lief. It'does not take much specula- tion to know that this sum stretched over a period of seven months did not go very far. Terrible privation of the miners, their women and children has characterized this strike from the very beginning. For many months before this strike, the miners worked on a short time basis. Their earn- ings were insufficient to provide even the most pressing necessities of life. The saving of funds for a strike event- ually was out of the question, The union fund, not only of the miners, but the other trades, were drained as @ result of chronic unemployment. During the general strike the treas- uraries of tHose unions were com- pletely depleted; and so, when the miners were left on strike alone, they had no funds in their pockets nor in their union treasury. The other trade union treasuries in Britain were not in THOMAS CALLS ON a position to render quick and sub- stantial financial assistance. This meant suffering for the miners and their families from the very outset of the strike. Tho this heart-gripping adversity of the miners has lasted seven long months, they have not flinchgd—they have carried on the battle in a manner that has won the applause and admiration of the intel- ligent worker the world over, The in- dications are, as shown by the recent Plan to withdraw the safety men from the mines, that the miners mean to carry o nthe struggle until the arrog- ancy of their exploiters has been bro- ken. But to do this, they must be fed, and the workers of America must not shirk their responsibility, British capitalism has set out to re- build its empire, upon increased ex- ploitation of its workers, by attack- ing their trade unions and standard of living. We already see even in the midst of the battle irreconcilable breaches, based upon contradictory in- terests of the various groups of the bourgeoisie, are occurring, threaten- ing their unified front against the work- ers. Britain cannot hold out against the miners much longer. Already her| exports have fallen alarmingly and its imports have risen to a staggering height. It is true that among its im- ports a great tonnage of coal can be counted, which is aimed to break the strike, but the coal is poor and costly. It cannot be used extensively and Profitably by British industry. As a result of the miners’ struke, industry is closing down, foreign trade is being undermined, markets are being perm- anently lost, and instead of rebuilding itself thru the attack upon the min- ers, British capitalism is actually has- tening its own doom. A mighty effort must be made by the American workers to rush help to the British miners. We must, make it possible for them to’ fight on to vic- tory. Let us follow the example of the(Russian workers. Many Tractors for Russia Bought Here MOSCOW, Nov. 7. — The Gostrog (State Trade Administration) has fin- ished its task of purchasing agri- cultural machines abroad for the U. 8. S. R, in 1925-26 operative year. More than half of the machines were bought in America, Tractors have been pur- chased for the sum of over eight mil- lion rubles. The conditions of credit abroad were quite acceptable and sat- } RAISE LEVEL OF WAGES’ PAID TO SOVIET WORKERS Backward Industries to Be Projected MOSCOW, Nov, 7.—The People’s Commisariat for Labor has submitted to the government a project of nor- malization of workers’ wages, Accord- ingly, the Council of People’s Commis- saries has decided to increase the sal- aries in miming, metallic, chemical and other industries, especially for back- ward categorle# of workmen, whose wages were beliind the general level of prices, «7 In connectfoh with this People’s Commissary ‘of Labor, Mr. Schmidt said to a Tas8 éorrespondent: “The decision of the government has a great importance, especially if one takes into ecOnsideration that wages were, in fact, increasing all the time. The average level of salaries in all industries inéreased, beginning from 1922, by 67 per cent. However, quali- fied workmen received much more than unskilled laborers, owing to the system of piece payment. Until now it was impossible to improve it, ‘CURRENT EVENTS By T. J. O'Flaherty. (Continued from page 1) on any mentioned for the office so-far, It is no other than the desert pack rat. Brisbane is looking over real estate in the Mojave Desert of Cali- fornia, and got to like the ways of this 100 per cent American rodent. What endeared the rat to Arthur was the little animal’s addiction to pre- paredness, Rattlesnakes, ground owls and gophers are mortal enemies of the pack rat, so he protects his hole with thorns, (Too bad Arthur does not gage the hole in his head with a ball of glue.) : eee 3 eae gives Arthur an idea. So he develops it'thusly: “So the desert rat prepares and does his little best, with thorns and cactus. If he were presidemt of| the United States he would build flying machines, and make this nation independent of the flying rattlesnakes of Hurope and Asia.” It requires quite a lively imagination, tho, to picture-a president whose fa- vorite abode is a hole in the ground going up in the air immediately after his election. But we have known presidents change their opinions after they the white house, igs Brisbane nominates his pack rat I suggest that a committee of re- sponsible citizens interview a healthy polecat with a view to getting him to throw his tail into the ring. The polecat could represent the republican party and the pack rat the democratic party. Indeed, the election of the pole- cat would make a fleet of airplanes superfilugus. We could organize an army of polecats and have them use the radio against a foreign foe. Loyal Americans could be forewarned to have their gas masks handy and the full force of the polecat attack could be used to repulse the enemy: This idea is hereby released without any rights reserved. Our militarists should take note of it, But, thén, perhaps they don’t care for competition! see ON’T over-eat or over-exercise ad- vises Dr, Carl Meyer of the Cook County Hospital. On the other hand, says. In other words, a person should says. In other wrods, a person should simply eat and exercise when he feels like it, You never can tell. A friend of mine who used to look like a grave- BALDWIN TO TALK MINE STRIKE SETTLEMENT (Special to The Daily Worker) « LONDON, No, by J. H, Thomas called upon the the question of the mine strike. sults of the conversation. 