The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 27, 1926, Page 5

THE DAILY WORKER THIRD PRIZE WINNER. PITTSBURGH CO. EVICTS WORKERS OUT OF HOUSE Will Reopen Mine With Imported Scabs By a Worker Correspondent. BROWNSVILLE, Pa., Nov, 24.—It is widely known that the Crescent mine property of the reputable Pitts- burgh Coal company in western Pennsylvania will resume work on a mon-union basis. This mine hag been fdle for 18 months. . Order Families Out, Superintendent Harkers has ordered all families out of the company-owned houses on Red Hill, There are 30 families living in these houses. He has given them 10 days’ notice to move. The reason for the order is that the Pittsburgh company will use the huts to house imported scabs and gunmen, Police Picket Mine, A picket of a dozen coal-iron police is already on duty at the Crescent jmine, and has already carried on the instructions of the Pittsburgh com- pany to terrorize the residents of Red Hill by patrolling the roads leading to the mine, Tt is very likely ‘that the United Mine Workers *of America will take steps to fight the evicion of the min- ers and their families. DON'T FORGET GLASS IN WORKER CORRESPONDENCE FRIDAY NIGHT AT 6:30 Don’t forget to attend the class In worker corresporidence tonight at 6:30 o'clock, editérial rooms of The DAILY WORKER, 1113 West Wash- ington Blvd. All workers who have not yet registered for the class are urged to do so tonight. Students who register now will get the benefit of the re- maining classes of this semester, as well as be prepared to take up the advanced work of the second semester. Don’t forget the time, 6:30 o'clock. The class meets at this time to en- able workers who have cther meet- ings to attend them after 8:30. “The pen is mightier than the sword,” provided you know how to use ft. Come down and learn how in the worker correcpondent’s classes, Step Over We Need Help! The campaign for funds for The DAILY WORKER —shortage of help in the office—makes us cry for help., Step over and volun- teer your services if you can spare a few moments during the day, Any time from nine to five-thirty you’re welcome! Step over to 1113 West Washington ‘Blvd, Call Monroe 4712 if you want to talk it over! THIS WEEK'S PRILE WINNERS! A worker in the Eastman Kodak company factory at Rochester, N. Y., is awarded the first prize this week for his story describing the effects on the workers of the speed-up system In that plant. He will receive a copy of “Romance of New Rusgia” by Magdeléine Marx, cloth bound edition, ‘The second prize for this week, “Bars and Shadows” by Ralph Chaplin is awarded to George E. Powers, who has admirably “covered” the present strike of the Paper Box Makers’ Union in New York. Powers’ prize-winning story appeared in an earlier i The third prize goes to a coal miner in Brownsville, Pa., who gives the news of the activity of the Pittsburgh Coal company against the unionists. He receives a copy of “Government—Strikebreaker” by Jay Lovestone. WHO WILL BE PRIZE-WINNERS NEXT WEEK? correspondents, no one else does! ing of writing. You know, worker Send in that story you have been think- Write it tomy and send it in! (FIRST PRIZE WINNER) SPEED-UP SYSTEM IN KODAK PLANT MEANS DEATH AND INJURY, COMPANY FORCES WORKERS TO BE CARELESS By a Worker Correspondent. ROCHESTER, N. Y., Nov. 24, — In a previous articlé on working ¢ondi- tions in the plants of the Eastman Kodak Co. assertion was made that the institution of the Dedaux point system was in-a large part’ respon- sible for the tremendous increase in the number of accidents in which workers were injured, crippled and killed. That this is so in spite of the continuous accident prevention cam- paigns which are carried on by the company and the installation of the best in the line of safety appliances by them is proved by concrete evi-. dence, Forced Carelessness, While on the one hand the workers are urged to exercise care at all times:in their work the very..nature of the speed up system under which they are compelled to work forbids their being careful, Their weekly base wage is sufficiently low to induce them to work carelessly under the most hazardous conditions in order to make some extra money in- the shape of a bonus, Cut Down Times, The yard department, for example, of the plant at which I work, in which department the work is heavy and hazardous, requires of its employes that they do. the jobs in half and even less than half the time that it formerly took them, For instance formerly five men were expected to load a freight car load of paper which weights up to seven hundred pounds. per bale, within three hours. Since the inauguration of the bonus system, a twin brother to the Bedaux system, four men are expected to do the same ‘jamount of work in one and one halt hours, If they do it in less time than this they are.rewarded (or should I say insulted) with a miserably small bonus, If they don’t do it within the allotted time, well... “We're terribly sorry, but