7.—A delegation from the Trade Union Congress headed government at_ Downing Street to discuss No statement was made regarding the re- A rumor current in Whitehall has it that Thomas and the right wing leaders of the T. U. C.,are working towards a settlement and to accomplish this are bringing pressure to bear on the officials of the British Miners’ Federation, FOSTER are interested in unions primarily for what they ean get out of them immediately in the shape of real gains from the employers. They want to strike immediately they organize. Conservative labor organizations fail to accept this fact. There is too much fight involved in it to suit them. Hence their organizing ‘abstract and lifeless because they overstress mere organ- ization and understress the thing that labor organization is built for, the fight to defend the workers’ interests. To quote from my pamphlet, “Organize thé Unorganized :” : ‘The future trade uniong of the great unorganized - industries will be born in the _. against the employers over the demands of the workers, ‘The organization campaign which does not voice the demands of the workers and envisage an early struggle . is campaigns are mostly heat of the struggle Progra: Reariasce Dumanps The workers have a sense of realism which must always be taken into consideration. the necessity for the eventual complete expropriation of the capitalists, and although they will accept this idea readily, it is no sign of good leadership to put forth as immediate demands propositions outside of the realms of possible achievement under existing conditions. The workers will give no serious support to a group, whether it be in control of the union or a minority fighting for control, which makes its appealyfor their backing on the basis of immediate de- are manifestly unrealizable under the given that tions. While they ms of demands for organization campaigns ‘and strikes must be concise, expressed in simple, understand- able slogans, and must touch the burning grievances and’ necessities of the workers’ life in the industries. There is enormous organizational and inspirational. power, for ex- ample, in such graphic and Vital slogans as the 8-hour day and the 5-day week. As stated above in our discussion of the general strike, the workers, especially the backward American: working class, will not fight militantly for far- fetched demands that they do not understand or do, not consider practical. ‘ter of the workers’ demands is determined by yard deserter now has the appearance of a well-to-do janitor. He was re- cently caught drinking a bottle of milk by a lady who is not enamored of dieticians. She felicitated him on his glowing. health, He replied: “No wonder, I am on a milk diet.” Not in the slightest degree daunted, she came back: “Oh, well, I do not think that a fat, red face is always a sign of health.” So what can you do about it except. eat, drink (milk) and be merry? unions. must be taught character. eet of the employ. Russian Grain Much Improved Since Czar Regime Is Overthrown MOSCOW, Nov. 7.—Representatives of a German firm in Odessa, who are controlling grain exported from the | U. S. S. R., declared that the quality | of the grain has been greatly improv- | ed during the last few years in com- parison with what it was before the war, because the peasants now obtain | better sorts of seeds, Lately there was not a single case | of grain being rejected on accopnt of bad quality, Farm Price Level Has _ | Another Sinking Spell WASHINGTON—(FP) — American farmers are falling lower in the eco- nomic scale month by month, accord- ing to the latest figures issued by the Department of Agriculture. The gen- eral level of farm prices dropped from 134 per cent of pre-war level on Sept. 15 to only 130 per cent on Oct. 15. The level this October was 13 points lower than on Oct. 15 a year ago. “Cotton is now at about the same relative position when compared with pre-war prices as corn, oats and bar- ley during the past year and apples this fall”, says the report, Farm products this year buy only 83 per cent (in September) as much as in the years 1909-14, averaged. Bergdoll Case Again. | WASHINGTON, Nov. 7.