we can’t use you any lon- ger.” On other jobs done by this‘de- partment the time has been reduced proportionately. “ Crushed by Beams. Thus, some time ago, one of the workers of this department, while leading some 12 inch I-beams about 15 feet in length upon an auto truck, being in a great hurry, failed to fasten the beams securely with the result that when the truck started to move the beams tipped over, pinning him beneath the load and crushing the bones in both legs, He is now a watchman on one of the company’s railroad crossings, being unfit for any other kind of labor. Another worker, employed in the cotton nitrating department also as a result of the hurry up system caught Sacco and Vanzetti Must Not Die! They must have a NEW and FAIR trial, Life and Freedom. _ If enough people DEMAND that they live, they WILL Live. Their lives and freedom, in a sense, means OUR lives and freedom. Therefore, Chicago workers, come to the Protest Mass Meeting ASHLAND AUDITORIUM ' Van Buren and Ashland FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 8 P. M. Nationally known speakers will expose the frame-up and the “Ghastly Miscarriage of Justice.” John Fitzpatrick Rev. Clayton Morrison Anton Johannsen, chairman How great a aria of our it DEMAND Daily Work for your them to be jt to you. Come in Tens of Thousands. re EBRFUL ‘ONE? Friday evening, No Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Vinoenzo Vacirca 3 Other Noted Speakers. rs will yf to the meeting and A very large percentage, 26, for Sacco a District Orie 14; ate + unio: saninaen Bivd. if nization or you to send in for tickets an Come Early. Auspices: Sacco-Vanzetti Conference of Chicago. his hdnd in one of the wringers with the result that his hand is about 75% useless now. Three Workers Killed. Recently, three workers were killed within six weeks of one another, One of them, a youth about 18, who had contemplated leaving the employ of the company about two or three days later, was killed while dismantling rigging which had been used to hoist some materials, It seems that he too was in a great hufry, so much so that he failed to provide himself with a firm footing with the result that the wetght‘of the ¢hain hoist, which he was unhooking overbalanced him, causing him ¢o fall some twenty feet to instant death. The other two work- ers lost their liv@és in building con- struction work. Lose Fingers. .Any number of cases could be cited where, owing to the Bedaux system, workers become impatient with the slow motion of the punch press or cut- ting machine upon which they happen to work, try to rush it along with the Tesult that they lose from one to four fingers. Only within the past two weeks @ girl had the best part of three fingers cut off. Adding insult to injury, the com- pany, in it’s monthly accident reports, which are posted thruout the plant, places the responsibility for 90 per cent or more of these accidents upon the injured workers, The writer sincerely hopes td see the day, before he too gets killed, when the workers of the Kodak plants become organized into a union where- by they will be enabled to demand a decent living wage without the ne- cessity of risking the losg of life or limb in the acquisition of it, rage five §, P, TAKES UP RELIGION WHEN LEADER PASSES So It Seems at Meeting in Los Angeles By L. P. RINDAL, (Worker Correspondent) LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24.—Friday evening, Nov. 12, the International Labor Defense held a successful Debs memoria] meeting at Music-Art “Hall, This event, at which 400 workers were Present, Was @ noteworthy one. Coni- rades “Mother” Bloor and Fisher’ both able, forceful speakers, described won- Debs is not teally dead, hig spirit in behalf of the working class will live forever, it was pointed out, S. P. Strong on Religion. The socialist party Debs memorial at Trinity Auditorium Noy, 14 was a religious affair, The godly expres- sions connected with it all undoubt- edly caused Bugene to turn in his grave. Wright, socialist party ex-can- didate for congress, was chairman. His speech, read from a book, dealt with leaders—from Abraham to Jeru- salem Slim. The Nazarene also fig- ured prominently in a recitation given by a female soloist angel. Back to Earth. Rey. Clinton J, Taft, director of A. C. L, U., also spoke. Altho not a radical of any sort, he seemed to have more fighting spirit in him than the socialists themselves. Upton Sinclair, author of “Profits of Religion,” etc., did not seem to like the holy atmosphere in the audito- rium ey much. He cut his speech short. ‘“Log Angeles is like Russia,” he began, “the way it was during the regime of the czar,” he continued. At this point he stopped and looked around, S. P. Suppress Literature Sale. When Sinclair regained his breath he spoke for.the press and against the proposed Debs monument — “the stone,” as he termed it. “Increase the power of the press,” he shouted. The. socialists themselves had no lit- erature for sale, and they stopped everybody else from selling closer than 100 feet from the building. In other words, they tried to drive the Communists, I. W. W., anarchists, etc,, into the clutches of the police. The Jewish Daily Forward likes that kind ef “freedom of the press,” but the author of the “Brass Check” does not. Collection Short. The chairman, Wright, interfered with Sinclair's collection speech, Re- sult, $200 shor of expenses. Sinclair, seemingly disgusted, left the speakers’ stand, At this point Rev, Taft took charge of a second collection. Being a preacher, hé ought to know how. How deep the “dear people” went into their pockets the second time is not known. It is reasonable to believe, however, that the socialists are forced to follow Sinelair’s advice: “Let the stone wait...” Russian Tractor Fund Enriched. On the same evening as the Debs memorial took’ place the “Icor” held its meeting, as°scheduled previous to the break with the socialist party. The collection for tractors to be sent to a Jewish colony in Soviet Russia Was $343, derfully well the importance of Debs | as a leader in the ranks of labor. | WHERE YOU GAN GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE GREAT FILM ‘BREAKING CHAINS’ Tickets for the moving picture “Breaking Chains,” to be shown here on December 3 at Douglass Park Auditorium can be obtained at the following places, It Is an- nounced by the International Work- ers Aid. 1806 South Racine avenue. 3209 W. Roosevelt road, 2409 North Halsted street. 2733 Hirsch boulevard $116 South Halsted street, 19 South Lincoln. street, 1902 W, Division street. 3451 Michigan avenue, 1532 W. Chicago avefue. North Side Book Store. Joliet Pen Guard Tells How Warden Was Made By Upton Sinclair Copyrigat, 19%, py Upwm sincuuss The next afternoon, coming out from his classes, Bunny saw on a news-stand the familiar green color of the vening Boost- er,” and his eye was caught—as it was meant to be caught—by flaring headlines: POLICE So ‘Bunny purchas do—and read how that morning RAID RED CENTER to Hand Over the Keys JOLIET, Ill., Nov, 24.—How six con- victs now on trial for the murder of Deputy Warden Peter M. Klein forced him to hand over the keys to solitary confinement cells was told in court by Jacob Judnich, a guard at the Illi- nois state prison, “Sam Oden, a trusty, and I were in the solitary row outside Klein’s of- fice,” Judnich told the court, “when we heard a noise and went to investi- gate. We saw Klein lying on the floor, blood streaming down his face, and several of the convicts in the room. “Sam Price ordered me to give him the keys. When I refused he struck me with an iron bar, while another prisoner stabbed Oden. I managed to stagger out of the office and locked myself in the solitary row.” The witness then told how Klein was dragged from his office and shaken until he semi-consciously nodded to him as a sign that it was all right to hand over the keys, Hall-Mills Witness Is Offered Bribe for “Keeping Mouth Shut” SOMERVILLH, N, J., Nov. 24.—Mrs, Marie Demarest testified on the wit- ness stand in the Hall-Mills murder case that shortly after the murder of Rev. Dr. W. Hall and Eleanor Mills Detective Felix Dimartini came to her house and offered $2,500 if she would “keep her mouth shut.” Di Martini is the private detective who was employed by Mrs. Frances Stevens Hall, one of thé defendants, shortly after the murder, The offer wés made to Mrs; Dema- rest, she said, if she would forget about séeing Henry Stevens and Ralph Gorsline and Minna Clark. As Mrs. Demarest spoke of being offered $2,500 by Felix-De Martini to “keep her mouth shut,” Mrs, Hall's right hand clenched and unclenched nervously, Her face, however, re- mained expressionless. Henry Stev- ens squirmed in his seat. Willie twiddled his mustache nervously. Lay Special $2 Assessment on Miners. | INDIANAPOLIS, Noy. 24. — Every dues-paying member of- the United Mine Workers of America will pay an extra $1 assessment for December and another for January, by decision of the international executive board. INMATES IN SOVIET PRISONS DO NOT LOSE IDENTITY AS MEN; AN AMERICAN COMRADE TELLS OF LIFE By JACK HARDY, Member of District 2, Workers Party of America, Section 5 E, Shop Nucleus 2, MOSCOW, Nov, 6 (By Mail).