—The Dis- | trict of Columbia supreme court for the sixth time today continued. until | the January term of court the suit of | Grover C, Bergdoll, draft dodger, for recovery of $1,000,000 worth of prop- erty from the alien property custodian, IXTEEN million people toured the United States in private cars during the summer of 1926. They used more than three million automobiles, They were classed as tourists, home seek- ers or investors. The machines just went rolling along carrying passengers from somewhere to nowhere. Some returned to their homes, Others found temporary employment. Many are roaming in strange lands. Where the money came from to finance the summer vacation for approximately one-seventh of the people of this na- tion is an open question. Some fami- lies used the savings of years to pay expenses. Others borrowed funds from interest collecting moneychang- ers. Many just fitted up for the occa- sion, with the least cash possible, and lived off the country. They saw the farmers of the west and were disap- |marks of poverty. pointed. Other caravans of mixed ve- hicles lined the highways of the north- west. It was the procession of the homeless farmers on the way to re- puted cities of refuge. Farming Fails, The farms ceased to pay interest on investments, taxation for cost of gov- ernment and the demands of local merchants and transportation agen- cies. The families were loaded into ancient wagons, dilapidated trucks or carts and taken on a pilgrimage for life’s necessities. The highway trav- elers found that the stories about the western farmers rolling in wealth were mythical. They had their eyes opened to the false propaganda carried on by capitalistic politicians. They saw the They counted the abandoned farms. They read the faces of dying wonrén, observed the tottering steps of starving children, They asked questions and learned why those conditions prevail, ers, the strength of the workers’ organization, the mood of the workers, the degree of their ideological development, etc. In time of industrial activity the workers ordinarily go into a more or less general offensive, demanding more wages, shorter hours, better working conditions, and the right of organization. But in slack periods they suaully have to face an employers’ offensive, and their chief fight is to preserve existing standards: to defeat wage cuts, to pre- vent lengthening the working day, and to maintain their Under present conditions in the United States, with the final capitalist crisis still far off, the workers make their hardest fights when they “are defending standards that are already in existence. The most desperate strikes ‘in American labor history have been against sweeping wage cuts and other attacks upon the workers’ standards. Strikes for higher standards are ordinarily much less militant in Demanps Upon tHe Burgavcracy In organizing campaigns and strikes the workers shquld make demands not only upon the employers but also upon’ the reactionary bureaucrats where these,control the unions. This is a very important consideration for the Strike stra- tegist to bear in mind. When unions are about to plunge into a great struggle or are already in the midst of it, their weaknesses apparent and demafidwfor the strengthen- aniaation by amalgatiition, by waking in 7 ad Political Program rhe 4, Relief from the evils of t moftenge and tenantry evil thru he adoption of a land ‘tenure system which will secure the land to users. 2. ‘The nationalization of the rail roads, the meat packing plants, grate elevator combines and the control and management of these marketing ore ganizations by the organizations of working farmers in co-operation. wi > ations of city industrial the organizations of city | indusitse workers who are emp! industries. 3. ‘The gontrol and operagion of the farm, credit system by thiormanizas tions¥of working farmers, in place o! thru capitalist banking Institutiors which now use this, the farm credit system, for their enrichment. 4. Relief for the farmers from the excessive burden of taxation thru levying higher income taxes, and in- heritance taxes on the swollen for- tunes of great capitalist exploiters and higher taxes on the profits of the railroads and great industrial com~ bines. a ae 5. Against the expenditures fo big army and navy, which serve no other purpose than to support the im- perialist. adventures of the great financial houses of Wall Street in other countries. 6. Fight against Wall Street - ol- lar Diplomacy” and expenditure of the wealth produced ‘by the farmers and industrial wokers to support the eapitalist exploiters in their effort to make profits out of the people of Cubs, the South American countries, China and the Philippines. Freedom for the Philippines. Self-determina- tion for Porto Rico, Hawail. With- drawal of all American soldiers and marines from the Central and South American couniries. No intervention in China, 7. Against the Dawes plan, thru which the American banking houses are securing control of European in- | dustries and paving the way for a new war. 8. Close co-operation with the farmers of other countries and partic- ularly the farmers of Russia, who are so important a factor in the world market. The recognition and estab- lishment of economic relations with the first workers’ and farmers’ gov- ernment—the Union of Socialist Sov- t Republics. +O. Phe alliance of the working farmers and city industrial workers to establish a workers’ and farmers’ gov- ernment of the United States. Only a united struggle of all working farm- ers, together with the city industrial workers, in support of this program will win relief for the farmers from the conditions under which they now suffer. Farmers and their families were running away from their homes, They gathered together a few personal be- longings and set out for the cities were they expected to find.work. They had to get employment in order to keep away the reaper of death, If the father and mother could not make enough money to meet the daily obligations the children would have to be called and put in the harness of slavery. Nature has not deserted the farmers. The soil remains fertile. The sun continues to shine. The rains come fairly well in seasons. This old earth is not a failure. The grass grows green. There are some fruits that mature and are plentiful. The fields yield fairly good crops of corn and wheat, and potatoes in abundance. The gardens produce splendid crops of vegetables. The lawns and walks are still ornamented with