— While in Russia it was my desire to observe at first hand the workings of the Russian prison system, which has been described in such terrible terms by American capitalists, liberals and anarchists. Comrade Anna Richman, another America, and myself, there- ‘ore, went to ope of the largest of the prisons in the vicinity of Moscow. The “Isolator” prison, which we vis- ited, is known to be one of the sever- est institutions in central Russia. To it are sent only those convicted of murder, armed robbery or other se- vere crimes, There are also confined in it a few counter-revolutionists whose actions were of a particularly vicious nature, The exterior of this institution was not beautiful to behold. Russia is still poor and cannot devote her scant resources upon the decoration of ex- teriors. ‘The inside, however, pre- sented a different picture entirely. Learn Trades, * The institution contains 360 in- mates, All who so desire may learn a trade, No compulsion is used in the '|matter of work, but all, save the old and feeble, choose to be gainfully em- ployed, The bulk of them work in either the textile factory attached to the prison, the clothing shop where the textiles are made into ents, and a few work in the small prison machine shop. All who work receive wages ranging from 20 to 75 rubles per month, the average wage being between 55 and 60 rubles. One-third of this wage is given to the pris- oner; the other two-thirds go to his family. Those having no families re- celve the balance when their terms expire. Many of these men were never before’ gainfully employed. Many of,them told us that they were glad to be thus confined and to learn a useful occupation for the first time in their lives. Several of the instruc- torg who taught them their trades had been confined in the prison and, hav- ing become attached to the institu- tion, expressed a desire to remain as employes of the institution. The di- rector told ws that they were among his best men, , Have Freedom. At work the prisoners are allowed to talk, smoke and leave their places without asking permission. Within the grounds ofthe institution they are allowed to: go about at will and without any guards, T¥eir work is on a piecework basis and they might leave at will. In such operations as require the cooperation of several men other arrangements are made, We were allowed to visit any por- tion of the buildings that we chose, as the director was anxious not to give us the impression that we wer being led about by him. Comrade man speaks Russian and we were able to talk with any of the prisoners that we wished, We did not encounter one ex- pression of resentment among the fifteen or twenty with whom we con- versed. Good Meals. We visited the kitchen, where din- ner was being prepared. They asked us ff we would like. to sample their prison fare, and @s we answered in the afi tive they gave us a sample of a prison df{nner. It consisted of first: rate cabbage soup and good meat and vegetables. Solitary confinement and binding have been abolished in the Soviet Union, The director showed uy the dungeon where men had been con- fined in solitary confinement during the regime of the czor, where medicine’is prepared for those in the prison who become sick, ‘There were o' “caaapeted tow tures of the institution with which we were greatly impressed. The out- standing of these were a prison thea- ter (in the former prison church) un- der the direction of a special cultural director who devotes full time to cul- tural work; an ofchestra of 26 pieces, all prisoners; a prison library of 2,500 volumes, which the inmate may take to their rooms; a wall newspaper, written entirely by those confined in the institution. The prisoners may write and receive as many letters as they please, altho their mail is taken out only twice each week. Other fea- |tures were the co-operative bookstore and general store, where the men may make purchases with the money they earn, at stated hours, Members Punished. We asked one man what he had done. He was under a ten-year sen- tence, We expressed astonishment to \tee director that for a crime of his nature sO severe a sentence should have been imposed. The director in- formed us that the man had been a Communist. Sentences as a rule are not severe in the Soviet Union, But when a Communist commits a crime punishment is many times greater than for other individuals. Preserve Identity, Talking in the office after our sur vey, the director attempted to im- press upon us that this was one of the most strict prisons in the Soviet Union. He also impressed upon us that in Russia reform, not punish- ment, is the aim of the prison system, And after what we had seen we could very well believe it. The men con- fined within this institution preserved their identity as men. They did not have @ number; they wore their own clothes, not a prison garb. All of them were happy. They talked to us without hesitation, and we did not encounter one bitter note in more than half a day that we spent there. had invaded the rooms of the clothing workers’ union, and taken off nearly a truck-load of documents which were-expected to prove that the! disturbance in the city’s industry was’ being directed and financed by the red revolutionists of Moscow. The officials of the union were under arrest, one of those apprehend- ed being Chaim Menzies, “self-confessed socialistic agitator.” ‘ x So there was another job for Bunny. He didn’t know quite how to set about it, and Dad was on the way to Paradise, and could not ‘be consulted. Bunny went to see Dad’s lawyer, Mr. Dolliver, a keen-witted, soft-spoken gentleman who had no sym- pathy with reds, but, like all lawyers, was prepared for any weird trouble his wealthy clients might bring along. He called up police he adquarte s and ascertained that the self-confessed socialistic s to be arraigned the following day; bail would be set at that time, and it would be up to Bunny to have the cash on hand, or real estate to twice the amount. Bunny said he wanted to see the prisoner, and Mr. Dolliver said he knew the chief of police, and might be able to arrange it. He wrote a note, and Bunny went over to the dingy old building which had been erected to serve a city of fifty thou- sand, and was now serving one of a million. The chief proved to be a burly person in civilian clothing, smelling strongly of civilian whiskey; he requested Bunny to sit down, and summoned a couple of detectives, and began an obvious effort to find out all that Bunny knew about Chaim Menzies, and Bunny’s ideas, arid Chaim’s ideas. And Bunny, who was growing up fast in an ugly world, gave a carefully phrased exposition of the difference be- tween the right and left wings of the Socialist movement. Find- ing that he could not be trapped into indiscretions and knowing that he was a millionaire’s son, and could not be thrown into a cell, the chief gave him up, and told one of the detectives to take him in to see the prisoner. So Bunny got a glimpse of his city’s jail. The old building was cracked, and had been condemned as a menace to life by half a dozen successive commissions; nevertheless, here it was, a monument to the greed of rea] estate speculators, who cared nothing about a city’s good name, provided only its tax-rate were low. The mouldy old place stank, and if you looked carefully, you might see vermin crawling on the walls. The prisoners were confined in a number of “tanks,” which were steel barred cages holding thirty or forty men each, with no ray of daylight, and not enough artificial light to enable anyone to read- This city, so oddly named “Angel,” appeared anxious to cultivate all. pos- sible vices in its victims, for it provided them no reading matter, and no exercises ‘or recreation, but permitted them.to have.cards, lice and cigarettes—and the jailers secretly smuggled in whiskey and cocaine to such as had money for bribes. In one of these tanks sat Papa Menzies—on the floor, since there was no other place to sit. He appeared quite contented, having gathered round him the entire congregation of the cell, to hear about the struggle of the clothing workers, and how it was up to the toilers of the world to organize and abolish the capitalist system. When Bunny appeared, the\old man jumped up and grabbed him by the hand, and Bunny said quickly, “Mr. Menzies, you should know that this gentleman with me fs a detective.” Papa Menzies grinned. “Sure, I got notting to hide, I been a member of de Socialist party for twenty years. I believe in de ballot box—dey vill find notting to de contrary, unless dey make it. ‘I have been telling dese boys vat Socialism is, and I will tell dis gentleman, if he vants to listen. I have been helping de cloding vorkers stand together for decent conditions, and I am going on vid it de day I git out again.” So that was that! And in the evening Bunny phoned to his father and told him the situation. Bunny had been accustomed to sign his father’s name to checks, of any size, and had been careful not to abuse the privilege; but now he was proposing to draw fifteen thousand dollars, because they would probably fix the bafl very high, in the hope of keeping the old man in jail until the strike had been broken. »There was no risk involved, Bunny declared, for Men- zies was the soul of honor, and would not run away. Dad made a wry face over the telephone—but what could he do? His dearly beloved son was ablaze with indignation, and in- sisted that he knew all about it, there was no possibility what- aver that this old clothing worker might be a secret agent of the Soviet government, deliberately planted in Angel City to destroy American institutions. How Bunny could know such things Dad couldn’t imagine, but he had never known his boy to be so wrought up, and finally he said all right, but to have Mr. Dolliver send somebody to court with the money so that Bunny would not get his name into the newspapers again. (Continued Tomorrow) Everybody You Know and Everybody Else will be at the NEW MASSES Workers’ and Peasants’ Costume Ball Friday Evening, December 3rd, at 9. WEBSTER HALL—19 East 11th Street, New York City. Everybody! Ukrainians, Chuvash, Khirgiz, Bolsheviks, Men- sheviks, Georgians, Cossacks, Hussars, Redguards , Everybody! Manya, bine, Masha, Sasha . . . Ivan Ivanovitch, Stepan Stepanovitch . .... Tickets in Advance, $1.50, At the Door, $3.00 Ask your Union to get in touch with us for special club rates. By mail from NEW MASSHS BALL, 89 West 8th Street, New. Yo (Tel. 4445 Stuyvesant), or Jimmie Higgins Book Store, 127 Universi: Place; Rand School, 7 Hast 16th St.; Pretheit, 30 Union Square, d a paper—as it was meant that he should — a squad from police headquarters a ene I