flowers. What is the matter? Middle Men Thrive, Man is the power that drives the farmers from their homes. He is not one of the farmers. «He is one of the many engaged in the work of farm- ing the farmers, He lives and thrives on the profits made by handling the products of the farm. He may be a local merchant, general buyer, money lender, transportation agent or pro- fessional man. He may be a town builder or a city booster. He pros- pers because the farmers produce things on which he collects profits. The western farmers are face to face with real conditions. They are not dealing with theories. They have long ago cast aside the old proverbs about farming. They know that the long worn tales about the law of supply and demand are mere fables. They are not repeating the warning story about the rolling stone that catches no moss to their children, They know unions, fest. ment for amalgamation ment. upon the big campaign + Canadian Farmer Pool Sells 190,000,000 Bu. WINNIPEG—(FP)—Canadian wheat pool farmers have closed another ban- ner season during which the Central Selling agency disposed of 190,000,000 bushels of wheat. The last dividend on the 1925 crop, which has just been paid, totaled $8,500,000 or 2%c per bushel, Wheat pool members thus received, for the 1925 crop, an initial payment of $1, two additional payments of 20c each per bushel and the final payment, making a total for No. 1 wheat of $1.42% per bushel. This is consid- ered by the farmers an excellent re- turn as the 1925 crop was a large one During the years of their exist ence the wheat pools have handled: 1923 crop, 34,000,000 bushels (the Al- berta pool alone); 1924 crop, 81,500,- 000 bushels (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), and 190,000,00 bush- els of the 1925 crop for the three prov- inces, or more than double the quan- tity handled in the previous year. Membership in the pools hag increased from 79,200 in July 1924 to 127,200 members in July 1926, Last year the pools inaugurated the Policy of securing elevators by the }simple process of deducting 2e per bushel on all grain handled for eleva- tor purposes. This elevator fund has been used to secure 30 local elevaters in Manitoba, 33 elevators in Alberta and 575 in Saskatchewan, or a total of 638 for the three pools. These eleva- tors, like the other property of the p cls, is paid for in cash; hence there are no bonds or mortgages. In addition to the local elevators, the pools have termi levator facili- ties for handling 20,020,000 bushels of wheat-at a time. With the small en- largement of these terminal facilities and a quick turnover the pools will be able to handle their entire product. The Farmer Is On His Way that the farms do'not pay for the rea- son that the non-producers take too much toll. Farmers are rolling away from the cutches of the enemy. They cannot stand against the increasing tide of sight-drafts on their incomes. United States in private cars during They are tired of working 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for those who toil not neither do they spin, but depend on the farmers for the necessities and luxuries of life. The present movement of farmers from the land to the cities is merely a beginning. Future Dark, What of the future of agriciMture in the United States? It is full of shad- ows. There are dark spots on the sun of prosperity and visible wrinkles on the face of the moon of progress. The fanmers cannot exjst on the proceeds of the land with everyone attaching a profit to that which he does not pro- duce, And so will it remain until we | produce for use instead of profit. Dr. | Sherwood Eddy, international secre- tary of the Young Men’s Christian As- sociation, who spoke before the Amer- ican Federation of Labor convention |in Detroit on October 8, said: “Russia is the only country on earth where man no more exploits man, I have traveled thru England, France, Ger- many, Italy and Russia with a fact finding: commission consisting of edi- tors, social workers, lawyers, doctors and business men, and I ask, why don’t you go to Russia arfd find out for your- selves?”—Great Falls Labor Topics. Find Rare Peafl. MOSCOW, Noy, 7.—-On the lakes and rivers of the Karelia and Mur- mansk region there has been discoy- ered a raré kind of blue pearl, which is very highly appraised on the for- eign mark . the unskilled, by democratizatioy, or by the elimination of corruption, are especially forceful. For example, just on the eve of the great national strike of the railroad shop mechanics in 1922, L. raised the demand for amalgamation of all 16 railroad The need for such a consolidation of forces in the face of the bitter attack from the companies was mani- The rank and file understood it at once, the T. U. E, The senti- swept the ranks of the railroad workers like a prairie fire and it also became a great living issue in the whole labor movement. control of the unions by the bureaucrats defeated the move- Only the autocratic Another example, when the 24 unions were embarking to organize the steel workers in 1918, it was easy to get them to join hands in a gigantic fed- erajion and to adopt many measures undoubtedly leading in the direction of an industrial union of metal workers. In such cases the demand for the strengthenmg of the unions is linked up so closely with the actual struggle that if becomes very powerful. needle trades, for example, should be utilized to bring about the amalgamation of those unions. Tn times of great struggle the real strike strategist will not fail to press home demands upon the bureancrate for the Wilding of the unions into real fighting, bodies, ’ , (To be continued) — sg The present struggles in the @ —— eS =